Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
John 19:38-39
These two verses raise my need for ambiguity tolerance. On the surface they seem rather straight forward but only a little more digging and truly, there are a lot of questions.
Take Joseph and Nicodemus for a start. Just what exactly is their relationship with Jesus like?
They appear to be on his side, but there’s a lot of night time meetings when they really should have clocked off. They’re really doing some solid overtime in their allegiance to Jesus, but it appears to be necessary. The Jewish leaders being the issue.
But Nicodemus himself is one of them. Whose side is he on? It appears to be Jesus’ side. It also appears that he’s living a bit of a double life. Again, for fear of the Jews.
Sometimes things are not as they seem on the surface. And allegiances are different to what they initially seem. And genuinely different. Seventy-five pounds is not a small amount. AI tells me that this amount of myrrh and aloes would be reserved for royalty only and would cost about $150,000 – 200,000 in today’s markets.
Whether that’s true or not, that’s a flipping lot.
And a flipping lot for two men who seem to not be on Jesus’ side… when they are actually loyal.
But let’s just hold it right there, or as a former colleague of mine would say “Woah, woah, woah, back up the bus.”
Because Joseph and Nicodemus aren’t the only ones bringing the need for ambiguity tolerance.
There’s Pilate also.
Pilate, the guy who has just ordered Jesus to be crucified, evidently has a conversation with Joseph about Jesus’ body and the fact that they want permission to bury him.
With Pilate’s permission, he [Joseph] came and took the body away.
You’d think that Pilate would be the one to be scared of at this point in time. He’s in a crucifying mood. Isn’t he? Well, when it comes to Jesus it actually seems to not be the case. His interactions with the Jews have allowed him to be swayed to sign on the dotted line when he really shouldn’t have. But his heart is in another place. He seems rather sympathetic to Jesus and his followers.
Perhaps the clue as to what was going in Pilate’s heart is hidden in a bit of grammar (I know, it doesn’t take me too long to get to a grammar point if I can)
A bit of grammar – a temporal adverb, to be exact – and one word – later.
Pilate was scared too.
Joseph and Nicodemus clearly know how to bide their time. Wait until later, wait until it’s night. Then pay a visit. Then Pilate will give you what you seek because the Jewish leaders are gone. They’ve got to get ready to tick all their religious boxes for the Sabbath.
The dangers of legalism or the compassionate heart of love. That’s what this passage points out.
It also points out that things are not always as they seem on the surface and we are wise to know it.
Sure we could – as I’ve often heard – rip into Joseph and Nicodemus and say they should be more open about their faith, but I think they knew their own context better than we do.
Would you say the same to a believer in North Korea? Of course not.
Like Joseph and Nicodemus, they still show Jesus their love and keep themselves safe.
Yours looking beyond the surface level,
Alison
