Men's Moments

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.

by Bob Wilson

“Secrecy has its advantages or not.”  I remember it was Big 10 football season.  A friend of mine who had a plane volunteered to take me and our pastor and two others to an OSU game in Champaign, Illinois against the “Fighting Illini.”  His plane was in a hangar at an airport off Rt. 40.  We landed in Illinois about two hours before the game. 

Of course, we wore our “scarlet and gray” colors and proudly walked through the areas where there was a lot “tailgating” going on. We heard a lot of good-natured chatter about what we were wearing, but we ignored it and arrived at the stadium.

Unfortunately, our seats were in the opposing team’s cheering section. We were optimistic about the outcome, but every time Illinois made a touchdown we had to endure the tomahawk motion with the war drums. I don’t remember the final score, but we didn’t win.  As we walked back to the plane, our heads were down because we couldn’t hide who we were. Such a difference between our arrival and departure.

Joseph and Nicodemus were both secret disciples of Jesus who felt that when it came to the religious leaders, they should hide their loyalty to the Master. They wanted to avoid possible threats, loss of job, or even their safety. But when all was lost, they both stepped up and acknowledged their faithfulness. Even in defeat, they did what was necessary to honor him.

We take a risk whenever we let others know that we follow Christ. We risk back-lash because some may even think less of us and question our judgement. Yet the time might come because of something you did or said that the question might arise, “Aren’t you one of his?” Saying yes may help you take an important step. If you’re not willing to be bold for Christ, it begs the question, “Do you really believe?”         

Even when I was in Ann Arbor to visit our daughter and family, I still wore my OSU colors because I take pride in our school.  That applies even more to my faith. I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen!