“亚利马太的约瑟前来，他是尊贵的议士，… 他放胆进去见彼拉多，求耶稣的身体 。” - 可 15:43

　　公会虽然判耶稣有罪，但并不代表每一个成员都赞同这个判决。在反对的人群中，尼哥底母便是其中之一。有记载说，他曾警告公会，不应单单因为想赶紧判耶稣有罪，就不遵守法律法规（约翰福音 7:50-51）。

　　另一位不赞同法庭判决的公会成员，是亚利马太的约瑟（路加福音 23:50-51）。只因害怕法庭其他的领袖，约瑟便没有提出异议。虽然他没有公开表达自己的意见，却暗暗地忠心跟从耶稣。

　　然而，当这恐怖的一天将要结束的时候，约瑟决定要作一个公开的宣告：他勇敢地觐见彼拉多，要求埋葬耶稣。他这样做，其实是勇敢地藉此向彼拉多暗示，整个对耶稣的判罪是十分不公平的，同时也是向公会发出挑战，证实他们定耶稣有罪属于欺诈，更是公开的承认，当初他不应该偷偷摸摸、而是光明正大地跟随耶稣。

　　约瑟和尼哥底母埋葬了伤痕累累、血肉馍糊的耶稣，尸体安放在约瑟的“新坟墓里，就是他凿在磐石里的” （马太福音 27:60）。

祷告

主耶稣，求祢赦免我，因为我是个罪人。我本有机会为袮做见证，却没有勇气如此行，于是便保持了缄默。求祢帮助我，在未来的日子知道怎样忠心行事。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。

 

约翰福音 19:38-42

38这些事以后，有亚利马太人约瑟，是耶稣的门徒，只因怕犹太人，就暗暗地作门徒。他来求彼拉多，要把耶稣的身体领去。彼拉多允准，他就把耶稣的身体领去了。
39又有尼哥德慕，就是先前夜里去见耶稣的，带着没药和沉香约有一百斤前来。
40他们就照犹太人殡葬的规矩，把耶稣的身体用细麻布加上香料裹好了。
41在耶稣钉十字架的地方有一个园子，园子里有一座新坟墓，是从来没有葬过人的。
42只因是犹太人的预备日，又因那坟墓近，他们就把耶稣安放在那里。

In Secret No More

"Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council... went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body." — Mark 15:43

英语音频 English Audio

Though the Sanhedrin condemned Jesus, not all of its members agreed with the verdict. One, Nicodemus, had previously gone on record in warning the Sanhedrin against running roughshod over court rules in their eagerness to condemn Jesus (John 7:50-51).

Another member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph from Arimathea, had not consented to what the court had done (Luke 23:50-51). But, out of fear of the other leaders on the court, Joseph had not spoken out. His voice was unheard, and he remained only a secret follower of Jesus.

But by the end of that terrible day, Joseph had resolved to make a public declaration: he went boldly and openly to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, demanding that the body of Jesus be given an honorable burial. In doing this, Joseph courageously implied to Pilate that the execution had been unjust. He also courageously put the Sanhedrin on notice that their verdict against Jesus was a fraud, and he courageously admitted to all that he, Joseph, should not have been just a secret follower.

So Joseph and Nicodemus honored and buried the beaten, bloody corpse of the one their colleagues had condemned, laying Jesus' body in Joseph's "own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock" (Matthew 27:60).

Prayer

诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳