42 Since it was late in the afternoon on Preparation Day, just before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph from Arimathea dared to approach Pilate and ask for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a prominent council member who also eagerly anticipated the coming of God’s kingdom.) 44 Pilate wondered if Jesus was already dead. He called the centurion and asked him whether Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, Pilate gave the dead body to Joseph. 46 He bought a linen cloth, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the cloth, and laid him in a tomb that had been carved out of rock. He rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was buried.
Reflection
It wasn’t typical for bodies to be taken down from the cross. Rome often left crucified bodies hanging as a public warning to anyone considering rebellion against the Empire. The message was clear: “this is what happens to those who oppose Rome.”
This practice was highly offensive to Jews, particularly when coupled with their belief that those hung in this way were under God’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). But Rome wasn’t particularly interested in Jewish religious sensibilities.
Still, when the request to remove Jesus’ body came from a prominent member of the ruling council on the eve of Passover, Pilate was inclined to grant it – if only to keep the peace during the festival, when Jerusalem’s population swelled with pilgrims and tensions flared.
Joseph of Arimathea was bold to ask this of Pilate. Even with his privileged status, it was a risky thing to be associated with a man Rome just executed as a rebel. Clearly, he had been moved by something about Jesus and his ministry (see Luke 23:50-53). At a moment when Jesus’ closest friends were hiding out, Joseph stepped forward and boldly asked for the body.
Have you ever made a bold ask like that?
I read a striking story about the famous 20th-century spiritual teacher Howard Thurman. As a poor Black youth growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, in the early 1900s, he didn’t have a lot of prospects for paying for his education. Though he had been accepted into an excellent boarding school, his family didn’t have quite enough money to cover his tuition, room, and board. So during the year, he often went hungry.
One summer, while working odd jobs, he was across the street from the winter home of Mr. Gamble — of Procter & Gamble fame — and had the idea to ask him for help. But he didn’t know how to reach him except for his Florida address. While he was thinking about this, a woman approached and asked for help mailing a stack of letters. By coincidence, one of the letters was addressed to Mr. Gamble. Thurman took down the address, and later sent his own letter. That led to a scholarship that set him on a path toward a life in the academy and the Church. Later, he would become a key mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr.1
Bold asks have changed the course of entire lives – even history!
Sometimes faith requires the courage to ask – for help, for forgiveness, for an opportunity.
Don’t be afraid, even if the request feels too big or too unlikely. Remember Joseph and Howard.
You never know what God might do through your bold ask!
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
What have you been too afraid to ask for? What if today is the day?
Prayer: God, give us the courage to be bold in asking for what we need – even what we want – for ourselves and for others, knowing that you love us beyond all measure. Open your floodgates of blessing today. Amen.
Edited with help from OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
- This is from the book What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman, by Lerita Coleman Brown. ↩︎
