Joseph of Arimathea took down a corpse.
Hands still sticky with blood.
Skin already cold.
Touched death. Held it. Wrapped it.
Became ceremonially unclean for Passover.
For a dead man.
Here's what most Christians miss about the burial of Jesus:
Joseph was a wealthy man. A member of the Sanhedrin. A respected Jew.
And Passover was 3 hours away.
The holiest day of the year.
But he climbed Golgotha anyway.
Jewish law was clear:
Touch a dead body = unclean for 7 days.
Can't worship. Can't celebrate. Can't enter the temple.
Joseph knew this.
He'd spent his entire life following these laws.
But Jesus was still hanging on that cross.
Picture it:
The crowds are gone. The soldiers drunk. The women weeping.
Joseph approaches Pilate—the man who just murdered his Lord—and asks permission.
"Can I have the body?"
Pilate grants it.
Now Joseph has to actually DO it.
He walks to Golgotha.
Blood-soaked dirt. The smell of death. Three crosses against the sky.
Jesus in the middle.
Still.
Finally still.
Joseph climbs the ladder.
Grabs the first nail.
Pulls.
Feel the weight of that moment.
God's body in your arms.
The blood isn't dry yet.
It stains his expensive robes.
His hands.
Under his fingernails.
He can taste the iron in the air.
This is what obedience looks like.
Messy. Expensive. Permanent.
Nicodemus shows up.
Another secret disciple. Another Sanhedrin member.
He brings 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes.
That's about $150,000 worth of burial spices in today's money.
Two wealthy men. Two cowards until now.
Finally brave when it's already too late.
They work fast.
Sabbath is coming. They have maybe 3 hours.
Wrap the body. Pour the spices. Seal the tomb.
The sun is setting.
Joseph is now officially unclean.
Can't celebrate Passover tomorrow.
Can't enter the temple for a week.
Think about what he just gave up:
His ceremonial purity.
His Passover celebration.
His reputation (everyone saw him bury a "blasphemer").
His position (the Sanhedrin won't forget this).
His safety (Romans might come for disciples next).
All for a dead man.
But here's what most Christians miss:
Joseph didn't do this expecting resurrection.
He did it expecting NOTHING.
Jesus was dead. Gone. Finished.
This wasn't faith in resurrection.
This was love for a corpse.
That's the part that wrecks me.
Joseph touched death—literally—knowing it meant giving up everything.
Not because Jesus promised him anything.
But because Jesus deserved honor even in death.
Modern Christianity wants clean obedience.
Safe obedience.
Obedience that doesn't cost you Passover.
But Joseph shows us something different:
True discipleship gets your hands dirty.
You want to follow Jesus?
Then stop avoiding the messy parts.
Stop waiting for clean opportunities.
Stop demanding that obedience be convenient.
Joseph climbed Golgotha when everyone else went home.
He wrapped a corpse when he could've stayed clean.
He missed the holiest day of his life to honor a dead "criminal."
He risked everything when there was no visible reward.
That's not religion.
That's worship.
The twist?
Three days later, that tomb was empty.
Joseph gave his grave to Jesus.
Jesus left it empty.
Forever.
Joseph thought he was burying God.
He was actually setting the stage for resurrection.
Your messy obedience?
God's using it too.
Even when you can't see it.
So here's the question:
What are you avoiding because it's too messy?
What obedience are you postponing because it's inconvenient?
What grave are you unwilling to give?
Joseph of Arimathea held death in his arms.
Got blood on his hands.
Missed Passover.
Lost his reputation.
And earned his name in all four Gospels.
Religion says "stay clean."
Discipleship says "get dirty."
Joseph chose discipleship.
What are you choosing?
—TBM
470 years ago today, protestants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake for the preaching and proclaiming of the gospel. After being sentenced in his trial, Latimer thanked God for giving him a death that would glorify his God.
In the midst of his execution Latimer extolled Ridley: "Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
What this post isn’t telling you is that grandma is in Purgatory, suffering for her sins (which Catholic theology says Jesus hasn’t fully expiated).
The REASON she is not fine is due to the fact that she is now experiencing torments that may last for thousands of years before she finally suffers enough to enter heaven.
This is why, at every Catholic funeral, the priest will teach the people, “let us assist them with our prayers.”
Obviously, Protestants would pray for grandma if they thought she was suffering in Purgatory and needed our prayers to help get her out more quickly.
Modern Catholic apologists tend to downplay the true nature of Purgatory because it doesn’t sell well to the Protestants they are trying to convert. Go to old sources if you want to know what it’s really about. It’s not just “character transformation.”
Imagine writing the post below and pretending the issue is that Catholics love their grandmas more than Protestants!
@SexbeanPernicus If you believe the Bible, than the worst is yet to come
“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”
Jeremiah 30:7 KJV
@OutsidetheL7 @aMalignedMind @IanCarrollShow@elonmusk I suggest reading, Foxes book of Martyr’s by John Foxe, Romanism and the reformation by Henry Gratan Guinness, The great controversy by Ellen white. Or study the Bible very deeply and pray for guidance. Any of these will do. There is much literature on this subject.
@OutsidetheL7 @aMalignedMind @IanCarrollShow@elonmusk All this to say, modern Israel’s involvement in the end times was introduced to the church as a distraction to take the heat off of the Catholic Church for the label they received from the Protestant churches. That’s how we got it.
@OutsidetheL7 @aMalignedMind @IanCarrollShow@elonmusk These are Men like Martin Luther - Lutherism, John Calvin-Calvinism, John-Wesley-Methodist. And on and on and on. These men and others like them were responsible for bringing the Bible into the common tongue and despite not knowing each other. They all said the same thing.
@JBIZZY700@caldrm12 @StanGeeMan All good, you have the right to practice your religion. Happy we got the mis-understanding straight, if your interested in more about the Bible, Belief, and why people say that I’d be happy to discuss it. My concern here is non Christian practices being tied to my Lord and Savior
@JBIZZY700@caldrm12 @StanGeeMan She said clapping drives off evil spirits and it’s true cause it’s in the Bible. I believe that gives a pass for any Bible reader to speak up. I spoke up saying the Bible doesn’t say that and it does condemn this. Which she says the Bible supports. How is that irrelevant?
@caldrm12 @StanGeeMan @JBIZZY700 Lastly, I don’t mean to offend, I aim to correct. Alignment with what scripture says is very important. Choosing to serve God is an amazing decision but it hasn’t to be done correctly least we deceive ourselves into serving devils while using the name of the Lord.
@caldrm12 @StanGeeMan @JBIZZY700 Let’s look at some verses.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 magic, and those who use them are an abomination to the Lord.
Acts 16:16-18 Paul casts out a Demon in the name of Jesus(not sage)
Jeremiah 17:9 - The heart is deceitful above all things, your “intentions” mislead you. Sage is bad.