Have you ever questioned your role in the community of God? Have you ever felt like an outsider? You aren’t alone.
Jesus is dead, and his disciples are hidden and afraid of meeting the same fate. Two unexpected figures devote themselves to his burial. All seems hopeless for the followers of Christ, but it’s always darkest before the dawn.
Go to JesusPodcast.com and receive daily devotionals about Jesus.
Today's Bible verse is Revelation 4:11 from the King James Version.
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Speaker 1: There is one body and one spirit, even as you
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Speaker 1: also were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord,
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Speaker 1: one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
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Speaker 1: who is over all and through all and in us
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Speaker 1: all Ephesians four four through six. Dear Lord, to day,
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Speaker 1: I'm mindful of the sacrifice it took to redeem mankind.
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Speaker 1: You forfeited the throne and exchanged it for a cross,
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Speaker 1: all so I could be saved. That's a heavy truth
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Speaker 1: that's not easy to forget. Keep your cross on my
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Speaker 1: mind all day to day. I want to feel the
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Speaker 1: gravity of your work on that hill. Let it affect
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Speaker 1: me deeply to day so I might fully experience Easter's
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Speaker 1: joy in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for praying with
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Speaker 1: me today. You're listening to the Jesus podcast Sagas from
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Speaker 1: the Gospel told like never before. Remain here to immerse
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Speaker 1: yourself in the drama and wonder of Christ's story. Follow
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Speaker 1: this podcast on whatever platform you're listening to. Doing so,
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Speaker 1: we'll keep you updated, but also help us get discovered
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Speaker 1: by more people. We want the story of Jesus to
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Speaker 1: be known throughout the world. Thanks for making that possible.
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Speaker 1: It was as if creation had gone backwards. The light
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Speaker 1: faded away, giving way to some chaotic darkness that loomed
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Speaker 1: over the void. In the beginning, the hearts of Christ's
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Speaker 1: followers were losing faith. Like the faint heat radiating from
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Speaker 1: forgotten calls, all of them it scattered. When Jesus was arrested,
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Speaker 1: they all watched the death of their hero from different angles.
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Speaker 1: Unable to move or rescue him. The eleven disciples hid,
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Speaker 1: fearing that they would meet the same fate as their master. Judas,
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Speaker 1: with his purse of silver weighing heavy on his ravage soul,
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Speaker 1: hanged himself over a canyon. All the faithful were gone,
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Speaker 1: yet Jesus's body remained. Their rabbis, tattered and broken remains
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Speaker 1: still needed attention, but none of the twelve were able
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Speaker 1: to be there with him. Jesus's body remained in the
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Speaker 1: custody of Pilate until a loved one claimed it.
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Speaker 2: Have you ever questioned your role in the community of God?
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Speaker 2: Have you ever felt like an outsigner, wondering how you
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Speaker 2: could possibly contribute to the Church or God's kingdom. You
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Speaker 2: aren't alone, but here's the good news. There's a place
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Speaker 2: for you in the family of God. Welcome to the
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Speaker 2: Jesus Podcast. Today is widely known in church history as
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Speaker 2: Holy Saturday, the dark day between Jesus's death and resurrection.
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Speaker 2: This was a confusing time for the disciples who had
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Speaker 2: just witnessed the death of their king and hero. Today
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Speaker 2: we dive into the often untold story of a man
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Speaker 2: named Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was one of the many
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Speaker 2: religious leaders who actually believed in Jesus. However, due to
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Speaker 2: fear and pressure, he remained silent about his faith. However,
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Speaker 2: he was able to honor Jesus in his death by
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Speaker 2: giving him a proper burial. As Joseph pays homage to Jesus,
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Speaker 2: another familiar figure emerges. This short story is packed with
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Speaker 2: a few kernels of wisdom for anyone who has wondered
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Speaker 2: about their place among God's people. Let's explore their story
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Speaker 2: together and learn from their regret and faith.
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Speaker 1: Torchlight illuminated and unlikely figure approaching the court of Pilot.
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Speaker 1: His blue fringed robes and leather amulet suggested he was
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Speaker 1: a Pharisee, but he did not approach Pilot like one.
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Speaker 1: His demeanor was humble and broken, and there was a
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Speaker 1: deep pain behind his eyes.
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Speaker 3: Honorable Pilot, my name is Joseph of Arimathea, and I
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Speaker 3: have come seeking a favor on behalf of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Speaker 1: Pilot's conscience had been tormented since giving up the so
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Speaker 1: called King of the Jews. Something about him compelled him,
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Speaker 1: although he couldn't quite describe it, and the events that
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Speaker 1: followed his death certainly added to this intrigue. The skies
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Speaker 1: shut out the sun, the earth shook, and the veil
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Speaker 1: in the temple cut straight through the middle. They were
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Speaker 1: even rumors of people witnessing their dead loved ones walking
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Speaker 1: among the living. Pilot was compelled to give whatever Joseph wanted.
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Speaker 1: What is your request, Pilot asked, feigning passivity.
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Speaker 3: I would like to give him a proper burial. According
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Speaker 3: to our customs, it is only right that he receive
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Speaker 3: a proper burial.
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Speaker 1: Joseph replied, I have a grave sight secured.
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Speaker 3: All I need is the body.
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Speaker 4: There is nothing right about what happened to Jesus.
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Speaker 1: Pilot thought to himself. He looked down at Joseph and
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Speaker 1: gestured to his leather amulet.
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Speaker 4: The Jewish rulers are afraid his followers may steal the body.
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Speaker 4: Your robes suggest you are one of them. This wouldn't
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Speaker 4: be a ploy to steal his body before they do,
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Speaker 4: would it.
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Speaker 1: Joseph bowed his head to Pilot.
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Speaker 5: No, your excellency, no, I I jest.
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Speaker 1: Joseph bowed his head to Pilot. The words were caught
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Speaker 1: in his throat. His shoulders began to feel the weight
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Speaker 1: of his grief. Joseph was a rich and influential man,
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Speaker 1: and followed the rabbi from Nazareth from Afar. He hid
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Speaker 1: his devotion out of fear and deeply regretted it. Joseph thought,
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Speaker 1: if he could somehow pay Jesus this last respect, it
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Speaker 1: might atone for his cowardice.
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Speaker 5: I just want to honor him. I I didn't honor
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Speaker 5: him in life, so perhaps I can in death.
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Speaker 1: Pilot looked away, doing his best to remain apathetic. Very well,
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Speaker 1: he said, clearing his throat, I will grant your request.
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Speaker 1: Go to the crucifixion site with my seal. My men
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Speaker 1: will let you have the body, but be advised the
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Speaker 1: Jewish rulers will want gods by his grave. Joseph gave
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Speaker 1: a final bow and left with a letter sealed by Pilot.
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Speaker 1: He held it tightly and rounded the path to the
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Speaker 1: mount where Jesus had been crucified. Joseph followed the blood
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Speaker 1: stained rocks leading up the hill called Skullshes of his
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Speaker 1: brutal death came rushing back into his memory. He wished
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Speaker 1: he had jumped to help. He wished he had said
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Speaker 1: something to the Sanhedron before they persecuted him. He could
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Speaker 1: have done something, but instead he chose to remain silent.
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Speaker 3: How could I have been so faithless, so afraid?
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Speaker 1: Joseph thought to himself. He was not the only one.
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Speaker 1: Even Jesus' closest followers were unable to move to his aid.
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Speaker 1: Now they were all paralyzed, suspended somewhere between regret and confusion.
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Speaker 1: Joseph of Arimathea arrived at the peak of the mountain.
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Speaker 1: Blood and water soaked the floor beneath the cross, and shock.
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Speaker 1: Joseph placed a hand on his mouth when he saw
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Speaker 1: jesus lifeless body cradled in burlap. Joseph gestured to the
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Speaker 1: soldiers and placed pilot's note in the hand of the
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Speaker 1: centurion in charge.
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Speaker 5: I have come to give him a burial according to
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Speaker 5: our customs.
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Speaker 1: He said. The centurion looked over at jesus body and
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Speaker 1: pursed his lips. And man was gnawn of this world,
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Speaker 1: he said, pondering whether he could open up to Joseph
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Speaker 1: or not. Truly he was the son of God. The
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Speaker 1: words were surprising to hear from a centurion, but then again,
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Speaker 1: Joseph was a member of the Jewish Council. Both of
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Speaker 1: them should have been jesus enemies, yet they both found
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Speaker 1: themselves unable to deny who he was. Joseph approached the
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Speaker 1: body with his servants. Before he could kneel down, another
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Speaker 1: unlikely person made his way up the hill. The man
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Speaker 1: wore the same amulet and blue fringed robe as Joseph.
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Speaker 1: He was a member of the Jewish Council, a ruler
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Speaker 1: in his own right, and a renowned Pharisee. Nicodemus. Nicodemus
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Speaker 1: was another secret follower of Jesus. Ever since his meeting
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Speaker 1: with him, Nicodemus was compelled that Jesus was who he
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Speaker 1: said he was. Nicodemus was not as wealthy as Joseph
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Speaker 1: of Arimathea, but he had come to pay his respects
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Speaker 1: to Jesus's body. He appeared with an offering of mr
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Speaker 1: an aloe. The offering was slung over his back, weighing
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Speaker 1: over seventy five pounds. To Nicodemus, it was his alabaster flask,
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Speaker 1: his cross to carry. It was an offering to set
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Speaker 1: at the feet of the God. He should have recognized
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Speaker 1: from the beginning. Nicodemus was also a Pharisee and a
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Speaker 1: member of the Jewish Council. He wore the same robes
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Speaker 1: as Joseph, and the same shame, the shame of losing
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Speaker 1: faith when it mattered most, and gaining it when it
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Speaker 1: seemed pointless. The two men knelt down and carried his
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Speaker 1: body to the tomb Joseph had purchased. It was a
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Speaker 1: large grave hewn on the side of a cliff near Golgotha.
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Speaker 1: Around the grave was a well kept garden, and an
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Speaker 1: array of flowers blossomed along the path leading to the entrance. Together,
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Speaker 1: the two men carefully tended to their lord's body. They
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Speaker 1: cleaned his wounds and meticulously wrapped every inch of his
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Speaker 1: body according to the law. His linen grave clothes had
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Speaker 1: been mixed with spices, and the fragrant smell of myrrh
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Speaker 1: filled the air around them. They crouched down and carried
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Speaker 1: his body gently into the tomb, where a bed was
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Speaker 1: made from stone and wood, a fitting burial for a
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Speaker 1: stonemason and carpenter. The large circular stone was next to
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Speaker 1: the grave. The men and their servants pushed the front
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Speaker 1: of the entrance with great labor and sorrowful effort. Guards
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Speaker 1: were charged to stand near the tomb. They would report
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Speaker 1: anything suspicious to the chief priest and pilot. Yet no
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Speaker 1: stone or guard could thwart what would happen in that
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Speaker 1: grave just a few days later.
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Speaker 2: Want you to listen to these words spoken by Paul
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Speaker 2: in Ephusians four fifteen through sixteen. Rather speaking the truth
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Speaker 2: in love, we are to grow up in every way
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Speaker 2: into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom
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Speaker 2: the whole body, joined and held together by every joint
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Speaker 2: with which it is equipped. When each part is working properly,
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Speaker 2: makes the body grow so that it builds itself up
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Speaker 2: in love. Now you may be wondering what this has
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Speaker 2: to do with the burial of Jesus. Here's the kernel
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Speaker 2: of wisdom that we can find in this story. Our
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Speaker 2: theme for today's episode is tender care towards the body
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Speaker 2: of Christ. There's profound imagery. In the story, Joseph and
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Speaker 2: Nicodemus put a great deal of respect, love, and resource
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Speaker 2: into the burial of Jesus. Although people shamed him and
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Speaker 2: his death as he hung on a cross, Joseph of
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Speaker 2: Arimathea and Nicodemus assured that he got a respectable burial.
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Speaker 2: They tended to his body meticulously out of reverence and worship.
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Speaker 2: And this is an image of what you and I
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Speaker 2: are called to do with the Body of Christ, the Church.
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Speaker 2: The Bible describes the Church as the body of Christ,
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Speaker 2: consisting of many members with different functions. The type of
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Speaker 2: tender love and care that Joseph and Nicodemus had for
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Speaker 2: Jesus's body is the same tender love and care that
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Speaker 2: we're supposed to give one another as fellow members of
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Speaker 2: the Body of Christ, the Church, the community of God.
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Speaker 2: Paul continues with his metaphor in one Corinthians twelve when
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Speaker 2: he says this, for just as the body is one
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Speaker 2: and has many members, and all the members of the
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Speaker 2: body through many a one body, so it is with Christ,
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Speaker 2: for in one spirit we were all baptized into one body.
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Speaker 2: Jews or Greek slaves are free We're all made to
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Speaker 2: drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist
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Speaker 2: of one member, but many. If the foot should say,
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Speaker 2: because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body,
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Speaker 2: that would not make it any less a part of
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Speaker 2: the body. And if the ear should say, because I'm
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Speaker 2: not an eye, I do not belong to the body,
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Speaker 2: that would not make it any less part of the body.
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Speaker 2: If the whole body were an eye, where would be
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Speaker 2: the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear,
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Speaker 2: where would be the sense of smell? But as it is,
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Speaker 2: God arranged the members in the body, each one of
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Speaker 2: them as he chose. If all were a single member,
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Speaker 2: where would the body be?
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Speaker 3: As it is?
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Speaker 2: There are many parts, yet one body. Now you are
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Speaker 2: the body of Christ, and individually members of it. Here
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Speaker 2: are two encouraging truths for you. One, you are a vital,
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Speaker 2: an important, and unique member of the Body of Christ.
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Speaker 2: Not only are you necessary with all of your quirks
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Speaker 2: and unique gifts, but you serve a specific function that
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Speaker 2: nobody else can. Wishing you have the same gifts or
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Speaker 2: skill as somebody else is a waste of your time
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Speaker 2: and the God given talent within you. God has made
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Speaker 2: you unique and crafted you for a purpose. The unique
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Speaker 2: and authenticity submitted to the spirit of God can accomplish
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Speaker 2: great things. Be encouraged by that. The second thing here
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Speaker 2: is that you're a part of something greater than yourself,
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Speaker 2: and that gives us a lot of purpose. There's a
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Speaker 2: body of Christ moving and marching towards a greater thing.
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Speaker 2: Don't neglect that community. Listen, I get it. Church can
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Speaker 2: be weird, and the people in church can be weird.
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Speaker 2: The community of God can be messy and broken, judgmental
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Speaker 2: at times. But Christ died for all of us. We're
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Speaker 2: all face planning through this life, stumbling upwards towards our savior.
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Speaker 2: To not go to church because it's filled with hypocrites
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Speaker 2: and sinners is basically saying, well, I'm sick and I
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Speaker 2: need to go to a hospital, but there's a lot
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Speaker 2: of sick people there. It's a place for sick people.
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Speaker 2: It doesn't really make sense. The church is for hypocrites.
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Speaker 2: But we're all hypocrites, aren't we. So let's dive in.
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Speaker 2: Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus cared for the body of Christ.
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Speaker 2: They gave his body special time and attention, even the
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Speaker 2: midst of doubt, confusion, and grief, they were faithful and
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Speaker 2: that's our call. We are all called to care for
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Speaker 2: the body of Christ with the same tenderness and love
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Speaker 2: that Joseph and Nicodemus did. Easter is just one day
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Speaker 2: way and the resurrection of Christ is upon us. However,
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Speaker 2: for the disciples, it was a dark day. They were scattered, afraid,
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Speaker 2: and without hope. Do you feel this way? Do you
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Speaker 2: feel aimless, confused or frightened? Find care in the presence
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Speaker 2: of God's people this Easter and join us for one
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Speaker 2: final day through Passion Week, following Jesus out of the
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Speaker 2: grave and into the light, and for more inspiration and
00:15:31
Speaker 2: knowledge to last the lifetime. Be sure to download the
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Speaker 2: prey dot Com app.
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