The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 3 April 2021 – Positioned For Service
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TOPIC: Positioned For Service (Anglican Devotional 3 April 2021)
READ: Matthew 27:57-66 (NKJV)
- Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
- This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.
- When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
- and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
- And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
- On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,
- saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’
- “Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him [away,] and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
- Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make [it] as secure as you know how.”
- So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
THE MESSAGE:
Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, a member of the Jewish Ruling Council, and a rich, “good and just man” who opposed the Council’s decision to arrest and kill Jesus (verse 57; Luke 23:50-51; John 19:38). Taking courage, he obtained Pilate’s permission to take and bury the body of Jesus and he was assisted by Nicodemus. The burial was witnessed by May Magdalene and a number of others (verses 56, 61; John 19:39). Probably unknown to Joseph, he had used his privileged position at that critical moment to fulfil the prophecy in Isaiah 53:9! Take advantage of the position you occupy now, and use it to serve God to the best of your ability. As Mordecai observed in Esther 4:14, it may be that God positioned you there “for such a time as this.”
Verses 62 to 66 of our text record the desperate efforts of the religious leaders to suppress the truth about the expected resurrection of Jesus. In support of their plans, they created false reports and gave bribes (Matthew 28:11-15). Never be a part of any arrangements to bear false testimony.
PRAYER: Oh God, please help me to use my positions, privileges and opportunities to advance Your divine purposes in Jesus Name. Amen.
