Luke 23: 50-56- Courage

 Read Luke 23: 50-56-

Courage- Joseph of Arimathea was a courageous man. In verse 50 we read this, "(50) Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.

I call Joseph courageous because he was a council member, a man of position and respect of the people. In spite of his position in the Jewish community, he took Jesus' body and used his own tomb to bury Jesus. After the Jewish leaders had worked to kill Jesus, Joseph asked to be benevolent to Jesus. He had openly disagreed with what the Jewish leaders were doing yet, he showed compassion to Jesus.

Would I have stood up and asked to show compassion to Jesus? I would certainly hope so, but the pressure of the time was significant. We may be faced with a time when we must say "Yes" when asked about our belief in Jesus. We will give a strong and confident, even loud, "yes" or will it be timid? We need to be like Joseph and step up and show compassion when those times come. 

Proverbs 17:20- He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil. 

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