It is clear that Joseph had already protested against the wrong done to
our Lord by the Sanhedrim, though he had been powerless to prevent it.
In this protest no doubt Nicodemus would have sided with him, but he
was probably absent, for Joseph seems to have stood alone in his
refusal to condemn the prophet of Nazareth. This was not easy. He
would be urged to vote with his fellow-counsellors on the ground that
their ecclesiastical authority, which had been defied, must be
maintained, and that loyalty to the Sanhedrim demanded that all members
of it should sink their private opinions in its defence. To hold out
against an otherwise unanimous council would be the more difficult if
Joseph had but recently attained the honour of membership, and this is
probable, for the allusion to his "_new grave_" seems to imply that he
had not long resided in Jerusalem. It was difficult, and possibly
dangerous, to assert his independence; but he did so by vote, if not by
voice, for he "_had not consented to the counsel and deed of them_."
Right-minded men are not infrequently placed in a similar position. A
policy may be initiated which they disapprove, and yet their protest
against it may wreck the party and even displace the government, so
that they naturally hesitate between party loyalty and enlightened
conscience. Others who are engaged in business, or in professional
affairs, have sometimes to confront doubtful practices which, though
sanctioned by custom, unquestionably tend to the lowering of the moral
tone of the nation. Their own financial interests, their fear of
casting a slur on some known to them, who, though guilty of such
practices are in other respects honourable men, and their dread of
posing before the world as over-scrupulous, pharisaic men, who are
righteous over-much--all urge them to keep quiet, especially as such a
custom cannot be put down by one man. Yet is not conscience to be
supreme, even under such conditions? The cultivation of the required
moral heroism, which is sadly lacking in all sections of society, must
begin in youth; and in this, elder brothers and sisters as well as
parents and teachers of all grades have serious responsibility.
Occasionally the moral atmosphere of a whole school becomes corrupt,
and practices spring up which can only be put down by some right-minded
lad or girl running the risk of unpopularity and social ostracism, yet
it is under such conditions that God's heroes are bred; and books like
_Tom Brown's Schooldays_ have done much to foster the development of
the heroic temper.
The truth is, that, wherever we are, in this world where evil widely
prevails, fidelity to conscience must occasionally inspire what seems
an unavailing protest against the practice of the majority. But we
must see to it on such occasions that a real principle is at stake, and
that we are not moved by mere desire for self-assertion, nor by pride
and obstinacy. If, however, we are consciously free from these, and
bravely protest against a wrong we cannot prevent, we may at least look
for the approval of Him who carried His protest against evil up to the
point of death, even the death of the Cross.
In thus taking up our stand against what we believe to be wrong, we may
be, imperceptibly to ourselves, emboldening others, who are secretly
waiting for some such lead.