If Joseph required bravery on the council, he needed it still more when
he went into the presence of Pilate to beg the body of Jesus.
The Roman procurator was a man to be dreaded by any Jew, and was just
now in a suspicious and angry mood. But Joseph not only braved a
repulse from him. He knew he would have to confront the far more
bitter hostility of the priests. Theirs was a relentless hate, before
which Peter had fallen, and Pilate himself had quailed. Yet this man
Joseph, brought up though he had been in circumstances of ease, went in
boldly to Pilate and deliberately ran the risk of their savage hatred,
which would not only bring about as he believed his expulsion from
office, but in all probability cruel martyrdom. It was a bold step;
but no sooner did he take it than another rich man was by his
side--Nicodemus by name--who also himself was one of Christ's
disciples, though secretly, for fear of the Jews. The act of Joseph
had more far-reaching consequences on the conduct of others than he
expected.
Most heroic actions are richer in results than is expected by those who
dare to do them; though the immediate effects may seem disappointing.
Elijah learnt to his amazement that although all the people on Carmel
had not been converted, more than seven thousand faithful men had been
emboldened by his conduct. And when John plucked up courage to go
right in to the palace of the high priest, Peter, who till then had
followed Jesus afar off, went in also.
The truth is, that we all have influence beyond the limits of what we
can see or estimate--parents over children, employers over their young
people, mistresses over servants; for what we are these are encouraged
to be, whether for good or for evil. Indeed, even a child who
fearlessly speaks the truth, a servant who does her work thoroughly and
cheerfully, an obscure lad who in a small situation is faithful to
honour and truth, will effect far more than is imagined. Others who
are unperceived are emboldened, and range themselves on the side of
righteousness.
Joseph discovered, as many have done since, that when he steadfastly
set his face towards duty he succeeded far better then he expected.
When he went into the palace of Pilate he foresaw that he might be
asked to pay an enormous ransom, for that would be only customary; or
possibly his request might be scornfully refused by the procurator, who
was angry with himself and with the Jews. But, doubtless to his
amazement, no such thing happened. Without delay, or bartering or
abuse, Pilate at once gave him leave.
History is crowded with similar incidents. How helpless and hopeless
the Israelites were when they found themselves face to face with the
waters of the Red Sea, while the army of Egypt was rapidly overtaking
them; yet they soon discovered that their danger was to prove their
means of deliverance; for the waters which barred their progress to
liberty soon overwhelmed their enemies. In other spheres of experience
such deliverances have come, and will continue to come, to trustful
souls:
"Dark and wide the sea appears,
Every soul is full of fears,
Yet the word is 'onward still,'
Onward move and do His will;
And the great deep shall discover
God's highway to take thee over."
Peter had a similar experience when in prison. He arose and followed
the angel, and safely passed through the first and the second ward; but
the great iron gate seemed an insuperable barrier, yet that opened to
them of its own accord, and he stepped through it into liberty. Thus
it was with the women who as they walked, while it was yet dark,
towards the grave of their Lord, thought of one difficulty which seemed
insurmountable, and asked one another, "_Who shall roll us away the
stone at the door of the sepulchre_?" Still on they went, with faith
and courage, and when they reached their imagined difficulty they found
that it had vanished; for they saw that the stone was rolled away.
A similar experience is constantly met with. It is shared by a young
man who is expected to undertake some doubtful transaction, but from
conscientious scruple hesitates. He fears what the result of a refusal
may be, but resolves to risk it; perhaps to find that the order is not
pressed, or that some new incident opens up for him a way of escape.
True, God does not always deliver a conscientious man from the special
danger before him, but in the forum of conscience, and before the
judgment-seat of Christ, he will be righted.
Be the result what it may, we must be true to conscience, which,
however, is but another form of saying, we must be true to God; and
instead of peering into the future, and picturing to ourselves all
possible evil results, we must learn to take the next obvious step in
the pathway of duty, trusting that God will make the next step clear,
possible, and safe. When a tourist is climbing a difficult mountain,
his guide sometimes rounds a corner, or climbs up to a higher level,
and for a time is lost to sight, having left his charge behind him; and
he, unaccustomed to such an expedition, dares not look down, and fears
to stir another step, till feeling the rope taut between himself and
the guide, and hearing his cheery voice, he ventures forward, to find
that the danger was not so great as he imagined. Thus made bolder by
each difficulty surmounted, he begins to feel the exhilaration of a
mountain climb, which braces the nerves more than anything besides. If
we are really anxious to be in God's appointed way, and boldly take it
when it is made clear, we may be sure that He will answer the prayer:
"_Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not_."