There are crises in the experience of every one when the whole future
is determined; and such a crisis came to Joseph of Arimathea.
He had been for some time a disciple of Jesus, but had never avowed the
fact. But after standing on Calvary and seeing the death of his Lord,
sorrow, shame, and indignation so stirred him, that at once he went in
boldly unto Pilate. It was the turning-point in his history, when
obedience to God-given impulse decided his whole destiny. The
spiritual influences which play upon our souls are not even in their
flow. There are times when one is strangely moved, although in outward
environment there is little to account for it. The sermon listened to
may be illiterate, the hymn sung may be destitute of poetic beauty, the
friendly word may be spoken by a social inferior--yet one of these
sometimes suffices as the channel of divine power, which shakes the
soul to its very depths. We have known the unexpected avowal of love
to Christ on the part of one obscure scholar set all in the class
thinking on the subject of personal responsibility to God, and to His
Church. And sometimes the sorrow of leaving home for the first time,
or the death of a dearly-loved friend, has sufficed to arouse the
question, "_What must I do to be saved_?" We must beware of allowing
such opportunities for decisive action to slip away unimproved. When a
vessel has grounded at the harbour-bar, she must wait till the tide
lifts her, or she will not reach a safe anchorage; but when the tide
does flow in, no sane man will let the chance go by, lest a storm
should rise and wreck her within reach of home.
It is noteworthy that Joseph was moved to decision and confession by
the crucifixion of the Lord; for this might have been expected to seal
his lips. It would seem to have been easier to follow the great
Teacher when listening crowds gathered round Him, and multitudes were
being healed of whatsoever diseases they had, than to acknowledge
loyalty to Him when He was crucified as a malefactor. Yet it was from
the Cross that this man went into the Church. The light came to him
when darkness seemed deepest. It was in the presence of the crucified
Saviour, of whom even the Roman centurion said, "_Truly this was the
Son of God_," that Joseph learned to say, "Because thou hast died for
me, I will henceforth live for Thee." This was one of the earliest
triumphs of the Cross, in which Paul gloried, and of Him who died
thereon--dying for us all, that we who live should not henceforth live
unto ourselves but unto Him. In the presence of that memorable scene
we are called on for more than admiration or adoration, even for a
passionate devotion to Him who gave Himself up for us all.
It may be that some of His professed followers may again fail Him, and
that others will step in to do the service which He requires. In the
hour of darkness all His recognised disciples forsook him and fled; and
when the tragedy on Golgotha was over, it was not Peter, and James, and
John, and Andrew, who rendered Him the last service, but holy, humble
women, and Joseph and Nicodemus, who up till then had not been reckoned
as disciples at all. There are times in the history of the Church when
our Lord seems "_crucified afresh, and put to an open shame_," while
His so-called disciples remain silent and hidden. Superstition and sin
still join hands to put the Christ to death, to bury Him, and seal His
sepulchre. But secret disciples are meanwhile avowing themselves;
coming from the east, and the west, from the north, and from the south,
to fill up the vacant places, to do the needed services, and to rejoice
in a risen and glorified Lord. Better by far the doing of a simple act
of love to the Saviour who died for us--such as Joseph did--than loud
professions of loyalty, or accurate knowledge of creeds. Hear once
more the solemn words of Jesus: "_Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of My Father which is in heaven_."
"And that voice still soundeth on
From the centuries that are gone
To the centuries that shall be!
From all vain pomps and shows, from the pride that overflows,
From all the narrow rules and subtleties of Schools,
And the craft of tongue and pen:
Bewildered in its search, bewildered with the cry:
'Lo here, lo there, the Church!' poor, sad Humanity
Through all the dust and heat turns back with bleeding feet
By the weary road it came
Unto the simple thought by the Great Master taught,
And that remaineth still:
'Not he that repeateth the Name
But he that doeth the Will.'"