I wish you a peaceful, restful Holy Saturday. That’s what today is often called in the Church calendar, this day between the cross and the empty tomb. It’s the day between Good Friday and Easter, a day often marked by quiet, rest, and peace.  

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I don’t think the first Holy Saturday had much quiet, rest, or peace, even though it was the Jewish Sabbath. Instead, it was probably full of fear, unease, questions, anger, possibly hope, and maybe even some unkind words shared between the disciples (can you imagine Peter’s outbursts on Holy Saturday?). Can you imagine what the other disciples, or Jesus’ family thought?

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What about lesser-known people like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus?

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We don’t know much of Joseph or Nicodemus. We know that Joseph was a rich man from a town in Judea called Arimathea. We know he was a member of the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council comprised of 71 religious leaders), and that he had some influence with Pilate. We know that he was a secret disciple, one who had not risked his reputation to publicly follow Jesus.

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We know that Nicodemus was also a rich member of the Sanhedrin. He was also a secret disciple. In John 3, he came to Jesus at night, when Jesus talked to him about being born again, and told him the famous truth in John 3:16. In John 7:50-51, he publicly defended Jesus.  

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We also know that both of them sacrificed their time, their money, their reputation, and their social standing in order to honor Jesus during Easter. The disciples were nowhere to be seen. So, Joseph publicly requested Jesus’ body from Pilate, retrieved it from the cross, and laid it in his own, unused tomb. He was a rich man, but this was an expensive sacrifice, worth many years’ wages. He gave up his secret devotion in exchange for probable public condemnation. And he touched a dead body, which would make him ceremonially unclean for 7 days.

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From John 19:39, we know that Nicodemus helped Joseph and gave an extravagant amount of spices to preserve Jesus’ body. He used 75 pounds of spices, when a normal amount was much less than that. His public, expensive gift honored Jesus like royalty, but also cost him his social and political reputation. Like Joseph, by touching Jesus’ body, he would also be made ceremonially unclean.  

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In both cases, God turned their sacrifice into something sacred.  

What can you sacrifice this Easter? Like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, can you sacrifice your time, your money, your reputation, or your social standing in order to honor Jesus during Easter? Can you sacrifice your time to serve at ACF? Can you sacrifice your reputation by telling someone about Jesus? Can you sacrifice your finances by giving through ACF?  

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Here’s an example you might want to consider. Can you give some amount – five dollars? Twenty? – directly to someone who might need it more – a person on the street, the person behind you at Jitters, or the person at the grocery store? I encourage you to take that money and spend it on someone else. When you do, tell them about Easter, tell them about ACF, or tell them about Jesus. Then pray – pray that God will make your sacrifice sacred.