The Death that Changed Everything

By Pastor Chad

Read: Matthew 27:57-66

Have you ever had a life-changing experience? Probably one of the most profound life-changing experiences for me was when my first child, Micah, was born. The shift in my mindset was almost instant. I went from a care-free, newly married 20 year old to a worrywart overnight. Now I had a young one to care for. Now I had to make sure he was raised in a stable, healthy environment. Now communal roots and thoughtful-planning were needed to ensure he grew up in a place that was not only loving and safe, but an environment that was best for his spiritual and mental well-being. This shift started the day we learned Holly was pregnant and culminated the moment of his birth. Kids change things for the better, but children drastically change one’s life. 

Ever had a profound spiritual change happen in your life? If you are a Christian, then you certainly have. Joseph of Arimathea was secretly a believer in Jesus’ Messianic claims, but as a member of the Sanhedrin, it seems he kept his beliefs to himself–until, that is, Jesus’ death. Jesus’ death changed Joseph. Matthew 27:57-60 records the change. Matthew writes,

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 

I’ve often wondered what Pilate asked Joseph upon his request. You? Why do you want Him? What does He mean to you? Was it not your fellow Sanhedrin comrades that campaigned for His death? After Jesus’ death, Joseph no longer seemed to care about the consequences. His inhibitions had been doused and he was willing to honor Christ by laying him in Joseph’s own family tomb. 

The death of Jesus changes people. Of course, Jesus is the most influential person that has ever lived. No one else impacts lives like He does. No one has ever impacted the world like He has. Jesus’ transforming power, however, isn’t just at the macro-level. His effect at the macro-level comes because of His significance at the micro-level. He has changed the world because He has changed individual lives. 

Today we remember the death that changed the world; however, we also remember His death changes people’s personal lives. His death still impacts people today. His death still channels all of human history. His death changed everything. 

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Prayer: Heavenly Father, may the death that redeemed my soul continue to mold my soul into the image of Your Son. May the impact of His death continue until the day I see Him.