Apr 29 Devotion: Living Expectantly

42).  And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43).  Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.  44).  And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.  45).  And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.  46).  And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone onto the door of the sepulchre.

                                     MARK 15:42-46 (KJV)

.After the crucifixion, a wealthy Jewish leader named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Jesus’ body (SEE MARK 15:43). Not only did Joseph understand the risk of requesting Rome’s permission to bury a criminal convicted of treason; he also knew his reputation and status in the religious community would be jeopardized. Why did he have the courage to come forward while the Lord’s closest friends stepped back in fear? The reason is that Joseph had been living expectantly, on the lookout for God.

Christ’s sacrifice changes everything—it affects both our eternal destination and daily life, allowing us to live with a sense of hope and anticipation. Yet sometimes we don’t recognize God’s presence and fail to live expectantly in “the already but not yet.”

Consider Peter, John, and the women who saw the empty tomb. Though Jesus had told them what to expect, they didn’t anticipate His death. Their shock and disbelief tell us clearly what they had thought would happen. Like them, we must remember that where Jesus appears, how He thinks, and what He says may not always be what we expect.

Without Christ’s sacrifice, there would be no hope. Though it may not be easy to live expectantly between present and future realities, it’s the best approach to the Christian life.

-IBC