Holy Chutzpah – Joseph of Arimathea

Holy Chutzpah – Joseph of Arimathea.

“There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character. He had not gone along with the plans and actions of the Council. His hometown was the Jewish village of Arimathea. He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Taking the body of Jesus down from the Cross, Joseph wrapped Him in a linen shroud and placed Him in a tomb chiseled into a rock, a tomb never yet used.” (Luke 23:50-53; also refer to Matthew 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, and John 19:38-42).

Chutzpah (hoots-pah) is a Yiddish word that long ago entered English usage. It is from the Hebrew word, “hutspah,” which means insolent or audacious. Chutzpah is a neutral word that can be either positive or negative. Chutzpah can be righteous or unrighteous, holy or unholy. It is an idea difficult to define, so there are a lot of synonyms for it, especially in the biblical sense: spiritual audacity; brazen gall; tenacious stubbornness; headstrong persistence; outrageous guts; shameless nerve; feisty assertiveness; brazen impudence; unyielding boldness; courageous spine; expectant defiance. The Holy Scriptures, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, are overflowing with examples of holy chutzpah. One wonders not only if it’s a job requirement for saints and prophets, but also a faith requirement for all believers. In fact, God seems to love chutzpah in us when it is based on our ultimate trust in Him and His character, our unselfish motives, our yearning for justice and mercy. Chutzpah in front of others becomes holy when it is done in obedience to the Lord and is an outworking of our faith in Him. As Rabbi Schulweiss once said, “Spiritual audacity toward God finds a place of honor in Jewish religious thought.” The rabbis of old have always insisted that chutzpah is a valid expression of faith. Just a quick glimpse at the Gospels reveals that Jesus and His followers fully embraced the ancient Jewish ethic of holy chutzpah. When Jesus saw chutzpah in action, He usually said things like, “Great is your faith!” Maybe Christian scholar Dr. Brad Young said it best. “True faith requires bold perseverance. Sometimes it is expressed by brazen impudence. Faith can be defined as chutzpah. Persevere with unyielding tenacity.” (Brad Young, Jesus the Jewish Theologian).

Joseph of Arimathea has officially been considered a saint in the Christian church ever since it began, and it’s easy to see why he has been so honored down through the centuries.  He seemed to come from out of nowhere and at great risk to himself took over the burial process for Jesus’ dead body. He took the lifeless body of Jesus off the Cross, which was arduous to say the least; he wrapped the corpse of Christ in a new linen shroud; he offered a new tomb, intended for him, to bury Jesus; with Nicodemus he covered the dead body with spices according to Jewish burial practices; and then he personally rolled that huge stone in front of the tomb to secure it and seal the door of the tomb. This whole burial process took a lot of planning, energy, and self-sacrifice. And it also took a lot of holy chutzpah.

After being a secret follower of Jesus, Joseph rose to the occasion and gathered the boldness to bury the Lord. First of all, he had the gall and the nerve to personally ask Pilate for Jesus’ body. That was sheer audacity on Joseph’s part, because he didn’t know how Pilate was going to react to his request. After all, Jesus was a condemned criminal, an enemy of the State, someone who was executed for claiming to be a king. Would Pilate wonder if Joseph was a sympathizer in Christ’s failed insurrection? Would Pilate consider Joseph to be another rebel of Rome who won’t submit to the Emperor, maybe even one of those rabble-rousing Jewish zealots? It took a lot of courage to approach Pilate and ask a Roman governor for the dead body of a Roman enemy. Joseph had no idea how Pilate would respond.

Joseph had another major worry on his hands. He didn’t know how his colleagues on the Sanhedrin would respond to Joseph following a noted blasphemer and burying an executed man. The High Council was extremely hostile to this man Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah. During the hearing with Jesus, they even beat him up with their fists and spit on him! And they were even now beginning to put together plans to chase down all the believers in Jesus. How would this hateful group react to one of their own who wanted to give a proper burial to a condemned blasphemer and violator of the Torah? How would they react to one of their own honoring a condemned man who was executed for his crimes? With this bold act, the secret was out, Joseph is indeed a believer in Jesus, and now would the council treat Joseph the same way they treated Jesus? It was against Jewish law to give an honorable burial to an executed man. According to the law, an executed man was to be given a “disgraceful” burial. Joseph was violating Jewish law by burying Jesus. What would the Sanhedrin think of that? Joseph would certainly be expelled from the Sanhedrin in disgrace, he would be soundly rejected in the Temple. He would probably lose his sterling reputation and be shunned by the religious community. Joseph was accepting all these possibilities as he buried Jesus.

Joseph showed a lot of holy chutzpah, and so did his fellow believer on the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus. Remember, Nicodemus met with Jesus at night to privately discuss the thoughts and opinions of this man Jesus who was causing such a stir(John 3). And it was Nicodemus who advocated for Jesus in front of the Sanhedrin when they were trying to arrest Him early in His ministry (John 7). So Nicodemus became a secret follower of Jesus, just like Joseph, so it makes sense that those two in particular would prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Nicodemus honored the Lord by bringing over 75 pounds of spices for Christ’s body, an extravagant gesture of love for Christ. Because of Joseph and Nicodemus, Jesus’ body was laid on a luxurious and fragrant bed of spices fit for a king.

Joseph had an impeccable reputation in the community. He was known as a “good and just man,” and one translator even said that Joseph was a “tzaddik,” a high accolade that means someone who was especially righteous. He was willing to give that all up to care for Jesus at His death and burial. Joseph was willing to sacrifice everything, including his own tomb, to show his reverence for the Lord. Joseph earned his status as a saint, without a doubt.

There were many fascinating legends that grew up around Joseph later after his death. He was purported to be the founder of Christianity in Britain, and its first bishop. He was the guardian of the Holy Grail, bringing it with him when he went to Britain as its first missionary. It was even said that Joseph was an uncle of mother Mary. An interesting legend comes out of Glastonbury, England, where Joseph’s walking stick was said to have grown roots, budded and blossomed into a thorn bush there. This same bush is now said to be thriving still there in Glastonbury, even after many attempts to chop it down or destroy it. That bush continues to thrive. Evidently there is only one other place where this particular species of thorn bush is said to exist… Israel. How about that? It looks like that thorn bush in Glastonbury has the same chutzpah as its original owner!