IDENTIFYING WITH JESUS?

Memorise:
That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death.
Philippians 3:10
Read: John 19:38-42
38 And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a
disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the
Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away
the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He
came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the
first came to Jesus by night, and brought a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred
pound weight.
40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound
it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner
of the Jews is to bury.
41 Now in the place where he was crucified there
was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre,
wherein was never man yet laid.
42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the
Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh
at hand.
Message
From the beginning of the New Testament
Church, identifying with Jesus takes dogged
determination. Jesus Himself said it in Mark 8:34:
“And when he had called the people unto him with
his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me.”
In the above passage, Jesus Christ demands total
commitment from His followers. Whoever will not
totally put himself under the Lordship of Christ
does not belong to him. John 8:31-32 says:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him, if ye continued in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free.”
Identifying with Jesus is identifying with the Word
from above. In the Bible reading for today, we
read about two secret disciples, Joseph of
Arimathaea and Nicodemus who came forward to
claim the body of Jesus for burial. This is
noteworthy, because it must have taken very
important personalities to go to the governor to
demand the body of a ‘condemned criminal’. On
the other hand, it must have taken someone who
did not only love the so-called criminal but also
believed in his innocence, to go through the
trouble of asking for Christ’s body and burying it.
Identifying with Jesus has to do with believing
and living by His ideals. Many so-called born-
again Christians have become so nominal that
the Word of God is of no effect to their lives any
more. Some pastors have tuned the Christian
faith to a mere vocation. One wonders whether
they mean to go to the same heaven that
apostles like Paul worked hard for. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said to his disciples:
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me
before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the
world would love his own; but because ye are not
of the world but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you.”
John 15:18-19
Therefore beloved, let us take the yoke of Jesus
Christ upon ourselves with all seriousness and
steadfastness. We will all make it to heaven in
Jesus’ name.
Action Point:
Decide to follow Jesus all the way in spite of the
hostility of the world around you.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 1:1-2:12 and
Proverbs 4:32-15:10
AUTHOR: Pastor E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 13: WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE
1. Wonderful story of love;
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love;
Wake the immortal strain!
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, oh, won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love.
Chorus:
Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful, wonderful story of love.
2. Wonderful story of love;
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love;
Still He doth call today;
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal-bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation,
Wonderful story of love. [Refrain]
Chorus:
3. Wonderful story of love;
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love;
For all the pure and blest,
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus
Wonderful story of love. [Refrain]
Chorus.