If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. Deuteronomy 21:22-23a
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea - two Pharisees made known to us by their interaction with Jesus. They must have know the Scriptures. Any man hung on a tree is under God's curse. After the death of Jesus, these men hurried to take His body from the cross; they hurried to bury him. The Sabbath was coming. But the curse was already apparent.
I wonder what they thought. This man - this great prophet who spoke with authority, who cast out demons, healing the sick and raising the dead, was now a marked man - cursed by God Himself. How could it be that this man who told Nicodemus that God sent His Son, not to condemn the world but to save it, was now dead - hung on a tree - cursed by God? How awful it must have been. Everything they had come to believe no longer made sense.
The truth was: Jesus would rise again in three days.
Lord, there are times in my life that nothing makes sense. Like Nicodemus and Joseph, my head is left spinning. What is true? What in the world are You thinking? How could it be that Your hand is at work? Will I ever see Your kingdom lived out in my world - in my life?
I don't understand what You have in mind. In my twenties, I thought I knew. In my thirties, I realized I hadn't a clue. In my forties, I just want what You do.
Be glorified Father. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear.