Years ago in Oceanside, CA, I preached a Sunday sermon talking about Joseph of Arimathea. It captivated my heart and imagination thinking about being the one who carried Jesus’ body off the cross. Consider that Joseph was not only a member of the Sanhedrin but also a believer in Jesus as Messiah. What a dramatic and deep emotional conflict must have been going on in his heart. Carrying the body of the one you believed would restore Israel to a global power and bring justice back to the land. Now he’s dead and your taking his bloody, beaten, and dead body off of a cross. The cruelest of executions.
Later, after the resurrection, Joseph must have looked back and realized that he had carried and embalmed Jesus’ body only to know that Christ was no longer dead. That He had risen from the grave and now was Joseph’s savior. “I carried his body, and now he carries me.” To me that is deeply dramatic and powerful.
Sheet Music: 05 I Carried His Body
Chord Sheet: 05 I Carried His Body
Song:
