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Speaker 1: There is one body and one spirit, even as you

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Speaker 1: also were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord,

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Speaker 1: one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,

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Speaker 1: who is over all and through all and in us all.

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Speaker 1: Ephesians 4, 4-6 Dear Lord, Today I am mindful of

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Speaker 1: the sacrifice it took to redeem mankind. You forfeited the

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Speaker 1: throne and exchanged it for a cross, all so I

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Speaker 1: could be saved. That's a heavy truth that's not easy

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Speaker 1: to forget. Keep your cross on my mind all day today.

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Speaker 1: I want to feel the gravity of your work on

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Speaker 1: that hill. Let it affect me deeply today, so I

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Speaker 1: might fully experience Easter's joy. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank

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Speaker 1: you for praying with me today. You're listening to the

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Speaker 1: Jesus Podcast, sagas from the gospel told like never before.

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Speaker 1: Remain here to immerse yourself in the drama and wonder

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Speaker 1: of Christ's story. Follow this podcast on whatever platform you're

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Speaker 1: listening to. Doing so will keep you updated, but also

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Speaker 1: help us get discovered by more people. We want the

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Speaker 1: story of Jesus to be known throughout the world. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for making that possible. It was as if creation had

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Speaker 1: gone backwards. The light faded away, giving way to some

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Speaker 1: chaotic darkness that loomed over the void in the beginning.

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Speaker 1: The hearts of Christ's followers were losing faith, like the

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Speaker 1: faint heat radiating from forgotten coals. All of them had

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Speaker 1: scattered when Jesus was arrested. They all watched the death

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Speaker 1: of their hero from different angles, unable to move or

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Speaker 1: rescue him. The eleven disciples hid, fearing that they would

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Speaker 1: meet the same fate as their master. Judas, with his

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Speaker 1: purse of silver weighing heavy on his ravaged soul, hanged

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Speaker 1: himself over a canyon. All the faithful were gone, yet Jesus'

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Speaker 1: body remained. Their rabbis' tattered and broken remains still needed attention,

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Speaker 1: but none of the twelve were able to be there

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Speaker 1: with him. Jesus' body remained in the custody of Pilate

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Speaker 1: until a loved one claimed it.

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Speaker 2: Have you ever questioned your role in the community of God?

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Speaker 2: Have you ever felt like an outsider, wondering how you

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Speaker 2: could possibly contribute to the church or God's kingdom? You

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Speaker 2: aren't alone. But here's the good news. There's a place

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Speaker 2: for you in the family of God. Welcome to the

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Speaker 2: Jesus Podcast. Today is widely known in church history as

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Speaker 2: Holy Saturday, the dark day between Jesus' death and resurrection.

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Speaker 2: This was a confusing time for the disciples who had

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Speaker 2: just witnessed the death of their king and hero. Today

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Speaker 2: we dive into the often untold story of a man

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Speaker 2: named Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was one of the many

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Speaker 2: religious leaders who actually believed in Jesus. However, due to

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Speaker 2: fear and pressure, he remained silent about his faith. However,

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Speaker 2: he was able to honor Jesus in his death by

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Speaker 2: giving him a proper burial. As Joseph pays homage to Jesus,

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Speaker 2: another familiar figure emerges. This short story is packed with

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Speaker 2: a few kernels of wisdom for anyone who has wondered

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Speaker 2: about their place among God's people. Let's explore their story

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Speaker 2: together and learn from their regret and faith.

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Speaker 1: Torchlight illuminated an unlikely figure approaching the court of Pilate.

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Speaker 1: His blue-fringed robes and leather amulet suggested he was a Pharisee,

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Speaker 1: but he did not approach Pilate like one. His demeanor

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Speaker 1: was humble and broken, and there was a deep pain

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Speaker 1: behind his eyes.

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Speaker 3: Honorable Pilate, my name is Joseph of Arimathea, and I

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Speaker 3: have come seeking a favor on behalf of Jesus of Nazareth.

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Speaker 1: Pilate's conscience had been tormented since giving up the so-called

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Speaker 1: King of the Jews. Something about him compelled him, although

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Speaker 1: he couldn't quite describe it. And the events that followed

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Speaker 1: his death certainly added to this intrigue. The skies shut

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Speaker 1: out the sun, the earth shook, and the veil in

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Speaker 1: the temple cut straight through the middle. There were even

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Speaker 1: rumors of people witnessing their dead loved ones walking among

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Speaker 1: the living. Pilate was compelled to give whatever Joseph wanted.

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Speaker 4: What is your request?

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Speaker 1: Pilate asked, feigning passivity.

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Speaker 3: I would like to give him a proper burial, according

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Speaker 3: to our customs. It is only right that he receive

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Speaker 3: a proper burial.

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Speaker 1: Joseph replied.

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Speaker 3: I have a gravesite secured. All I need is the body.

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Speaker 4: There is nothing right about what happened to Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Pilate thought to himself. He looked down at Joseph and

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Speaker 1: gestured to his leather amulet.

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Speaker 4: The Jewish rulers are afraid his followers may steal the body.

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Speaker 4: Your robes suggest you are one of them. This wouldn't

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Speaker 4: be a ploy to steal his body before they do,

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Speaker 4: would it?

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Speaker 1: Joseph bowed his head to Pilate.

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Speaker 3: No, Your Excellency. No, I... I just.

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Speaker 1: Joseph bowed his head to Pilate. The words were caught

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Speaker 1: in his throat. His shoulders began to feel the weight

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Speaker 1: of his grief. Joseph was a rich and influential man

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Speaker 1: and followed the rabbi from Nazareth from afar. He hid

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Speaker 1: his devotion out of fear and deeply regretted it. Joseph

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Speaker 1: thought if he could somehow pay Jesus this last respect,

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Speaker 1: it might atone for his cowardice.

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Speaker 3: I just want to honor him. I... I didn't honor

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Speaker 3: him in life, so perhaps I can in death.

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Speaker 1: Pilate looked away, doing his best to remain apathetic. Very well,

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Speaker 1: he said, clearing his throat. I will grant your request.

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Speaker 1: Go to the crucifixion site with my seal. My men

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Speaker 1: will let you have the body. But be advised, the

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Speaker 1: Jewish rulers will want guards by his grave. Joseph gave

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Speaker 1: a final bow and left with a letter sealed by Pilate.

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Speaker 1: He held it tightly and rounded the path to the

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Speaker 1: mount where Jesus had been crucified. Joseph followed the blood-stained

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Speaker 1: rocks leading up the hill called Skull. Flashes of his

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Speaker 1: brutal death came rushing back into his memory. He wished

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Speaker 1: he had jumped to help. He wished he had said

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Speaker 1: something to the Sanhedrin before they persecuted him. He could

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Speaker 1: have done something, but instead he chose to remain silent.

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Speaker 3: How could I have been so faithless, so afraid?

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Speaker 1: Joseph thought to himself. He was not the only one.

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Speaker 1: Even Jesus' closest followers were unable to move to his aid.

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Speaker 1: Now they were all paralyzed, suspended somewhere between regret and confusion.

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Speaker 1: Joseph of Arimathea arrived at the peak of the mountain.

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Speaker 1: Blood and water soaked the floor beneath the cross. In shock,

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Speaker 1: Joseph placed a hand on his mouth when he saw Jesus'

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Speaker 1: lifeless body cradled in burlap. Joseph gestured to the soldiers

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Speaker 1: and placed Pilate's note in the hand of the centurion

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Speaker 1: in charge.

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Speaker 3: I have come to give him a burial according to

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Speaker 3: our customs, he said.

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Speaker 1: The centurion looked over at Jesus' body and pursed his lips.

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Speaker 1: That man was not of this world, he said, pondering

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Speaker 1: whether he could open up to Joseph or not.

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Speaker 3: Truly, he was the Son of God.

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Speaker 1: The words were surprising to hear from a centurion. But

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Speaker 1: then again Joseph was a member of the Jewish council.

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Speaker 1: Both of them should have been Jesus' enemies. Yet they

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Speaker 1: both found themselves unable to deny who he was. Joseph

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Speaker 1: approached the body with his servants. Before he could kneel down,

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Speaker 1: another unlikely person made his way up the hill The

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Speaker 1: man wore the same amulet and blue-fringed robe as Joseph.

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Speaker 1: He was a member of the Jewish council, a ruler

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Speaker 1: in his own right, and a renowned Pharisee, Nicodemus. Nicodemus

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Speaker 1: was another secret follower of Jesus. Ever since his meeting

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Speaker 1: with him, Nicodemus was compelled that Jesus was who he

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Speaker 1: said he was. Nicodemus was not as wealthy as Joseph

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Speaker 1: of Arimathea, but he had come to pay his respects

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Speaker 1: to Jesus' body. He appeared with an offering of myrrh

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Speaker 1: and aloe. The offering was slung over his back, weighing

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Speaker 1: over 75 pounds. To Nicodemus, it was his alabaster flask,

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Speaker 1: his cross to carry. It was an offering to set

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Speaker 1: at the feet of the God he should have recognized

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Speaker 1: from the beginning. Nicodemus was also a Pharisee and a

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Speaker 1: member of the Jewish council. He wore the same robes

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Speaker 1: as Joseph and the same shame, the shame of losing

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Speaker 1: faith when it mattered most. and gaining it when it

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Speaker 1: seemed pointless. The two men knelt down and carried his

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Speaker 1: body to the tomb Joseph had purchased. It was a

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Speaker 1: large grave hewn on the side of a cliff near Golgotha.

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Speaker 1: Around the grave was a well-kept garden an array of

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Speaker 1: flowers blossomed along the path leading to the entrance. Together,

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Speaker 1: the two men carefully tended to their lord's body. They

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Speaker 1: cleaned his wounds and meticulously wrapped every inch of his

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Speaker 1: body according to the law. His linen grave clothes had

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Speaker 1: been mixed with spices and the fragrant smell of myrrh

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Speaker 1: filled the air around them. They crouched down and carried

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Speaker 1: his body gently into the tomb, where a bed was

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Speaker 1: made from stone and wood, a fitting burial for a

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Speaker 1: stonemason and carpenter. A large circular stone was next to

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Speaker 1: the grave. The men and their servants pushed the front

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Speaker 1: of the entrance with great labor and sorrowful effort. Guards

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Speaker 1: were charged to stand near the tomb. they would report

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Speaker 1: anything suspicious to the chief priest and Pilate. Yet no

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Speaker 1: stone or guard could thwart what would happen in that

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Speaker 1: grave just a few days later.

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Speaker 2: I want you to listen to these words spoken by

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Speaker 2: Paul in Ephesians 4, 15-16. Rather speaking the truth in love,

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Speaker 2: we are to grow up in every way into him

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Speaker 2: who is the head, into Christ. from whom the whole body,

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Speaker 2: joined and held together by every joint with which it

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Speaker 2: is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the

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Speaker 2: body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Now,

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Speaker 2: you may be wondering what this has to do with

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Speaker 2: the burial of Jesus. Here's the kernel of wisdom that

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Speaker 2: we can find in this story. Our theme for today's

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Speaker 2: episode is tender care towards the body of Christ. There's

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Speaker 2: profound imagery in this story. Joseph and Nicodemus put a

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Speaker 2: great deal of respect, love, and resource into the burial

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Speaker 2: of Jesus. Although people shamed him in his death as

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Speaker 2: he hung on a cross, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus

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Speaker 2: assured that he got a respectable burial. They tended to

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Speaker 2: his body meticulously, out of reverence and worship. And this

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Speaker 2: is an image of what you and I are called

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Speaker 2: to do with the body of Christ, the church. The

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Speaker 2: Bible describes the church as the body of Christ, consisting

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Speaker 2: of many members with different functions. The type of tender

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Speaker 2: love and care that Joseph and Nicodemus had for Jesus'

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Speaker 2: body is the same tender love and care that we're

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Speaker 2: supposed to give one another as fellow members of the

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Speaker 2: body of Christ, the church, the community of God. Paul

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Speaker 2: continues with his metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12 when he

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Speaker 2: says this, For just as the body is one and

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Speaker 2: has many members, and all the members of the body

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Speaker 2: through many are one body, so it is with Christ.

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Speaker 2: For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body,

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Speaker 2: Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, we're all made to

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Speaker 2: drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist

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Speaker 2: of one member, but many. If the foot should say,

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Speaker 2: because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body,

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Speaker 2: that would not make it any less a part of

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Speaker 2: the body. And if the ear should say, because I'm

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Speaker 2: not an eye, I do not belong to the body,

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Speaker 2: that would not make it any less part of the body.

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Speaker 2: If the whole body were an eye, where would be

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Speaker 2: the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear,

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Speaker 2: where would be the sense of smell? But as it is,

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Speaker 2: God arranged the members in the body, each one of

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Speaker 2: them as he chose. If all were a single member,

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Speaker 2: where would the body be? As it is, there are

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Speaker 2: many parts, yet one body. Now you are the body

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Speaker 2: of Christ and individually members of it. Here are two

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Speaker 2: encouraging truths for you. One, you are a vital and

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Speaker 2: important and unique member of the body of Christ. Not

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Speaker 2: only are you necessary with all of your quirks and

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Speaker 2: unique gifts, but you serve a specific function that nobody

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Speaker 2: else can. Wishing you have the same gifts or skills

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Speaker 2: as somebody else is a waste of your time and

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Speaker 2: the God-given talent within you. God has made you unique

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Speaker 2: and crafted you for a purpose. The unique and authentic you,

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Speaker 2: submitted to the Spirit of God, can accomplish great things.

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Speaker 2: Be encouraged by that. The second thing here is that

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Speaker 2: you're a part of something greater than yourself, and that

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Speaker 2: gives us a lot of purpose. There's a body of

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Speaker 2: Christ moving and marching towards a greater thing. Don't neglect

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Speaker 2: that community. Listen, I get it. Church can be weird,

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Speaker 2: and the people in church can be weird. The community

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Speaker 2: of God can be messy and broken, judgmental at times.

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Speaker 2: But Christ died for all of us. We're all face-planting

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Speaker 2: through this life, stumbling upwards towards our Savior. To not

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Speaker 2: go to church because it's filled with hypocrites and sinners

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Speaker 2: is basically saying, well, I'm sick and I need to

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Speaker 2: go to a hospital, but there's a lot of sick

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Speaker 2: people there. It's a place for sick people. It doesn't

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Speaker 2: really make sense. The church is for hypocrites, but we're

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Speaker 2: all hypocrites, aren't we? So, let's dive in. Joseph of

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Speaker 2: Arimathea and Nicodemus cared for the body of Christ. They

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Speaker 2: gave his body special time and attention. Even in the

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Speaker 2: midst of doubt, confusion, and grief, they were faithful. And

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Speaker 2: that's our call. We are all called to care for

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Speaker 2: the body of Christ with the same tenderness and love

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Speaker 2: that Joseph and Nicodemus did. Easter is just one day away,

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Speaker 2: and the resurrection of Christ is upon us. However, for

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Speaker 2: the disciples, it was a dark day. They were scattered, afraid,

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Speaker 2: and without hope. Do you feel this way? Do you

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Speaker 2: feel aimless, confused, or frightened? Find care in the presence

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Speaker 2: of God's people this Easter. And join us for one

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Speaker 2: final day through Passion Week, following Jesus out of the

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Speaker 2: grave and into the light. And for more inspiration and

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Speaker 2: knowledge to last a lifetime, be sure to