We read in Acts 4:32, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” (ESV)
One of the key reasons for the tremendous growth of the early church was that the people had a change of heart from being a self-centered to being selfless. All of them willingly gave up what was theirs, and no one claimed anything to be their own.
The main purpose and function of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is that our hearts be changed to become like that of our Lord Jesus. It is therefore essential, that those of us who claim to be filled and anointed with the Holy Spirit should become selfless as Jesus was, and be willing to let go of all those things that make us self-seeking.
God the Father gave His only begotten Son
We read in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”(NKJV).
God’s immense love for humanity is what prompted Him to give ‘His only begotten Son’. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of Love. God the Father did not just stop with simply saying He loves us so much, but displayed it by willingly sacrificing His Son for us. When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, the voice of the Father in heaven attested it with these word “this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 (NKJV). However, when Jesus was in agony on the cross and cried out to His Father “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” Matthew 27:46 (NKJV) there was no answer from heaven; the reason was that God the Father had willingly made the ultimate sacrifice in giving of His only Son for the sins of the world. There was no greater act of love that could be performed to demonstrate the exceedingly great love of God for all of us.
The Good Samaritan gave
If we study the parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus shared in Luke 10:25-37, we will realize all that the Samaritan gave up in order to bless the wounded Jew. Samaritans and Jews never mingled with each other and also had no dealings whatsoever with one another. The Samaritan was probably going on his donkey to carry out his own work, but when he saw a Jewish man wounded and in trouble, he didn’t for a moment think about withholding, but was willing to give all he had – the oil, the wine, his own donkey, his time, energy and even change the direction of his travel to get the bruised man safely to the inn. Notice how he also gave the inn keeper money to take care of him. The love and compassion he had was so genuine, that he willingly gave up all that was his, to help a man whom his community disliked and considered as worthless.
More blessed to give than to receive
Let’s see what Jesus Himself said about this in Acts 20:35, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (ESV)
“‘It is more blessed [and brings greater joy] to give than to receive.’” (AMP)
It might be a great feeling to receive, but if we were to compare between receiving and giving to see which is better, the word of God is clear-cut; it is indeed far more blessed to give than to receive, because it is only in giving that we receive greater joy. So, instead of constantly requesting for prayers for ourselves, expecting everyone to love us and always waiting for others to give to us, we should start looking to see how we can pray, love and bless others around us who are in far greater need. We must make a conscious decision to become loving and generous givers.
It’s only when we have God’s Spirit of love in our hearts, that we too will be transformed into a selfless and generous people. When our hearts become willing to give to others, the Lord will change us from being a self-centered people to those who genuinely care about others around us. Often we have gotten so used to receiving all the time, that it has become quite difficult to tune our minds to think how we can bless someone else. However, it is important that we consider all the ways we can to go out and bless others in need.
Joseph of Arimathea gave inconspicuously
Matthew 27:59-60, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock. After he rolled a large stone at the door of the tomb, he went away.”(CEB)
All four Gospels record this incident about Joseph of Arimathea, who played a vital role in the burial of Jesus. We pick up various important points about Joseph from the four Gospel accounts. Joseph of Arimathea it says, placed the body of Jesus in the tomb that he had kept prepared for himself, rolled a large stone at the entrance of the tomb and then went away. We never hear about Joseph after this incident. However, this selfless act of Joseph was taken note of by God, and recorded in all four Gospels, reminding us that whatever is given selflessly is taken note of by our Father in Heaven.
Many people seek recognition and praise for every little act of kindness and generosity, but we must remember that whatever we give to others, be it our love, our time, our energy, our finances, resources or whatever else it may be, the Lord is surely observing and taking note of it.
In Isaiah 53:9 it says, “They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.” (NET)
Isaiah had prophesied nearly 700 years ago, about the fact that a rich man would give up his tomb for Jesus to be buried. The intention of the Romans and Jewish leaders who crucified Jesus was to make Jesus look a criminal, and that’s why they even hung him on a cross between two criminals. However, God had prepared the heart of a man named Joseph, who was instrumental in preventing them from carrying out this devious plan and giving Jesus a respectful burial in his own new tomb.
Who was this Joseph?
In Matthew 27:57, it is recorded that, “In the evening a rich man named Joseph arrived. He was from the city of Arimathea and had become a disciple of Jesus.” (GW)
Mark 15:43, “Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent and respected member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God.” (AMP)
Luke 23:50, “Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council. He was a good and righteous man.”(CEB)
John 19:38, “Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities.” (CEB)
From the above mentioned verses in the four Gospels, we ascertain that Joseph was a rich man. He was a good and righteous man, and was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one. Joseph was also a prominent and respected member of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin or Council was the highest judicial body which comprised of 71 Jewish leaders. So, Joseph being a member of this Sanhedrin, held a key and prominent place.
Being a member of the Sanhedrin meant that Joseph was well versed with the Old Testament Scriptures. The purpose of the Sanhedrin was to determine the time of the coming of the Messiah and they also awaited the coming of the Kingdom of God. However, over time, they were so engrossed in their traditions and positions that they forgot the very purpose of their existence. Joseph was probably a motivated and hard-working man to have been elected to be part of the Sanhedrin. The fact that he had a new tomb reserved for his own burial, points to the evidence that he had given forethought even to matters pertaining to his death.
Joseph had apparently seen and heard about Jesus, and that is why he had become His disciple. However, he was probably so caught up with his position as a leader of the Sanhedrin, and also in another place it says, ‘he was afraid of the Jews’ that he decided to stay a secret disciple of Jesus.
In 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.” (WEB)
Something happened to Joseph when he witnessed the cruel and painfully agonizing death of Jesus on the cross. Suddenly his love for Jesus overcame the fear and self that had gripped him all along.
In Mark 15:43, it says, “He boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body.”(WEB). The man who was believing Jesus in secret, went boldly to Pilate and asked him to hand over the body of Jesus to him.
Many people are still living in fear of their families and relatives that they refuse to take a stand to follow Jesus. As long as we are not consumed by love for the Lord Jesus, we will continue to live, and be gripped by every kind of fear. Only when we experience the love of Jesus in a real way we will not fear, but be filled with courage.
Joseph set aside his traditions
Matthew 27:59, says, “Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,” (WEB).
Being a devout Jew and also a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph was bound by tradition. For a Jew to touch the body of a dead person would have made him defiled. Jesus became so important to Joseph that the traditions no longer seem to make any sense to him that he was willing to personally take the body of Jesus, wrap it with his own hands and place it in his own tomb.
When we like Joseph can understand and comprehend the magnitude of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, only then will we step out and be willing to a lay aside all our traditions that hold us back from being true followers of Jesus.
Joseph gave sacrificially
In Matthew 27:60 we read, “He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock.” Joseph who was holding back all along was now willing to lay it all down for Jesus. His self, his position and his prominence meant nothing. He had come to a point where he was willing to give up for Jesus the very tomb that he had prepared and kept for himself.
The Lord is calling us to become givers like Joseph was. Some of us are scared that if we give to others, we will lose what we have. But the opposite is true. We should remember the parable of the rich fool, who thought he could keep storing up a lot for himself, and finally lost his soul. The Lord referred to him as ‘a fool’ because he was so self-centered that he gained worldly wealth, but forfeited his own soul.
We can give our love, time, money, energy, concern and prayers for other around us. When we give more of our time to the Lord, His word and work we will find everything else will fall into place. We must also die to ourselves, and constantly remind ourselves that as long as we are self-seeking we cannot seek the things of God, nor can we accomplish anything meaningful for the Lord.
The early church was in constant anticipation of the second coming of the Lord Jesus. They often prayed and said ‘Maranatha’ which means ‘come Lord Jesus’. Only when we live with the same expectation and eagerness of Christ’s return will we be able to lead selfless lives. When we do so will we hold on to those things that will really matter to the Lord, and not be engrossed in the temporary material things of this world. It does not mean that we live a monastic life, we do need family, finance, place to stay and other things, but our mind and heart will not be only set on these things the whole time. Our desire will be to be a true givers and always seek to be a blessing to others around us. Let us seek earnestly to be perfected in the love of God.
In Matthew 7: 24-27 Jesus spoke about two houses. Both houses looked alike, but one was built on rock, and the other on sand. The real test was when the storm came. The house on the sand was destroyed, but the one on the rock stood firm. Jesus admonishes us to be wise and be those who build on the rock – we do so only when we listen to the word, and put it into practice. Let’s decide to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Let us on the basis of this passage decide to give up our self-seeking and selfishness, and sincerely seek to be generous givers who will truly be a blessing to others.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
