John 19:38-39
The cross of Christ is for coming out. For everything one might know about Jesus...even believe about Jesus...when it comes to the fact of the cross, you cannot remain silent. All other truths and stories and miracles may be good for soul food, but the cross strikes us differently. The cross was a public display of Christ's passion for us, forcing you and I to convey a public display of our passion for Him. The cross is for coming out.
Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple...until the cross. He came out, conveying publicly his passion for Christ by asking for the body for burial.
Nicodemus, "who earlier had come to Jesus by night," came with Joseph. They may have been nervous, but they were together and they were now public. The cross is for coming out.
The cross is not for ornamentation. The cross for emancipation. The cross is not for deliberation. The cross is for publication. The cross is not for speculation, or information, or hesitation. The cross is for transformation.
The cross is for coming out. Let's be living illustrations of the cross today!
