Easter, the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is coming up on March 31. It is now officially Easter season.
Some Alabama folks on social media are using that platform to blast out an Easter message, but they’re using a different approach – humor. Sometimes humor can deliver a serious message.
The wording of the meme may not be understandable by folks who did not go to Sunday School and who have not studied the Bible.
It says:
Pontius Pilate: “Joseph I really don’t understand. You’re one of the richest men in the region, and you’ve spent a small fortune on a new tomb for you and your family, and you want to give it to this man Jesus?”
Joseph: “It’s just for the weekend.”
Most Christians will immediately “get” the joke and its un-joking meaning. Those unfamiliar with the Bible and these passages may not get it and may need the joke explained.
Here goes.
The Easter meme references Biblical passages about the most significant event in the history of the world – the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. After Jesus voluntarily gave up his own life on a Roman cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all who believe in Him, something needed to be done with his earthly body.
A follower of Christ stepped forward and asked to take the body of Christ, offering his own tomb. It was Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Hebrew Sanhedrin. A high official in the Jewish nation. A wealthy man. Yet, Joseph had encountered Jesus of Nazareth and had accepted Him.
Joseph of Arimathea persuaded the Roman authorities to give him the body of Jesus for burial in his family tomb.
All this is scriptural. The wording of the meme about the dialogue between Pontius Pilot and Joseph is apocryphal but plausible.
In the meme, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who had released the robber Barrabas but kept Jesus of Nazareth for crucifixion (hanging on a tree with cross tie) questions Joseph of Arimathea about why he is giving his expensive family tomb to “this man Jesus.”
Joseph replied (in the meme): “It’s just for the weekend.”
Bible students will at this point “get it” and be tickled by the reply. Jesus did indeed need the tomb only for the weekend. He was executed on what we now have named “Good Friday.” He stayed in the tomb the rest of Friday and all day Saturday. He arose from the dead and left the tomb on what we now have named “Easter Sunday.” Just for the weekend.
No, the “just for the weekend” words are not in the Bible. But it is Biblically accurate.
The meme gets the point across.
Will some folks read the meme on social media, think about its underlying meaning, and be led to accept Jesus Christ as their own personal savior? If so, the funny meme accomplished a serious purpose. The most serious of purposes.
Jim Zeigler is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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