Okay. So I just made up that title. But I don’t know what else to call stories of people in the Bible.

Say, for example, that you want to understand more about Joseph of Arimathea. You hear that name around Easter. (Or in yesterday’s post).

1. Go to Biblegateway.com. In the search field, enter “Joseph Arimathea”

You’ll see three links, one from Matthew, one from Mark and one from John.

2. As you read just these three paragraphs, you see interesting things. Joseph’s rich. He became a disciple, but discretely. He was a member of the Council. He was waiting for the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate to get the body of Jesus.

3. That starts some threads of thought. This is a man of influence. This is a person who struggled to balance what other people thought of him with what he knew he needed. This is a person who didn’t act randomly, thoughtlessly. This is a man who could handle himself in social and political situations.

So what would make a man like that risk all of that for a dead body?

Think through how his Council membership would have given him connections to Pilate. Consider the political and religious tension in the streets of Jerusalem late in the afternoon of the day that a noted teacher with a significant following was killed.

4. Now, follow each of the links to the parts of Matthew, Mark and John that have the story. Read each of them. Think through the questions above.

5. Walk away from the keyboard, from the Bible, from paper. Spend a couple days looking for Joseph, in the news, in your circle of friends. Who do you know who is successful, part of the Jesus skeptics, and yet quietly following? Consider their tensions.

6. Now, tell us about Joseph.