Carved In Stone

He had money to burn, but he had learned,
How quickly the world can fall apart.
Cause his wealth couldn’t buy, one day of life,
For the teacher he followed from afar.
Though Jesus promised He would rise again,
Joseph took His body down, and buried Him.
And I guess he gave up hope.  But then,

Chorus:
It was carved in stone
When the stone was rolled away.
It was carved in stone
As Easter dawned that day.
Death lost it’s hold,
And God wrote, “Jesus saves”
On an empty grave,
It was carved in stone.

Seems like I have been there, where grief and fear
Have threatened to make me lose my faith.
When it’s hard to believe, I get down on my knees,
And pray I make it through some way.
And when I think that I have reached the end,
There’s a garden just outside Jerusalem,
Where my breaking heart can see again.

Bridge:
It’s as certain as the solid rock of ages,
When I need hope, how firm is its foundation!

This ballad from Legacy Five’s, Hero’s Of The Faith, project, brings a character into the Easter story that we don’t hear much about.  Joseph of Arimathea.  Here is a great reminder in song that no matter what we face, the risen Savior is always there for us!

Mark 15:43 and 46 – “Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus…and he bought fine linen, and took him down and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher.”

Joseph:
Joseph, he was a man on a mission, wasn’t he?  Though his Master just died, he wasn’t running in fear like all the other disciples.  Instead, he had the audacity to go to PILATE and ask for the body of Jesus!  Surely, he could’ve gotten in a lot of trouble for being associated with Christ…yet it didn’t seem to make that big of a difference.  Joseph buried Him like a King.  He bought fine linen and laid Him in a new tomb.  Legacy Five’s song mentions that his money couldn’t buy his Master life, so we see him honoring the Lord in His death.  Though it was only temporary, and Joseph missed the resurrection promise like so many others, we can’t help but admire how brave he was considering the circumstances.  Joseph could’ve lost everything, his position and maybe even his life for following Christ – but he did it anyway.

The Savior:
I like the contrast in the second verse, where, as Joseph grieved for his Master, there are losses in our lives we grieve for also.  Trials come that really rock our foundation, yet, because there is an empty grave in Jerusalem we have hope.  Christ did something no one else could do – He paid the debt of sin and defeated the chains of death, He can not get us through anything that breaks our hearts?  Or the things that seem impossible to get through?  A very meaningful line from that verse is, “And when I think that I have reached the end, there’s a garden just outside Jerusalem, where my breaking heart can see again…” What a joy to know that we serve a living Savior who cares for us!