Beauty Costs So Much
Beauty Costs So Much: The Price of Public Faith
There's something profoundly moving about watching someone step out of the shadows and into the light. When fear finally gives way to courage, when secret devotion becomes public declaration, transformation happens—not just for the person making that step, but for everyone watching.
The story of Jesus's burial offers us one of Scripture's most compelling examples of this transformation. Two wealthy, influential men—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—had been following Jesus in secret. They were members of the Sanhedrin, the highest council of Jewish leadership. They had everything to lose: their positions, their wealth, their reputations, their businesses. Fear had kept them in the shadows, meeting with Jesus privately, learning from Him under cover of darkness.
But something changed after the crucifixion.
The Moment of Courage
When Jesus died, these two men did something remarkable. They went directly to Pilate, the Roman governor, and asked for Jesus's body. This wasn't a small request. This was a public declaration of allegiance to a man who had just been executed as a criminal. In that moment, they knew exactly what they were doing—and what it would cost them.
And the cost was substantial. Historically, both men lost everything. They were expelled from the Sanhedrin. Their businesses collapsed. The entire community turned against them. The beauty of their public faith came with an enormous price tag.
But they didn't stop with just claiming the body. They brought approximately 100 pounds of myrrh and aloe—perfumes and spices worth roughly $150,000 in today's money. They wrapped Jesus's body in fine linen cloths. Joseph offered his own newly hewn tomb, carved out of rock at great expense. This wasn't a pauper's burial. This was an extravagant display of love and respect.
The Fear That Holds Us Back
How many of us are still hiding in the shadows with our faith? We believe, but we haven't gone public. Maybe it's fear of what family will think. Perhaps it's concern about losing relationships, opportunities, or status. We know what following Jesus might cost us, so we keep our devotion quiet, tucked away where it's safe.
But here's the beautiful truth: God's timing is perfect. He doesn't guilt us into public faith before we're ready. The Spirit builds confidence in us until that moment arrives when we can step forward with conviction. For Joseph and Nicodemus, that moment came after the crucifixion. They had been discipled by Jesus, learning from Him, growing in understanding. And when the time was right, the Spirit moved in them with such compassion and conviction that fear no longer held them back.
When you finally step into that moment—when you ask for the body of Jesus Christ, so to speak, and declare publicly that you belong to Him—something powerful happens. God uses that declaration in mighty ways. Your public love of Jesus becomes more valuable than keeping Him secret ever could be.
The Promise of New Bodies
The care these men showed for Jesus's body points us toward a profound truth: our bodies matter to God. Not because these earthly bodies are eternal—they're not. This flesh is temporary, perishable, marked for decay. But God has promised us something infinitely better.
Scripture is clear about what awaits those who belong to Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await the Savior who will transform our humble bodies into conformity with His glorious body. We're going to get new schematics—a body designed for eternity, with no sin, no disease, no decay, no death.
Think about that for a moment. This body you're in right now, with all its aches and limitations, is like a seed planted in the ground. It goes in perishable, but it will be raised imperishable. It's sown in weakness but raised in power. It's sown a natural body but raised a spiritual body. We will bear the image of the heavenly, just as we have borne the image of the earthly.
The first Adam brought us death. The second Adam—Jesus Christ—brings us life. And what life it will be! A glorified existence where our volition is completely surrendered to the Father, where we never fight against His will again, where sin is finally and forever conquered.
Living in Light of Eternity
Understanding what's to come should change how we live today. We don't grieve like those who have no hope. When believers die, they're not gone—they're with the Lord, their souls protected until that day when God reunites soul and body in resurrection glory.
This hope should provoke us—not to anger or anxiety, but to action that honors God. It should move us to go public with our faith, to stop hiding our love for Jesus from family, friends, and coworkers. The reward and reciprocation of His affection, the confidence He gives when we claim Him publicly, is remarkable beyond measure.
The Cost of Beauty
Beauty costs so much. Those two men knew it. They poured out their wealth on Jesus's body, and they lost everything else in the process. But they gained something infinitely more valuable: they honored their Savior, they went public with their faith, and they became part of the greatest story ever told.
What is your public love of Jesus worth to you? What are you willing to pay to step out of the shadows and into the light? The cost may be high—relationships may change, opportunities may close, people may turn away. But the beauty of publicly following Christ, of declaring without shame that you belong to Him, is worth every price.
We're all moving toward that moment when this earthly tent is torn down. The question is: how will we live in the meantime? Will we hide our faith, keeping Jesus secret to avoid the cost? Or will we step forward with confidence, knowing that what He's promised is true and worth everything we might lose?
The body of Jesus didn't stay in that tomb. Three days later, He rose. And because He rose, we too will rise. That's the promise. That's the hope. That's why beauty—true, eternal, glorious beauty—costs so much.
It cost God His Son. It cost Jesus His life. It cost those two men everything they had.
What will it cost you?
There's something profoundly moving about watching someone step out of the shadows and into the light. When fear finally gives way to courage, when secret devotion becomes public declaration, transformation happens—not just for the person making that step, but for everyone watching.
The story of Jesus's burial offers us one of Scripture's most compelling examples of this transformation. Two wealthy, influential men—Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus—had been following Jesus in secret. They were members of the Sanhedrin, the highest council of Jewish leadership. They had everything to lose: their positions, their wealth, their reputations, their businesses. Fear had kept them in the shadows, meeting with Jesus privately, learning from Him under cover of darkness.
But something changed after the crucifixion.
The Moment of Courage
When Jesus died, these two men did something remarkable. They went directly to Pilate, the Roman governor, and asked for Jesus's body. This wasn't a small request. This was a public declaration of allegiance to a man who had just been executed as a criminal. In that moment, they knew exactly what they were doing—and what it would cost them.
And the cost was substantial. Historically, both men lost everything. They were expelled from the Sanhedrin. Their businesses collapsed. The entire community turned against them. The beauty of their public faith came with an enormous price tag.
But they didn't stop with just claiming the body. They brought approximately 100 pounds of myrrh and aloe—perfumes and spices worth roughly $150,000 in today's money. They wrapped Jesus's body in fine linen cloths. Joseph offered his own newly hewn tomb, carved out of rock at great expense. This wasn't a pauper's burial. This was an extravagant display of love and respect.
The Fear That Holds Us Back
How many of us are still hiding in the shadows with our faith? We believe, but we haven't gone public. Maybe it's fear of what family will think. Perhaps it's concern about losing relationships, opportunities, or status. We know what following Jesus might cost us, so we keep our devotion quiet, tucked away where it's safe.
But here's the beautiful truth: God's timing is perfect. He doesn't guilt us into public faith before we're ready. The Spirit builds confidence in us until that moment arrives when we can step forward with conviction. For Joseph and Nicodemus, that moment came after the crucifixion. They had been discipled by Jesus, learning from Him, growing in understanding. And when the time was right, the Spirit moved in them with such compassion and conviction that fear no longer held them back.
When you finally step into that moment—when you ask for the body of Jesus Christ, so to speak, and declare publicly that you belong to Him—something powerful happens. God uses that declaration in mighty ways. Your public love of Jesus becomes more valuable than keeping Him secret ever could be.
The Promise of New Bodies
The care these men showed for Jesus's body points us toward a profound truth: our bodies matter to God. Not because these earthly bodies are eternal—they're not. This flesh is temporary, perishable, marked for decay. But God has promised us something infinitely better.
Scripture is clear about what awaits those who belong to Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await the Savior who will transform our humble bodies into conformity with His glorious body. We're going to get new schematics—a body designed for eternity, with no sin, no disease, no decay, no death.
Think about that for a moment. This body you're in right now, with all its aches and limitations, is like a seed planted in the ground. It goes in perishable, but it will be raised imperishable. It's sown in weakness but raised in power. It's sown a natural body but raised a spiritual body. We will bear the image of the heavenly, just as we have borne the image of the earthly.
The first Adam brought us death. The second Adam—Jesus Christ—brings us life. And what life it will be! A glorified existence where our volition is completely surrendered to the Father, where we never fight against His will again, where sin is finally and forever conquered.
Living in Light of Eternity
Understanding what's to come should change how we live today. We don't grieve like those who have no hope. When believers die, they're not gone—they're with the Lord, their souls protected until that day when God reunites soul and body in resurrection glory.
This hope should provoke us—not to anger or anxiety, but to action that honors God. It should move us to go public with our faith, to stop hiding our love for Jesus from family, friends, and coworkers. The reward and reciprocation of His affection, the confidence He gives when we claim Him publicly, is remarkable beyond measure.
The Cost of Beauty
Beauty costs so much. Those two men knew it. They poured out their wealth on Jesus's body, and they lost everything else in the process. But they gained something infinitely more valuable: they honored their Savior, they went public with their faith, and they became part of the greatest story ever told.
What is your public love of Jesus worth to you? What are you willing to pay to step out of the shadows and into the light? The cost may be high—relationships may change, opportunities may close, people may turn away. But the beauty of publicly following Christ, of declaring without shame that you belong to Him, is worth every price.
We're all moving toward that moment when this earthly tent is torn down. The question is: how will we live in the meantime? Will we hide our faith, keeping Jesus secret to avoid the cost? Or will we step forward with confidence, knowing that what He's promised is true and worth everything we might lose?
The body of Jesus didn't stay in that tomb. Three days later, He rose. And because He rose, we too will rise. That's the promise. That's the hope. That's why beauty—true, eternal, glorious beauty—costs so much.
It cost God His Son. It cost Jesus His life. It cost those two men everything they had.
What will it cost you?
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