By Brad Aycock, First United Methodist Church of Sikeston

Today is Good Friday - the day upon which Christ was crucified.

From 9am until 3pm, Jesus hung on the cross.

At 3pm, he died.

The Romans routinely left the bodies of the victims of crucifixion hanging on the cross for several days. At times they would not permit a proper burial of the victims.

But Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and influential Jewish leader, asked Pilate for permission to bury Jesus properly and permission was granted. Joseph had been a secret follower of Jesus up to this point, afraid of what would happen if the other Jewish leaders discovered his interest in following Jesus.

Now, Joseph risked everything to publicly identify himself as a follower of Jesus.