Lowered

Jesus uttered His last words and yielded up His spirit. By suffering on the cross, Jesus had paid the penalty we owe to God for our wrongdoings. With His body still on the cross and the Sabbath about to begin, two men performed a last act of service for Jesus before His resurrection. Joseph of Arimathea was a well-to-do, righteous man, a high-standing member of the Jewish Council, and a secret disciple of Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who had sought Jesus out at night to talk to Him.

Joseph boldly obtained permission from Pilate to remove Jesus’ body form the cross and had purchased a linen cloth in which to wrap it. (Matthew 15:43-46) Nicodemus had gone out and bought a generous supply – over a hundred pounds (an amount typically used for a royal burial) – of myrrh and aloes. (John 19:39) Together they wrapped Jesus’ body with strips intermixed with the spices (the Jewish custom). These acts were done out of love for Jesus and the desire to honor and worship Him.

What would it have been like to listen to their conversation as they worked in the garden in the approaching darkness? (Or did they work in hasty silence for fear of the Jewish authorities?) As we often do when someone dies, did they share memories of Jesus, their reactions to His teaching and His miracles, and the events of Jesus’ last days? (I can just hear Nicodemus saying, “He told me things I had never heard before…”).

As Joseph and Nicodemus laid Jesus in Joseph’s new tomb, did they suspect that Jesus would not lay there very long? Did they believe that Jesus was who He said He was: God’s own Son? Did they fathom what Jesus had done for them: accomplished redemption for their sins? (And yours and mine!) Let us think on Jesus’ act of love for us as Good Friday and Easter draw near.

Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him (Jesus) down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock… Mark 15:46


When Joseph of Arimathea lowered Jesus’ body down from the cross, I imagine that he did it slowly and carefully. This is just how you should lower anything - be it a hand-held weight, a package, or your body – to get the most benefit to strengthen your muscles. Let me explain.

Let’s say you are holding a weight and want to do a bicep curl (bending and straightening your arms). As you bring the weight upward, you use the biceps muscles on the upper front of your arm. Those muscles have to work to overcome the downward pull of gravity. Lowering the weight is easier because gravity is pulling it downward. But, if you lower the dumbbell (or whatever weight you are using) slowly, you are also doing work to resist that pull of gravity. The muscle at work here is the triceps on the back of the upper arm. (In my classes I refer to them as the “troublesome triceps.”)

So in one exercise you can strengthen two muscles – the biceps and the triceps. That’s because our muscles act in pairs: one lifts and the other lowers. The same idea applies to other exercises, such as leg lifts, hamstring curls, knee extensions, push-ups, and squats. You can click on those exercises to see how they are done.

One way to pace yourself would be to count to three as you lift (or push yourself up for a push-up), pause and hold for two counts, and then count to six as you lower. Remember to breathe the entire time! Maintain correct alignment and engage the muscles of your core. Be sure to check with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program to make sure these are safe for you.

With time at a premium, why not do two things at once? Lower slowly and carefully to double the benefit of your exercise time investment. The result will be length and strength!

Photo credits: Creative Commons.org