People37

Jn 19:38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.

It is not easy to stand out from the crowd. In fact when you are in the minority it is often very difficult and you can face ridicule and rejection. Standing up for the truth, when everyone else is going in the opposite direction can be both difficult and even dangerous, yet that is what we are faced with when we come across the references to Joseph of Arimathea – and he only appears in a few verses.

Joseph of Arimathea, although appearing in few verses, appears in all four Gospels. Jesus has just died in the middle of the afternoon, and Matthew tells us when this occurred: “As evening approached.” (v.57a). Each of them in slightly different words, tell us what John tells us in our verse above, that he “asked Pilate for the body of Jesus,” and that Pilate gave permission for him to take it. It is Mark who tells us that, “Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.” (Mk 15:44 ,45) i.e. the handover had not be straight forward, for Pilate had had to check with the centurion who was overseeing the crucifixions that Jesus had actually died. It must have taken some courage for Joseph to have gone to Pilate which is why Mark records, “went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body.” (Mk 15:43). Now our reason for saying that comes from all else we find out about Joseph.

Let's consider what the accounts tell us about Joseph. Matthew tells us that he was “a rich man from Arimathea ….. who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.” (Mt 27:57) Luke simply adds that Arimathea was a town in Judea. It is thought that it was a small town about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem. So he's not a Galilean; he's a southerner. Mark tells us that Joseph was, “a prominent member of the Council.” (Mk 15:43). Luke confirms he was a member of the council, the Sanhedrin.

We have already noted that Matthew identifies him as a man who had “become a disciple of Jesus,” (Mt 27:57) as we see above John does. Both Luke and Mark describe him as a man who was “waiting for the kingdom of God ” (Mk 15:43 , Lk 23:51 ). Luke also describes him as a “good and upright man,” (Lk 23:50 ) and Luke also adds, in respect of the council's decision to act against Jesus, that he “had not consented to their decision and action.” ( Lk 23:51)

Thus we see that Joseph was a highly respected member of the Sanhedrin who had obviously encountered Jesus, had become a follower, and was looking for the rule of God to come, and wasn't afraid to stand out in disagreement with the rest of the Council, and now came to perform a simple service for Jesus after he was dead.

What was that service? Matthew tells us that, “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”( Mt 27:58-60). Mark confirms this as does Luke. Instead of allowing the body to simply be put in a criminal's grave, Joseph wants to give Jesus a proper burial and so uses his own new tomb that had never been used before. It is interesting that Joseph's original home was some twenty miles away from Jerusalem but he clearly now lives in or near Jerusalem and already has a tomb carved out for his own future use, in the surrounding area.

So what have we found out about Joseph? He is wealthy, a follower of Jesus, a prominent public figure, a member of the Council, but not afraid to go against the flow and disagree with them when they determine to do something he considers wrong, and not afraid to go to Pilate for the body of one considered a criminal. What stands out in all this? He is not afraid to stand out for Jesus (even when he considers Jesus dead). He is willing to risk reputation and, perhaps, even his position on the Council. What a challenge! How many of us keep quiet when we are in the minority and someone with a large mouth is denigrating Jesus or Christians generally? I always quake at God's words to the old priest, Eli, “Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.” (1 Sam 2:30) We have been warned!