Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in all four gospels, but
we hardly ever mention him in our churches.
Joseph of Arimathea was a
rich man. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling Council. In fact
the Bible tells us that he was a prominent
member of the Council. He was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in
Judea.
He was a good man, a
righteous man. He made sure that all his business dealings were straightforward
and above board. He paid his workers fairly. If he gave his word, you could
rely on it. If he shook hands on a business deal, you knew he wouldn’t go back
on it, you could rely on it as if it was a written contract.
And he was
waiting for the kingdom of God. He was looking forward to the coming of the
Messiah: the one sent from God who would put everything right; the one who
would establish truth and righteousness; the one who would put the worship of
Yahweh, the one true God, back at the heart of the life of Israel; the one who
rid of the country of the hated Romans and establish Israel again as an
independent nation, answerable to no-one but God alone.
So when Jesus appeared and
started proclaiming: “The kingdom of God is at hand!” and teaching and healing
people, Joseph was immediately curious. He started going to listen to Jesus
when he was teaching in the Temple grounds. But so he wouldn’t draw attention
to himself, Joseph took off his fine linen robes, and put on the rough woollen
cloak of a worker. He ruffled up his hair and beard, and did his best to look
like an ordinary working man. And he hung around at the back of the crowd.
Joseph soon became convinced
that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, that he was the Son of God. That, in fact,
Jesus was something even more: that in some way, that Joseph couldn’t quite
fathom, Jesus was actually God. That although God ruled and reigned from
heaven, that although God’s presence filled the earth, in some strange way
God’s presence was concentrated in this teacher and miracle worker from
Galilee. So that when Jesus said something, or did something, it was as if God
in heaven was doing it or saying it.
So Joseph became a follower
of Jesus. But he kept it quiet from the other members of the Council. It wasn’t
that he was afraid of telling them. It was just, well, it was just that he
didn’t want them to think that he was a fanatic, that he was mixing with the
rabble that were supporting Jesus, that he was becoming an extremist. So he
didn’t tell them.
And every time the Council
discussed what to do with this trouble-maker Jesus, Joseph bit his lip. If
pushed, he would agree with the wise old Gamaliel and say, “Do nothing. If this
man is truly from God, then we can’t stop him. If he’s not from God, then it will
all fizzle out.”
Somehow he discovered that
Nicodemus was secretly following Jesus too. Nicodemus was the teacher who had
gone to Jesus at night-time because he was afraid of what the other leading
Jews would think. He was the one who Jesus had told, “You must be born again!”
Now there two of them on the Council who were disciples of Jesus.
Nicodemus never thought that
it would come to the Council plotting to kill Jesus. Of course, they had spoken
about getting rid of Jesus, but Nicodemus had thought it was all hot air. That
none of them would ever really follow through. But a lot of these men really
hated Jesus. They hated his popularity with the people. They hated the way he
showed up their hypocrisy and wickedness. They thought that if Jesus rocked the
boat with the Romans, and if the Romans clamped down on them, they would lose
their positions of power and influence.
And so the plot to kill Jesus
began. Joseph couldn’t agree with it. But he kept quiet about being a disciple
of Jesus. And so the plan was hatched to pay Judas to betray Jesus, to have
Jesus arrested and brought before the Council for trial. And for the death
penalty to be decreed. Jesus was dragged before the Council on trumped up
charges and dodgy witnesses were paid to give false evidence that Jesus had
blasphemed against God. And when it came to voting about what to do with Jesus,
Joseph didn’t agree to the death penalty. But he still kept quiet about being a
disciple of Jesus. Even then, he didn’t really think that Jesus would be killed.
After all, they needed the Roman governor to give approval to an execution, and
surely he wouldn’t approve of a non-violent religious leader being put to
death. And after all, Jesus was the Messiah: surely he couldn’t die before he
had finished his work of liberating God’s people.
But Pilate, the governor, did
agree to Jesus being executed. Jesus was dragged off by the Roman soldiers,
beaten and humiliated, mocked and insulted, and forced to carry the cross beam
to the execution place. Then Jesus was nailed to the cross and suffered the
torment and agony of a Roman crucifixion. By then, almost all of Jesus’
disciples had made themselves scarce. Only the women remained; they were looked
upon by the soldiers as posing no threat and were allowed to stand near the
cross. So they waited and watched the cruel agony of Jesus’ death.
Finally, Jesus gave up his
spirit and died. News reached Joseph in his house in the city. He was
surprised. No he was shocked. First of all he hadn’t really expected Jesus to
be executed. And secondly, he was surprised at how quickly Jesus had died.
Usually crucifixion was long drawn out exceedingly painful death.
At last, Joseph was spurred
into action. He was hugely deflated that the man he thought was the Messiah
should end his mission in humiliation and failure. But he was angry – angry
that his fellow Jews should so easily despatch an innocent man to his death,
angry that the Romans with their reputation for justice could so easily collude
with the Jewish leaders. And angry with himself for giving in to his fear and not
speaking out for Jesus. So he determined to do something. The least he could do
was to make sure that the man had a decent burial. He was done with secrecy: he
didn’t care now who knew that he was a
follower of Jesus. So he boldly marched up to the governor’s palace and
demanded to speak with Pilate. “I want to take away Jesus’ body and bury it.”
“What? Is he dead already?” Pilate checked with his commander that Jesus was
indeed dead and then gave permission for Joseph to take away Jesus’ body and
bury it.
So Joseph found his friend
Nicodemus and the two of them went and took Jesus’ body and carried it and put
it in Joseph’s tomb. Joseph was a rich man and he had had a tomb made ready for
when he died. It was cut out of the rock in a garden on the edge of Jerusalem
city. The tomb had never been used before and so they laid Jesus’ body in it,
wrapped in a linen cloth. Then the two of them rolled the large round entrance
stone in front of the entrance, so the body would be secure. It was Friday
evening, just before the start of the Sabbath. Two of the women, Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of Jesus, followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb. They
saw exactly where the tomb was and then went away to prepare spices. The next
day was the Sabbath, when they would rest as the Law of Moses said, and they
would come back early on the Sunday morning to embalm Jesus body.
And now it was Sunday
morning. And news reached Joseph’s home that the tomb was empty! Jesus’ body
was gone! And what’s more the women – Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
Jesus – were insisting that Jesus had come to life gain, that they had seen him
alive!
What was he to think? Could
it be true that Jesus really had come back to life? Could it be true that Jesus
really was the Messiah? That he really was God, and that death could not rule
over him? Could it be true that Joseph still had the opportunity to follow
Jesus, to be known as his disciple, that he had not after all blown everything
through his fear and stupidity.
And it did indeed turn out to
be true. Jesus was raised to life. He was seen by the woman in the garden. He
passed through locked doors to visit most of the eleven disciples in Jerusalem
(I say, eleven because Judas was no longer with them) and made himself known to the two disciples
on the road to Emmaus. In fact Jesus appeared to many of the disciples over a
period of forty days before he ascended into heaven. It may be that Joseph
himself encountered the risen Lord Jesus. Whether he did or not, one thing was
for sure. Joseph had got it right when he put his trust in Jesus. And he was
able to live the rest of his days unashamed about being a disciple of Jesus,
confident that when he died he too, like Jesus, would be raised to life again
and would spend eternity worshipping and serving his Saviour.
Bible
passages
-
Matthew 27:57-61
- Mark 15:42-47
- Luke 23:50-56
- John 19:38-42
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