According to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Joseph of Arimathea was the man who took down the body of Jesus from the cross after he was crucified and then buried him in a tomb. A close examination of each Gospel below reveals that Joseph was a rich man from the town of Arimathea who at some point became a disciple of Jesus. This was in spite of the fact he was a respected member of the very Council that sought for the crucifixion of Jesus. Joseph is described as a good and upright man who did not agree with the Council’s decision regarding Jesus.
The Bible says Joseph went boldly to Pilate after the death of Jesus and asked for his body. After receiving Pilate’s permission, Joseph, along with the help of Nicodemus, took the body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen cloth, and placed it in a new tomb cut in the rock. After the burial of Jesus the Bible makes no more reference to Joseph of Arimathea.
Joseph of Arimathea in the Four Gospels
(Mathew 27:57-60) As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 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.
(Mark 15:43-46) Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 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. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
(Luke 23:50-53) Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
(John 19:38-42) Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
Follow THE BIBLE ANSWER on Facebook and Instagram!
