Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27)

Presentation: Hello everyone, my name is Jonathan Wils, I am a member of the Action Biblique de la Servette church in Geneva.

You are in church right now, on the subject of Joseph in the Bible. Patrice challenged me to tell you about one of the Josephs of the Bible: Joseph of Arimathea.

This man appears in the four gospels of the Bible. We will see together how the Bible speaks of him. We will see first what are the events related to his presence, and then what are the implications for us today.

Compared to the Gospels, each author: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John addresses different audiences, the authors themselves are different and they have different objectives in writing their letter. But gathered together, the four of them offer a complete testimony about Jesus Christ.

Let’s start with Joseph:

Mk 15.42 : In the evening, as it was the day of preparation, that is to say the eve of the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came. He was a prominent member of the council, who also looked forward to the kingdom of God.

Luke 23:50 : There was a member of the Sanhedrin named Joseph; a good and just man, he did not associate himself with the decision and actions of others. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, and he too was looking forward to the kingdom of God.

Jn 19.38 : After that, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus.

Putting the information together, we can say that his name is Joseph, he comes from Arimathea, a city of the Jews which is about 30 km northwest of Jerusalem. This city is known in the OT as Rama (Ramathaim, in Hebrew), the birthplace of Samuel (1 Sa 1.1).

Joseph arrives on Friday evening, the day of preparation for the Passover, the eve of the Sabbath which is Saturday. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man, a prominent member of the council, of the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was the supreme tribunal of Israel, a religious and political assembly, made up of 70 members as well as the one who presided, the high priest (Caiaphas). They exercised their power over all the internal affairs of the people.

Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, he was good and just, he did not associate himself with the decision and actions of other Jewish religious leaders to condemn Jesus and ask for his crucifixion before Pilate. He too was waiting for the Kingdom of God: he believed in the teachings of Jesus.

Joseph of Arimathea stands out from his peers in the Sanhedrin and will make a daring request.

Mk 15.43-45 : He dared to go to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate wondered that he was already dead; he summoned the officer and asked him if Jesus had been dead for a long time. Once informed by the officer, he had the body handed over to Joseph.

Luke 23:52 : He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Jn 19.38-39 : but in secret for fear of the Jewish leaders, asked Pilate permission to remove the body of Jesus. Pilate permitted him. So he came and took away the body of Jesus. Nicodemus, the man who had previously gone to Jesus by night, also came.

Joseph asks for the body of Jesus from Pilate. According to Roman law, bodies were returned to families who requested them.

We know that Mary was there at the time of the crucifixion. Jesus just before dying, entrusts the mission to John, to take care of his mother after his departure. In relation to the other brothers and sisters of Jesus, there is no mention of their presence in Jerusalem at that time.

As for his disciples, except John, they had all fled and abandoned Jesus, we find them locked up in a house on Sunday evening for fear of the Jewish leaders ( Jn 20.19 ).

In the absence of Jesus’ relatives, it was Joseph of Arimathea who had the courage to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body. In John it is mentioned that Nicodemus also accompanied him.

In the Gospel of John, fear of the Jewish leaders was an element that only grew during Jesus’ ministry:

John 7.13 : No one, however, spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jewish leaders .

John 9.22 (after the blind man was healed): His parents said this (to question their son themselves) because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders . Indeed, they had already decided to exclude from the synagogue whoever recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

John 12.42-43 : Yet even among the rulers many believed in him; but, because of the Pharisees, they did not declare it, for fear of being expelled from the synagogue . Indeed, they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.

In our account of Joseph, we also see that the two men come secretly to ask Pilate for the body for fear of the Jews. However, it is when the danger is greatest and when the cause of Jesus seems to have perished, that they find the courage to ask for his body to prepare a decent funeral for him. They want to honor Jesus above all else!

APP: I pause for a moment on what we have just read? I read again: Jn 12.42-43 they did not declare it, for fear of being expelled from the synagogue. Indeed, they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.

This verse challenged me and asks me this question again: in our lives, which look is most important to us? What others will think of me, or my desire to honor Christ above all else.

It is very easy to want to please men, to want to fit into a group or to conform to it. We like to be accepted, integrated and not want to be put aside. But we can also, by our actions or our words, distinguish ourselves from people by our desire to seek the glory of God.

For example in my work or at school, if my colleagues talk about subjects that do not honor God or if they make fun of people: am I going to laugh at what they say, is it that I will even accentuate even if it means slandering others to be well seen with men?

Am I ready to seek the glory of God more than men, even if it means being excluded not from the synagogue but from the circle of friends by my desire to honor God?

Even in the church, one may want to seek the approval of others more than wanting to honor God. For example in our motivations in what we do and why we do it?

We can even be led to hide what is happening in our lives, so that others do not have another look at us. We may always pray for others (which is great) but we don’t forget to pray for our own heart, we forget to examine ourselves, and we may be deceived by our sin, we forget repentance in our walk with the Lord and the desire to grow in holiness for him.

It is good to remember that we have value in the eyes of God, his people are the apple of his eye! It is liberating to remember that it is not necessary to want to prove anything vis-à-vis ourselves to others. If we belong to Christ, we can be proud of that.

Pilate handed over Jesus’ body after having had a Roman officer certify that Jesus was really dead. Once informed he allowed her to take it. By giving the body of Jesus, the Romans officially declared the death of Jesus.

Nicodemus and Joseph took the body and buried it.

Mk 15.46 : Joseph bought a linen sheet, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen sheet and laid him in a tomb hewn in the rock. Then he rolled a stone at the entrance of the tomb.

Luke 23:53-54 : He took him down from the cross, wrapped him in a linen sheet and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had yet been placed. It was the day of preparation for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was about to begin.

Jn 19.40-42 : He brought a mixture of about 30 kilos of myrrh and aloes. So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in bandages, with the spices, as is the custom of burying among the Jews. Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus had been crucified, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had yet been placed. It was there that they laid Jesus because it was the preparation for the Passover of the Jews and the tomb was near.

They wrapped Jesus’ body in a pure linen sheet (a white shroud). The various aromatics brought in was a show of love and was meant to combat the stench of rotting flesh.

They then laid Jesus in a new rock-hewn tomb (sepulchre), where no one had ever been placed. It is a burial fit for a king , Jesus is not buried in a common grave like the others crucified. Joseph of Arimathea had certainly prepared this tomb for himself after his death.

But in doing this, in putting Jesus back in his tomb, he fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah, a prophecy which describes the events of the cross centuries apart with incredible precision:

Is 53.6-9: We were all like lost sheep: each went his own way, and the Lord has laid our faults on him all. He was mistreated, he humiliated himself and did not open his mouth. Like a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse, like a sheep mute before those who shear it, he has not opened his mouth. He was removed under duress and under judgment, and in his generation who cared about his fate? Who cared that he was cast out of the land of the living, stricken because of the revolt of my people? They put his grave among the wicked, his grave with the rich , when he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth.

This is one of the aspects which shows the importance of the presence of Joseph of Arimathea in the Bible. He had been chosen by God, so that the tomb he had prepared for himself would come to his Saviour, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. He was faithful to God and wanted to honor Jesus, and we still talk about him today.

Then Joseph rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and departed. We will have no further mention of Joseph of Arimathea in the Scriptures after this.

In addition to the Romans who certify the authenticity of the death of Jesus. The Gospels also mention other witnesses of Jesus, at his death, at his burial and at his resurrection.

4 . Witnesses
Mt 27.61 : Mary of Magdala and the other Mary were there, seated opposite the tomb.

Mk 15.47 : Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses watched where Jesus was being laid.

Luke 23:55-56 : Women who had come from Galilee with Jesus accompanied Joseph. They saw the tomb and how Jesus’ body was laid there. Then they left and prepared spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath day they rested, as prescribed by law.

For John, it is only the day after the Sabbath, Sunday that Mary is mentioned.

Jn 20.1 : On Sunday, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb early in the morning.

The evangelists mention the names of Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joses (Jacques Son of Alphaeus also called James the Minor, one of the twelve disciples/apostle of Jesus) as eyewitnesses to the burial that Joseph and Nicodemus. They will later be the first witnesses of the empty tomb.

Here in a few words, the texts that mention Joseph of Arimathea in the four gospels of the Bible.

One of the questions we can ask ourselves now is what is the direction of the series of events that we have just seen on Joseph of Arimathea? We come to the implications for us.

II . Implications for us
I think Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in the four gospels, on the one hand to fulfill Isaiah 53.9 as we have just seen, to highlight the courage and fidelity of this man who dares to distinguish himself from his peers in the Sanhedrin to honor God.

I also think that these texts are also mentioned to emphasize to us, to attest to us and to certify that Jesus truly died on the cross, that he was then buried as we have just seen.

The question we must ask ourselves then is why did Jesus die?

A few days ago, the plumber came to our house to carry out a diagnosis. We talked to him about the fact that we were Christians and that we believed in Jesus as God made man who came to save us. He replied that he had respect for Jesus, that he loved his teachings and that we had to try to follow what he said in order to better live our life on this earth.

But then as a Christian, why shouldn’t we focus on the life and teachings of Jesus rather than his death? Couldn’t God just forgive us? Why did Jesus have to die?

To say that Jesus came to die is one thing; understanding why is the very essence of the gospel.

I will only mention a few reasons and one of them is mentioned by Caiaphas, the high priest at the time of Jesus’ ministry, he speaks words of which he cannot imagine the scope:

John 11:47-52 : Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together and said, “What shall we do? Indeed, this man does many miraculous signs. If we let him, everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and destroy both our city and our nation.” One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them: “You don’t understand a thing; you do not reflect that it is in our interest that one man die for the people and that the whole nation does not disappear.

Caiaphas states this out of political expediency, as if to say: “it is better for Jesus to die even without cause to preserve our status and the unity of the nation”.

The death of Jesus is described in a substitutive way (as if to mention a sacrifice).

V52: Now he does not say this of himself, but as he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was to die for the nation .

For Caiaphas, as for John, the death of Jesus will be substitutive; either Jesus dies or the nation dies. “If he dies, the nation lives. It’s his life in exchange for theirs.

Jesus dies for the Jewish nation, but not only for it, John continues to And it was not for the nation only, it was also in order to unite into one body the scattered children of God .

By his death, Jesus will unite in one body, one people, his Church: all those who believe in him. As we read to them in Is 53.6 : “We were all like lost sheep: each one went his own way, and the Lord laid our faults on him all.”

Jesus takes the place of the people to suffer the punishment they deserve for their sins. This is what is called in theology “penal substitution”, an author (Michael Barrett) defines it as follows: “ To substitute oneself for someone means to fulfill the latter’s duty in his place. By dying in my place, Christ fulfilled my obligation to die to pay the wages of my sin. This is the heart of the Gospel”.

The cross is not only a beautiful example of sacrificial love. Jesus’ death was absolutely necessary to save us.

All men have sinned, that is, failed to live up to the standards of God’s holy law.

John Stott said: “In its essence, sin characterizes man who substitutes himself for God, while salvation takes place when God substitutes himself for man. Man places himself in the place which belongs to God alone; God takes the place that belongs to man alone”.

Christ must come in order to set his people free from the bondage of sin and their inability to fulfill the law. He came to fulfill the law (// Mt 5.17 ).

“And he does not release it by changing the rules, but by obeying them for us and suffering the consequences of our disobedience” (Timothy Keller – the reason is for God).

Christ fulfilled the law for the benefit of those who put their faith in him. Those who do not continue to live for themselves and therefore remain under the condemnation of sin. The only hope for a man is to be united with Christ, covered by his blood.

God, in his grace, enforces the perfect obedience of Christ to all who put their trust in him, thus setting them free from death.

Jesus had to die to render death and its prince powerless to Heb 2:14-15: Since these children have the human condition in common, he himself also shared it, in a similar way. Thus, by his death, he was able to render impotent the one who exercised the power of death, that is to say the devil, and to free all those whose fear of death held their life in slavery.

Jesus did not stay in the tomb, he rose from the dead, he conquered death! He agreed to lay down his life to reverse the curse of sin, and to make the devil powerless.

Jesus Christ also had to die so that we could be forgiven and be declared righteous before God, reconciling us to the Father.

// 2 Cor 5.19-21 : Indeed, God was in Christ: he reconciled the world to himself by not charging men with their trespasses, and he put in us the word of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors for Christ, as if God were calling us through us. We plead in the name of Christ, “Be reconciled to God!” For he who knew no sin he made to become sin for us, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God forgave us in Christ, he himself assumed the cost of our faults and paid in our place so that the justice of Christ may be applied to us before God and thus be reconciled with the Father.

Here are some things mentioned to understand the reason and necessity of Jesus’ death for us.

All the benefits of salvation flow from the death of Christ and our union with him in his death and resurrection. This is why the Gospel changes everything! Note that this list is much longer…

Jesus had to die to save us, but he didn’t have to , being righteous and without blemish before God. He did all of this out of pure grace!

Faced with the hardness of life, with trials, with death, with injustices, with uncertainties, with ecology, with illness, with old age, with the purpose of my life on earth, we have a glorious hope in the present of a Father who is with us daily by his Spirit, of a perfect mediator in the person of Jesus who prays for us, and an eternal hope with him for eternity, without any more tears and injustice, but in a rest and complete joy with him.

What do I do with this invitation that he offers me by grace to be part of his family? If you haven’t already done so, I invite you to reflect on what Jesus did on the cross, to repent of this rebellion against him, to want to be your own God. He invites us to turn away from it to accept his forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Maybe you’re already a Christian, but you’re bored, discouraged, tired of hearing every Sunday that Christ died for my sin. We can so easily numb our hearts and forget the full scope and depth of Jesus’ death for us and its implications for our lives.

Over time if we do not meditate on his Word, we risk becoming hardened and living not to honor God, but for his interests, his comfort or for, as we saw at the beginning, to seek more the glory of men. than those of God.

I pray that these texts that we read this morning, may fill us with joy and adoration and may encourage us to live in his likeness until his return.