Joseph of Arimathea and the Resurrection
Preamble
All four Gospels relate how a Joseph of Arimathea requested the body of Jesus from Pilate. These passages are very exciting for an apologist but it takes some interesting detective work to see why. I contend that before Jesus' resurrection, Joseph was a marginal 'disciple' of Jesus (Mt. 27:57; Jn 19:38a--perhaps meaning no more than he was intrigued by his teachings) but that after Jesus' resurrection he became a bona fide disciple. The truth of this would attest to the reality of the resurrection!
Does it make sense for a Roman ruler to hand over a body of a crucified man?
Writing ca. 200 AD, Ulpian states that the victims of capital punishment are not to be refused to their relatives and Paulus adds that they should not be refused to any who seek burial for them. However, Eusebius (
EH 5.1.61-62) relates how the martyrs of Lyons were displayed for six days and then burned to ashes. Suetonius reports that Augustus refused burial to many in the wake of the fall of Sejanus (31 AD). There is also the evidence of Petronis who writes in Nero's time about a soldier in Ephesus who neglected his duty to guard the bodies of the crucified; when they were secretly buried the soldier feared severe punishment. It is true that Pilate would not have wanted someone convicted of being king of the Jews to be considered a hero, but it is also true that he thought Jesus innocent and suspected that some of the Jewish authorities were jealous of Jesus (Mk 15:10).
Mark
Mark begins with a time indication (15:42): "And, it being
already evening,
since it was preparation day, that is, the day before Sabbath..." Mark is referring to the time Jesus died (3 p.m.--the ninth hour) but before sunset (since it was still Friday, the preparation day--recall the Jewish day begins at sunset). I have italicized the words in the previous passage to highlight the urgency of the scene. According to Jewish Law (Deut 21:22-23): "If there shall be against someone a crime judged worthy of death, and he be put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for cursed of God is the one hanged." Also, given that the next day was a holy day (Sabbath), this would have intensified the Jewish outrage of such a profanity (having Jesus remain on the cross). So,
if a Jew requested the body of Jesus, it need not signify that he was a family member or a disciple; it need only signify that he was eager to fulfill Jewish, that is, God's Law.
Mark continues the scene thus: "...having come Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the council, who also himself was looking forward to the kingdom of God, having boldness he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." Notice that Mark does not claim that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. He tells us he was from Arimathea (Lk calls 'a city of the Jews'--meaning in Judea). Arithathea (Rentis or Ramallah?) was not in Galilee and since this is the first mention of Joseph in any gospel, it appears Joseph was not a disciple who came from Galilee with Jesus.
Mark tells us that Joseph was a respected council member (Sanhedrin). Recall that the 'whole Sanhedrin' (but see 14:63-64) sought testimony to put Jesus to death (14:55) and gave Jesus over to Pilate (15:1). Mark also states that Joseph was awaiting for the kingdom of God. Perhaps he was akin to the scribe who was not far from the Kingdom of God in Mk 12:28-34. Luke also says this and he could have wanted the readers to think of Simeon in Lk 2:25.
Finally, Mark states that it took courage for Joseph to go to Pilate. This would make sense too if Joseph feared he would be considered a sympathizer of a would-be-king but what would have saved him was that he was a member of the group that asked for Jesus' death.
Further Evidence
Now, Pilate would not have been thrilled to hand over Jesus' body to a bona fide disciple. John, who like Matthew calls Joseph a disciple, states that Joseph was a hidden disciple because of fear of the Jews (Jn 19:38a). This point indicates that Joseph was a marginal disciple and that is why Mark and Luke fail to mention that he was a disciple--because they did not know? In Luke, we are told that Joseph disagreed with the decision and course of action of the Sanhedrin (but did he do so secretly?). Other indication that Joseph was not a bona fide disciple are that while he was burying Jesus, no Gospel tells that there was any cooperation between Joseph and the women followers who were present (see Mk 15:47). Also, Mark tells us that Joseph took Jesus' body down (Mk 15:46) which agrees with Acts 13:27-29 which says that "
they [the Jews] took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb."
Matthew adds that Joseph was a rich man which may add plausibility in that Pilate may not have wished to offend a man of high standing. It also indicates that Joseph could own a new tomb (Mt 27:60).
There are also other clues to our picture. In Mark, Joseph bought a linen cloth (
sidon--same as the young man in Mk 14:51-52) and tied up Jesus and put him in a burial place hewn out of the rock (Isa 22:16). This action seems to be the bare minimum (only Mt adds that the cloth was clean and white and no Gospel tells us that Joseph washed the body). Joseph does not bring spices--
the women have to do this.
It should be noted that Joseph's tomb was new (no one was yet laid there--Lk 23:53; Jn 19:41). This adds the apologetic that the empty tomb meant that it was Jesus who was raised. Also, was are told the Jesus' women followers saw where Joseph placed the body. So, they knew when they came back that the tomb was Jesus'. Notice also that the women are concerned about fulfilling the Law (Ex 20:8-10).
Nicodemus
In John, we are told that Nicodemus helped Joseph and brought 100 pounds (remember Judas' complaint about one pound of myrrh (myron) in Jn 12:3-5) of spices (aroma), being a mixture of myrrh (smyrrh) and aloes (aloe). But notice that it was not Joseph who brought these (dry) spices.It should be pointed out that Nicodemus (only mentioned in Jn) too was probably a marginal disciple. We were told earlier that he was a Pharisee, a teacher of Israel who came to Jesus at night (Jn 3:10) and who later disagreed with fellow Sanhedrists concerning a technicality in the Law (Jn 7:50-52). However, we are not told that Nicodemus was a disciple and Jesus seems to criticize his type (Jn 12:42-43). His offering of spices is perhaps symbolic of messianic abundance or the reality of Jesus' burial; Josephus (
War 1.33.9 #673;
Ant 17.8.3 #199) tells us that five hundred servants were needed to carry the spices at the burial of Herod the Great. (The kings of Judah were buried in garden tombs [2 Kings 21:18, 26] just as Jesus was buried in a garden [Jn 19:41].
Conclusions
It would seem then that Joseph of Arimathea probably buried Jesus because he was sympathetic to his teachings (which explains why it was
he who made sure Jesus was buried according to Jewish Law). Later, after the resurrection, Joseph became a bona fide disciple and that is why his name was remembered and why Matthew and John call him a disciple.
Theological Upshot
Not only is this story of apologetic value but I think John wants us not to be like Joseph and Nicodemus but to be daylight disciples. The resurrection ensures this. It is the bedrock of Christianity!
