Joseph of Arimathea

A secret convert to Christianity claimed the body of Jesus after His crucifixion. He laid it to rest in the tomb he had prepared for himself. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy Israelite who had secretly become a follower of Christ. According to the gospel of Mark, Joseph was “a respected member of the Sanhedrin, who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God.” He did not take part in the condemnation of Jesus, nor did he speak against it.

Following the arrest of Jesus, the situation in Jerusalem was tense. Jewish leaders were calling for the execution of this person who claimed to be the Messiah. But Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, was reluctant to sentence Jesus to death.

To mark the Jewish festival of Passover, Pilate offered to pardon one prisoner, giving the Jews a choice between Jesus and a wicked thug, thief, arsonist, and murderer named Barabbas. Pilate was shocked by their choice and washed his hands to indicate the innocence of Jesus. “Let His blood be upon us” the irate crowd replied. Many followers of Christ, like the Apostles and Joseph of Arimathea, did not dare to confront the angry mob.

Overwhelmed by shame at his cowardice after the Crucifixion, Joseph went to Pilate and requested to take possession of the body of Jesus. He proceeded to Golgotha to take Jesus down from the cross. According to the gospel of John, he and Nicodemus took the corpse and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (myrrh and aloes) that Nicodemus had brought. Luke states that the women who had come from Galilee prepared the spices and ointments.

Joseph of Arimathea Statue at Temple Forecourt at Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte - Braga, Portugal File Photo

It was the practice at the time to discard the bodies of criminals for animals to devour. But Joseph acquired possession of the mutilated body of Jesus before this happened. He took it to a garden he owned close to Calvary where Jesus was put to death. Here he had carved out a rocky sepulcher intended as his own burial spot as the gospel of Matthew suggests. He wrapped the body in a clean linen shroud, laid the body in the tomb, and had a huge rock pushed against the opening to close it.

Legend has it that the apostle Philip sent Joseph on a mission to England where he founded a church at Glastonbury and grew a tree that is said to flower on Christmas Day. He is included in the Arthurian legends and associated with the Holy Grail.

Joseph of Arimathea is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and in some Protestant traditions. The traditional Roman calendar had marked his feast day on March 17th, but he is now listed along with St. Nicodemus on August 31st. Eastern Orthodox churches commemorate him on the Third Sunday of Pascha, (i.e., the second Sunday after Easter) and on July 31st, a date shared by Lutheran churches. He is the patron of grave diggers, burial, and cemetery keepers and caretakers.