No 7

(Joseph of Arimathea)

Not much is known of this man other than he was rich and he came from Arimathea; oh

yes and more importantly, he was also a follower of Christ. After the death of Jesus, the

Bible says that “57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea,

named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged

the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph

had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth”, Matt 27:57-59. The town of

Arimathea is approximately 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem and its name means “A city

for the Jews”. Joseph was a prominent council member of the Sanhedrin according to

Mark 15:43 and was a good and just man according to Luke 23:50, 51; he and

Nicodemus (John 3) took Jesus’ body and placed it in Joseph’s new tomb. Joseph had

come to realize that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God and redeemer of the world; he

felt obliged to give Jesus a proper burial, according to Jewish tradition. In performing

this act of reverence and respect, he fulfilled a prophecy that was spoken several hundred

years before these events; I am referring to Isaiah 53:9 “And he made his grave with the

wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any

deceit in his mouth.” Joseph was just one part of God’s plan of redemption for all of

humanity and is a good example of someone who was of the religious elite who

undoubtedly sought God with all his heart and God revealed himself to him. The Bible

states that only a handful of these Jewish leaders became believers; how hard it is for

someone who is prominent and rich to come to the Lord for salvation. Even today, very

few of the supposed religious leaders are true believers; their pride gets in the way and

they don’t feel the need to be redeemed. What a mistake it is to refuse God’s

forgiveness.