JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA GOES TO PILATE

JOHN 19:38–41

Within Jewish culture of the first century, the task of preparing a body for burial fell to the grief-laden hands of family and friends. So when word spread that Jesus had been killed, Joseph of Arimathea claimed the body, prepared it for burial, and placed Jesus’s remains in his own unoccupied tomb. We will see that he did so for a reason.

The Gospel writers provide significant details surrounding Joseph of Arimathea’s involvement in the burial of Jesus. Although a prominent member of the Sanhedrin council, Joseph of Arimathea did not concur in seeking the death of Jesus (Luke 23:50–51; see also Mark 15:43). Neither priest nor rabbi, he was a rich land owner who was a disciple of Jesus. Up until the time of Jesus’s arrest, Joseph had kept that relationship a secret due to his fear of the chief priests in opposition to Jesus (John 19:38). Wealthy men such as Joseph of Arimathea had direct access to Roman officials. Now with boldness he proceeded to Pilate, from whom he requested and received the body of Jesus for burial.

It was already late in the afternoon, and the start of Sabbath was about to begin. Because he had a newly hewn tomb in the cemetery where Jesus had been executed and because a body could not be left on a cross when Passover commenced, Joseph had to act quickly (Deut. 21:23; Luke 23:56). Evidence of kokhim tombs dating from 40 BC to AD 41 is found within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher—one of the possible locations of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.15 A kokhim tomb consisted of a chamber with a low bench carved around the inside walls that provided a surface on which the body might be placed for preparation. Once preparations were completed, the deceased was slid into one of the narrow horizontal shafts deep enough to hold the body. The body remained there for a year or more while the softer tissue decomposed. The family then returned to the tomb and placed the bones into an ossuary, which was a small limestone box that became the permanent resting place for the remains.16 Joseph brought Jesus to just such a tomb where his body was put on the preparation bench, treated with a mixture of myrrh and aloes, and then wrapped in linen (John 19:39–40).17

Fourteenth-century marble carving depicting Joseph of Arimathea taking Jesus from the cross.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Musée du Louvre; Autorisation de photographer et de filmer—LOUVRE.

Evidence of kokhim tombs inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Unlike the disciples, who had publicly followed Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea had followed Jesus secretly. Yet after the crucifixion, here he was, stepping forward in devotion to the Messiah, the sent one (John 8:42; 12:44; 17:3, 21, 25). “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” (Mark 15:43). This action made it clear to the chief priests that Joseph’s loyalty to Jesus superseded his loyalty to them. At just the time Jesus’s disciples scattered in fear, Joseph of Arimathea thrust aside his fear and openly requested the body of Jesus from the very man who had ordered Jesus’s execution.

Relief of the body of Christ and the preparation of his grave.
© Dr. James C. Martin. Musée du Louvre; Autorisation de photographer et de filmer—LOUVRE.

Excavated remains on the Mount of Olives of a kokhim tomb and bone boxes known as ossuaries.

Ivory statuette (ca. AD 1260) of Nicodemus, who helped Joseph of Arimathea with the body of Jesus.