Righteous Joseph of Arimathea – Donor of the Tomb for Christ I Aug 31/July 31

Joseph of Arimathea was a righteous, holy, pious, and devout disciple of Lord Jesus. He was a good and upright, just man (Lk. 23: 50). He was born to one Matthias, in Arimathea, (otherwise, called Rameth or Ramathaim, native town of Samuel the Seer), a city in Judea and is mentioned in all four Gospels (Matt. 27: 57; Mk. 15: 43; Lk 23: 50, 55; Jn. 19:38). He was born about eight years before the nativity of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and about the age of seventeen years, his desire being to search and have an insight, into the laws and customs of the three sects of the Jewish nation, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. However, Joseph of Arimathea, later entirely devoted himself to the sect of the Pharisees. He was praised by all men, because of the good affection he had to learning, that the priests and noblest citizens vouchsafed to all his opinion of things that concerned their laws and ordinances. He was praised by the rich, and the poor blessed him. He was really just in all his dealings very charitable in private. Where ever he went, and he was glorified more to be a good man than a great senator, to which dignity his incomparable merits had justly preferred him.

He was a virtuous, highly visible, distinguished, wealthy Jewish convert to Christianity and a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council (Mk. 15: 43; Lk. 23: 50). When Jesus Christ, started His great work of the ministry of the Gospel, Joseph of Arimathea became a great admirer of our Saviour’s preaching, and started to decline the Levitical laws. All four Gospels confirm that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus Christ, although John emphasizes that this had been done secretly (John 19:38) until the time of Christ’s burial. Thus, he followed Christ in all the journeys secretly, and travelled throughout the land of Judea and Galilee, where ever Jesus promulgated the Gospel. He became a sincere convert, though in secret. He lived as a secret disciple of Jesus, for ‘fear of Jews’ but was himself waiting for the kingdom of God. He had prepared a tomb for himself, in which Jesus Christ was laid to rest. He did not participate in the ‘counsel and deed’ of the Jews in passing a death sentence for Jesus Christ. He had not taken part in the vote of the Sanhedrin against Jesus.

After the Crucifixion and Death of the Savior, he took bold decision risking himself and his reputation to go to Pilate and ask him for the Body of the Lord, and then with the help of Righteous Nicodemos, who was another secret disciple of the Lord, he arranged His burial. Pontius Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he allowed to give His body to Joseph. Probably after the Crucifixion, Joseph was overwhelmed by his cowardice and hence went to Pontius Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. It was the custom to throw the bodies of criminals as carrion for animals to devour.

To make sure Jesus received a proper burial, Joseph of Arimathea boldly asked Pontius Pilate for custody of Jesus’ body, greatly risking himself and his reputation. Joseph’s desire to properly bury the dead despite personal risk showed that he was a devout Jew. But Joseph brought down the body before this happened, and took it to the garden he owned, close to the Calvary. Joseph wished to prevent the body from hanging on the cross overnight, it being a preparation day before Sabbath and to secure for it an honourable burial, thereby offending Jewish law, which allowed only a disgraceful burial to the executed. Mosaic law required that the bodies of those who were executed by hanging on a tree, must not be allowed to remain on the tree overnight (Duet. 21: 22-23). Since Jesus’ death occurred around three in the afternoon, the time for burying him before the beginning of the Sabbath at sunset was short.

They took down the Body of the Savior from the Cross, wrapped it in a winding-cloth, and placed it in a new tomb, which Joseph had prepared for himself, a tomb in which no one had ever been buried, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the presence of the Mother of God and the holy Myrrh-Bearing Women. Our Lord’s head was placed towards the West, facing East, from whence it has been the custom ever since, among the Christians, to bury the dead, with the feet towards the East; Having rolled a heavy stone before the entrance of the tomb, they departed to their several habitations (John. 19: 37-42; Mt. 27: 57-61; Mark 15: 43-47; Luke. 24: 50-56).

Joseph believed in Jesus, despite pressures from his colleagues and the Roman rulers. He boldly stood up for his faith, trusting the consequences to God. Jewish spies found out about this and told their authorities and Joseph was imprisoned, However, the Resurrected Christ appeared to St. Joseph in prison and convinced him of his Resurrection. Sometime later, the Jews released St. Joseph from prison and banished him from Jerusalem.

The Bible says Joseph was expecting the Kingdom of God, which indicates that he expected the Kingdom to come through Jesus Christ (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51).

The apocryphal ‘Gospel of Nicodemos’ credits him for founding the first Christian community in Lydda (place where Aeneas was healed by St Peter; Acts 9: 32); presently called Lod, in Israel. Also, Joseph of Arimathea accompanied St. Philip, the Apostle while preaching the Gospel in Gaul. The feast of Joseph of Arimathea is celebrated in the Orthodox Syrian Church on 31 August, as well as 31 July.