Joseph Of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea:
Who Was This Mysterious Person?
He is Mentioned in All Four Gospels
We know very little about Joseph of Arimathea. He appears briefly in the Gospel account and vanishes just as quickly. But his entrance and exit was at a critical point in the story of Jesus death and resurrection.
All of the gospel writers included Joseph in their accounts, Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:43-47, Luke 23:50-56, and John 19:38-42. So, we can observe that in the mind of the Gospel writers, there was something very significant about Joseph and about his actions.
He Returns The Missing Piece of the Gospel
We learn in 1 Corinthians 15:3,4, that the Gospel was that Jesus died and rose again. We all agree and teach this. However, the early church also taught that Jesus was buried and rose from the dead on the third day. This was included in their Gospel. They believed that the Old Testament taught this (See Psalms 16:10,11). Somehow, the burial and third day resurrection have disappeared from our storyline. I don’t believe it is anything intentional, simply that we do not see the significance. Rediscovering the significance of Joseph of Arimathea will help us to return this missing jewel in the story to its proper place.
Here Are A Few Quick Facts
Putting together the four Gospel accounts, we learn several important truths. Here I have simply listed them in bullet points. These are not mentioned in any particular order.
To bring them all together, I would suggest you watch the teaching on Facebook.
- He was old
- He was a member of the Sanhedren
- He was a secret believer
- He did not agree with the decision to crucify Christ Jesus
- He knew Nicodemus
- He probably had private conversations with Nicodemus about Jesus
- He might have dug out a fresh tomb specifically for Jesus
- He probably understood that Jesus would die, be buried and rise again
- He was bold and went to Pilate to get the body of Jesus
- Through him, Jesus death was confirmed by Pilate
- He and Nicodemus lavished an expensive burial on Jesus
To catch some of the most important of all reasons, watch on Facebook.
CONSPIRACY THEORY:
Was he the man responsible for whisking the Holy Grail off to a secret location?
Some have said that Joseph of Arimathea was the person who initially kept in his possession and guarded the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is said to be the cup that Jesus used on the night He was betrayed to celebrate the New Covenant. Throughout the history of the church this Holy Grail was coveted for its magical powers to bless and heal. It has been purported that some of secretly kept it hidden and that it also has some kind of bearing on the end times. Some claim that Joseph, wanting to keep the Holy Grail from being lost or stolen, secretly passed it along to his disciples who surreptitiously transported it from Israel to a remote corner of the earth, a place called England.
These stories have little base in historical fact. They are more in the realm of fiction and conspiracy theory. Of course, this is what feeds conspiracy, isn’t it.
