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PER361
Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body of Jesus
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin and a secret disciple of Jesus, courageously asks Pilate to release the body of the Crucified One. Accompanied by Nicodemus, he arranges a dignified burial in his own new tomb, before the Sabbath begins. This episode, attested by all four Gospels, illustrates the passage from discretion to a public act of faith at the very moment when the closest disciples remain in hiding.
John 19.41 (King James Version) :Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org -
PER362
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus place the body of Jesus in the tomb
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two members of the Sanhedrin favorable to Jesus, bury his body on Friday, April 1, AD 33, before the Sabbath. Nicodemus brings a large quantity of spices, and Joseph provides his new tomb. Their courageous and public act, carried out according to Jewish rites, gives the Messiah's burial a royal and honorable dimension, marking their emergence from discretion after the crucifixion.
Matthew 27.57-61 (King James Version) :When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org