Joseph of Arimathea

[[File:Joseph_of_Arimathea_Among_the_Rocks_of_Albion.jpg|thumb|right|165px||Blake's view of Joseph]]{{biblenav}}
'''Joseph of Arimathea ''' was supposedly a wealthy follower of [[Jesus]] at the time of the [[crucifixion]], a member of the [[Jewish]] council, the Sanhedrin. He allegedly buried Jesus in a tomb which he had prepared for himself. He is a [[saint]] in several [[Christian]] denominations, notably [[Catholicism]] and [[Lutheranism]].

You can read the Biblical account in {{bible|Matthew|27|57|60}}, {{bible|Mark|15|42|46}}, {{bible|Luke|23|50|53}}, and {{bible|John|19|38|40}}.

==Holy Grail==
According to a medieval legend, he eventually brought the [[Holy Grail]] to [[England]] and buried it near Glastonbury close to the site where Glastonbury Abbey would later be built. Joseph is of course referenced in [[Fun:Monty Python#Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)|Monty Python's movie]] on the grail.

==Glastonbury Thorn==
Joseph also, in common legend, stuck his hawthorn staff into the ground at Glastonbury where it promptly rooted and bloomed every subsequent [[Christmas]].<ref>[http://www.glastonburyabbey.com/arimathea.php?&rpn=myths Apparently he was Jesus's relative as well]</ref>

==Did he exist?==
In contrast to many other places mentioned in the Bible, there is no evidence that the town called ''Arimathea'' existed (despite attempts to equate it to Ramallah, Ramah, etc). The name ''Arimathea'' means "best disciple town", so it's a bit suspicious as an invention.<ref>[http://christianworldviewpress.com/was-joseph-of-arimathea-a-myth/ Was Joseph of Arimathea a myth?], Christian Worldview Press.</ref> The Bible never mentions Joseph himself after the burial account, and he does not appear in extra-Biblical sources. It's also unclear whether Joseph would have had the time to bury Jesus as described, with the necessity to negotiate with the [[Roman]]s, buy cloth, get the body, and place it in the tomb by nightfall. And a prominent Jew would not have been able to handle a corpse before [[Passover]] without becoming unclean.<ref>[http://infidels.org/library/modern/peter_kirby/tomb/rebuttal1.html Rebuttal to Tomb Burial by Joseph of Arimathea], Peter Kirby, infidels.org</ref><ref>[http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/arimathea.html Arimathea], JesusNeverExisted.com</ref><ref>[http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/joseph-of-arimathea-was-probably.html "Joseph of Arimathea was Probably a Literary Fiction"], Debunking Christianity, 2007.</ref> There is also the contradiction that the Sanhedrin is supposed to have unanimously condemned Jesus to death (according to Mark), and yet supposedly Joseph was on the council.<ref>''The Resurrection: A Critical Inquiry'', Michael J Alter, [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=siPxCQAAQBAJ&lpg=PT244&ots=ZilItFdpJ1&dq=contradiction%20unanimous%20sanhedrin&pg=PT244#v=onepage&q=contradiction%20unanimous%20sanhedrin&f=false Google Books].</ref>

Since the Bible elsewhere suggests Jesus was abandoned by all his disciples, Mark and the other evangelists need some way to have him buried, and may have invented this convenient fiction. Alternatively, since the [[Gospel of Mark]] allegedly shows limited knowledge of Biblical geography or of Jewish customs,<ref>
[http://www.holybooks.info/mark.html The Gospel of Mark], Vexen Crabtree, HolyBooks.info
</ref>
its author may have presented a garbled version of actual events.

==See also==
Three other men called “Joseph” are relevant to Abrahamic religions:
*[[Joseph (Old Testament)]], who had family problems
*[[Joseph (husband of Mary)]], one of several possible fathers of [[Jesus]]
*[[Josephus]] a Romanised Jewish historian misquoted by Christians
For details, see the individual articles.

==External links==
*{{wpa|Holy Grail}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{biblebox}}

[[Category:New Testament]]
[[Category:Biblical figures]]
[[Category:Saints]]

Categories: New Testament, Biblical figures, Saints