Joseph of Arimathaea
Mark 15:42-47
And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,…


This man becomes prominent on the momentous day of Calvary, but till then unknown. He belongs to a class who appear for a moment on the stage of the history, to teach some great lesson or to perform some special service, and then disappear. All we know of him is that he was of Arimathaea (the site of which is not certainly known), a man of wealth, a member of the Jewish Council, a good man and a just, who waited for the kingdom of God, and a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, through fear of the Jews; that his fear gave place to courage in that day of Christ's greatest humiliation, when he avowed himself His disciple, and boldly craved the body of the crucified Jesus; and that he had the high honour of laying it in his own new tomb, hewn in a rock, near the city. In his story we see how —

I. Faith is sometimes found in unexpected quarters.

II. Faith, hitherto weak, by God's grace may spring into strength to meet and surmount greatest difficulties.

III. Instruments are forthcoming at the right moment to fulfil God's purposes, when to man it would seem impossible.

(T. M. Macdonald, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

WEB: When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,




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