Joseph of Arimathea Waiting-Acting
Risk, kingdom risk, or as I’ve termed it as “witness risk” in Facing Fear: The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution, is defined the potential for loss and gain when following Christ (p. xxii).
Risk includes uncertainty, especially about the short-term outcome, but it also includes what the Greek New Testament reveals is an expectant waiting characterized with strength of hopefulness. Waiting can look like cowardiceness, or slowness of response, but waiting demonstrated in 4 places in the New Testament reveal it is shrewdness.
We see the word “prosdechomenos” used in 4 significant places in the New Testament appears to mean waiting, receiving, accepting, looking forward to with joy.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (v.2, p.50) points out several aspects of “prosdechomenos.”
may your soul bear its burden of wisdom; (Sir. 51:26)
may you accept the burden and demands of wisdom (i.e. the Word of God; Job 4:12);
the unavoidable acceptance of revelation of threat; (Jer. 9:20)
reference to pious insight into the ways of God with righteous individuals especially in suffering and death;
the disciple mediates the attachment to Jesus through her actions, and this is attachment to God.
Wow, this is exactly the Fear Management pathway I discussed in Chapter 3 of Facing Fear! How we can attach to God in our fears as we choose courageous action is a major point of practical implementation of action in risk. “Prosdechomenos does not merely mean temporal waiting, but a patient acceptance or patient suffering” (v.2, p.51).
Anyone who has worked in areas that are dangerous knows we often receive wisdom we did not set out to obtain, and that can carry a burden we can choose to accept or reject. I say “often” but not always - some go through risk and refuse to reflect on what is happening or is happening, refuse sacred transformation, and choose to live in the shallows. Typically, these are people causing conflict on the field and are entirely unhelpful as the risk situation continues to degrade and crisis looms.
But in the New Testament Greek, Luke 2 has two of the 4 uses of this word: Both Simeon and Anna had been waiting (prosdechomenos) until they were elderly. They were waiting, looking forward to the Kingdom of God. Luke 15:2 describes Jesus as receiving - he joyfully “receives sinners and eats with them.” And finally, in Hebrews 10:34, in the context of risk and persecution, “For you…accepted joyfully the seizure of your property…”
With Joseph of Arimathea, we see a different journey of risk-in-action:
“Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting (prosdechomenos) for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus….he (Pilate) granted the body to Joseph. Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb” (Mark 15: 43, 45b, 46).
His actions were so significant that all 4 Gospels describe Joseph of Arimathea, each testimony adding new information. What do we know about him and his actions?
He was a disciple of Jesus. (Mt. 27:57-61)
He was rich. (Mt. 27:57-61)
He was a prominent member of the Council (of the Jewish Sanhedrin that had just put Jesus to death) (Mk. 15:42-47)
He was waiting (prosdechomenos) for the Kingdom of God (Mk 15:42-47)
He did the action of courage by daring to go into Pilot. (Mk 15:42-47)
He was a good and righteous man (Luke 23:50-56)
He had not consented to the Sanhedrin’s plan and action. (Luke 23:50-56)
He was from Arimathea (ancient Ramah, modern er-Ram, 5 miles north of Jerusalem), a city of the Jews (All 4 Gospels reference his home city)
He was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews (John 19:38-42)
It is significant that he was waiting for the right time to reveal his true allegiance. When he did act courageously and went in to Pilot, this was an extremely dangerous action. It meant he was identifying with Jesus, seen as one of his followers; it meant he was aligning himself as a subversive of the Roman state; it meant he was going against the establish religious orthodoxy which he was part of and got his livelihood and reputation from; it meant his town,
Arimathea would forever be associated with him and his actions, whether they wanted to be or not; going after the dead body of Jesus was identifying himself with the humiliation of the cross, the failure and humiliation of his death (p. 63, Facing Fear). But Arimathea is also the place known as Ramah throughout all text previously.
The most recent mention of this town is in Matthew 2:17-18, “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and weeping, Rachel, weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew’s citation of Jeremiah 31:15). Ramah was the town where Rachel was buried, where all baby boys under age 2 were massacred by King Herod, and now where Joseph hails from, the man who took Jesus’ dead body from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
In the busy Sabbath preparations, we are told this prominent, rich man who likely had servants went himself and bought cloth in the bazaar. Who took Jesus’ bloodied, naked body down from the cross, and gently removed the crown of thorns from his head? Imagine this man dirtying his elegant robes as he pulls the nails from his hands, his feet, and the weight of Christ’s body slumps over Joseph’s shoulder. He carries him gently to likely a woven mat, where he had help to carry him to the tomb. He wrapped Christ’s body.
Imagine him wrapping Christ’s body, not knowing what lay ahead, assuming his Messiah was dead. I imagine he fought the tears as he lovingly and respectfully cared for Jesus’ body, but under time pressure to finish his task so he could prepare himself for Sabbath and the Passover.
John tells us “He was a secret disciple for fear of the Jews.” There is a time to be quiet, to be secret, to wait, and a time for courageous action. Joseph discerned when it was time for action.
Looking at Mark’s version, he was waiting for the right time, when he decided to act boldly, Scripture outlines with precision what the courageous action looks like. It is visible, practical, sometimes bloody, and without confusion.
Follow the verb trail in Mark 15:
He went in (to Pilot), asked (for Jesus’ body), bought (fabric), took (Christ’s body), wrapped (his body), laid (his body in the tomb), rolled (a stone).
Witness Risk for gospel advancement is like Joseph of Arimathea’s example. We wait for the right time, discern the right time, having faced up to the consequences of our actions, and then courageously act. This takes discernment, and discernment is learned, not from books, but from walking with Jesus and the help of Christ-followers who have already walked the road of deeply following Jesus in extreme circumstances.
His one act of courage is what he is remembered for in all four Gospels. He did the action of courage, entirely, to the end. May we follow in his footsteps.
