Joseph of Arimathea

Joseph of Arimathea, the graveside attendant to the crucified Jesus, is one of the most mysterious figures in the New Testament. The Gospels make no mention of him during Jesus' early ministry. Then he steps out of the shadows and takes centre stage at the pivotal moment upon which the central mystery of Christianity is based. He then seemingly disappears from Church history. The ‘Acts of the Apostles’ makes no mention of him and neither do the Epistles. To the sceptical tradition this disappearance suggests that no such person ever existed. In this booklet Mark McGiveron assesses the often-proposed theory that Joseph of Arimathea is mythological and was created by the Gospel writers to aid the narrative of the entombment of Jesus. The present study thus represents a ‘back door’ entry to the study of the historicity of the Gospels and in particular the Passion accounts within them.