Luke 23:51

Luke 23:51, in plain English

Luke makes clear: Joseph had not agreed with the council's decision to condemn Jesus. He was from Arimathea and had been waiting for God's kingdom to come.

Why it's here

Joseph had been quietly waiting for God to act. Now his waiting turns into bold, risky action on Jesus' behalf.

Who's speaking

Luke vindicates Joseph, showing that his faith was genuine even within a corrupt institution.

Where it sits in the story

Joseph was a dissenter. He said no when everyone else said yes. He'd been waiting and hoping for God's kingdom, and even though it looks like everything has fallen apart, he's about to step forward with the most courageous act of his life.

The scholarly reading

Joseph had 'not consented (ouk ēn synkatatethemenos) to their decision (boulē) or action (praxei).' He is from Arimathaias, a Judean city, and was prosdechomenos tēn basileian tou theou (waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God).

Language and setting

Luke's note that Joseph did not consent to the Sanhedrin's verdict suggests he either dissented or was not present for the vote. His kingdom expectation connects him to others in Luke's narrative waiting for God's salvation (Simeon, Anna).

Voice

Luke provides crucial details about Joseph: his dissent from the council's decision, his hometown, and his spiritual orientation as one awaiting God's kingdom.

Significance

Joseph is defined by three things: dissent from the Council's unjust verdict, origin from Arimathea in Judea, and expectant hope in God's kingdom. This man who waited for the kingdom is now about to handle the body of the one who brought it.

49But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.

50Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man,

51who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God.

52He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

53Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

Read all of Luke 23 — Pilate finds no fault. Herod finds entertainment. The crowd demands blood. And on a cross between two criminals, Jesus forgives.