JOSEPH MAN LONG ARIMATHEA. Hem sorre tumas taem Jesus dae and hem laek for tekem body bilong Jesus for go berem. Bat hem fraet for askem Pontius Pilate, bigman bilong Rome. Hem savve finis Pilate hem man wea no laek followim idea bilong eniwan. Nomata olsem, Joseph barava laek for berem Jesus long wanfala gudfala ples, so hem mas no fraet for ask. Firstaem, Joseph tingse bae hem hard tumas for hem go story witim Pilate, bat taem hem go, hem no hard nomoa. Bihaen Pilate askem wanfala soldia for faendaot sapos Jesus dae finis, hem letem Joseph for tekem body bilong Jesus. So Joseph kwiktaem go long ples wea olketa hangem Jesus and tekem body bilong hem.—Mark 15:42-45.

• Hu nao Joseph from Arimathea?

• Hao nao hem kamap disaepol bilong Jesus?

• And why nao iumi interest long story bilong hem?

Gospel bilong Mark storyim Joseph hem “wanfala member bilong Hae Kot bilong olketa Jew.” Datfala Hae Kot hem minim Sanhedrin, wea garem paoa saed long community, gavman, and religion. (Mark 15:1, 43) So Joseph hem wanfala leader, dastawe hem fit for go story witim bigman bilong Rome. And tu, Joseph hem wanfala rich man.—Matt. 27:57.

Olketa Sanhedrin barava heitim Jesus and olketa plan for killim dae Jesus. Bat “Joseph hem gudfala man and hem raeteous tu.” (Luke 23:50) Hem no olsem staka narawan long Sanhedrin. Hem honest, garem gudfala wei, and traem best for obeyim olketa law bilong God. And hem wanfala long olketa wea ‘weitim Kingdom bilong God for kam,’ dastawe hem kamap wanfala disaepol bilong Jesus. (Mark 15:43; Matt. 27:57) Luk olsem, hem laekem samting Jesus teachim bikos hem tinghae long samting wea tru and stret.

John 19:38 sei Joseph “hem disaepol bilong Jesus bat hem no talem eniwan bikos hem fraetem olketa Jew.” Why nao Joseph hem fraet? Hem savve olketa Jew barava heitim Jesus and sapos eniwan sei hem garem faith long Jesus, olketa bae aotem hem from sinagog. (John 7:45-49; 9:22) Taem olketa aotem man from sinagog, diswan minim olketa bae tok daonem, rejectim, and treatim hem olsem man wea no Jew. Dastawe Joseph hol bak for showimaot klia hem disaepol bilong Jesus bikos hem fraet nogud hem lusim waka bilong hem and wei wea hem garem bignem.

No Joseph nomoa garem kaen tingting olsem. John 12:42 sei: “Plande bigman bilong olketa Jew biliv long [Jesus] tu. Bat olketa no talem eniwan bikos olketa fraet long olketa Pharisee, nogud olketa aotem olketa from sinagog.” Nicodemus tu wanfala member bilong Sanhedrin and hem fraet olsem Joseph.—John 3:1-10; 7:50-52.

Bat Joseph hem wanfala disaepol. Nomata olsem, hem hol bak for talemaot datwan. Datwan hem serious samting from Jesus hem sei, “Sapos man hem talem olketa narawan hem disaepol bilong mi, mi bae talem Dadi bilong mi long heven datfala man hem disaepol bilong mi. Bat man wea talem olketa narawan hem no disaepol bilong mi, mi bae talem Dadi bilong mi long heven datfala man hem no disaepol bilong mi.” (Matt. 10:32, 33) Joseph hem no denyim hem wanfala disaepol, bat hem hol bak for talemaot bikos hem fraet. Waswe long iu?

Bible storyim Joseph no sapotim plan bilong Sanhedrin for killim dae Jesus. (Luke 23:51)  Samfala tingse maet Joseph no stap taem olketa tekem Jesus long datfala kot. Joseph mas barava feel nogud from hem no fit for stopem samting wea happen wea barava no stret!

Bihaen Jesus dae, Joseph no hol bak nao and hem disaed for sapotim olketa disaepol bilong Jesus. Long Mark 15:43 hem sei: ‘Nomata hem fraet lelebet for go long Pilate, hem go long hem and ask for body bilong Jesus.’

Luk olsem Joseph stap taem Jesus dae, dastawe hem go story long Pilate. Bat Pilate no savve yet, dastawe Bible sei, hem “no sure sapos Jesus hem dae finis or nomoa.” (Mark 15:44) Maet from Joseph hem lukim wei wea Jesus hem safa and dae long datfala post, datwan affectim konsens bilong hem and hem disaed for no fraet for showimaot hem wanfala disaepol. So Joseph no hol bak nao for duim samting.

Law bilong olketa Jew sei olketa mas berem man wea dae long post bifor sun go daon. (Deut. 21:22, 23) Bat olketa bilong Rome no olsem. Olketa savve leavim dead body bilong olketa criminal long post for rotten, or olketa no berem long gudfala wei. Joseph no laekem olketa for duim datwan long Jesus. Hem garem wanfala niu tomb, wea minim grev wea olketa katem insaed long ston. Datwan stap klosap long ples wea olketa savve killim dae olketa criminal. Luk olsem, Joseph hem baem  disfala area for berem eniwan long famili taem olketa dae. From olketa no iusim yet datfala tomb, diswan showimaot Joseph just muv kam from Arimathea * for stap long Jerusalem. (Luke 23:53; John 19:41) Wei wea Joseph willing for letem datfala grev hem showimaot hem barava tinghae long Jesus, and samting wea Joseph duim hem mekem profesi wea sei bae olketa berem Messiah “witim olketa rich man” hem kamap tru.—Isa. 53:5, 8, 9.

Fofala Gospel evriwan storyim hao bihaen olketa aotem body bilong Jesus from datfala post, Joseph nao pasolem hem long naesfala kaleko and putim hem insaed datfala tomb. (Matt. 27:59-61; Mark 15:46, 47; Luke 23:53, 55; John 19:38-40) Narawan wea Bible sei hem helpem Joseph hem Nicodemus, wea hem tekem kam olketa samting wea smel naes for putim long body bilong Jesus. From tufala man hia bigman, luk olsem no tufala seleva nao duim datfala waka, bat olketa wakaman bilong tufala nao karem and berem Jesus. Nomata olsem, samting wea tufala disaed for duim hem no smol samting. Law bilong olketa Jew sei olketa wea tasim eni dead body bae no klin for sevenfala day and eni samting wea olketa tasim bae no klin tu. (Num. 19:11; Hag. 2:13) So sapos man hem no klin olsem, bae hem no savve tekpart long celebration bilong Pasova wea gohed for datfala full week. (Num. 9:6) And from Joseph arrangem olketa samting saed long wei for berem Jesus, diswan bae mekem olketa narawan long Sanhedrin for tok spoelem hem. Nomata olsem, hem willing nomoa for feisim eni samting wea bae kamap from hem berem Jesus and hem no fraet for talemaot hao hem wanfala disaepol.

Bihaen datfala story long Gospel abaotem wei wea olketa berem Jesus, Bible no storyim moa eni nara samting abaotem Joseph, datfala man from Arimathea. Datwan mekem disfala kwestin for kamap: Wanem nao happen long hem bihaen? Really iumi no savve. Bat olsem iumi lanem finis, luk olsem Joseph showimaot klia hem wanfala Christian. From iumi lukim wei wea hem garem faith and no fraet taem hem kasem test, luk olsem hem bae gohed for faithful.

Disfala story mekem iumi laek for ting raonem disfala kwestin: Waswe, eni samting olsem position, waka, samting wea iumi garem, famili, or freedom bilong iumi, hem kamap important winim wei wea iumi fren witim Jehovah?