This is our 15th post looking at the resurrection encounters with Jesus. This encounter is noted because it is cited as the 12th Apparition in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and is commonly acknowledged in both Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The only information offered by Ignatius is ‘[Jesus] appeared to Joseph of Arimathea, as is piously meditated and is read in the Lives of the Saints’ (Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola, p71: E-Saint Library Edition, 2010)

Horsham: 24th July 2026

Joseph of Arimathea: Scripture
The only sources for the actions of Joseph of Arimathea are found in the Gospels. He was a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who may, at some level, have been supportive of Jesus (Mark 15:43). It was Joseph who, after the death of Jesus, took the  step of calling on Pilate to ask for the release of the body of Christ (John 19:38). He was a rich man, and it was Joseph who provided the tomb in which the body of Christ was laid (Matthew 27:57-60). Along with Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin who was known to Jesus, Joseph prepared the body of Jesus for burial (John 19: 38-40)

Making an approach to Pilate in these circumstances was not without risk, but Joseph’s actions are also notable because by treating Jesus with respect, he risked angering the Jewish leaders.

Joseph of Arimathea: Legends
From as early as the second century, additional information relating to Joseph starts to appear in the writings of the early Church fathers. By the medieval period, various documents were in wide circulation which added detail to Joseph’s story without, as far as we can establish today, any foundation in fact. The breadth of detail given in these documents is considerable and generally without any foundation in Scripture or other historical sources. My favourite is, of course, the links of Joseph to Britain, through the legend of the Holy Grail.

One of the key medieval documents is the Gospel of Nicodemus, which outlines in detail the arrest of Joseph by the Jewish leaders. During his detention, the Gospel gives an account of Joseph’s resurrection encounter with Jesus.

Gospel of Nicodemus XV:6 
6 And Joseph said: On the preparation day about the tenth hour ye did shut me up, and I continued there the whole sabbath. And at midnight as I stood and prayed the house wherein ye shut me up was taken up by the four corners, and I saw as it were a flashing of light in mine eyes, and being filled with fear I fell to the earth. And one took me by the hand and removed me from the place whereon I had fallen; and moisture of water was shed on me from my head unto my feet, and an odour of ointment came about my nostrils. And he wiped my face and kissed me and said unto me: Fear not, Joseph: open thine eyes and see who it is that speaketh with thee. And I looked up and saw Jesus and I trembled, and supposed that it was a spirit: and I said the commandments: and he said them with me. And [as] ye are not ignorant that a spirit, if it meet any man and hear the commandments, straightway fleeth. And when I perceived that he said them with me, I said unto him: Rabbi Elias? And he said unto me: I am not Elias. And I said unto him: Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me: I am Jesus, whose body thou didst beg of Pilate, and didst clothe me in clean linen and cover my face with a napkin, and lay me in thy new cave and roll a great stone upon the door of the cave. And I said to him that spake with me: Show me the place where I laid thee. And he brought me and showed me the place where I laid him, and the linen cloth lay therein, and the napkin that was upon his face. And I knew that it was Jesus. And he took me by the hand and set me in the midst of mine house, the doors being shut, and laid me upon my bed and said unto me: Peace be unto thee. And he kissed me and said unto me: Until forty days be ended go not out of thine house: for behold I go unto my brethren into Galilee.

End Piece
Joseph of Arimathea is an incredibly important character in the story of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. The fact that he has been regarded as a Saint since the earliest times of the Church is hardly surprising. He holds a very special place at the heart of the Gospel.

We understand that the duration of the resurrection period was forty days. We have mentioned elsewhere, that very few resurrection encounters are actually recorded in Scripture. Some of these, for example the appearance to James, the Brother of Christ, have only passing references. We have to acknowledge that there might well have been other appearances which, for whatever reason, were not recorded in the Gospels, but having said that, if other appearances took place, their absence from recorded Scripture was God’s will.

There is a reason why the Gospel of Nicodemus, also sometimes referred to as the Acts of Pilate, was not included in the Canon of scripture. The earliest fragments of this work date from the 4th Century.

We should be particularly skeptical of, and we should not be distracted by, accounts which appear many generations later, without any basis in Scripture.

Richard Jackson: Horsham,West Sussex