John 19:38

38. Before and after Ἰωσήφ omit ὁ (usual in mentioning a well-known person).

38. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα. But after these things. The δέ marks a contrast between the hostile petition of the Jews and the friendly petition of Joseph. Ταῦτα as distinct from τοῦτο shews that no one event is singled out with which what follows is connected: the sequence is indefinite (John 3:22). Contrast John 19:28 : there the sequence is direct and definite (John 2:12; John 11:7; John 11:11). For Joseph of Arimathaea see on Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50. The Synoptists tell us that he was rich, a member of the Sanhedrin, a good and just man who had not consented to the Sanhedrin’s counsel and crime, one who (like Simeon and Anna) waited for the kingdom of God, and had become a disciple of Christ. Διὰ τ. φόβον forms a coincidence with S. Mark, who says of him (Mark 15:43) that ‘having summoned courage (τολμήσας) he went in unto Pilate,’ implying that like Nicodemus he was naturally timid. Joseph probably went to Pilate as soon as he knew that Jesus was dead: the vague ‘after these things’ need not mean that he did not act till after the piercing of the side. With ἧρεν τ. σῶμα comp. Matthew 14:12; Acts 8:2.