Holy Grail - Part 2

Holy Grail       - Part 2

Dear Reader,
I ended my first blog on the subject of the Holy Grail by asking you to keep in mind the name Joseph of Arimathea.  The reason for this is simply due to the fact that legends had developed and grown around the name Joseph of Arimathea.  The name also  pops up in all literature, operas and plays that had been written around the Holy Grail, especially in England and France from the Middle Ages onwards. 
The first question that needs to be asked relates to the identity of Joseph of Arimathea and how he is linked to the Holy Grail.

Who is Joseph of Arimathea?

The gospel of Mark, which is the first of the four gospels making up the New Testament, tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was an honorable counselor who waited for the kingdom of God, who went Pilate and craved the body of Jesus (15:43). 

The gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was both a rich man and disciple who went to Pilate and commanded the body of Jesus to be delivered and when its was, he took the body and he wrapped it in clean linen and cloth and laid it in his own tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed (27: 57-60). 
The gospel of John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus and that he had the assistance of Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe which were rubbed around the body of Jesus before wrapping the body with linen and placing it in the garden new sepulcher (19: 38-41).
 Like Mark, Luke tells us that Joseph was counselor and that he was a good and just man and had not consented to the counsel and deed of them, he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus (23: 50-52).

Despite certain inconsistencies from these four gospels we can be certain that Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy and respected merchant and well known to the High Priests and indeed as a counselor may have been a member of the Sanhedrin who presided over the trial of Jesus and disagreed with the ruling. 

The word ‘Sanhedrin’ literally means ‘sitting together’ or   ‘assembly’.  In the ancient land of Israel Sanhedrin constituted 23 judges who were appoint in every city. Appeals from the decisions of city Sanhedrin was to the Great Sanhedrin which is constituted of 71 members, analogous to modern day Supreme Court.

The question that arises is one of the likelihood of Joseph of Arimathea being a member of the assembly of the High Priests that sat on the trial of Jesus and the only one that spoke against the High Priest decision to order Jesus brought before Pilate and demand death sentence proclaimed.  As to the charge deserving of the death sentence sought of Pilate is Jesus' non denial that he was the Son of God.  It does certainly makes sense that if Joseph of Arimathea was member of the Sanhedrin, a counselor, as the gospels of Mark and Luke tell us, and whether he had sat at the trial  of Jesus or not,  the mere fact that he was a member of the Sanhedrin added weight to the fact Pilate was able to give him audience and cede to his request to take the body of Jesus off the cross.  We are also told by the four gospels that when the High Priest who sat at the trial of Jesus became aware of the action of Joseph of Arimathea he ordered his arrest and imprisonment. 

A number of books had been written in recent times that allege that Jesus was in fact still alive when brought down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea helped by Nicodemus.  The authors of those books base their argument on three basic premises.  The first of these is the fact that Jesus legs were not broken. Had they been broken the body weight would have caused the lungs to compress and death ensued quickly.  The second is the language used by Joseph of Arimathea when speaking to Pilate. He allegedly asked Pilate for the ‘soma’ of Jesus. The word ‘soma’ comes from the Greek and means ‘body’ as distinct from the soul or the mind.  The third is the use of the myrrh and aloe ointments in which the body of Christ was treated with before wrapping it in linen and placed in the sepulcher which Joseph or Arimathea had reserved for his own burial.

If the Holy Grail was the cup from which Jesus and his twelve disciples drank at the last supper or the cup in which the blood of Jesus was collected at the cross and which cup possessed super natural healing powers it makes sense that such a Grail came into the possession of Joseph of Arimathea.  As to how the legend of the Holy Grail developed in Europe will have to await Part 3.