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Matthew 27:57
ESV When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.
NIV As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.
NASB Now when it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
CSB When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
NLT As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus,
KJV When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
NKJV Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.

What does Matthew 27:57 mean?

Jesus has died (Matthew 27:50). John's account notes that the attending soldiers made sure Jesus was dead (John 19:34). Sundown is approaching. This will mark the beginning of a Sabbath day. Roman practice was to let crucified bodies rot, enhancing the shame and horror that came with defying Rome. However, Jewish religious law forbids leaving executed bodies out (Deuteronomy 21:22–23). Given the impending religious holiday, the Roman governor seems willing to both speed up the executions (John 19:31) and allow the bodies to be removed.

A wealthy man named Joseph, from the local town of Arimathea, steps forward to claim Jesus' corpse. We know from Luke's gospel that this Joseph was also a member of the Jewish council known as the Sanhedrin. This group condemned Jesus to death. Luke makes it clear, though, that Joseph had not consented to that (Luke 23:50–51). Much like modern legislatures, the Sanhedrin did not need all members to be present to vote, so those sympathetic to Jesus (John 7:50–52) had likely been left out of the midnight trial (Matthew 26:57–68).

In fact, according to John, Joseph was a secret disciple of Jesus because he was afraid of the Jewish religious leaders (John 19:38). Joseph will be bold now, though, to help Jesus and His followers take care of the Lord's body. He will be assisted by Nicodemus, another religious leader whose loyalty to Jesus was less than public (John 3:1; 19:39).
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