This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.) [Mark 15.42-43]
As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. [Matthew 27.57-58]
Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. [Luke 23.50-51]
Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. [John 19.38]
Joseph of Arimathea is recognized by all four Gospels.
Mark saw Joseph as "an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come."
Matthew (the tax collector) saw Joseph as "a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus."
Luke (the presumably educated doctor) saw Joseph as "a good and righteous man", "a member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders", and that "he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come."
John, whose Gospel varied the most from the other three, saw Joseph as "a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders)."
The significance of these varied views of Jesus is the revealed humanity of each of the writers. They were just like us: they saw Joseph from different perspectives. They may have known Joseph well, or, they may have only known of Joseph.
These different perspectives then confirm what we know today of our own perspectives of others: those perspectives can vary.
However, even from these varied perspectives, when looking at the person of Jesus, the four Gospel writers all agree in their perception that He is the Son of God. All four agree that He healed the sick and raised the dead. All four agree that He taught the way of God's Kingdom unapologetically. All four agree that He was betrayed by one of His own, was unjustly sentenced to die, was crucified by Roman standards, died and then rose from the dead as testified by many.
The variations in the four Gospel accounts only prove that four different humans, from four different backgrounds, all got the Good News of Jesus spot-on. To argue about variations in details is likened to arguing the difference between off-white and light tan - every set of eyes beholds color differently.
Just like the four Gospel writers described Joseph of Arimathea a bit differently, they all agreed that he was indeed a follower of Jesus - a seeker of God's Kingdom. And, that is what matters.
I would be woefully ill-prepared to launch a discussion of apologetics here, however, even I can see the value of the four Gospel writers' perspectives of Jesus and their synoptic conclusions that Jesus was indeed God come in the flesh to redeem those who would believe. The more I read the four Gospels, the more I am convinced of this singular Truth as the inspiration behind their respective writings.
If four people set out to describe me, their accounts of me as one person would likely vary much more than those of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in their respective descriptions of Joseph or Jesus. However, if those who know me well agree with those who only know of me on at least one point of my life, then that one point has significance: what is qualitatively true of me can be quantifiably ascertained. If there is no agreement on any point in my life, then quite likely I could justifiably be titled a "fraud" as could those who attempt to describe me.
The four Gospel writers, I believe, did their best to give account of Jesus each from their own perspective inadvertently following the guidance of God's Spirit. The humanity of their individual perceptions that still agree on His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection only confirms Jesus' remarkably consistent life (unlike mine).
In the four Gospel accounts of Jesus, we see what is qualitatively true of Jesus Christ in quantitative agreement. It's not so much "amazing" as it is simply and powerfully "confirming."
Father, I am so thankful that four separate accounts of Jesus so overwhelmingly confirm His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection, albeit from different perspectives. I am thankful for Jesus. May those who consider my life find agreement on "Jesus in me" thus being attracted to and compelled to follow Jesus Christ of the Bible. So be it.
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