Who is Joseph of Arimathea?

Joseph of Arimathea is most certainly the apostle, Thaddeus.   How do I know this?  Answer: via the meaning of a number of names in the New Testament. 

Thaddeus - Gift of God: This name calls attention to Isaiah 22.   Joseph is the steward within the House of Judah who uses the key of David as a civic leader & is associated with a tomb.  He is Shebna, via being a lawyer & member of the Sanhedrin (whom Yeshua reminded had both built the tombs of the prophets & agreed with their persecution (even murder) by their forefathers).

He is also Eliakim, a faithful steward whom God raises up & entrusts with the Key of David, a civic key.    The key itself denotes empowered civic/civil authority to Judge & rule Israel. 

Justus - Just/Upright:  This name calls attention to his work as a lawyer & his recognition by the people as a prophetic ecclesiastical authority.

Cephas: - This name, found in Galatians 2, signifies his stalwart character.  He also seems to understand church politics.  

Judas - Praised/Let H/him be praised:  This name associates him with worship.  It’s use in Acts is ironic, calling attention to his zealotry for Israel, his witness to what Judas Iscariot (the assassin) had done, & his reputation for seeking to strengthen and encourage other people.  

Barsabbas - Son of the Sabbath: This name calls attention to his ecclesiastical office.  It also corresponds to Paul’s statement in Galatians 1 that he was a believer in the principle that the Sabbath & its regulations are for man not man for the Sabbath & its regulations.  It also speaks of his relationship with Christ (the (living) Sabbath).

Joseph - God will add: In Genesis God providentially places Joseph in Egypt.  He becomes Pharaoh’s right hand & protects both his own people & those of Egypt and the nations. In Matthew & Luke, Joseph is kind, listens to the angel who warns him about Herod’s plan, & protects his family by migrating them to Egypt. 

When we put these names together & survey the list of New Testament characters who might fit all of these names simultaneously, it’s pretty clear that there is only one candidate whose presence in the narrative comprehensively fits the bill — Joseph of Arimathea, a town many believed might have once existed in Judea, but is most likely fictional (on the Earth at least), being instead a literary device that calls attention to his “home office,” Mount Moriah & his heavenward outlook.  

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