Abstract

The article focuses on the figure of Joseph of Arimathea in the Second Gospel. Compared with the other evangelists, who define this member of the Sanhedrin as a disciple of Jesus (Matthew and John) or try to free him from the blame to have taken part in the Sanhedrin session which had condemned Jesus (Luke), Mark presents a more ambiguous and, therefore, more complex portrait of Joseph. The account of Jesus’ burial (Mk 15,42­47) allows inferring that Mark intended to show Joseph of Arimathea not as a disciple of Jesus (as claimed by several authors), but as a pious Jew, scrupulous observant of the Law, who was waiting for the manifestation of God’s final salvation.