When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
All Commentaries on Matthew 27:57 Go To Matthew 27
Hilary of Poitiers
AD 368
Joseph of Arimathea, having asked Pilate to return Jesus’ body, wrapped it in a shroud, placed it in a new tomb carved out from a rock and rolled a stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. Although this may indeed be the order of events and although it was necessary to bury him who would rise from the dead, these deeds are nevertheless recounted individually because each of them is not without some importance. Joseph is called a disciple of the Lord because he was an image of the apostles, even though he was not numbered among the twelve apostles. It was he who wrapped the Lord’s body in a clean linen shroud; in this same linen we find all kinds of animals descending to Peter from heaven. It is perhaps not too extravagant to understand from this parallel that the church is buried with Christ under the name of the linen shroud. Just as in the linen, so also in the confession of the church are gathered the full diversity of living beings, both pure and impure. The body of the Lord, therefore, through the teaching of the apostles, is laid to rest in the empty tomb newly cut from a rock. In other words, their teaching introduced Christ into the hardness of the Gentile heart, which was uncut, empty and previously impervious to the fear of God. And because he is the only one who should penetrate our hearts, a stone was rolled over the entrance to the tomb, so that just as no one previous to him had been introduced as the author of divine knowledge, neither would anyone be brought in after him.
