Luke 23:51

who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes Joseph of Arimathea, a Sanhedrin council member, immediately after Jesus has been crucified and laid in a tomb. The account records his political nonparticipation and his spiritual expectation as he prepares to approach Pilate.

The words — The participle συγκατατεθειμένος (sugkatatetheimenos) literally means “having consented,” negated by οὐκ (ouk) “not,” to state plainly that Joseph did not join the council’s verdict. This grammatical construction isolates his official stance from the group’s collective decision.

The thread — The text places Joseph’s expectation of the kingdom of God alongside other biblical figures who awaited divine intervention, specifically Simeon waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25) and Anna waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:38).

Why it lands — The passage first establishes Joseph’s factual refusal to endorse the council’s action and his factual hope for God’s kingdom before noting his subsequent request for Jesus’ body. It requires a reader to observe how a documented political distance and a defined spiritual hope directly enable a risky public act.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

Cross-references

Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luke 2:38 Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Genesis 37:21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.
Genesis 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
Genesis 49:18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
Isaiah 8:12 “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Council member who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God, boldly went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.
Exodus 23:2 You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
1 Samuel 1:1 Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
Proverbs 1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.