"The Secret Disciple"

 "And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus." (John 18:38 KJV) 

  "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety." (Proverbs 29:25 NLT)

 Okay, so much of what I am about to say, whatever it might be, is something that is purely speculation and based upon location, circumstances, and possibilities. In other words, these are ideas of the type of relationship the Joseph of Arimathea had with Jesus, having been His secret disciple. 

 First off, a little thing to know about Joseph's position, his wealth, and the power he had been given, in order to make the request to take possession of the body of Jesus. Joseph was a member of the "the council", which would also indicate that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, specifically the "Great Sanhedrin" in Jerusalem.

 Rumor also has it, that he was a personal friend of Pilate, which made asking for the body of Jesus, that much more a personal request. Besides that, what Joseph did, offended the Jews, which allowed only a disgraceful burial to the executed. According to history, the Jews imprisoned Joseph after the burial; but Jesus released him after His resurrection. 

 Other than being a secret disciple, Joseph was known to have been a friend of Jesus, as well as Pilate; so, there was, if you will, a triangle connection between the three of them. Something of a coincidence, or just a convenient ordination in order to make God's plans all fall into place. Either way, God works things out to happen, just as they need to happen, to fit into His will and purposes! 

 One more little tidbit of information was that Joseph ended up with a certain reelect, the Holy Grail, which was the cup Jesus used in the Last Supper. He was also placed in charge of 12 missionaries, by none other than Philip, one of the Twelve Apostles. 

 Now, the real spiculation, is based upon location: the garden! This was a very special place for Jesus, as He went there often to pray, but more than that, this is also that place where the tomb was located which belonged to, none other than, Joseph of Arimathea! Friend to friend, don't you think maybe that this tomb might have been a topic of their conversations? 

 I am very convinced that this was no coincidence, because the tomb was only going to be borrowed, not a place for Jesus to be buried. You must believe, if Jesus told His disciples, plain and simply that He was going to rise again after three days, don't you think He would have mentioned it to His friend, Joseph? Especially since it would be Joseph's tomb that He would be staying in...

"[Young Women of Jerusalem] Where has your lover gone, O woman of rare beauty? Which way did he turn so we can help you find him? [Young Woman] My lover has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to browse in the gardens and gather the lilies. I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies." (SONG OF SONGS 6:1-3 NLT)