THE SECRET DISCIPLE

     Joseph of Arimethea was a rich man and he owned a fleet of ships, transporting tin from Britain to outposts of the Roman Empire across the seas. He was one of the wealthiest individuals in the world in the time that he lived.  

     Joseph was the son of Mattahis and of the lineage of King David, and he was the also the uncle of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which made Joseph the great uncle of the Lord. And after Joseph, the husband of Mary, died, Joseph of Arimethea became the legal guardian of the children of Joseph and Mary, including Jesus.

     Other than Mary, no person on earth knew more about Jesus than Joseph of Arimethea; yet his name is mentioned in only six verses in the New Testament. 

     As the apostles of Jesus departed Jerusalem to take the Good News of Christ to the uttermost parts of the world, Joseph of Arimethea, a disciple of Jesus, provided his ships as vehicles of transportation for the apostles and many disciples to Africa, India, Russia, Greece, Rome, Spain, Turkey, France, and Britain.  How else could the apostles and disciples reach their destinations so quickly other than by sea?

     Britain was a land abundant in natural resources:  gold, copper, iron, lead, salt, silver, and tin, which the Romans used throughout the Empire.  Tin was used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion and tin was mined from the Mendip Hills near Glastonbury, where Joseph's ships made many voyages---not only to pick up and deliver tin, but also to bring the apostles and disciples.

     Britain was also the land that experienced the largest growth of conversions to Jesus, and the apostle Philip, who had been preaching and teaching in France, sent 160 disciples to Britain to help train and educate the new converts in Britain.  Joseph was also an educator for new believers.

     Because of Joseph's business and personal relationships with British royalty, the kings of Britain gave Joseph and his companions 2,000 acres of land, tax free, on which the believers of Christ erected the first Christian church building in the world in 37 A.D. at Glastonbury.

     On one of Joseph's voyages from Israel to Glastonbury, his passengers included:  Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary and Martha; Marcella, the Bethany sisters maid; Mary Magdalene;  Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead; Eutropius; Salome; Maximin; Martial; Trophimus; Sidonius; and Cleon.  All of these people came to help with the growth of the church, and it was there, in Glastonbury, where Jesus' mother, Mary, lived for the rest of her life, and where she was likely buried.

     Joseph of Arimethea was of the lineage of King David, and his daughter, Anna, married Beli, King of Britain.  Beli was also of the lineage of King David.  Thus the marriage of Anna and King Beli began the royal bloodline of King David that would produce kings, queens, dukes, earls, princes, and princesses, from Glastonbury to Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, France, and also the United States, for the bloodlines of at least 25 U.S. Presidents has been traced to the United Kingdom, including current U.S. President, Barack Obama, because his mother was a Jew, and also because the Obama family name has genetic roots in Ireland.

     What happened at Glastonbury was only the beginning of something truly wonderful:  centuries later, Great Britain and the United States would promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ and produce more Christians, more missionaries, more teachers, preachers, ministers, evangelists, and more Christian educational centers in more places throughout the world than any two nations in human history.

     Britain would also produce the earliest Christian colleges and universities as well as the first translation of the Bible to the English language.

     In it all and through it all, Joseph of Arimethea has gone virtually unnoticed and unmentioned, which is probably the way Joseph would have wanted it to be:  as the secret disciple, giving his life and using his abundance of financial gains for his great nephew, Jesus Christ.

The "wattle and daub" Christian church of the first century is believed to have stood on the site where the Lady Chapel stands today in Glastonbury, Britain.

     An artist's impression of the thatched "wattle and daub" Christian church at Glastonbury, Britain, during the time of Joseph of Arimethea.