En rik man hade också blivit lärjunge till Jesus : Huruvida beskrivningen av rikedom i Matt 27:57 stämmer överens med hur övriga Matteusevangeliet beskriver rikedom

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to understand if the picture of wealth in Matthew 27:57, where Joseph of Arimathea is described as rich, is coherent with the picture of wealth that appears in the rest of the Gospel of Matthew. This is investigated through an analysis of passages in the Gospel of Matthew, which implicitly or explicitly are associated with wealth. The greek word πλούσιος that depicts Joseph as rich is utilized to find passages that explicitly talk about wealth. Wealth is defined as all possessions that exceed what is necessary for a person’s absolute survival. This definition is crucial in the investigation of passages that implicitly discuss wealth. The first analysis is then followed up by a dissection of the one verse of Matthew 27:57 and its context, before a final comparison of the one verse and the whole Gospel is presented. My conclusions are that wealth in itself is portrayed neutrally both in 27:57 and the whole Gospel, and gets positive connotations when it through a loyal relationship to God is used in God’s service. This means that the one verse is coherent with the larger narrative in the question about how wealth is portrayed, and that the presentation of Joseph as rich, therefor is part of a harmonious theme through the Gospel of Matthew.