{A councillor of honourable estate} (eusch(886d)(936e)
bouleut(8873)). A senator or member of the Sanhedrin of high
standing, rich ( Mt 27:57 ). {Looking for the Kingdom of God}
((886e) prosdechomenos t(886e) basileian tou theou). Periphrastic
imperfect. Also  Lu 23:51 . The very verb used by Luke of Simeon
and Anna ( Lu 2:25,38 ).  Mt 27:57  calls him "Jesus' disciple"
while  Joh 19:38  adds "secretly for fear of the Jews." He had
evidently taken no public stand for Jesus before now. {Boldly}
(	olm(8873)as). Aorist (ingressive) active participle, becoming
bold. It is the glory of Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples
of Jesus, that they took a bold stand when the rest were in
terror and dismay. That is love psychology, paradoxical as it may
seem.