Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
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The full book, start to finish.Für wen es gedacht ist
This is for readers who love the people on the edges of the Gospel scenes, for those curious about early Christian storytelling, and for anyone who enjoys a brisk first-person witness account.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
Who stands close enough to a crucifixion to hear what two dying thieves say to the man between them? In this short account, the answer is Joseph of Arimathea, the rich man who asks Pilate for the body of Jesus. He tells what he saw on the hill and what it cost him.
The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea is an anonymous early Christian text, written in Joseph's voice from its first line. It never entered the New Testament, yet Christians copied it because they wanted more of the story behind the scenes the Gospels only sketch. You meet Judas, Caiaphas, Nicodemus and a robber who receives a promise.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1Joseph speaks as a witness who stood closeFree
- 2Two robbers arrive with names and histories
- 3A stolen law sets the plot in motion
- 4At the cross one robber mocks and one pleads
- 5Jesus promises paradise and sends a written order
- 6Joseph begs the body and pays for it
- 7A light in the cell and a road to Galilee
- 8What the story means and how it is told
Punkt 1 von 8
Joseph speaks as a witness who stood close
The text opens with a plain claim. Joseph of Arimathea says he begged Pilate for the body of the Lord Jesus, and that this act cost him his freedom. Everything after that is offered as what he saw and lived through.
Scholars treat the work as an anonymous narrative, not as a record written by the Joseph of the Gospels. It survives in several versions that differ in detail, and experts place it well after the first century without agreeing on a date. The canon was settled slowly, over centuries, by many churches weighing which books matched the teaching they already held. This book was left outside.
Why would anyone want it? The Gospels say little about Joseph. They agree that he asked Pilate for the body and gave his own new tomb. To ask for a crucified man's body was to stand publicly beside a condemned man at Passover. Readers wanted to know what happened to him afterward.
The narrative answers in five short chapters. Because Joseph tells it himself, it feels like testimony given in a quiet room. Read it as a witness story that Christians treasured, though the canon left it outside.
That’s 1 of 8 key points.
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Questions about The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
What is the Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea about?
It is a short first-person account by Joseph, who asks Pilate for the body of Jesus. It tells of a plot against Jesus, the crucifixion with two named robbers, Joseph's burial of Jesus, and his time in prison.
Who are Gestas and Demas?
They are the two robbers crucified beside Jesus. Gestas, on the left, is cruel and mocks Jesus. Demas, on the right, is a Galilean innkeeper who confesses Jesus from the cross and is promised paradise.
Is the Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea in the Bible?
No. It is part of the apocrypha, early Christian writings that were read in some communities but left out of the New Testament canon, which was settled slowly by churches over several centuries.
Who wrote it and when?
The author is unknown. It speaks as Joseph of Arimathea, but scholars treat it as an anonymous text composed well after the first century. It survives in several versions, and experts do not agree on an exact date.
Is it easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that matters: it has five brief chapters, a clear first-person voice and a plain order of events. The speeches of Demas and Jesus carry much of the story and are easy to follow aloud.
Cite this edition
Joseph of Arimathea. The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-narrative-of-joseph-of-arimathea.
Joseph of Arimathea. (2026). The narrative of Joseph of Arimathea. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-narrative-of-joseph-of-arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea. The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-narrative-of-joseph-of-arimathea.
@book{josephofarimathea2026narrative,
author = {Joseph of Arimathea},
title = {The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-narrative-of-joseph-of-arimathea}
}
