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Audiobook edition · 38 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 38 pagesAbout this book
What does it cost to ask for the body of a condemned man?
In The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea, a respected disciple steps forward after the death of Jesus. According to this short Christian tale, Joseph asks Pilate for the body and gives it an honorable burial. His act brings him into conflict with the leaders who oppose Jesus, and his freedom is at stake.
Traditionally attributed to Joseph, but regarded by scholars as a later Christian composition, the narrative gives him the voice of a witness. He watches Jesus on Golgotha beside the robbers Gestas and Demas. The story explores details beyond the Gospel accounts, asking what happens when a quiet act of devotion meets the force of authority.
What you’ll discover
- A witness at Golgotha See how the tale uses Joseph's own voice to bring the crucifixion close.
- Two robbers named Encounter Gestas and Demas in an expanded account of the men crucified beside Jesus.
- A request before Pilate Follow Joseph as he asks a powerful governor for the body of Jesus.
- The cost of devotion Enter a story where an honorable burial leads to anger, arrest, and lost freedom.
- Beyond the Gospel accounts Explore how an apocryphal tale fills gaps around Joseph's part in the burial.
Who will love it
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.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Joseph speaks as a witness who stood close
- Two robbers arrive with names and histories
- A stolen law sets the plot in motion
- At the cross one robber mocks and one pleads
- Jesus promises paradise and sends a written order
- Joseph begs the body and pays for it
- A light in the cell and a road to Galilee
- What the story means and how it is told
Who’s who
- Joseph of ArimatheaA wealthy man on the council who begs Pilate for the body of Jesus and recounts events as a witness.
- DemasA Galilean innkeeper and robber, kind to the poor, who confesses Jesus from the cross and asks to be remembered.
- GestasThe second robber, a man of great cruelty who mocks Jesus from the cross and demands proof.
- JesusThe condemned teacher who stays silent before his accusers, forgives the robber on the right, and is laid in a new tomb.
- Judas IscariotPresented as a kinsman of Caiaphas, placed among the disciples and paid to bring about the arrest of Jesus.
- CaiaphasThe chief priest, who faces a ruined Passover after the temple is robbed and seeks someone to blame.
- NicodemusKeeper of the keys of the sanctuary, a man of integrity who speaks against the plot and stands apart with Joseph.
- JohnThe disciple who comes to Jesus in Galilee and wants to know who the stranger beside him is.
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The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
by Attributed to Joseph of Arimathea
After burying Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea is confined and visited by Jesus and the robber Demas.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to readEnglish
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“today you will be with me in paradise”
In short
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.
The Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea at a glance
- Reading time
- About 15 min10 min fast, 15 min slow
- Length
- 3,110 words5 chapters
- Pages
- 38 pages38 in large print
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
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.
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After burying Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea is confined and visited by Jesus and the robber Demas.
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Details
- Language
- English
- Listening time
- 38 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 38 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 38 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Delivery and returns
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For Christmas, order by Thu 12 Nov
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}
}
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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.
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