Narrative by Joseph of Arimathea A noncanonical, medieval text in the Pilate Cycle that claims to report on the trial and death of Jesus in the pseudonymous, first-person voice of Joseph of Arimathea (Klauck, Apocryphal Gospels, 99). This text was never widely authoritative in the early church period, nor could it have been based on its late date.

The Narrative by Joseph offers details on circulating legends of Joseph of Arimathea in the medieval period, as does the earlier Acts of Pilate, in which Joseph figures as a protagonist along with Nicodemus. The narrative was likely composed in the sixth century (Burke, Secret Scriptures, 82); the earliest version of the manuscript is from the twelfth century (Allen, “Secret Disciples,” 156).

In the Narrative by Joseph, Joseph is allegedly imprisoned for burying Jesus, just as he is in the Acts of Pilate, where he, along with Nicodemus, is also a key figure. In the Narrative, however, the legend reveals the imprisoned Joseph visited by Jesus and Dismas, the penitent thief, who all together journey to Galilee.