Gospel of Nicodemus

The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate (Latin: Acta Pilati; Greek: Πράξεις Πιλάτου), is an apocryphal gospel claimed to have been derived from an original Hebrew work written by Nicodemus, who appears in the Gospel of John as an associate of Jesus. The title The Gospel of Nicodemus is medieval in origin. The dates of its accreted sections are uncertain, but scholars agree in assigning the resulting work to the middle of the fourth century AD.

The section about Pilate is an older text found in the Greek Acts of Peter and Paul and is a purported official document from Pontius Pilate (or composed from reports at the praetorium at Jerusalem) reporting events in Judea to Emperor Tiberius, and referring to the crucifixion of Jesus, as well as his miracles.

The oldest sections of the book appear first in Greek. The text contains multiple parts, which are uneven in style and would seem to be by different hands. The Acts of Pilate does not purport to have been written by Pilate (thus is not pseudepigraphical), but does claim to have been derived from the official acts preserved in the praetorium at Jerusalem.

The authenticity of the document is unlikely and there is no historical basis that Roman governors wrote reports about non-citizens who were put to death. Most modern scholars view the Acts of Pilate as not authentic and as a Christian composition designed to rebut pagan sources.

The main body of the Gospel of Nicodemus is in two sections, with an appendix, Descensus ad Infernos—the Harrowing of Hell—and is found to be a later addition to some versions including Greek and Latin. The first (chapters i–xi) contains the trial of Jesus based upon Luke 23. In addition to the Greek and Latin witnesses of the first part, there are three other notable ancient versions including Syriac or Aramaic (also known as Hebrew in the 1st century), Armenian, and Coptic. The second part (xii–xvi) concerns the Resurrection. In it, Leucius and Charinus, the two souls raised from the dead after the Crucifixion, relate to the Sanhedrin the circumstances of the descent of Christ to Limbo. A literature of miracle-tale romance developed around a conflated "Leucius Charinus" as an author of further texts. The Harrowing of Hell episode depicts St Dismas accompanying Christ in Hell, and the deliverance of the righteous Old Testament patriarchs.

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