A letter written seven years after the crucifixion, by a personal friend of Jesus in Jerusalem, to an Essene brother in Alexandria.
This document provides a fascinating ‘account’ of the life of Jesus and in particular the Crucifixion.
Did Jesus Survive the Crucifixion? Was he revived by Joseph and Nicodemus?
The document contains details about Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus tending to the body of Jesus in the tomb, of the techniques they used to try and revive Jesus, and also the alleged reaction of Jesus upon his revival in the tomb.
Extract
Now it so happened that after the earth- quake, and many of the people had gone away, Joseph and Nicodemus arrived at the cross. They were informed of the death of the crucified, in the garden of our Breth- ren, not far from Calvary. Although they loudly lamented his fate, it nevertheless appeared strange to them that Jesus, having hung less than seven hours, should already be dead. They could not believe it, and hastily went up to the place. There they found John alone, he having determined to see what became of the beloved body. Joseph and Nicodemus examined the body of Jesus, and Nicodemus, greatly moved, drew Joseph aside and said to him : *^As sure as is my knowledge of life and nature, so sure is it possible to save him."
Authenticity
The authenticity of the document is hard to determine, as no original manuscripts exist of it. The publishers of the book state:
“This document was first discovered sometime in the 1870’s in a building in Alexandria.
It was written in ancient Latin and translated into modern German.
The document itself has disappeared; its age is not known nor is it known in what tongue the original writing was made. German and Swedish versions of this document were printed and published in the Nineteenth Century. Also an English version. It was republished by John E. Richardson in 1907 and again by the Holmes Book Company in 1919. It has since been out of print.”
Full Text of Document
Full text available online here
We hope to host the entire searchable text of this document upon this website in the near future.