The Gospel of Nikodemus, where is it?

Question

The Basis of Jesus’ journey to the underworld(hell) after death is found in the Gospel of Nikodemus, if I am not mistaken.

Can someone tell me where this Gospel is, why is it not in the Bible if it is suppose to be true?

Answer 1

Believed to have been written in the 3rd or 4th century due to the testimonies of the early church fathers, this is a story of Jesus’s trial, execution and brief descent into Hell.

Hell in this book is a place where everyone is destined to go and Jesus ventures there to free many of the early church patriarchs and martyrs.

Many scholars, as well as early church leaders, feel it’s a forgery to gain converts by impressing upon an individual the Savior’s power over Satan. Others see it as a redundant compilation of all other stories previously written. Finally, many of the early church fathers deemed its description of the underworld as too speculative because they viewed Hell as a state of mind and not a physical place.

Although banned, it is noteworthy that it was a very popular book that was in circulation as recently as the 1500s. Martin Luther and other early Protestant leaders forbade their followers to read it.

The first half of the book is purported to be an eyewitness account of His trial and execution and it’s the only place where it’s mentioned that Jesus saw his mother while proceeding to his crucifixion. Some scholars feel this text was a catalyst for the Catholic Stations of the Cross processional.