The Epistle of Nicodemus Concerning the Birth of Jesus of Nazareth and the Sanhedrin

The Gospel of John is the most read book in the Bible and Nicodemus is one of its pivotal characters.  As a close disciple of Jesus for over two years and as a Ruler of the Jews in Jerusalem, there was very little Nicodemus did not know about Jesus.  But in the same Gospel of John we are challenged by an enigma- the record of an event so astonishing that for centuries it has been disregarded or explained away by those who fear its implications.

The occasion, as recorded in The Gospel of John, ch7, 40-52, was that of the meeting of the Chief Priests, Pharisees and people of Jerusalem about six months prior to the Crucifixion when they were debating as to whether Jesus could be the forecasted Messiah and King of Israel.  It is clear from the text that none of them had ever heard of Jesus having been born in Bethlehem in Judea, as was expected of any Messiah, and that therefore Jesus must be an imposter.

Also present was Nicodemus, but instead of insisting that Jesus WAS born in Bethlehem, it is evident that like everyone else Nicodemus believed that Nazareth in Galilee was the birthplace of Jesus, even remaining silent when taunted by the Pharisees to try to find any scriptures which foretold that the Messiah, commonly known also as the Christ and the Prophet, would originate from that village.

How was it possible for Nicodemus and everyone in Jerusalem not to have known where Jesus was born, the scene of the Nativity events in Bethlehem being only five miles away and Jesus having been continually questioned wherever he went?Could it possibly be that the these Nativity stories, now included in Matthew and Luke's Gospels, were put together at a later time and inserted into the Gospel stories to make them more appealing?

‘The Epistle of Nicodemus’ reveals what really happened… 

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