Sacred text banned from the Bible 'reveals' how Jesus really died and it changes everything

Just shy of 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ died by way of crucifixion after being arrested and sentenced to death... or so we thought.

A sacred text banned from the Bible claims to reveal the identity of the person who killed Jesus, changing everything that we know about the death of the Lord.

The ancient line is written in the Acts of Pilate, more commonly known as the Gospel of Nicodemus, but despite professing the 'truth' about the Son of God, it has never been accepted into the Holy Book as we know it.

But before we get into it, let's quickly run through the time and date of Jesus' death.

The Crucifixion by Jean Francois Portaels (Getty Stock Images)

It has been universally believed that Jesus died on Good Friday, therefore he died on 3 April AD 33 at around 3pm.

Even NASA has looked into it. On its website explaining how far back in history solar eclipses have been recorded, the space agency stated its evidence.

"Christian texts mention that the Moon turned to blood after Jesus’s crucifixion – potentially referring to a lunar eclipse, during which the Moon takes on a reddish hue," it read.

"Using this textual source, scholars narrowed down a possible date of crucifixion to Friday, April 3, 33 C.E. because a lunar eclipse occurred that day."

So now we're all singing from the same hymn sheet, let's get into it.

Pierced by a spear on the cross

In the Bible, the book of John chapter 19 verse 34 (John 19:34), it references a Roman soldier having stabbed Jesus - who many scholars believe would have likely actually have been called Yeshu Nazarene.

The verse in question reads: "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out."

But who was that soldier?

Sculpture of Jesus and Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced Christ in his side with a lance, in the Cathedral of Leon, Spain (Getty stock)

The man known as Longinus

In the Gospel of Nicodemus, the scripture claims to know the identity of that solider. His Name? Longinus.

Deep in the book it notes that Longinus took a lance and pierced the side of Jesus, and just like in the Book of John, blood and water poured out of him.

While the Eastern Orthodox Church claim Longinus to be the person quoted in Matthew 27:54 saying "Truly this was the Son of God," after an earthquake followed Jesus' death.

Despite having never been named in the Bible, legend has it that he witnessed the supernatural events that took place and converted to Christianity.

However, there's no physical or historical evidence that actually confirms Longinus to be a real person, although there are many stories that have been passed down which details how he was later killed due to his Christian beliefs - having preached the gospel.

That was at a time when Christianity was illegal - during the early centuries of the Roman Empire.

The Statue of Saint Longinus the Centurion Rome's St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City (Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images)

While there is no evidence to confirm his existence, other than scripture, a statue of Longinus can be found under the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican City.

Why the Gospel of Nicodemus was banned

There is a debate over who exactly wrote the scripture due to the date recorded.

It was never canonized by early Church leaders. It is thought that it is because it is a later work dating back to around the 4th or 5th century - so hundreds of years after the events took place.

Although many others believe it was the work of Nicodemus, who was mentioned in the Gospel of John as to having helped bury Jesus.