This ancient apocryphal work (a writing not included in the Bible) exists only in Coptic, the language of early Egyptian Christians. It was probably written in the fifth or sixth century AD. Like many other ancient writings of uncertain origin, it claims to tell more about Jesus than the biblical Gospels do.
The writer claims to be the apostle Bartholomew and says he wrote the book for his son, Thaddaeus. He warns Thaddaeus not to let non-Christians or false teachers read it. The book is not a story but a description of visions meant to show Bartholomew’s holiness and spiritual insight.
The text is incomplete and has many gaps. It also includes several contradictions and historical mistakes. For example, it says that two people, Joseph and Philogenes, buried Jesus. It also confuses Mary, the mother of Jesus, with Mary Magdalene. In his version of the Last Supper, the author goes beyond biblical statements about the bread and wine: “His Body was on the Table around which they gathered; and they divided it. They saw Jesus's blood pouring as living blood into the cup.”
The author adds imaginative details to the resurrection story. For example, he says Christ brought Adam out of Hades (the place of the dead). The story about the apostle Thomas doubting the resurrection of Jesus is also made longer and more dramatic than in the Gospel of John.
The most complete text of the Book of the Resurrection is in the British Museum in London. Several other fragments exist, probably from an earlier version.
See also Apocrypha; Bartholomew, the Apostle.