Gospel of Peter


Date of composition

  • Probably in the mid- to late 100s, since Serapion of Antioch (d. 211) mentioned it.

Biography of Jesus?

  • Begins with Jesus on trial and ends with Jesus being crucified.

Type of Apocrypha (heretical or in error (made up))

  • Error and possibly heretical.
  • Serapion claimed it came from the "Docetae," who believed in Gnosticism and taught that Jesus was not physical but a spirit that seemed physical.

Length

  • 8 double-spaced pages.
  • The beginning and end are missing.

Summary

  • See biography above and noteworthy below. The book correctly borrows from the four Gospels in many places, but it includes Docetic teachings and many created stories.

Noteworthy from the book

  1. Herod Antipas, not Pilate, controlled the trial of Jesus.
  2. Because one thief spoke kindly about Jesus while on the cross, the Romans did not break his legs so that he would suffer longer.
  3. Jesus cried out on the cross, "My power, you have forsaken me" instead of, "Father, why do you forsake me?"
  4. It suggested that Jesus felt no pain on the cross. (This is a Docetic belief. Docetism taught that Jesus was not physical but a spirit, and spirits cannot feel pain.)
  5. The writing carefully avoids saying that Jesus died. Instead, it states that he was "taken up."
  6. After the sky darkened and the earth shook, some Jewish leaders realized they had made a mistake.
  7. After Jesus's body was buried, the Jewish leaders began to search for the Apostles, partly because a rumor circulated that the Apostles wanted to set fire to the Temple.
  8. After Jesus's tomb was sealed and guards were posted around it, many people from Jerusalem came out to see the spectacle.
  9. During the night, the guards heard a loud voice from heaven, saw heaven open, and two men descended. The stone rolled away by itself. The two men entered the tomb and came out, helping a third man walk. A cross followed them, a voice from heaven spoke, and the cross answered, "Yes."
  10. Peter is mentioned only once at the end, where he says that he, Andrew, and Matthew went fishing.

© 2024 Mark Nickens