Date of composition

• 100 - 150.
• It was included in the Nag Hammadi Gnostic collection of the 300s.
• It was also discovered in the Gnostic Berlin Codex of the 400s

Biography of Jesus?

• No. Mainly a dialogue between Jesus, Peter, and James (the Apostle and not the half-brother).

Type of Apocrypha (heretical or in error (fake stories created by someone))

• Heretical. Contains Gnostic teachings.

Length

• 12 double-spaced pages.
• The complete writing is in the Nag Hammadi collection.

Summary

• 1 ½ years after Jesus's death, the Apostles met and, while writing books, compared what Jesus told each of them.
• Jesus appeared, called Peter and James aside, told the other Apostles to continue writing, and engaged the two Apostles in a long conversation. It focused on encouraging them plus admonishing Peter and James to follow Jesus with a pure heart.
• In the end, Jesus left, and Peter and James returned to the other Apostles.

Noteworthy from the book

1. It mentions a previous book that contained sayings of Jesus; it has not been discovered.
2. In several places, Jesus told Peter and John to become greater than he. This is a Gnostic idea because it sidesteps the Christian concept of Jesus being part of the Trinity, plus Jesus as the redeemer of humanity through the forgiveness of sin. Instead, knowledge of the Gnostic "system" is the key to realizing spiritual truth.
3. Jesus stated that they would find the kingdom of heaven through knowledge, a Gnostic idea.