Gospel of Peter
Home > Apocrypha > Gospel of Peter Gospel of Peter At a Glance Gospel Genre: (2/5) ** Reliability of Dating: (2/5) ** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: English Estimated Range of Dating: 70-160 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text Roberts-Donaldson Translation English Translation by Raymond Brown English Translation by M.R. James English Translation from Sam Gibson English Translation by Andrew Bernhard English Translation by Swete Greek Text from Swete Greek Text from Bouriant Resources Roberts-Donaldson Introduction The Gospel According to Peter Patristic References to the Gospel of Peter Offsite Links Glenn Davis: Gospel of Peter Andrew Bernhard's Information Geoff Trowbridge's Introduction The Akhmm fragment of the Apocryphal Gospel of St.
Peter Greek Manuscript Photos Books Robert J. Miller, ed., The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version (Sonoma, CA: Polebridge Press 1992), pp. 393-401. Ron Cameron, ed., The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press 1982), pp. 76-82. John Dominic Crossan, Four Other Gospels (Minneapolis, MN: Winston Press 1985), pp. 125-181. Helmut Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press 1990), pp. 216-240. J. Rendel Harris, A Popular Account of the Newly-Recovered Gospel of Peter (Church History 2001) H. B. Swete, The Akhmim Fragment of the Apocryphal Gospel of Peter (Church History 2001) Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on the Gospel of Peter F.
F. Bruce writes (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 93): The docetic note in this narrative appears in the statement that Jesus, while being crucified, 'remained silent, as though he felt no pain', and in the account of his death. It carefully avoids saying that he died, preferring to say that he 'was taken up', as though he - or at least his soul or spiritual self - was 'assumed' direct from the cross to the presence of God. (We shall see an echo of this idea in the Qur'an.) Then the cry of dereliction is reproduced in a form which suggests that, at that moment, his divine power left the bodily shell in which it had taken up temporary residence.
F. F. Bruce continues (op. cit.): Apart from its docetic tendency, the most striking feature of the narrative is its complete exoneration of Pilate from alll responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate is here well on the way to the goal of canonisation which he was to attain in the Coptic Church. He withdraws from the trial after washing his hands, and Herod Antipas takes over from him, assuming the responsibility which, in Luke's passion narrative, he declined to accept. Roman soldiers play no part until they are sent by Pilate, at the request of the Jewish authorities, to provide the guard at the tomb of Jesus. The villians of the piece throughout are 'the Jews' - more particularly, the chief priests and the scribes.
It is they who condemn Jesus to death and abuse him; it is they who crucify him and share out his clothes among themselves. In The Death of the Messiah, Raymond Brown maintains that the Gospel of Peter is dependent on the canonical gospels by oral remembrance of the gospels spoken in churches. The opinion that the Gospel of Peter is dependent upon the canonical gospels directly is also a common one. Ron Cameron argues that the Gospel of Peter is independent of the canonical four (The Other Gospels, pp. 77-8): Identification of the sources of the Gospel of Peter is a matter of considerable debate. However, the language used to portray the passion provides a clue to the use of sources, the character of the tradition, and the date of composition.