Gospel of St. Peter?
Gospel of St. Peter?
The Gospel of Peter has several intriguing features. These include a similarity to the 4 canonical gospels, a distinct anti-Judaism, its suppression by the early church, and its potentially docetic character. The latter aspect, docetism , assumes that if the Cosmic-Christ was truly divine he could not be human, and thus he could not actually suffer and die. Docetism stems from the Greek “appear” and suggests that Christ only appeared to be a flesh and blood human. Clearly, this alleged lack of suffering and death flew in the face of the early church, making it decidedly heretical.
According to Bart Ehrman, a slight variation of the docetism of the ancient Christians assumed Jesus to be a real flesh-and-blood human. “But Christ was a separate being, a divine being who, as a God, can only indirectly feel pain and death. In this view, the divine Christ descended from heaven in the form of a dove at Jesus’ baptism and entered into him; the divine Christ then empowered Jesus to perform miracles and deliver spectacular teachings, until the end when, before Jesus died (since the divine cannot die), the Christ left him once more. That is why Jesus cried out, ‘My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?’ (see Mark 15:34). Or as it can be more literally translated, “Why have you left me behind?”
Either alternative in interpretation is clearly not in the interests of a religious hierarchy or authority intent upon ruling on the basis of guilt, fear, and unrequited sin. Thus, while the Gospel of Peter has distinct similarities to the canonical gospels, the differences are substantial in terms of philosophy and church teachings. Of particular note is The “Whole” Bible website’s comment of:
“The Gospel of Peter was eventually branded as heretical, if for no other reason, because it seemed to deny the suffering of Jesus. The particular passage (4:1) reads, "And they brought two criminals and crucified the Lord between them. But he himself remained silent, as if in no pain." This agrees with the expected silence of the "suffering servant" in Isaiah 53:7, and is therefore not necessarily a docetic statement.”
Peter freed from Jerusalem prison
The Reluctant Messenger website notes a distinct prominence assigned to Mary Magdalen – something possibly connected with the Gospel of Mary of Magdala where Peter was at first highly suspicious of Mary’s claim to have secret knowledge from Jesus. This would imply that if the Gospel of Peter is truly Peter’s teachings, then it would appear that he very much took to heart the lessons he learned from Mary Magdalene. Her gospel has been fully and beautifully "restored" by the poet Maria de Groot and has been published in the Dutch language. An Oratorio about Mary’s Gospel in the "restored" version has been written by the Dutch composer Leo Kohlenberg. The Audio-CD and Sheetmusic have been published in both the Dutch and English language.
Of some potential significance is the question of the chronology of which gospel was written first – the implication that the earlier versions were somehow more accurate having been closer to the time of the events recorded. Of course, we’re talking about a minimum period of 30 to 50 years between the time of the Crucifixion and the time when almost any scholar would assign to the writing down of any gospel, canonical or otherwise. This separation of a generation between deeds and recordings does not lend itself to exceptional credibility.
The “Whole” Bible website notes that: “Modern scholars initially had assumed that Peter’s gospel was dependent upon the synoptic (similar) gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke). Recently the possibility has been examined that this passion narrative is in fact the earliest of the known accounts. The gospel contains none of the "special" Matthean or Lukan material that would be expected if those gospels had priority. In fact, Peter’s source for the passion narrative may have been the same one used by both Mark and John.”
Trinity or just Divinity?
St Nicolas vs Arius
“Peter’s gospel relies very heavily upon references to Jewish messianic prophecy; more so than even Matthew. The trend in later gospel writings (particularly John) was to ignore messianic expectations, giving further support to an earlier date of its composition.”
Thus while the Gospel of Peter may well have been written earlier, there is still the open question as to its higher credibility than other gospels. In the end, the question is almost always one of which philosophy one wishes to embrace. If suffering appeals to you, then there are gospels tailored to such beliefs. If knowledge and gnosis is more appealing, this too can be provided. References:
Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities
reluctant-messenger.com/gospel-of-peter.htm
earlychristianwritings.com/gospelpeter.html
earlychristianwritings.com/text/actspeter.html
apocalypse of peter
Rudolf Steiner: the fifth gospel
Matthew 16:18-19
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
"And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven,
and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven."
Isaiah 22:22
I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David;
what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
THE LOST GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER ?
1. None of the Jews washed his hands, neither did Herod nor any one of his judges. Since they refused to wash, Pilate stood up. Then Herod the king orders the Lord to be taken away, saying to them "Do what I commanded you to do to him."
2. Joseph stood there, the friend of Pilate and the Lord, and knowing that they were about to crucify him, he went to Pilate and asked for the body of the Lord for burial. 2 And Pilate sent to Herod and asked for his body. 3 And Herod replied, "Brother Pilate, even if no one had asked for him, we would have buried him since the sabbath is drawing near. For it is written in the Law, "The sun must not set upon one who has been executed.’" And he turned him over to the people on the day before the Unleavened Bread, their feast.
3. They took out the Lord and kept pushing him along as they ran; and they would say, "Let’s drag the son of God since we have him in our power." 2 And they threw a purple robe around him and made him sit upon the judgment seat and said, "Judge justly, King of Israel." 3 And one of them brought a crown a thorns and set it on the Lord’s head. 4 And others standing around spat in his eyes, and others slapped his face, while others poked him with a rod. Some kept flogging him as they said, "With this, let us pay proper respect to the son of God."
4. And they brought two criminals and crucified the Lord between them. But he kept silence, as though feeling no pain. 2 After raising the cross, they wrote on it: "This is the King of Israel." 3 And they laid his garments before him, and divided them among themselves and gambled for them. 4 But one of those criminals reproached them, saying, "We suffer for the evils we have done; but this man who has become the savior of men, what wrong has he done to you?" 5 They were angry at him, and ordered that his legs should not be broken, so he might die in torment.
5. Now it was midday and darkness came over all of Judaea. They were troubled and in agony because the sun had set while he was still alive. For it is written that, "The sun should not set upon him that has been executed." 2 And one of them said, "Give him vinegar and gall to drink." And they mixed it and gave it to him to drink. 3 And they fulfilled all things and brought their sins upon their own heads. 4 Now many went about with lamps, supposing that it was night, and they fell. 5 And the Lord cried out aloud saying, "My power, my power, you have forsaken me." After he had said this, he was taken up. In that hour the veil of the temple of Jerusalem was rent in two.
6. And then they pulled the nails from the hands of the Lord and laid him on the ground. And the whole earth quaked, and great fear arose on all. Then the sun came out, and it was found to be the ninth hour. Now the Jews rejoiced, and gave his body to Joseph to bury it, because he had seen the good things he did. Joseph took the Lord and washed him and wrapped him in linen and brought him into his own tomb, which is called the Garden of Joseph.
7. Then the Jews, the elders and the priests, perceiving the great evil they had done to themselves, began to lament and say, "Woe for our sins! The judgment and the end of Jerusalem is near!" 2 And I began weeping with my friends, and we hid ourselves out of fear of being sought for by them as criminals, and as wishing to set the temple on fire. 3 And besides all these things we were fasting, and we sat mourning and weeping night and day until the Sabbath.
8. But the scribes and Pharisees and elders gathered together, for they had heard that all the people were murmuring and beating their breasts, saying, "If these very great signs have come to pass at his death, he must have been innocent!" 2 And the elders were afraid and came to Pilate, begging him and saying, 3 "Give us soldiers that we may guard his tomb for three days, in case his disciples come and steal him away and the people suppose that he is risen from the dead, and do us harm." 4 And Pilate gave them Petronius the centurion with soldiers to watch the tomb. And the elders and scribes came with them to the tomb. 5 All who were there with the soldiers rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb 6 and plastered seven seals on it. Then they pitched a tent there and kept watch.
9. Early in the morning, as the Sabbath dawned, there came a large crowd from Jerusalem and surrounding areas to see the sealed tomb. 2 But during the night before the Lord’s day dawned, as the soldiers were keeping guard two by two in every watch, there came a great sound from above,3 and they saw the heavens open and two men descend, shining a great light, and approach the tomb. 4 The stone that was placed at the door rolled away by itself to one side, and the tomb was opened and both of the young men went in.
10. When the soldiers saw that, they awoke the centurion and the elders that were keeping guard. 2 As they were telling them what they had seen, they saw three men come out of the tomb, two of them supporting the third, and a cross following them. 3 The heads of the two supporting reached up to heaven, but the head of him that was supported reached beyond heaven. 4 And they heard a voice from heaven saying:"Have you preached to them that sleep?" 5 The answer that was heard from the cross was, "Yes!"
11. Those that watched all this discussed whether to go and report these things to Pilate. 2 And while they thought about it, the heavens opened again and a man descended and entered the tomb. 3 When those who were with the centurion saw that, then decided to leave the tomb and hurry into the night to Pilate. They told all what they had seen. They were in great despair and said, "He was certainly the son of God!" 4 Pilate answered them, saying, I do not have the blood of the son of God on my hands. This was all your doing." 5 They all came near and besought him and pleaded with him to order the centurion and the soldiers to tell nothing of what they had seen. 6 "For," they said, "it is better for us to be guilty of the greatest sin before God, than to fall into the hands of the Jews and be stoned." 7 Pilate therefore ordered the soldiers to say nothing.
12. At dawn on the Lord’s day, Mary of Magdala, a disciple of the Lord, was afraid of the Jews, for they were inflamed with rage, so she had not performed at the tomb of the Lord the things that are customary for women to do for their loved ones that have died. 2 She took with her some women friends and came unto the tomb where he had been laid. 3 And fearing that the Jews would see them, said, "Even if we were not able to weep and lament him on the day that he was crucified, let us do so now at his tomb. 4 But who will roll away for us the stone that is set upon the door of the tomb, so that we may enter and sit beside him and do what needs to be done?" 5 The stone was indeed great. "We fear that someone might see us. And if we cannot roll the stone away, let us place at the door the things we brought as a memorial of him, and we will weep and beat our breasts until we return back home."
13. And they went and found the tomb open. They came closer and looked in and saw a young man sitting in the middle of the tomb; looking beautiful and clothed in a very bright looking robe. He said to them, 2 Why are you here? Who do you seek? Are you looking for the one that was crucified? He is risen and gone. If you don’t believe it, look here and see the place where he was laid down, but he is not there. For he has risen and is gone to the place he came from. 3 Then the women fled in fear.
14. Now it was the last day of the unleavened bread, and many were returning to their homes as the feast was ending. 2 But we, the 12 disciples of the Lord, continued weeping and mourning, and each one still grieving about what happened, left for his own home. 3 But I, Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother, took our fishing nets and went to the sea. With us was Levi, the son of Alphaeus, whom the Lord…
Acts of Pietro: Vercelli # XXXVIII,
painted by Michelangelo Buonarotti in 1541
Catholic tradition holds that Peter, after a ministry of 34 years, travelled to Rome and met his martyrdom there along with Paul on 13 October 64 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. His execution was one of the many martyrdoms of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome. Peter was crucified head downwards, by his own request. The crucifixion took place near an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Circus of Nero. The obelisk now stands in St. Peter’s Square and is revered as a "witness" to Peter’s death. It is one of several ancient Obelisks of Rome.
According to tradition, Peter’s remains were buried just outside the Circus, on the Mons Vaticanus across the Via Cornelia from the Circus, less than 150 metres (490 ft) from his place of death. The Via Cornelia was a road which ran east-to-west along the north wall of the Circus on land now covered by the southern portions of the Basilica and St. Peter’s Square. A shrine was built on this site some years later. Almost three hundred years later, Old St. Peter’s Basilica was constructed over this site.
The area now covered by the Vatican City had been a cemetery for some years before the Circus of Nero was built. It was a burial ground for the numerous executions in the Circus and contained many Christian burials as for many years after the burial of Saint Peter, many Christians chose to be buried near him.
Emblem of the Holy See
Salvator Mundi,
painted by Leonardo da Vinci ≈1500