He New Testament It is made up 27 books which were added gradually until definitively forming this part of the Christian Bible. A series of texts were not included in it and are called apocrypha. Apocrypha means that they are not considered by the Church as the fruit of divine inspiration. Among them we find the Gospel of Peter, how is it different from the others? Why was it discarded?
The Gospel of Peter
The so-called Gospel of Peter, which only preserved in fragments, was found in Egypt between the end of 1886 and the beginning of 1887, in the tomb of a monk. Short fragments have subsequently been found in other places. Some historians date his writing to around the year 70, but most place it in the 2nd century. This written in first person by someone who identifies as «Simon Peter». The fragment that preserved is that of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. However, there are important differences with the canonical Gospels:
– Have a deep antisemitism. The blame of the death of Jesus It’s from Herod, the scribes and other Jewish leaders. He explains that «…among the Jews no one washed his hands, neither Herod nor any of his judges,» as he did Pontius Pilatewhat remains exonerated from all responsibility. The execution is ordered by Herod and not Pilate.
– The possibility is contemplated that both the suffering and death of Jesus were only apparent: «He remained silent, as if he felt no pain.» Therefore the humanity of Christ is denied, something that the other gospels do not do.
– It does not say “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”, but «My strength, my strength, you have abandoned me!»
– At no time is it mentioned that Jesus Christ died, but rather that «was received above».
– The Roman guards and many other people gathered before the tomb are witnesses of the resurrection. The text says that the sky opens and two men descend, surrounded by a great glow, the stone is removed and they enter the tomb. From inside three very tall men emerge, like giants, and behind them is the Cross.
– The Cruz appears speaking and floating behind them.
In addition to those mentioned, there are other basic differences with the canonical gospels. Yeah was discarded At the time, it was mainly because no one believed it was really written by Pedro and considering that it was a direct path to heresysince he considered that in the passion of Christ there was no real suffering because he was God.
Currently no historian attributes it to Peter either. It should also be noted that it is clearly after the canonical gospels, since many of the things it explains refer to those texts. It is believed that it was written by someone who had known the other gospels and wrote what he remembered with additions of his own.
Some sects such as the «Nazarenes» followed it as a true gospel and sometimes it is confused or included in the so-called «Gospel of the Hebrews.» It is also believed that it was used in some Christian groups in Egypt until the beginning of the Middle Ages.
If you were interested in this article, you may want to read:
–The Apocalypse of Peter that was not included in the Bible