The Gospel of Peter - What is it?

TL;DR:

The Gospel of Peter is a second-century heretical text that distorts Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, promoting the false idea that He only appeared human. Jesus truly suffered, died, and rose bodily, and the Bible warns against any gospel that contradicts these truths.

what does the bible say?

The Gospel of Peter is a second-century heretical text that distorts the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, promoting the false idea that He only appeared human—a teaching known as Docetism. The Gospel of Peter embellishes or fabricates events, including fantastical descriptions of the crucifixion and resurrection, claims that Jesus was crucified in Rome, and denies His authentic human experience. It also misrepresents Jesus’ words on the cross and omits critical eyewitness testimony, directly contradicting the biblical gospel. Early church leaders, including Bishop Serapion, rejected the text as a forgery, and historical references, such as those by Eusebius, highlight its docetic and even pagan influences. The Bible emphasizes Jesus’ true suffering (Isaiah 53:3-5; John 19:17-30), bodily death, and verifiable resurrection witnessed by over five hundred people (Luke 24:1-12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8) and calls us to uphold and defend these truths (Galatians 1:8-9).

from the old testament

The Gospel of Peter downplays or misrepresents Jesus’ suffering (suggesting docetic elements), but the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53:3-5 emphasizes that Jesus would truly experience pain, be pierced, and bear the sins of many.

from the new testament

The detailed account of the crucifixion in John 19:17-30 includes physical pain, mocking, and Jesus’ final words, which directly contradict Peter’s exaggerated or fantastical depictions of the crucifixion, emphasizing the historical reality of His death.
First Peter 2:24 affirms that Jesus bore our sins in His actual body, countering any claim that His suffering was only apparent or symbolic.
After Jesus’ death and burial, the women find the tomb empty and see angels (Luke 24:1-12). The resurrection is concrete and bodily, not a mystical or exaggerated spectacle as in the Gospel of Peter (which describes the cross splitting and a giant walking out).
The Gospel of Peter embellishes or fictionalizes resurrection events, while Paul affirms a verifiable, credible resurrection witnessed by five hundred people, grounding it in historical reality (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
Paul explicitly condemns anyone preaching a gospel different from the one originally delivered (Galatians 1:8-9). The Gospel of Peter’s alterations, exaggerations, and potential heretical ideas (docetism, fantastical events) directly fall under this warning.

implications for today

Probably written in the second century, the Gospel of Peter is a sixty-verse heretical work that includes the belief that Jesus couldn't have been human. The earliest manuscripts are from the eighth or ninth centuries; however, the first mention of the Gospel of Peter is a warning from the Antioch Bishop Serapion (AD 200) to avoid reading it due to its Docetic bent. Serapion also claimed the letter was a forgery.

Docetism teaches that Jesus' divinity prohibited Him from being human—that He only seemed to have a human body. Other Docetes believed Jesus was a man and then the Messiah joined Him at His baptism, gave Him powers to perform miracles, but then left Him on the cross. This false doctrine, though similar to the Muslim teaching on Jesus' death, gained no foothold in Christendom after about the year 1000.

The Gospel of Peter claims that Jesus' words on the cross were not, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) but that Jesus cried out for God's power that had left Him.

The Gospel of Peter also describes Jesus ascending to heaven from the tomb, being escorted by two men who brought Him out of the tomb and followed by a cross.

This false gospel also claims that Jesus was crucified in Rome (not Jerusalem) and that Joseph of Arimathea and Pontius Pilate were close friends (the two are not closely linked in the Bible). It makes no mention of the five hundred or more witnesses who saw Jesus bodily alive after His death.

The historian Eusebius (c. 260—c. 340) refers to the Gospel of Peter, writing that in its original references, the god spoken of is Apollo, not Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Peter is one of many false narratives that attempted to derail Orthodox Christianity in the early centuries. Most, as this one, attacked the central truth that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, and that He physically died on the cross and physically was resurrected and seen alive by more than five hundred people after His resurrection.

understand

The Gospel of Peter falsely claims Jesus only appeared human and distorts His suffering, death, and resurrection.
The Gospel of Peter contradicts the true gospel.
Early church leaders rejected the Gospel of Peter as heretical because it contradicts the reality depicted in the true Gospels..

reflect

Why is it important to know God’s Word, specifically as it relates to responding to false gospels?
How might you be tempted to accept a distorted view of Jesus, and how can Scripture guide you to the truth?
How does knowing that Jesus truly suffered, died, and rose bodily affect your trust in Him and your faith today?

engage

How can we guard against false gospels like the Gospel of Peter in our teaching and study of Scripture?
Why is it important to uphold both the humanity and divinity of Jesus when sharing the gospel with others?
How do early church responses to heretical texts like the Gospel of Peter help us understand the authority and reliability of Scripture today?