Resurrection of Jesus by Stewart Robert B

Author:Stewart, Robert B. [Stewart, Robert B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fortress Press
Published: 2005-11-06T16:00:00+00:00

6

THE GOSPEL OF PETER

Does It Contain a Precanonical Resurrection Narrative?

Charles L. Quarles

Introduction

The Gospel of Peter (GP ) is a narrative of the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. 1 The document is preserved primarily in a Greek fragment consisting of sixty verses that was discovered in an amulet in a tomb in Akhmim in Upper Egypt and dated to the eighth or ninth century. It is also attested in two much smaller Greek fragments consisting of two and a half verses from the Oxyrhynchus Papyri written about 200 C.E . 2

In historical Jesus research, the scholar to make the most extensive use of the GP is John Dominic Crossan. After a detailed comparison of the GP with the intracanonical Gospels, Crossan concluded that the earliest stratum in the GP was the hypothetical Cross Gospel. 3 He argued that this early narrative was utilized by the Synoptics and by John and served as the only source of the canonical evangelists for the Passion Narrative. 4

Although Crossan’s theory has not enjoyed wide acceptance in the scholarly community, one recent scholar argued that “one can expect that all future research on GP will need to begin with a serious consideration of Crossan’s work.” 5 The remainder of this paper will examine and critique Crossan’s arguments for the priority and independence of the Cross Gospel’s description of the guards at the tomb (GP 8:29–33; 9:35–10:42; 11:45–49\\ Matt. 27:62–66 ; 28:2–4 ; 28:11–15 ). In particular, it will question whether the account of the guard at the tomb was a midrashic composition that creatively adapted narrative motifs from Joshua 10 or was an expansion of the Matthean parallel account. It will also examine internal evidence suggesting that the Cross Gospel postdates the canonical Gospels. Finally, it will discuss the implications of Crossan’s theory for Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus.

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