Is the Gospel of Peter in the Bible?
No. It is not in the King James Bible, in any Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox canon, or in any ancient list of accepted books. It was rejected in the second century.
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The Gospel of Peter — Free PDF Study Guide
A clear, honest introduction to the Gospel of Peter — a second-century passion and resurrection narrative written in Peter's voice but not by Peter. Recovered from a monk's grave at Akhmim in Upper Egypt in 1886, it survives only as a fragment that begins mid-trial and breaks off mid-sentence. This free guide gives the discovery story, what the text actually says, where it contradicts the four Gospels, and why bishops rejected it as early as AD 200.
An original Bible Sundays study companion. The Gospel of Peter is not Scripture and is not part of any Bible. It is studied here as an early Christian document — read it alongside Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the King James Version.
What you get
The 1886 Akhmim discovery and what the fragment contains
The talking cross and the giant angels — the scene found in no Gospel
Where the text shifts blame from Pilate to Herod
Docetism: why 'he held his peace, as though feeling no pain' was the fatal line
Bishop Serapion of Antioch and the earliest recorded rejection, c. AD 200
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What is the Gospel of Peter?
The Gospel of Peter is a short narrative of the trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, written in the first person as though by the apostle Peter ('but I, Simon Peter, and Andrew my brother...'). Scholars date it to roughly AD 150, well after the four Gospels and long after Peter's death under Nero. The surviving text is a single Greek fragment of about sixty verses, discovered in the winter of 1886–87 in a grave in the cemetery at Akhmim, Egypt, bound with fragments of 1 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Peter. It begins abruptly in the middle of Pilate's hearing and ends mid-sentence as the disciples go down to the sea.
What the text says that the Gospels do not
Three details stand out. First, Herod, not Pilate, orders the execution, and Pilate is almost exonerated. Second, at the moment of death Jesus cries out 'My power, my power, thou hast forsaken me' — a wording that has been read as the divine power departing from a merely human body. Third, and most famously, the resurrection is described directly: soldiers see two men descend, the stone rolls itself away, three figures come out of the tomb with heads reaching to heaven, and a cross follows them and speaks aloud when a voice from heaven asks whether the message was preached to them that sleep. No canonical Gospel narrates the moment of resurrection at all, and none contains a talking cross.
Why the early church rejected it
The earliest recorded verdict comes from Serapion, bishop of Antioch around AD 200. He initially permitted the church at Rhossus to read the book, then withdrew permission after examining it, writing that while most of it was in the right mind of the Saviour, some things had been added — additions that served the docetists, who denied that Christ truly suffered in a real body. The line that Jesus was silent 'as though feeling no pain' is exactly the sort of claim 1 John was written to refute. The book failed on two counts the early church cared about: it was not written by the apostle it claimed, and its Christology contradicted the apostolic witness.
How to read it wisely
The Gospel of Peter is valuable as evidence, not as Scripture. It shows how quickly legendary detail grew around the passion once eyewitnesses had died, and by contrast it shows the restraint of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — who never describe the resurrection itself, never make the cross speak, and never soften Roman guilt. Read the fragment with the four Gospels open beside it and the difference in tone is unmistakable. Test everything by the standard Paul gives in Galatians 1:8.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote the Gospel of Peter?
An unknown author writing in Peter's name, most likely in Syria around AD 150. The apostle Peter died around AD 64–67, decades before the text was composed.
What is the talking cross in the Gospel of Peter?
In the resurrection scene, a cross follows Jesus and the two angelic figures out of the tomb, and when a voice from heaven asks whether the message has been preached to them that sleep, the cross answers 'Yea.' Nothing like this appears in the four Gospels.
Why was the Gospel of Peter rejected?
Because it was falsely attributed to Peter and because passages such as 'he held his peace, as though feeling no pain' supported docetism — the heresy that Christ only appeared to have a body and only appeared to suffer.
When was the Gospel of Peter found?
In the winter of 1886–87, in a monk's grave in the cemetery at Akhmim in Upper Egypt. The manuscript copy dates from roughly the eighth or ninth century.
Does the Gospel of Peter blame the Jews for the crucifixion?
It shifts responsibility away from Pilate toward Herod and the Jewish leaders far more strongly than the canonical Gospels do — one reason modern scholars read it as a later, polemical retelling rather than an eyewitness account.
Should Christians read the Gospel of Peter?
It can be read profitably as a historical document that shows what the church rejected and why. It should never be read as Scripture or used to establish doctrine.
Can I share this study guide?
Yes. This Bible Sundays study guide is free to share for any personal, ministry, or educational purpose.
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Every name below appears in the King James Bible. Each page gives the meaning, the verse it appears in, and who carried it in Scripture.
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- ChristianFollower of Christ
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- DeborahBee
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