Attitudes to Jewish and Roman Power in the Gospel and Acts of Peter Markus Bockmuehl, University of Oxford

Amsterdam, 31 May 2017

1. Introduction

a. The Complex Peter of Scripture and Reception b. Peter as Legitimator of Ecclesial Power?

2. Jewish and Roman Power in Early Christian Apocrypha

3. Two Case Studies

a. The Gospel of Peter 26 Ἐγὼ δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἑταίρων ἐλυπούμην, καὶ τετρωμένοι κατὰ

διάνοιαν ἐκρυβόμεθα· ἐζητούμεθα γὰρ ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ὡς κακοῦργοι καὶ ὡς τὸν ναὸν θέλοντες ἐμπρῆσαι.

But I and my friends were grieving and went into hiding with a wounded heart. For we were being pursued by them as if we were criminals and wanted to set fire to the Temple. (trans. MB)

46-50

(46) Ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Πειλᾶτος ἔφη· «Ἐγὼ καθαρεύω τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὑμῖν δὲ τοῦτο ἔδοξεν.» (47) Εἶτα προσελθόντες πάντες ἐδέοντο αὐτοῦ καὶ παρεκάλουν κελεῦσαι τῷ κεντυρίωνι καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις μηδενὶ εἰπεῖν ἃ εἶδον· (48) «Συμφέρει γάρ, φασίν, ἡμῖν ὀφλῆσαι μεγίστην ἁμαρτίαν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς χεῖρας τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ λιθασθῆναι.» (49) Ἐκέλευσεν οὖν ὁ Πειλᾶτος τῷ κεντυρίωνι καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις μηδὲν εἰπεῖν. (50.) Ὄρθρου δὲ τῆς κυριακῆς Μαριὰμ ἡ Μαγδαληνή, μαθήτρια τοῦ Κυρίου—φοβουμένη διὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, ἐπειδὴ ἐφλέγοντο ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς… (ed. Mara 1973)

(46) Pilate answered, “I am clean of the blood of the Son of God; but this was your idea.” (47) Then they all came to petition and implore him to order the centurion and the soldiers to tell no-one what they had seen. (48) “For it is better,” they said, “that we incur a great sin before God and don’t fall into the hands of the Jewish people and are stoned.” (49) Therefore Pilate ordered the centurion and the soldiers to tell no-one. (50) Early on the Lord’s Day Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord – out of fear of the Jews, since they were burning with anger… (trans. MB)

b. The Acts of Peter

28 Sufficiebat mihi, viri Romani, tacere et silentio mori, et relinquere vos in figmentis huius mundi. Sed ignis extinguibilis poenam ante oculos habeo. (Codex Vercellensis 158, ed. Lipsius and Bonnet 1891, 76)

Romans, I would have been happy to keep quiet and die in silence, and to leave you in the illusions of this world. But I have before my eyes the penalty of the unquenchable fire. (trans. MB)

34 Μία δέ τις γυνὴ καὶ μάλιστα εὐμορφοτάτη, γαμετὴ Ἀλβίνου τοῦ Καίσαρος φίλου, Ξαντίππη ὀνόματι, ἅμα ταῖς λοιπαῖς ματρώναις καὶ αὐτὴ συνήρχετο πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ αὐτὴ τοῦ Ἀλβίνου ἀπέστη. Ἐκεῖνος οὖν …, ὡς θηρίον ἠγριαίνετο, βουλόμενος τὸν Πέτρον διαχειρίσασθαι· ἔγνω γὰρ αὐτὸν παραίτιον γεγονότα τοῦ χωρισμοῦ τῆς κοίτης. Πολλαὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλαι γυναῖκες τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἁγνείαςἐρασθεῖσαι τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐχωρίζοντο, καὶ ἄνδρες τῶν ἰδίων γυναικῶν τὰς κοίτας ἐχώριζον διὰ τὸ σεμνῶς καὶ ἁγνῶς θέλειν αὐτοὺς θεοσεβεῖν. Θορύβου οὖν μεγίστου ὄντος ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ …

And a very beautiful woman named Xanthippe, the wife of Albinus, a friend of the emperor, also came to Peter with the other ladies and kept away from Albinus. He became enraged and … like a beast he intended to kill Peter, for he perceived that he was the cause of her leaving his bed. And many other women delighted in the preaching concerning chastity and separated from their husbands, and men too ceased to sleep with their wives, because they wished to serve God in chastity and purity. And there was a great commotion in Rome… (trans. Elliott 2004)

36 … ἰδοὺ στρατιῶται τέσσαρες αὐτὸν παραλαβόντες ἀπήγαγον τῷ Ἀγρίππᾳ. Κἀκεῖνος διὰ τὴν νόσον αὐτοῦ ἐπ’ αἰτίᾳ ἀθεότητος ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν σταυρωθῆναι. Συνέδραμεν οὖν τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὸ πλῆθος ὅλον πλουσίων τε καὶ πενήτων, ὀρφανῶν τε καὶ χηρῶν, ἀδυνάτων τε καὶ δυνατῶν, βουλόμενοι ἰδεῖν καὶ ἀφαρπάσαι τὸν Πέτρον, τῶν δήμων ἐκβοώντων ἀκατασχέτῳ καὶ μιᾷ φωνῇ· Τί ἠδίκησεν ὁ Πέτρος, Ἀγρίππα; Τί σε κακὸν διέθηκεν; Λέγε Ῥωμαίοις. … Καὶ ὁ Πέτρος …εἶπεν· Ἄνδρες, οἱ εἰς Χριστὸν στρατευόμενοι· ἄνδρες, οἱ ἐπὶ Χριστὸν ἐλπίζοντες· μέμνησθε ὧν εἴδετε δι’ ἐμοῦ σημείων καὶ τεράτων, μέμνησθε τῆς συμπαθείας τοῦ θεοῦ, δι’ ὑμᾶς πόσας ἰάσεις ἐποίησεν. Ὑπομείνατε αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενον καὶ ἀποδίδοντα

… Four soldiers arrested him and brought him to Agrippa. And being enraged he ordered that he be crucified for godlessness. And the whole multitude of the brethren came together, rich and poor, widows and orphans, able-bodied and disabled alike; they wished to see Peter and rescue him. And the people cried unceasingly with one voice, ‘What harm has Peter done, Agrippa? What evil has he done to you? Tell the Romans.’ …Peter said, ‘You men who are in the service of Christ, men who hope in Christ, remember the signs and wonders which you saw through me; think of the compassion of God, how he performed healings for your sakes. Wait for him, till he comes and rewards every

Page 2 of 2

M.B. rev. 29.5.17

ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰς πράξεις αὐτοῦ. Καὶ νῦν πρὸς τὸν Ἀγρίππαν μὴ πικραίνεσθε· διάκονος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ νῦν πρὸς τὸν Ἀγρίππαν μὴ πικραίνεσθε· διάκονος γάρ ἐστιν τῆς πατρικῆς αὐτοῦ ἐνεργείας, καὶ πάντως τοῦτο γίνεται τοῦ κυρίου φανερώσαντός μοι τὸ συμβαῖνον. (ed. Vouaux 1922)

man according to his works. And now, do not be angry with Agrippa, for he is a servant of the power of his father. And that which happens takes place as the Lord has told me that it should happen. (trans. Elliott 2004)

37-38

τὰ δεξιὰ ἀριστερὰ ἔδειξεν καὶ τὰ ἀριστερὰ δεξιά, καὶ πάντα ἐνήλλαξεν τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ σημεῖα, ὡς καλὰ τὰ μὴ καλὰ νοῆσαι καὶ ἀγαθὰ τὰ ὄντως κακά· περὶ ὧν ὁ κύριος ἐν μυστηρίῳ λέγει· Ἐὰν μὴ ποιήσητε τὰ δεξιὰ ὡς τὰ ἀριστερὰ καὶ τὰ ἀριστερὰ ὡς τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ τὰ ἄνω ὡς τὰ κάτω καὶ τὰ ὀπίσω ὡς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν, οὐ μὴ ἐπιγνῶτε τὴν βασιλείαν. Ταύτην οὖν τὴν ἔννοιαν εἰς ὑμᾶς προάξας, καὶ τὸ σχῆμα ἐν ᾧ ὁρᾶτε ἀποκρεμάμενόν με, ἐκείνου διατύπωσίς ἐστιν τοῦ πρώτως εἰς γένεσιν χωρήσαντος ἀνθρώπου. Ὑμεῖς οὖν, ἀγαπητοί μου, καὶ οἱ νῦν ἀκούοντες καὶ οἱ μέλλοντες ἀκούειν, λήξαντες τῆς πρώτης πλάνης ἐπαναδραμεῖν ὀφείλετε. (ed. Vouaux 1922)

He showed the right to be the left and the left to be the right, and he changed all the signs of his nature, so as to know the unattractive as beautiful and the really ignoble as good. The Lord says about this by means of a mystery, “Unless you make the right as the left and the left as the right, and what is above like what is below, and what is behind like what is in front, you shall not recognize the Kingdom.” (38) I explain this insight to you, and the way you see me suspended is symbolic of that man who was the first to be created. You therefore, my beloved, both those who now listen and those who will listen in the future, must abandon the first error and turn back. (trans. MB)

41 Ὁ δὲ Νέρων γνοὺς ὕστερον τὸν Πέτρον ἀπηλλαγμένον τοῦ βίου, ἐμέμψατο τῷ πραιφέκτῳ Ἀγρίππᾳ, ὅτι μὴ μετὰ γνώμης αὐτοῦ ἀνῃρέθη. Ἐβούλετο γὰρ αὐτὸν περισσοτέρᾳ κολάσει καὶ μεῖζον τιμωρήσασθαι· καὶ γάρ τινας τῶν πρὸς χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ὁ Πέτρος μαθητεύσας ἀποστῆναι αὐτοὺς ἐποίησεν· ὡς ὀργίλως διακεῖσθαι καὶ χρόνῳ ἱκανῷ τῷ Ἀγρίππᾳ μὴ λαλῆσαι. Ἐζήτει γὰρ πάντας τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ Πέτρου μαθητευθέντας ἀδελφοὺς ἀπολέσαι. Καὶ ὁρᾷ νυκτός τινα μαστίζοντα αὐτὸν καὶ λέγοντα· Νέρων, οὐ δύνασαι νῦν τοὺς τοῦ Χριστοῦ δούλους διώκειν ἢ ἀπολλύειν· ἀπέχου οὖν τὰς χεῖρας ἀπ’ αὐτῶν. Καὶ οὕτως ὁ Νέρων περίφοβος γεγονὼς ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης ὀπτασίας ἀπέστη τῶν μαθητῶν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ, καθ’ ὃν καὶ ὁ Πέτρος τοῦ βίου ἀπηλλάγη. (ed. Vouaux 1922)

When Nero later learned that Peter had departed this life, he blamed Agrippa the prefect for executing him without his knowledge. He had wanted to torture him more extensively and fully, because Peter had made disciples of some of his staff and caused them to resign. So he became angry, and was for some time not on speaking terms with Agrippa. He was plotting how to destroy all the brothers and sisters who had been taught by Peter as disciples. Then by night he saw someone whipping him and saying, ‘Nero, now you are not able to persecute or destroy the servants of Christ. Keep your hands away from them.’ And so by such a vision Nero became very anxious and kept far from the disciples after Peter’s death. (trans. MB)

4. Concluding Observations

A Few Books Ando, Clifford. 2000. Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire. Berkeley/London: University of California Press. Augustin, Philipp. 2015. Die Juden im Petrusevangelium: Narratologische Analyse und theologiegeschichtliche Kontextualisierung. BZNW 214.

Berlin/New York: de Gruyter. Baldwin, Matthew C. 2005. Whose Acts of Peter? Text and Historical Context of the Actus Vercellenses. WUNT 2:196. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Bockmuehl, Markus. 2017. Ancient Apocryphal Gospels. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Bockmuehl, Markus. 2012. Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory: The New Testament Apostle in the Early Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. Bolyki, János. 1998. "'Head Downwards': The Cross of Peter in the Lights [sic] of the Apocryphal Acts, of the New Testament and of the Society-

Transforming Claim of Early Christianity." In The Apocryphal Acts of Peter: Magic, Miracles and Gnosticism, 3:111-22. Ed. J. N. Bremmer. Leuven: Peeters.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. "The Forms of Capital." In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, 241-58. Ed. J. G. Richardson. New York: Greenwood.

Elliott, J. K. 2004. The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation. Rev. edn. Oxford/New York: Clarendon/Oxford University Press.

Foster, Paul. 2010. The Gospel of Peter: Introduction, Critical Edition and Commentary. Leiden/Boston: Brill. Lipsius, Richard Adelbert and Max Bonnet, eds. 1891. Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha. Leipzig: Mendelssohn. Mara, Maria Grazia. 1973. Évangile de Pierre: Introduction, texte critique, traduction, commentaire et index. Sources Chrétiennes 201. Paris: Cerf. Moss, Candida R. 2015. "Roman Imperialism: The Political Context of Early Christian Apocrypha." In The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian

Apocrypha, 378-88. Ed. A. Gregory and C. Tuckett. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. Nicklas, Tobias. 2001. "Die 'Juden' im Petrusevangelium (PCair 10759): Ein Testfall." New Testament Studies 47: 206-21. Nicklas, Tobias. 2014. Jews and Christians? Second-Century 'Christian' Perspectives on the 'Parting of the Ways' (Annual Deichmann Lectures 2013).

Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Omerzu, Heike. 2007. "Die Pilatusgestalt im Petrusevangelium: Eine erzählanalytische Annäherung." In Das Evangelium nach Petrus: Text, Kontexte,

Intertexte, 327-47. Ed. T. J. Kraus and T. Nicklas. TUGAL 158. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. Rhee, Helen. 2005. Early Christian Literature: Christ and Culture in the Second and Third Centuries. London: Routledge. Vouaux, Léon, ed. 1922. Les Actes de Pierre. Les apocryphes du Nouveau Testament. Paris: Letouzey et Ané.