Gospel of Peter

1. But of the Jews none washed his hands, neither Herod, nor any one of His judges; and since they did not choose to wash them, Pilate arose. And then Herod the king commandeth the Lord to be taken, saying unto them, What things soever I commanded you to do unto Him, do ye.

2. Now there stood Joseph, the friend of Pilate and of the Lord; and knowing that they were about to crucify Him, he came to Pilate, and begged the body of the Lord for burial. And Pilate sent to Herod and begged His body; and Herod said, Brother Pilate, even if no man had begged Him, we should bury Him, inasmuch as the Sabbath draweth on; for it is written in the law that the sun set not on one that hath died by violence.

3. And he delivered Him to the people before the first day of unleaved bread, their feast. So they took the Lord and pushed Him as they ran, and said, Let us hale the Son of God, since we have gotten power over Him. And they clothed Him with purple, and set Him on a seat of judgment, saying, Judge righteously, O King of Israel. And one of them brought a crown of thorns and put it on the head of the Lord, and others stood and spat upon His eyes, and others smote His cheeks; others pierced Him with a reed, and some scourged Him saying, With this honour let us honour the Son of God.

4. And they brought two malefactors, and crucified the Lord in the midst of them; but He held His piece, as in no wise suffering pain. And when they had set up the cross, they placed on it the superscription, This is the King of Israel. And they laid His garments before Him, and parted them, and cast lots upon them, saying, We have suffered thus for the ills that we wrought, but this man - what wrong hath He done you in that He became the Saviour of men? And they had indignation against Him, and commanded that His legs should not be broken, to the end that He might die in torments.

5. Now it was midday, and darkness overspread all Judaea; and they were troubled and distressed lest the sun had set, inasmuch as He was yet alive; it is written for them that the sun set not on one that hath died by violence. And one of them said, Give Him gall to drink with vinegar; and they mixed and gave Him to drink. So they accomplished all things, and filled up their sins upon his head. And many went about with lamps, supposing that it was night; and some fell. And the Lord cried aloud, saying, My power, my power, thou has left Me; and having said this He was taken up. And the same hour the veil of the temple of Jerusalem was torn in twain.

6. And then they drew the nails from the hands of the Lord, and laid him upon the earth; and the whole earth was shaken, and great fear came upon them. Then the sun shone out, and it was found to be the ninth hour. But the Jews rejoiced, and they gave His body to Joseph to bury it, inasmuch as he beheld all the good things that He did. So he took the Lord and washed Him, and wrapped Him in linen and brought Him into his own tomb, called Joseph's Garden.

7. Then the Jews and the elders and the priests, knowing what evil they had done to themselves, began to bewail and say, Woe to our sins! the judgment is at hand, and the end of Jerusalem. And I with my fellows was in sorrow, and being wounded at heart we his ourselves, for we were sought for by them as malefactors and as minded to burn the temple; and besides all this, we were fasting, and we sat mourning and weeping night and day until the Sabbath.

8. But the Scribes and Pharisees and elders, being assembled together and hearing that the whole people murmured and beat their breasts, saying, If these exceeding great signs were wrought at His death, see how righteous He was - the elders were afraid and came to Pilate, beseeching him and saying, Deliver to us soldiers, that we may guard His sepulchre for three days, lest His disciples come and steal Him away, and the people suppose that He is risen from the dead, and do us mischief. So Pilate delivered unto them Petronius the centurion with soldiers to guard the tomb; and with them there came elders and scribes to the sepulchre, and having rolled a great stone, the centurion and the soldiers, and all who were there together placed it at the door of the sepulchre; and they spread upon it seven seals, and pitched a tent there and kept guard. Now when it was morning, at the dawning of the Sabbath, there came a crowd from Jerusalem and the country round about to see the sepulchre, how it has been sealed.

9. Now on the night when the Lord's Day was drawing on, as the soldiers kept guard by two and two in a watch, there was a great voice in heaven, and they saw the heavens opened, and two men descend form thence with much light and draw nigh unto the tomb. And the stone which had been cast at the door rolled away itself and made way in part, and the tomb was opened, and both the young men entered in. The soldiers, therefore, when they saw it, awakened the centurion and the elders (for they were also there keeping watch); and as they told the things that they had seen, again they see three men coming forth from the tomb, two of them supporting the other, and a cross following them; and the head of the two reached the heaven; but that of Him who was led by them overpassed the heavens. And they heard a voice from the heavens, saying, Thou didst preach to them that sleep; and a response was hear from the cross, Yea.

10. They took counsel, therefore, with one another to go and shew these things unto Pilate. And while they yet thought on this, the heavens again appeared to open, and a man descended and entered into the sepulchre. When they saw this, they of the centurion's company hastened by night to Pilate, leaving the tomb which they were guarding, and told all that they had seen, greatly distressed and saying, Truly He was the Son of God. Pilate answered and said; I am clean from the blood of the Son of God, but this was your pleasure. Then they all came near and besought him, and entreated him to command the centurion and the soldiers to say nothing as to the things which they had seen; for it is expedient for us (they said) to be guilty of a very great sin before God, and not to fall into the hands of the people of the Jews and be stoned. Pilate therefore commanded the centurion and the soldiers to say nothing.

11. Now at down on the Lord's Day Mary Magdalene, a female disciple of the Lord - afraid by reason of the Jews, forasmuch as they were inflamed with wrath, she had not done at the sepulchre of the Lord what women are wont to do for those who die and who are dear to them - took with her her female friends, and came to the sepulchre where He was laid. And they feared lest the Jews should see them, and they said, Although we could not weep and bewail Him on the day when He was crucified, let us do so now at His sepulchre, that we may enter in and sit by Him, and do the things that are due? for the stone was great, and we fear lest any man see us. And if we cannot, even though we should cast at the door the things which we bring for a memorial of Him, we will weep and bewail Him until we come to our house. So they went and found the tomb open, and they came near and stooped down to look in there; and they see there a young man sitting in the midst of the tomb, fair and clothed with a robe exceeding bright, who said to them, Wherefore are ye come? whom seek ye? Him who was crucified? He is risen and gone. But if ye believe not, stoop down and look in, and see the place where He lay, that He is not here; for He is risen and gone thither from whence he was sent. Then the women fled affrighted.

12. Now it was the last day of unleavened bread, and many went out of the city returning to their houses, the feast being at an end. And we the twelve disciples of the Lord wept and were in sorrow, and every men withdrew to his house sorrowing for that which had come to pass. But I Simon Peter and Andrew my brother took our nets and went to the sea; and there was with us Levi the son of Alphaeus whom the Lord . . .

Early Christian Writings is copyright © Peter Kirby <E-Mail>.