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eli-kittim · 3 years

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The Giant Jesus in the Gospel of Peter

By Author Eli Kittim

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Bart Ehrman dates the non-canonical Gospel of Peter to ca. 150 ce or earlier. It’s considered to be a pseudepigraphical work. However, according to John Dominic Crossan, it seems to incorporate an early source for the passion-narrative that may predate all other known passion accounts. These scholarly views suggest that this gospel may have been inspired.

From an eschatological perspective, the giant Jesus coming out of the tomb at the end of days might actually provide the most accurate resurrection narrative to date (cf. Isa. 2.19; Dan. 12.1-2; Heb. 9.26-28). The reason for this is obvious. Revelation 1.7 claims that “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.” An average 5-foot or 6-foot man in the sky obviously cannot be seen by anyone, let alone by “every eye” of all them that dwell on the face of the earth. On the other hand, a *giant* Jesus can, in fact, be observed from many miles away, thus lending credence to the apocalyptic description in Rev. 1.7. Here’s the *resurrection narrative* in the Gospel of Peter (verses 38-40):

Therefore, having seen this, the

soldiers woke up the centurions and elders,

for they were also keeping watch. And

while they were describing to them the

things they had seen, behold, they saw

three men coming out of the tomb, with the

two young men supporting the One . . . And

the head of the two reaching unto to

heaven, but the One of whom they led out

by the hand, His head reached beyond the

heavens.

Thus, there is a description, here, of a giant resurrected Jesus coming out of the tomb. The point is that Jesus will come back to life not as an average human being but rather as a giant. Of all the postmortem appearances of Jesus, this is probably the most accurate portrayal because it seems to parallel many Biblical passages. For example, it seems to fit with the Pauline Christ——who’s portrayed as a towering figure——who will ultimately destroy the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2.8 NRSV)

with the breath of his mouth, annihilating

him by the manifestation of his coming.

It’s also congruent with another, Old Testament, verse in which the Lord appears as a massive, colossal figure: (Isa. 31.5):

Like birds hovering overhead, so the Lord of

hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect

and deliver it, he will spare and rescue it.

In another, apocalyptic, verse, only a great figure of immense proportion can annihilate a giant dragon called Leviathan (Isa. 27.1 cf. Job 41.1; Ps 74.14):

On that day the Lord with his cruel and

great and strong sword will punish

Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the

twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon

that is in the sea.

That’s precisely why we are told that “There were giants in the earth in those days” (Gen. 6.4 KJV), much like the film characters of Godzilla and King Kong. But which days is Gen. 6.4 referring to? Given that skyscrapers began to be built only in the 20th century, it seems very likely that the “Tower of Babel” (Gen. 11.4) is representative of that same time period, and thus it may have prophetic implications with regard to the end of days. For instance, why does Dan. 9.26, within its description of the last days, declare: “Its end shall come with a flood”? Similarly, why does Lk 17.30 emphatically compare Noah’s flood to the Revelation of Jesus Christ during the day of the Lord? Probably because these earlier Biblical narratives were trying to convey the exact same messages that we find in the later apocalyptic versions of the New Testament, especially in the Book of Revelation!

Conclusion

Given that the authors of the canonical gospels are themselves, at times, seemingly unfamiliar with the local geography, customs, feasts, idioms, language, law, and the religion of the Jews, we cannot therefore dismiss the gospel of Peter on similar grounds. The possibility that the gospel of Peter could incorporate the earliest source for the passion-narratives (Crossan), and that it is dated to the first half of the second century, based on independent oral traditions (Ehrman), means that it could have been a candidate for canonicity. In other words, it may turn out to be partly, if not wholly, inspired. Remember that many current books in the Bible were at one time highly controversial and were not given full canonical status until much later.

Finally, the giant resurrected Christ in the Gospel of Peter is the only version that seems to validate and confirm Revelation’s image of a towering figure on a white horse who “judges and makes war” (Rev. 19.11), and who can actually be seen from the earth (Rev. 1.7). By comparison, an average human being cannot possibly be seen “coming with the clouds of heaven.” Dan. 7.13-14 reads:

As I watched in the night visions, I saw one

like a human being coming with the clouds

of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One

and was presented before him. To him was

given dominion and glory and kingship, that

all peoples, nations, and languages should

serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion that shall not pass away, and his

kingship is one that shall never be

destroyed.

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