Overview
After Jesus, Peter is the most frequently mentioned individual both in the Gospels and in the New Testament as a whole. He was the leading disciple, the "rock" on which Jesus would build his church. How can we know so little about this formative figure of the early church?
World-renowned New Testament scholar Markus Bockmuehl introduces the New Testament Peter by asking how first- and second-century sources may be understood through the prism of "living memory" among the disciples of the apostolic generation and the students of those disciples. He argues that early Christian memory of Peter underscores his central role as a bridge-building figure holding together the diversity of first-century Christianity. Drawing on more than a decade of research, Bockmuehl applies cutting-edge scholarship to the question of the history and traditions of this important but strangely elusive figure. Bockmuehl provides fresh insight into the biblical witness and early Christian tradition that New Testament students and professors will value.
World-renowned New Testament scholar Markus Bockmuehl introduces the New Testament Peter by asking how first- and second-century sources may be understood through the prism of "living memory" among the disciples of the apostolic generation and the students of those disciples. He argues that early Christian memory of Peter underscores his central role as a bridge-building figure holding together the diversity of first-century Christianity. Drawing on more than a decade of research, Bockmuehl applies cutting-edge scholarship to the question of the history and traditions of this important but strangely elusive figure. Bockmuehl provides fresh insight into the biblical witness and early Christian tradition that New Testament students and professors will value.
Endorsements
"Probing intelligence, originality without eccentricity, flawless scholarship, felicitous style--all of Bockmuehl's much admired gifts are generously displayed in this volume. Those wishing to trace the footsteps of the 'underestimated apostle' in early Christianity will find no better guide than Bockmuehl and no better exposition of why that journey of remembrance matters."
C. Clifton Black, Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
"Bockmuehl has long distinguished himself as a careful historian, sensitive to both Jewish and Greco-Roman dimensions of the early Christian movement and an astute reader of literary texts. This well-written and ecumenically sensitive volume draws on all his impressive skills. New insights abound regarding the portrayal of Peter in the New Testament and in nonbiblical sources from the second century."
Gary Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre Dame
"Bockmuehl draws on his previous investigations of Peter to provide here a valuable study that combines amazing breadth of coverage of evidence (textual, artistic, and archaeological), sensitive and cogent analysis, and thoughtful concluding reflections for Protestant and Catholic Christians today. He takes readers on an intriguing tour of early Christian traditions about Peter with full knowledge of scholarly studies and also an appropriate exercise of his own judgment. The results are fascinating and 'must' reading for anyone seriously interested in early Christianity and its aftermath."
Larry Hurtado, emeritus professor of New Testament language, literature, and theology, University of Edinburgh
"It is a joy to welcome Markus Bockmuehl's latest study on Peter the apostle. Not since Cullmann in 1952 has there been such a thorough examination of the biblical information on Peter. This quest is pursued along with the Oxford tradition of patristic scholarship and with contemporary methodological sophistication, especially in regard to memory. Inscriptions and archaeology are also mined for their contributions. The whole work is inspired by a heart that beats for truth, for ecumenical understanding, and for reconciliation."
Benedict T. Viviano, OP, Vienna; professor emeritus, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
"Widely esteemed New Testament scholar Markus Bockmuehl here sums up his research into the 'historical Peter.' Bockmuehl has a keen sense for the strengths and limitations of historical-critical inquiry. This erudite and accessible book will be welcomed by all who seek to understand not only what historians can surmise about the Galilean peasant Peter but also what such research can contribute to reflection about an ongoing 'Petrine ministry' among Christians today."
Matthew Levering, professor of theology, University of Dayton
"Bockmuehl is clearly learned in all the standard historical questions surrounding the early church, but he also thinks about these questions with interesting subtlety and sophistication. Readers will have to engage carefully the issues of memory, identity, effective history, and ecclesial politics in order to think with Bockmuehl about the way he construes the evidence. Protestants are not always quick to remember that no disciple of Jesus has been more important to Christianity than Peter. Bockmuehl's book displays with elegance and erudition some central features of this fact's historical shape."
C. Kavin Rowe, associate professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School
Author
Markus Bockmuehl
Markus Bockmuehl (PhD, University of Cambridge) is the Dean Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford and is a Fellow of Keble College. He previously taught at the University of Cambridge and the University of St. Andrews. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory, Seeing the Word, and This Jesus: Martyr, Lord, Messiah.