Description

Non-canonical gospels and gospel traditions contribute in many ways to the reception and transmission of Jesus-related material and the memory of Jesus. This volume investigates the topic of Jesus's passion and resurrection with a broad scope, ranging from apocryphal gospels, such as the Gospel of Peter and the Gospel of Nicodemus, to apocryphal acts of the apostles, Manichean writings and Coptic apocrypha from the sixth and seventh century. Many of these texts, which are quite different in scope, may be described as "re-enactments" of Jesus stories, as they appear to be free retellings of the Jesus story adapted to the historical and religious situations in which they were performed. Thus, the texts reinterpret Jesus's passion and resurrection in creative and diverse ways, for example by dramatizing the story or by emphasizing the cross as part of the divine plan of salvation.