Denial Versus Betrayal: A Case Study Analysis Of Simon Peter And Judas Iscariot In The Fourth Gospel -- By: Daniel T. Lioy
Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 32:1 (Oct 2021)
Article: Denial Versus Betrayal: A Case Study Analysis Of Simon Peter And Judas Iscariot In The Fourth Gospel
Author: Daniel T. Lioy
Conspectus 32:1 (October 2021) p. 125
Denial Versus Betrayal: A Case Study Analysis Of Simon Peter And Judas Iscariot In The Fourth Gospel
The Institute of Lutheran Theology; SATS; Portland Seminary
About The Author
Prof. Dan Lioy is a professor of biblical theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology, a senior research academic at the South African Theological Seminary, and a project faculty advisor at Portland Seminary. dan@sats.edu.za
This article: https://www.sats.ac.za/denial-versus-betrayal-peter-judas
Abstract
This journal article undertakes a case study analysis of Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot in the Fourth Gospel. A review of the extant academic literature indicates this is a relevant lacuna, one meriting further consideration. Methodologically, the article situates the endeavor within the context of the Synoptic Gospels. This is followed by a descriptive analysis of the Fourth Gospel’s portrait of Peter and Judas, respectively. The wrap-up to the essay undertakes a theological and pastoral assessment of Peter’s denial versus Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. The major claim is that Peter experienced a restoration and reinstatement as the Savior’s disciple, whereas Judas endured despair, remorse, and suicide. While the underlying premise might appear to be self-evident, the reason for these two radically different outcomes is far from obvious. Seminal to this study is a consideration of 2 Corinthians 7:10–11, which provides theological insight concerning the divergent ends experienced by two of Jesus’s most iconic disciples.
Keywords
Simon Peter, Judas Iscariot, Synoptic Gospels, Fourth Gospel, denial, betrayal, suicide, repentance, restoration
1. Introduction: Situating The Study Within The Context Of The Synoptic Gospels
When compared with the three Synoptic Gospels, the Fourth Gospel provides its own unique portrait of Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot, respectively. One option is to regard these differences as evidence of clashing oral and contradictory literary Jesus traditions (a view often arising from a hermeneutic of suspicion). In contrast, a more constructive approach (the one adopted in this essay) is to consider the distinctions as being complementary and nuanced variations about two pivotal disciples among the original cohort of twelve whom Jesus chose.
Conspectus 32:1 (October 2021) p. 126
Even within the Fourth Gospel, the portraits the Evangelist sketches of Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot, respectively, contain areas of overlap and differentiation. For instance, on the upside, both disciples, along wi...
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