A curious parallel between Mark and the Gospel of Peter

[Giuseppe]

Note the curious difference between the two Gospels:

Mark	Gospel of Peter
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.	[15] But is was midday, and darkness held fast all Judea;
34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ).
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”	and they were distressed and anxious lest the sun had set, since he was still living. For it is written for them: Let not the sun set on one put to death.
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.	[16] And someone of them said: 'Give him to drink gall with vinegary wine.' And having made a mixture, they gave to drink.
“Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.	[17] And they fulfilled all things and completed the sins on their own head. [18] But many went around with lamps, thinking that it was night, and they fell.
	[19] And the Lord screamed out, saying: 'My power, O power, you have forsaken me.'
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.	And having said this, he was taken up.

Mark has duplicated the Jesus'cry, so that it has two meanings:

1) as a false invocation to Elijiah (for the people around)

2) as a true invocation to God (for the reader and Jesus)

The effect is that the people around have hoped in vain that Elijiah was coming to save Jesus.

While Jesus, who was desperate about his end, was really vindicated by God (for the implicit reference to the Psalm).

Now note what happens in the Gospel of Peter:

The people around are the people who have to realize — and realize — their biblical prophecy or prescription, not Jesus.

So here is a possible explanation:

Mark's Gospel had the Gospel of Peter as his source. He converted a true prophecy that had to be realized on Jesus by the people around in a false prophecy that had to be realized by Elijah according to the people around.

[Giuseppe]

Said in other terms,

in Mark the people around are false prophets (they predict the coming of Elijiah but Elijiah doesn't arrive).

in the Gospel of Peter, the people around are true prophets (''they fulfilled all things'').

in Mark the death falls on Jesus.

in the Gospel of Peter, the death fails on the people around:

But many went around with lamps, thinking that it was night, and they fell.

[Secret Alias]

I have to admit I don't understand what you mean. However you realize that many have argued that Peter stands behind Mark. That might help explain the Letter to Theodore's contention that Mark used the 'hypomnema of Peter' and his own (or whatever it says, i forget the exact words). But here is something else interesting. Canonical Mark adds the bit about the third hour but clearly Irenaeus tells us that 'Mark' (said to be 'the gnostic' but I suspect the author of the canonical gospel) had sixth hour like the other gospels. The sixth hour = noon. Of course Mark took that to have kabbalistic significance (episimon/vav). But that too would argue for the primacy of the gospel of Peter at least here and the secondary nature of a 'secret' or mystery gospel associated with Mark.

[Secret Alias]

If Peter was first μεσημβρια became 'the sixth hour' under (gnostic) Mark's influence and this was passed on to the other gospels and then Mark was altered to 'third hour' (in the 11th hour as it were before publication of the canon) by Irenaeus or someone of his party (to counter the gnostic import of the sixth hour). I don't buy Eusebius's explanation for the Markan reading. It was anti-gnostic.

[Giuseppe]

But that too would argue for the primacy of the gospel of Peter at least here and the secondary nature of a 'secret' or mystery gospel associated with Mark.

No, I argue something of really different. That ''Mark'' corrected the Gospel of Peter insofar ''Mark'' exorcized the idea that the people had fulfilled anything about Jesus (according to the OT prescriptions).

For Mark has that the people's hope (the rapid apparition of Elijiah) was really a delusion derived by their own wrong listening of the Jesus'words on the cross (as if it was an invocation to Elijiah).

Secondly, in the Gospel of Peter the people die before that Jesus dies.

[17] And they fulfilled all things and completed the sins on their own head. [18] But many went around with lamps, thinking that it was night, and they fell.

This is a clear reference to the Destruction of Jerusalem: the Jewish people is punished even before that they killed Jesus. So the death of Jesus is really his victory, after the death of the people:

[19] And the Lord screamed out, saying: 'My power, O power, you have forsaken me.'

And having said this, he was taken up.