Scholars disagree significantly over the fate of Peter. Arguably the most influential work defending the traditional view of Peter’s martyrdom during the reign of Nero is Oscar Cullman’s Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr. Cullman concludes that the martyrdom of Peter in Rome “is relatively though not absolutely assured” (ibid 144). In contrast, F. Lapham believes the martyrdom tradition dates from the second century and is based on “the most slender of textual and archaeological evidence” (F. Lapham, Peter: The Myth, the Man, and the Writings (New York: T. & T. Clark, 2003), 3). It is unlikely the bones discovered in the twentieth-century excavation at the Vatican actually belong to Peter. In any case, this cannot be proved. The earliest statement that Peter and Paul were buried in Rome comes from Gaius (200+ CE), as found in Eusebius: “I can point out the trophies [monuments] of the apostles. If you will go to the Vatican or the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this church.” See Carsten Thiede, Simon Peter: From Galilee to Rome (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), 193. In contrast, Cullman considers the reasons against early Christians actually burying the bones of Peter in the vicinity of Nero’s garden “almost overwhelming.” See Oscar Cullman, Peter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2011), 152–56.

Arthur Drews and Frank R. Zindler, The Legend of Saint Peter: A Contribution to the Mythology of Christianity (Austin, TX: American Atheist Press, 1997); Lapham, Peter; Michael D. Goulder, “Did Peter Ever Go to Rome?” Scottish Journal of Theology 57 (2004): 377–96. are some scholars who doubt the martyrdom.

1. Some scholars doubt John 21 referring to Peter’s martyrdom: For instance, see Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel; Ehrman, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene; J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010); Herman N. Ridderbos, The Gospel According to John: A Theological Commentary, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 667; Urban C. von Wahlde, The Gospels and Letters of John, Eerdmans Critical Commentary, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 905.
2. Dr. Michael Goulder rejects that 1 Clement provides any evidence for the martyrdom of Peter in Rome: