The Gospel of Mark, Freer
Also known as Mark 16: The Freer Logion
In one version of The Gospel of Mark, found in Egypt and dating from around the 5th century, there is an insertion between Mark 16:14 and 15.
In one version of The Gospel of Mark, found in Egypt and dating from around the 5th century, there is an insertion between Mark 16:14 and 15.
"Afterward Jesus appeared to the eleven as they reclined at table and reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he arose. The eleven made an excuse: "This age of lawlessness and unbelief is controlled by Satan, who, by means of unclean spirits, doesn't allow the truth to be known. So," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now!"
Christ replied to them, "The measure of Satan's years of power is filled up, although other fearful things draw nigh to those for whom I, because of their sin, was delivered to death, that they might turn back and not sin anymore so that they might inherit the imperishable, spiritual glory of righteousness in heaven."
Christ replied to them, "The measure of Satan's years of power is filled up, although other fearful things draw nigh to those for whom I, because of their sin, was delivered to death, that they might turn back and not sin anymore so that they might inherit the imperishable, spiritual glory of righteousness in heaven."
The (Greek) Gospel of the Egyptians
quoted from Clement of Alexandria:
Salome: "How long will death have power?"
The Lord: "As long as you women have children."
Salome: "Then it is good that I haven't had any children!"
The Lord: "Eat every herb but the bitter one. I have come to undo the effects of lust, which are birth, then decay."
Salome: "When will all know this?"
The Lord: "When the garment of shame has been put underfoot; when two become one; when male and female are no longer distinguishable."
Apocrypha: Gospel of the Hebrews
quoted from Clement of Alexandria:
Salome: "How long will death have power?"
The Lord: "As long as you women have children."
Salome: "Then it is good that I haven't had any children!"
The Lord: "Eat every herb but the bitter one. I have come to undo the effects of lust, which are birth, then decay."
Salome: "When will all know this?"
The Lord: "When the garment of shame has been put underfoot; when two become one; when male and female are no longer distinguishable."
Apocrypha: Gospel of the Hebrews
Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis i. 9. 45).
Even (or also, in the Gospel according to the Hebrews is written the saying, ‘he that wondereth shall reign, and he that reigneth shall rest’.
Even (or also, in the Gospel according to the Hebrews is written the saying, ‘he that wondereth shall reign, and he that reigneth shall rest’.
id. (Strom.) v.14.96.
For those words have the same force as these:
He shall not cease from seeking until he find, and having found, he will be amazed, and having been amazed will reign, and having reigned will rest.
For those words have the same force as these:
He shall not cease from seeking until he find, and having found, he will be amazed, and having been amazed will reign, and having reigned will rest.
This is identical with one of the Sayings from Oxyrhynchus: see below.
Origen on John, ii. 12. And if any accept the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where the Saviour himself saith,
‘Even now did my mother the Holy Spirit take me by one of mine hairs, and carried me away unto the great mountain Thabor’,
he will be perplexed, &c. . . .
Origen on John, ii. 12. And if any accept the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where the Saviour himself saith,
‘Even now did my mother the Holy Spirit take me by one of mine hairs, and carried me away unto the great mountain Thabor’,
he will be perplexed, &c. . . .
On Jeremiah, homily xv.4. And if anyone receive that saying,
‘Even now my mother the Holy Spirit took me and carried me up unto the great mountain Thabor’,
and the rest. . . .
‘Even now my mother the Holy Spirit took me and carried me up unto the great mountain Thabor’,
and the rest. . . .
The description of the Holy Spirit as ‘my mother’ is due to the fact that the Hebrew word for spirit is of the feminine gender. The saying, it is generally thought, refers to the Temptation.
Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. iii.39.17, speaking of the early writer Papias, says: He has also set forth (or expounded) another story, about a woman accused of many sins before the Lord, which the Gospel according to the Hebrews also contains.
It is the obvious, and general, view that this story was that of the woman taken in adultery, which, as is well known, forms no part of the true text of St. John’s Gospel, though it is inserted by most manuscripts at the beginning of the eighth chapter. A few manuscripts place it in St. Luke’s Gospel. The description suggests that Papias’s story, with its mention of many sins, differed from ours in detail.
id. iv.22.8. Hegesippus made use in his Memoirs of the Gospel according to the Hebrews.
id. iii.25.5 (in his list of antilegomena, writings whose canonicity was disputed): And among them some have placed the Gospel according to the Hebrews which is the especial delight of those of the Hebrews who have accepted Christ.
iii.27.4. (The Ebionites repudiated Paul) and used only the Gospel according to the Hebrews, making but slight account of the others.
Theophany, iv.12 (preserved in Syriac). As we have found somewhere in the Gospel which the Jews have in the Hebrew tongue, where it is said:
Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. iii.39.17, speaking of the early writer Papias, says: He has also set forth (or expounded) another story, about a woman accused of many sins before the Lord, which the Gospel according to the Hebrews also contains.
It is the obvious, and general, view that this story was that of the woman taken in adultery, which, as is well known, forms no part of the true text of St. John’s Gospel, though it is inserted by most manuscripts at the beginning of the eighth chapter. A few manuscripts place it in St. Luke’s Gospel. The description suggests that Papias’s story, with its mention of many sins, differed from ours in detail.
id. iv.22.8. Hegesippus made use in his Memoirs of the Gospel according to the Hebrews.
id. iii.25.5 (in his list of antilegomena, writings whose canonicity was disputed): And among them some have placed the Gospel according to the Hebrews which is the especial delight of those of the Hebrews who have accepted Christ.
iii.27.4. (The Ebionites repudiated Paul) and used only the Gospel according to the Hebrews, making but slight account of the others.
Theophany, iv.12 (preserved in Syriac). As we have found somewhere in the Gospel which the Jews have in the Hebrew tongue, where it is said:
I choose for myself them that are good (or well pleasing): the good are they whome my Father which in heaven giveth (or hath given) me.
ibid. (A passage preserved in Greek also.)
ibid. (A passage preserved in Greek also.)
But since the Gospel written in Hebrew characters which has reached our hands turns the threat not against the man who hid the talent, but against him who had lived riotously (for it told of three servants, one who desereved his master’s substance with harlots and flute-girls, another who multiplied it by trading, and another who hid the talent; and made the one to be accepted, another only rebuked, and another to be shut up in prison), the question occurs to me whether in Matthew, after the conclusion of the speech against the man who did nothing, the threat that follows may refer, not to him, but by epanalepsis (i.e. taking up a former subject again) be said of the first, who ate and drank with the drunken.
Epiphanius, Heresy xxix.9.4 (Nazoraeans). They have the Gospel according to Matthew quite complete, in Hebrew: for this Gospel is certainly still preserved among them as it was first written in Hebrew letters. I do not know if they have even removed the genealogy from Abraham to Christ.
Their Gospel was ‘quite complete’ as distinguished from the Ebionite-Gospel, which was mutilated.
Stichometry of Nicephorus (of uncertain date, but much older than the ninth-century chronicle to which it is attached).
Antilegomena of the New Testament:
Apocalpyse of John, Apocalpyse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, and
Gospel accrding to the Hebrews, 2,200 lines (300 lines less than the canonical Matthew).
Jerome. He is our principal authority in this matter.
On Ephesians, v. 4. As also we read in the Hebrew Gospel:
Their Gospel was ‘quite complete’ as distinguished from the Ebionite-Gospel, which was mutilated.
Stichometry of Nicephorus (of uncertain date, but much older than the ninth-century chronicle to which it is attached).
Antilegomena of the New Testament:
Apocalpyse of John, Apocalpyse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, and
Gospel accrding to the Hebrews, 2,200 lines (300 lines less than the canonical Matthew).
Jerome. He is our principal authority in this matter.
On Ephesians, v. 4. As also we read in the Hebrew Gospel:
‘And never, saith he, by ye joyful, save when ye behold your brother with love.’
On Micah vii.6. (The quotation about the Holy Spirit given above under Origen. Jerome quotes it again several times, not always in full.
Of illustrious men, 2 (on James the Lord’s brother).
Also the Gospel according to the Hebrews, lately translated by me into Greek and Latin speech, which Origen often uses, tells, after the resurrection of the Saviour:
Of illustrious men, 2 (on James the Lord’s brother).
Also the Gospel according to the Hebrews, lately translated by me into Greek and Latin speech, which Origen often uses, tells, after the resurrection of the Saviour:
‘Now the Lord, when he had given the linen cloth unto the servant of the priest, went unto James and appeared to him (for James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour wherein he had drunk the Lord’s cup until he should see him risen again from among them that sleep)’, and again after a little, ‘Bring ye, saith the Lord, a table and bread’, and immediately it is added, ‘He took bread and blessed and brake and gave it unto James the Just and said unto him: My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of Man is risen from among them that sleep’.
This is a famous passage. One interesting clause is apt to escape notice, about the giving of the shroad to the servent of the (high) priest, which implies that priests must have been apprised of the resurrection as soon as the apostles. Was the servant of the priest Malchus? Presumably the servant was at the sepulchre: if so, it was being guarded by the Jews as well as the Roman soldiers (as in the Gospel of Peter).
ibid. 3. Further, the Hebrew itself (or original) is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea which was collected with such care by the martyr Pamphilus. I also had an opportunity of copying it afforded me by the Nazarenes who use the book, at Beroea, a city of Syria.
This Boroea is Aleppo. In later years Jerome ceased to regard the Hebrew Gospel as the original Matthew.
ibid. 16. Of the Epistle of Ignatius ‘to Polycarp’ (really to Smyrna). In it he also inserts a testimony about the person of Christ, from the Gospel which was lately translated by me; his words are:
ibid. 3. Further, the Hebrew itself (or original) is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea which was collected with such care by the martyr Pamphilus. I also had an opportunity of copying it afforded me by the Nazarenes who use the book, at Beroea, a city of Syria.
This Boroea is Aleppo. In later years Jerome ceased to regard the Hebrew Gospel as the original Matthew.
ibid. 16. Of the Epistle of Ignatius ‘to Polycarp’ (really to Smyrna). In it he also inserts a testimony about the person of Christ, from the Gospel which was lately translated by me; his words are:
But I both saw him (this is wrongly quoted) in the flesh after the resurrection, and believe that he is in the flesh: and when he came to Peter and those who were with Peter, he said to them: Lo, feel me and see that I am not a bodiless spirit (demon). And forthwith they touched him and believed.
Ignatius, to the Smyrnaeans, iii., 1, really says:
For I know, and I believe that he is in the flesh even after his resurrection.
For I know, and I believe that he is in the flesh even after his resurrection.
Another citation of these words of Christ is given by Origen as from the Doctrine of Peter: see p. 18.
On Matt. ii. Bethlehem of Judaea. This is a mistake of the scribes: for I think it was originally expressed by the Evangelist as we read in the Hebrew, ‘of Judah’, not Judaea.
On Matt vi.11 (the Lord’s Prayer).
In the Gospel according to the Hebrews for ‘super-substantial’ bread I found mahar, which means ‘of the morrow’, so that the sense is:
On Matt. ii. Bethlehem of Judaea. This is a mistake of the scribes: for I think it was originally expressed by the Evangelist as we read in the Hebrew, ‘of Judah’, not Judaea.
On Matt vi.11 (the Lord’s Prayer).
In the Gospel according to the Hebrews for ‘super-substantial’ bread I found mahar, which means ‘of the morrow’, so that the sense is:
Our bread of the morrow, that is, of the future, give us this day.
The word supersubstantial is meant to render literally the difficult word epiousios which we translate ‘daily’.
On Ps. cxxxv. In the Hebrew Gospel according to Matthew it is thus: Our bread of the morrow give us this day; that is, ‘the bread which thou wilt give us in thy kingdom, give us this day’.
On Matt. xii. 13. In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use (which I have lately translated into Greek from the Hebrew, and which is called by many (or most) people the original of Matthew), this man who had the withered hand is described as a mason, who prays for help in such words as this:
On Ps. cxxxv. In the Hebrew Gospel according to Matthew it is thus: Our bread of the morrow give us this day; that is, ‘the bread which thou wilt give us in thy kingdom, give us this day’.
On Matt. xii. 13. In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use (which I have lately translated into Greek from the Hebrew, and which is called by many (or most) people the original of Matthew), this man who had the withered hand is described as a mason, who prays for help in such words as this:
‘I was a mason seeking a livelihood with my hands: I pray thee, Jesus, to restore me mine health, that I may not beg meanly for my food.’
The mention of the Ebionites here is gratuitous. Jerome nowhere speaks of them as using the Gospel, and everything goes to show that, in his time, they did not.
Letter to Damascus (20) on Matt. xxi. 9. Matthew, who wrote his gospel in the Hebrew speech, put it thus:
Letter to Damascus (20) on Matt. xxi. 9. Matthew, who wrote his gospel in the Hebrew speech, put it thus:
Osanna barrama, i.e., Osanna in the highest.
On Matt. xxiii. 35. In the Gospel which the Nazarenes use,
for ‘son of Barachias’ I find ‘of Joiada’ written.
This reading avoids an historical difficulty, and is doubtless secondary.
On Matt. xxvii. 16. This Barabbas, in the Gospel entitled (wrtten) according to the Hebrews, is interpreted ‘son of their master’ (teacher).
By ‘interpreted, says Lagrange, it is not meant that the Gospel translated the name, but that it used a form of it which suggested the meaning – Bar-abban.
for ‘son of Barachias’ I find ‘of Joiada’ written.
This reading avoids an historical difficulty, and is doubtless secondary.
On Matt. xxvii. 16. This Barabbas, in the Gospel entitled (wrtten) according to the Hebrews, is interpreted ‘son of their master’ (teacher).
By ‘interpreted, says Lagrange, it is not meant that the Gospel translated the name, but that it used a form of it which suggested the meaning – Bar-abban.
On Matt. xxvii.51. In the Gospel I so often mention we read that a lintel of the temple of immense size was broken and divided.
Letter to Hedibia (ep. 120) 8. But in the Gospel that is written in Hebrew letters we read, not that the veil of the temple was rent, but that the lintel of the temple of wondrous size fell.
This was probably a change made under the influence of Isa. vi. 4, ‘the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried’.
Letter to Hedibia (ep. 120) 8. But in the Gospel that is written in Hebrew letters we read, not that the veil of the temple was rent, but that the lintel of the temple of wondrous size fell.
This was probably a change made under the influence of Isa. vi. 4, ‘the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried’.
On Isa. xi.2. (The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him) not partially as in the case of other holy men: but, according to the Gospel written in the Hebrew speech, which the Nazarenes read,
‘There shall descend upon him the whole fount of the Holy Spirit’. . . .
In the Gospel I mentioned above, I find this written:
And it came to pass when the Lord was come up out of the water, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him, and said unto him: My son, in all the prophets was I waiting for thee that thou shouldst come, and I might rest in thee. For thou art my rest, and thou art my first begotten son, that reignest for ever.
On Isa. xi. 9, My mother the Holy Spirit.
On Isa., preface to bk. xviii. For when the Apostles thought him to be a spirit, or, in the words of the Gospel which is of the Hebrews, which the Nazarenes are wont to read, ‘a bodiless demon’, he said to them (Luke xxiv. 38).
On Ezek. xvi.13. My mother, the Holy Spirit.
On Isa., preface to bk. xviii. For when the Apostles thought him to be a spirit, or, in the words of the Gospel which is of the Hebrews, which the Nazarenes are wont to read, ‘a bodiless demon’, he said to them (Luke xxiv. 38).
On Ezek. xvi.13. My mother, the Holy Spirit.
On Ezek. xviii.7.
And in the Gospel according to the Hebrews which the Nazarenes are accustomed to read, it is placed among the greatest sins ‘if a man have grieved the spirit of his brother’.
And in the Gospel according to the Hebrews which the Nazarenes are accustomed to read, it is placed among the greatest sins ‘if a man have grieved the spirit of his brother’.
Dialogue against Pelagius, iii.2. In the Gospel according to the Hebrews which is indeed in the Chaldaean and Syrian speech but is written in Hebrew letters, which the Nazarenes use to this day, called ‘according to the apostles’, or, as most term it, ‘according to Matthew’, which also is to be seen in the library of Caesarea, the story tells:
Behold, the motehr of the Lord and his brethren said unto him: John Baptist baptizeth unto the remission of sins; let us go and be baptized of him. But he said unto them: Wherein (what) have I sinned, that I should go and be baptized of him? unless peradventure this very thing that I have said is a sin of ignorance.
ibid. And in the same book:
If thy brother (saith he) have sinned by a word and made thee amends, seven times in a day receive thou him. Simon his disciple said unto him: Seven times in a day? The Lord answered and said unto him: Yea, I say unto thee, unto seventy times seven times. For in the prophets also, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, the word of sin was found.
‘Word of sin’ is Hebraistic for ‘somewhat of sin’: similarly ‘sinned by a word’ means ‘sinned in anything’.
Latin version of Origen on Matthew (now called Pseudo-Origen).
It is written in a certain Gospel which is called according to the Hebrews (if at elast any one care to accept it, not as authoritative, but to throw light on the question before us):
It is written in a certain Gospel which is called according to the Hebrews (if at elast any one care to accept it, not as authoritative, but to throw light on the question before us):
The second of the rich men (it saith) said unto him: Master, what good thing can I do and live? He said unto him: O man, fulfil (do) the law and the prophets.
He answered him: I have kept them. He said unto him: Go, sell al that thou ownest, and distribute it unto the poor, and come, follow me. But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it pleased him not. And the Lord said unto him: How sayest though: I have kept the law and the prophets? For it is written in the law: Though shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and lo, many of thy brethren, sons of Abraham, are clad in filth, dying for hunger, and thine house is full of many good things, and nought at all goeth out of it unto them.
And he turned and said unto Simon his disciple who was sitting by him: Simon, son of Joanna, it is easier for a camel to enter in by a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
He answered him: I have kept them. He said unto him: Go, sell al that thou ownest, and distribute it unto the poor, and come, follow me. But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it pleased him not. And the Lord said unto him: How sayest though: I have kept the law and the prophets? For it is written in the law: Though shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and lo, many of thy brethren, sons of Abraham, are clad in filth, dying for hunger, and thine house is full of many good things, and nought at all goeth out of it unto them.
And he turned and said unto Simon his disciple who was sitting by him: Simon, son of Joanna, it is easier for a camel to enter in by a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
It is probable that this extract was found by the translator of Origen’s comentary in some work of Jerome. It seems to be agreed that it was not in Origen’s own commentary.
Some manuscripts of the Gospels have marginal notes recording readings of ‘the Jewish’ Gospel, by which our Gospel is evidently meant. Some of these were published by Tischendorf, others more recently by Schmidtke. According to the latter these notes were originally made between 370 and 500 by some one who did his work at Jerusalem.
Some manuscripts of the Gospels have marginal notes recording readings of ‘the Jewish’ Gospel, by which our Gospel is evidently meant. Some of these were published by Tischendorf, others more recently by Schmidtke. According to the latter these notes were originally made between 370 and 500 by some one who did his work at Jerusalem.
Matt. iv. 5. The Jewish copy has not ‘unto the holy city’ but ‘in Jerusalem’.
Matt. v. 22. The word ‘without cause’ is not inserted in some copies, nor in the Jewish.
Matt. vii. 5. The Jewish has here:
If ye be in my bosom and do not the will of my Father which is in heaven, out of my bosom will I scast you away.
If ye be in my bosom and do not the will of my Father which is in heaven, out of my bosom will I scast you away.
(The ‘Second Epistle of Clement’, iv. 5, has:
The Lord said: If ye be with me gathered together in my bosom and do not my commandments, I will cast you away and say unto you: Depart from me; I know you not whence ye are, ye workers of wickedness.)
The Lord said: If ye be with me gathered together in my bosom and do not my commandments, I will cast you away and say unto you: Depart from me; I know you not whence ye are, ye workers of wickedness.)
Matt. x. 16. The Jewish has ‘(wise) more than serpents’ instead of ‘as serpents’.
Matt. xi. 12. (The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.) The Jewish has: ‘is ravished (or plundered).’
Matt. xi. 25. (I thank thee (lit. confess unto thee), O Father.) The Jewish: ‘I give thee thanks.’
Matt. xii. 40b. The Jewish has not: three days and three nights (in the heart of the earth).
Matt. xv. 5. The Jewish: Corban by which ye shall be profited by us.
Probably it is meant that the verse ran: But ye say to your father and mother: Corban, &c.
Probably it is meant that the verse ran: But ye say to your father and mother: Corban, &c.
Matt. xvi. 2, 3. Omitted by ‘the Jewish’ (as by many extant manuscripts).
Matt. xvi. 17. The Jewish: (Simon) son of John.
Matt. xviii. 22. The Jewish has, immediately after the seventy times seven: For in the prophets, after they were anointed with the Holy Spirit, there was found in them a word (matter) of sin.
This shows the identity of ‘the Jewish’ with Jerome’s gospel.
Matt. xxvi. 74. The Jewish:
and he denied and swore and cursed.
and he denied and swore and cursed.
Matt. xxvii. 65. The Jewish:
And he delivered unto them armed men, that they might sit over against the cave and keep it day and night.
And he delivered unto them armed men, that they might sit over against the cave and keep it day and night.
A commentary on Isaiah (liii.12) by Haimo of Auxerre (c. 850) has this apropos of the word ‘Father forgive them’:
For, as is contained in the Gospel of the Nazarenes,
at this word of the Lord many thousands of Jews that stood round about the Cross believed.
For, as is contained in the Gospel of the Nazarenes,
at this word of the Lord many thousands of Jews that stood round about the Cross believed.
A marginal note (thirteenth century) on a copy of the versified Bible called the Aurora (by Petrus de Riga), in a manuscript at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (one of a number of remarkable notes) is:
At the cleansing of the Temple:
In the books of the Gospels which the Nazarenes use it is read that:
At the cleansing of the Temple:
In the books of the Gospels which the Nazarenes use it is read that:
"rays issued from his eyes whereby they were terrified and put to flight."
Jerome on Matt. xxi. 12 says that the people whom Jesus drove out did not resist him:
‘For a certain fiery and starry light shone (radiated) from his eyes and the majesty of the Godhead gleamed in his face.’
When I published the note, I took it that it was a reminiscence of Jerome’s words: ray and radiate occur in both. But Dr. Zahn was of opinion that it might really represent something in the old Gospel: so I include it, though with hesitation.
One other mention of this Gospel has to be added.
In Budge’s Miscellaneous Coptic Texts is a Discourse on Mary by Cyril of Jerusalem. Cyril (Pseudo-Cyril) relates that he had to send for a monk of Maioma of Gaza who was teaching false doctrine. Called on for an account of his belief the monk (p. 637, Eng. trans.) said:
It is written in the Gospel to the Hebrew:
One other mention of this Gospel has to be added.
In Budge’s Miscellaneous Coptic Texts is a Discourse on Mary by Cyril of Jerusalem. Cyril (Pseudo-Cyril) relates that he had to send for a monk of Maioma of Gaza who was teaching false doctrine. Called on for an account of his belief the monk (p. 637, Eng. trans.) said:
It is written in the Gospel to the Hebrew:
"that when Christ wished to come upon the earth to men, the good Father called a mighty power in the heavens which was called Michael, and committed Christ to the care thereof. And the power came down into the world and it was called Mary, and Christ was in her womb seven months. Afterwards she gave birth to him, and he increased in stature, and he chose the apostles, . . . ‘was crucified, and taken up by the Father’.
Cyril asked: Where in the Four Gospels is it said that the holy Virgin Mary the mother of god is a force? The monk said: In the Gospel to the Hebrews. Then, said Cyril, there are five Gospels? Where is the fifth? The monk said: It is the Gospel that was written to the Hebrews. (Cyril convinced him of his error and burned the books. No more is told of the Gospel, which, whatever it may have been, was certainly not the book we have been dealing with, but a writing of pronouncedly heretical (Docetic?) views. The last sentence of themonk’s account of Christ, which I did not quote in full just now, is perhaps worth recording.)
‘After they had raised him up on the cross, the Father took him up into heaven unto himself.’
This, with its omissin of all mention of the resurrection, might be construed as heretical: on the other hand, it may be merely a case of extreme compression of the narrative.
Apocrypha: Traditions of Mattias
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges,
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges,
“Marvel at what is present,” laying this down as the first step toward the knowledge of things beyond.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 3.4.26.3
They say that Matthias also taught this:
They say that Matthias also taught this:
“To fight with the flesh and misuse it, without yielding to it through undisciplined pleasure, so to increase the soul through faith and knowledge.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6.35.2
So Zaccheus whom they call Matthias, the chief tax collector, when he had heard that the Lord had esteemed him highly enough to be with him, said,
“Behold, half of my present possessions I give as alms, and Lord, if I ever extorted money from anyone in any way, I return it fourfold.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7.13.82.1
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity,
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity,
“If the neighbor of an elect person sins, the elect person sins. For if he had led himself as the word dictates, the neighbor would have been in awe of his life so that he did not sin.”
The Preaching of Peter
The Preaching of Peter (Kerugmata Petrou) expounds several important opinions of Peter: the secrecy of his books of sermons, his attitude toward women and his version of the confrontation with Paul described in Galatians. It is a very enlightening collection of sermons dated to the second century.
Jesus to the disciples: If anyone of Israel desires to repent and through my name believes in Yahweh, his sins will be forgiven him. For 12 years go into the world and preach this message so that no one may say, "We haven't heard."
I have chosen the twelve because I have found them worthy to be my disciples. I sent these, whom I was sure would be true Apostles, into the world to proclaim to all the joyous message that all may know that there is only one qeos, and to reveal the future through those who believe in me. The end of which is that those who hear and believe might be saved; and those who do not believe may yet testify that they too have heard the message. That they might not be able to excuse themselves by saying, "We haven't heard."
The Preaching of Peter (Kerugmata Petrou) expounds several important opinions of Peter: the secrecy of his books of sermons, his attitude toward women and his version of the confrontation with Paul described in Galatians. It is a very enlightening collection of sermons dated to the second century.
Jesus to the disciples: If anyone of Israel desires to repent and through my name believes in Yahweh, his sins will be forgiven him. For 12 years go into the world and preach this message so that no one may say, "We haven't heard."
I have chosen the twelve because I have found them worthy to be my disciples. I sent these, whom I was sure would be true Apostles, into the world to proclaim to all the joyous message that all may know that there is only one qeos, and to reveal the future through those who believe in me. The end of which is that those who hear and believe might be saved; and those who do not believe may yet testify that they too have heard the message. That they might not be able to excuse themselves by saying, "We haven't heard."
This gospel fragment is of the school of John, and dated to around 150.
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
The gospel of the Ebionites.
Late century II.
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.26.2 (de Santos 1; Lagrange 8):
[Ebionaei] solo autem eo quod est secundum Matthaeum evangelio utuntur, et apostolum Paulum recusant, apostatam eum legis dicentes.
[The Ebionites], however, use only that gospel which is according to Matthew, and renounce the apostle Paul, calling him an apostate from the law.
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.11.7 (de Santos 2):
Ebionaei etenim, eo evangelio quod est secundum Matthaeum solo utentes, ex illo ipso convincuntur, non recte praesumentes de domino.
The Ebionites indeed, using only that gospel which is according to Matthew, are convinced by that alone, not presuming rightly about the Lord.
Origen.
Early century III.
From Origen, Homily on Luke 1.1:
Ecclesia quator habet evangelia, haeresis plurima, e quibus quoddam scribitur secundum Aegyptios, aliud iuxta duodecim apostolos.* ausus fuit et Basilides scribere evangelium et suo illud nomine titulare.
* Note that the Greek version has only το επιγεγραμμενον των δωδεκα ευαγγελιον (the gospel entitled of the twelve), omitting the apostles.
The church has four gospels, heresy many, from among which a certain one is written according to the Egyptians, another according to the twelve apostles. Even Basilides dared to write a gospel and to entitle it by his own name.
Clementine literature.
Early century III.
Not one of these three pseudo-Clementine quotations is secure as having come from the Ebionite gospel, and Aurelio de Santos Otero includes each with a question mark (?) as a signal of the doubt attached to them.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Homilies 3.51 (de Santos 8):
Το δε ειπειν αυτον· Ουκ ηλθον καταλυσαι τον νομον, και φαινεσθαι αυτον καταλυοντα, σημαινοντος ην οτι α κατελυσεν ουκ ην του νομου.
And when he said: I did not come to abolish the law, and it appeared that he himself did abolish it, it was a sign that the things which he abolished were not of the law.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Homilies 11.35 (de Santos 9):
Ου χαριν ο αποστειλας ημας εφη· Πολλοι ελευσονται προς με εν ενδυμασι προβατων, εσωθεν δε εισι λυκοι αρπαγες· απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους.
By which grace the one who sent us said: Many shall come to me in clothing of sheep, but within are ravenous wolves. From their fruits you shall know them.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Recognitions 2.29 (de Santos 10):
E contrario vero eos qui in divitiis ac luxuria versabantur lugebat, qui nihil pauperibus largiebantur, arguens eos rationem reddituros quia proximos suos quos diligere sicut seipsos debuerant, ne in egestate quidem positos miserati sunt.
To the contrary, truly, he lamented those who were engaged in riches and luxuries, who handed out nothing to the poor, declaring that they would give back a reason as to those nearby them, to whom they owed it to love as themselves, nor indeed were miserable that they were placed in want.
Epiphanius.
Late century IV.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.3, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 1; Lagrange 1):
Και δεχονται μεν και αυτοι το κατα Ματθαιον ευαγγελιον. τουτω γαρ και αυτοι, ως και οι κατα Κηρινθον και Μηρινθον, χρωνται μονω. καλουσι δε αυτο κατα Εβραιους, ως τα αληθη εστιν ειπειν οτι Ματθαιος μονος Εβραιστι και Εβραικοις γραμμασιν εν τη καινη διαθηκη εποιησατο την του ευαγγελιου εκθεσιν τε και κηρυγμα.
And they themselves also accept the gospel according to Matthew. For this they use alone, as also those from Cerinthus and Merinthus. But they call it according to the Hebrews, since it is true to say that Matthew alone in the New Testament made the layout and preaching of the gospel in Hebrew, and in Hebraic letters.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.13, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 2-5; Lagrange 2-4):
Εν τω γουν παρ αυτοις ευαγγελιω κατα Ματθαιον ονομαζομενω, ουχ ολω δε πληρεστατω, αλλα νενοθευμενω και ηκρωτηριασμενω, Εβραικον δε τουτο καλουσιν, εμφερεται, οτι Εγενετο τις ανηρ ονοματι Ιησους, και αυτος ως ετων τριακοντα, ος εξελεξατο ημας. και ελθων εις Καφαρναουμ εισηλθεν εις την οικιαν Σιμωνος του επικληθεντος Πετρου, και ανοιξας το στομα αυτου ειπε· Παρερχομενος παρα την λιμνην Τιβεριαδος εξελεξαμην Ιωαννην και Ιακωβον υιους Ζεβεδαιου, και Σιμωνα, και Ανδρεαν, και Θαδδαιον, και Σιμωνα τον Ζηλωτην, και Ιουδαν τον Ισκαριωτην, και σε τον Ματθαιον καθεζομενον επι του τελωνιου εκαλεσα, και ηκολουθησας μοι. υμας ουν βουλομαι ειναι δεκαδυο αποστολους, εις μαρτυριον του Ισραηλ.
In the gospel among them named according to Matthew, but not all very complete, but illegitimized and adulterated, but they call it the Hebraic [gospel], it states: There was a certain man, Jesus by name, and he himself was about thirty years old, who elected us. And having come to Capernaum he went into the house of Simon, nicknamed Peter, and he opened his mouth and said: While passing by the lake of Tiberias I elected John and Jacob, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon, and Andrew, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, and you, Matthew, I called while you were sitting in the toll-booth, and you followed me. I wish, therefore, for you to be twelve apostles as a testimony of Israel.
Και εγενετο Ιωαννης βαπτιζων, και εξηλθον προς αυτον Φαρισαιοι και εβαπτισθησαν, και πασα Ιεροσολυμα. Και ειχεν ο Ιωαννης ενδυμα απο τριχων καμηλου, και ζωνην δερματινην περι την οσφυν αυτου· και το βρωμα αυτου, φησι, μελι αγριον, ου η γευσις ην του μαννα, ως εγκρις εν ελαιω· ινα δηθεν μεταστρεψωσι τον της αληθειας λογον εις ψευδος, και αντι ακριδων ποιησωσιν εγκριδας εν μελιτι.
And John was baptizing, and Pharisees went out to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem. And John had clothing from the hairs of a camel, and a skin belt around his loin. And his food, it says, was wild honey whose taste was of manna, as cake in oil. So that clearly they exchange the word of truth for a falsehood, and instead of locusts they make it cakes in honey.
Η δε αρχη του παρ αυτοις ευαγγελιου εχει οτι Εγενετο εν ταις ημεραις Ηρωδου του βασιλεως της Ιουδαιας ηλθεν Ιωαννης βαπτιζων βαπτισμα μετανοιας εν τω Ιορδανη ποταμω, ος ελεγετο ειναι εκ γενους Ααρων του ιερεως, παις Ζαχαριου και Ελισαβετ, και εξηρχοντο προς αυτον παντες.
And the beginning of the gospel among them has: It happened in the days of Herod the king of Judea that John came baptizing a baptism of repentance in the Jordan river, who was said to be from the line of Aaron the priest, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and all were going out to him.
Και μετα το ειπειν πολλα επιφερει οτι, Του λαου βαπτισθεντος, ηλθε και Ιησους και εβαπτισθη υπο του Ιωαννου. και ως ανηλθεν απο του υδατος ηνοιγησαν οι ουρανοι, και ειδε το πνευμα του θεου το αγιον εν ειδει περιστερας κατελθουσης και εισελθουσης εις αυτον. και φωνη εγενετο εκ του ουρανου, λεγουσα· Συ μου ει ο υιος ο αγαθητος· εν σοι ηυδοκησα· και παλιν· Εγω σημερον γεγεννηκα σε. Και ευθυς περιελαμψε τον τοπον φως μεγα, ο ιδων, φησιν, ο Ιωαννης λεγει αυτω· Συ τις ει, κυριε; Και παλιν φωνη εξ ουρανου προς αυτον· Ουτος εστιν ο υιος μου ο αγαπητος, εφ ον ηυδοκησα. και τοτε, φησιν, ο Ιωαννης προσπεσων αυτω ελεγε· Δεομαι σου, κυριε, συ με βαπτισον. ο δε εκωλυεν αυτω, λεγων· Αφες, οτι ουτως εστι πρεπον πληρωθηναι παντα.
And after it says many things it states: When the people were being baptized, Jesus came too and was baptized by John. And as he came up out of the water the heavens opened, and he saw the holy spirit of God in the image of a dove coming down and coming onto him. And there was a voice from heaven saying: You are my beloved son. With you I am pleased. And again: Today I have begotten you. And immediately a great light illuminated the place. When John saw this, it says, he said to him: Who are you, Lord? And again there was a voice from heaven to him: This is my beloved son, with whom I am pleased. And then, it says, John walked to him and said: I request you, Lord, you baptize me. But he prevented him, saying: Allow it, since thus is it proper to fulfill all things.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14, writing of the Ebionites:
Παλιν δε αρνουνται ειναι αυτον ανθρωπον, δηθεν απο του λογου ου ειρηκεν ο σωτηρ εν τω αναγγεληναι αυτω οτι, Ιδου, η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου εξω εστηκασιν, οτι, Τις μου εστι μητηρ και αδελφοι; και εκτεινας την χειρα επι τους μαθητας εφη· Ουτοι εισιν οι αδελφοι μου και η μητηρ και αδελφαι, οι ποιουντες τα θεληματα του πατρος μου.
But again they deny that he was a man, apparently from the word which the savior spoke when it was announced to him: Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, that is: Who is my mother and brothers? And he stretched out his hand over the disciples and said: These who my brothers and mother and sisters, those who are doing the wishes of my father.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.16, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 6; Lagrange 5):
Ου φασκουσι δε εκ θεου πατρος αυτον γεγεννησθαι, αλλα εκτισθαι, ως ενα των αρχαγγελων, μειζονα δε αυτων οντα, αυτον δε κυριευειν και αγγελων και παντων υπο του παντοκρατορος πεποιημενων, και ελθοντα και υφηγησαμενον, ως το παρ αυτοις κατα Εβραιους ευαγγελιον καλουμενον περιεχει, οτι Ηλθον καταλυσαι τας θυσιας, και εαν μη παυσησθε του θυειν, ου παυσεται αφ υμων η οργη.
And they say that he was not engendered from God the father, but created, as one of the archangels, but being greater than they are, and that he is Lord both of angels and of all things made by the creator of all, and that he came also to declare, as the gospel among them called according to the Hebrews has: I came to abolish the sacrifices, and, if you do not cease to sacrifice, the wrath will not cease from you.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.22, writings of the Ebionites (de Santos 7; Lagrange 6):
Αυτοι δε αφανισαντες αφ εαυτων την της αληθειας ακολουθιαν ηλλαξαν το ρητον, οπερ εστι πασι φανερον εκ των συνεζευγμενων λεξεων, και εποιησαν τους μαθητας μεν λεγοντας· Που θελεις ετοιμασωμεν σοι το πασχα φαγειν; και αυτον δηθεν λεγοντα· Μη επιθυμια επεθυμησα κρεας τουτο το πασχα φαγειν μεθ υμων;
And they themselves, having removed from themselves the following of the truth, changed the word, which is apparent to all from the words in context, and made the disciples to say: Where do you wish us to prepare the Passover for you to eat? And they made him to clearly say: It is not with desire that I have desired to eat meat, this Passover, with you, is it?
Jerome.
Early century V.
From Jerome, On Matthew 2, commentary on Matthew 12.13 (de Santos 23):
In evangelio quo utuntur Nazaraeni et Ebionitae, quod nuper in Graecum de Hebraeo sermone transtulimus, et quod vocatur a plerisque Matthaei authenticum, homo iste qui aridam habet manum caementarius scribitur istius modi vocibus auxilium precans: Caementarius eram, manibus victum quaeritans. precor te, Iesu, ut mihi restituas sanitatem, ne turpiter mendicem cibos.
In the gospel which the Nazaraeans and Ebionites use, which we recently translated from Hebrew speech into Greek, and which is called by many the authentic [gospel] of Matthew, this man who has the dry hand is written to be a mason, praying for help with words of this kind: I was a mason, seeking a livelihood with my hands. I pray, Jesus, that you restore health to me, lest I disgracefully beg food.
An Aramaic proverb.
Aurelio de Santos Otero, on page 53, throws in the following Aramaic saying on the authority of L. Wallace, The Textual History of an Aramaic Proverb (Traces of the Ebionean Gospel), Journal of Biblical Literature 60 (1941), pages 403-415. Wallace contends that this proverb bears a trace of the Ebionite gospel (de Santos 11):
אהא חמרא וכטש לשרגא׃
Vino el asno y rompiу la lбmpara.
The ass came and broke the lamp.
I myself have no idea whether it is plausible to attribute this saying to any of the Jewish gospels. I provide it here merely for the sake of completeness.
Late century II.
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.26.2 (de Santos 1; Lagrange 8):
[Ebionaei] solo autem eo quod est secundum Matthaeum evangelio utuntur, et apostolum Paulum recusant, apostatam eum legis dicentes.
[The Ebionites], however, use only that gospel which is according to Matthew, and renounce the apostle Paul, calling him an apostate from the law.
From Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.11.7 (de Santos 2):
Ebionaei etenim, eo evangelio quod est secundum Matthaeum solo utentes, ex illo ipso convincuntur, non recte praesumentes de domino.
The Ebionites indeed, using only that gospel which is according to Matthew, are convinced by that alone, not presuming rightly about the Lord.
Origen.
Early century III.
From Origen, Homily on Luke 1.1:
Ecclesia quator habet evangelia, haeresis plurima, e quibus quoddam scribitur secundum Aegyptios, aliud iuxta duodecim apostolos.* ausus fuit et Basilides scribere evangelium et suo illud nomine titulare.
* Note that the Greek version has only το επιγεγραμμενον των δωδεκα ευαγγελιον (the gospel entitled of the twelve), omitting the apostles.
The church has four gospels, heresy many, from among which a certain one is written according to the Egyptians, another according to the twelve apostles. Even Basilides dared to write a gospel and to entitle it by his own name.
Clementine literature.
Early century III.
Not one of these three pseudo-Clementine quotations is secure as having come from the Ebionite gospel, and Aurelio de Santos Otero includes each with a question mark (?) as a signal of the doubt attached to them.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Homilies 3.51 (de Santos 8):
Το δε ειπειν αυτον· Ουκ ηλθον καταλυσαι τον νομον, και φαινεσθαι αυτον καταλυοντα, σημαινοντος ην οτι α κατελυσεν ουκ ην του νομου.
And when he said: I did not come to abolish the law, and it appeared that he himself did abolish it, it was a sign that the things which he abolished were not of the law.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Homilies 11.35 (de Santos 9):
Ου χαριν ο αποστειλας ημας εφη· Πολλοι ελευσονται προς με εν ενδυμασι προβατων, εσωθεν δε εισι λυκοι αρπαγες· απο των καρπων αυτων επιγνωσεσθε αυτους.
By which grace the one who sent us said: Many shall come to me in clothing of sheep, but within are ravenous wolves. From their fruits you shall know them.
From the Pseudo-Clementines, Recognitions 2.29 (de Santos 10):
E contrario vero eos qui in divitiis ac luxuria versabantur lugebat, qui nihil pauperibus largiebantur, arguens eos rationem reddituros quia proximos suos quos diligere sicut seipsos debuerant, ne in egestate quidem positos miserati sunt.
To the contrary, truly, he lamented those who were engaged in riches and luxuries, who handed out nothing to the poor, declaring that they would give back a reason as to those nearby them, to whom they owed it to love as themselves, nor indeed were miserable that they were placed in want.
Epiphanius.
Late century IV.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.3, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 1; Lagrange 1):
Και δεχονται μεν και αυτοι το κατα Ματθαιον ευαγγελιον. τουτω γαρ και αυτοι, ως και οι κατα Κηρινθον και Μηρινθον, χρωνται μονω. καλουσι δε αυτο κατα Εβραιους, ως τα αληθη εστιν ειπειν οτι Ματθαιος μονος Εβραιστι και Εβραικοις γραμμασιν εν τη καινη διαθηκη εποιησατο την του ευαγγελιου εκθεσιν τε και κηρυγμα.
And they themselves also accept the gospel according to Matthew. For this they use alone, as also those from Cerinthus and Merinthus. But they call it according to the Hebrews, since it is true to say that Matthew alone in the New Testament made the layout and preaching of the gospel in Hebrew, and in Hebraic letters.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.13, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 2-5; Lagrange 2-4):
Εν τω γουν παρ αυτοις ευαγγελιω κατα Ματθαιον ονομαζομενω, ουχ ολω δε πληρεστατω, αλλα νενοθευμενω και ηκρωτηριασμενω, Εβραικον δε τουτο καλουσιν, εμφερεται, οτι Εγενετο τις ανηρ ονοματι Ιησους, και αυτος ως ετων τριακοντα, ος εξελεξατο ημας. και ελθων εις Καφαρναουμ εισηλθεν εις την οικιαν Σιμωνος του επικληθεντος Πετρου, και ανοιξας το στομα αυτου ειπε· Παρερχομενος παρα την λιμνην Τιβεριαδος εξελεξαμην Ιωαννην και Ιακωβον υιους Ζεβεδαιου, και Σιμωνα, και Ανδρεαν, και Θαδδαιον, και Σιμωνα τον Ζηλωτην, και Ιουδαν τον Ισκαριωτην, και σε τον Ματθαιον καθεζομενον επι του τελωνιου εκαλεσα, και ηκολουθησας μοι. υμας ουν βουλομαι ειναι δεκαδυο αποστολους, εις μαρτυριον του Ισραηλ.
In the gospel among them named according to Matthew, but not all very complete, but illegitimized and adulterated, but they call it the Hebraic [gospel], it states: There was a certain man, Jesus by name, and he himself was about thirty years old, who elected us. And having come to Capernaum he went into the house of Simon, nicknamed Peter, and he opened his mouth and said: While passing by the lake of Tiberias I elected John and Jacob, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon, and Andrew, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, and you, Matthew, I called while you were sitting in the toll-booth, and you followed me. I wish, therefore, for you to be twelve apostles as a testimony of Israel.
Και εγενετο Ιωαννης βαπτιζων, και εξηλθον προς αυτον Φαρισαιοι και εβαπτισθησαν, και πασα Ιεροσολυμα. Και ειχεν ο Ιωαννης ενδυμα απο τριχων καμηλου, και ζωνην δερματινην περι την οσφυν αυτου· και το βρωμα αυτου, φησι, μελι αγριον, ου η γευσις ην του μαννα, ως εγκρις εν ελαιω· ινα δηθεν μεταστρεψωσι τον της αληθειας λογον εις ψευδος, και αντι ακριδων ποιησωσιν εγκριδας εν μελιτι.
And John was baptizing, and Pharisees went out to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem. And John had clothing from the hairs of a camel, and a skin belt around his loin. And his food, it says, was wild honey whose taste was of manna, as cake in oil. So that clearly they exchange the word of truth for a falsehood, and instead of locusts they make it cakes in honey.
Η δε αρχη του παρ αυτοις ευαγγελιου εχει οτι Εγενετο εν ταις ημεραις Ηρωδου του βασιλεως της Ιουδαιας ηλθεν Ιωαννης βαπτιζων βαπτισμα μετανοιας εν τω Ιορδανη ποταμω, ος ελεγετο ειναι εκ γενους Ααρων του ιερεως, παις Ζαχαριου και Ελισαβετ, και εξηρχοντο προς αυτον παντες.
And the beginning of the gospel among them has: It happened in the days of Herod the king of Judea that John came baptizing a baptism of repentance in the Jordan river, who was said to be from the line of Aaron the priest, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and all were going out to him.
Και μετα το ειπειν πολλα επιφερει οτι, Του λαου βαπτισθεντος, ηλθε και Ιησους και εβαπτισθη υπο του Ιωαννου. και ως ανηλθεν απο του υδατος ηνοιγησαν οι ουρανοι, και ειδε το πνευμα του θεου το αγιον εν ειδει περιστερας κατελθουσης και εισελθουσης εις αυτον. και φωνη εγενετο εκ του ουρανου, λεγουσα· Συ μου ει ο υιος ο αγαθητος· εν σοι ηυδοκησα· και παλιν· Εγω σημερον γεγεννηκα σε. Και ευθυς περιελαμψε τον τοπον φως μεγα, ο ιδων, φησιν, ο Ιωαννης λεγει αυτω· Συ τις ει, κυριε; Και παλιν φωνη εξ ουρανου προς αυτον· Ουτος εστιν ο υιος μου ο αγαπητος, εφ ον ηυδοκησα. και τοτε, φησιν, ο Ιωαννης προσπεσων αυτω ελεγε· Δεομαι σου, κυριε, συ με βαπτισον. ο δε εκωλυεν αυτω, λεγων· Αφες, οτι ουτως εστι πρεπον πληρωθηναι παντα.
And after it says many things it states: When the people were being baptized, Jesus came too and was baptized by John. And as he came up out of the water the heavens opened, and he saw the holy spirit of God in the image of a dove coming down and coming onto him. And there was a voice from heaven saying: You are my beloved son. With you I am pleased. And again: Today I have begotten you. And immediately a great light illuminated the place. When John saw this, it says, he said to him: Who are you, Lord? And again there was a voice from heaven to him: This is my beloved son, with whom I am pleased. And then, it says, John walked to him and said: I request you, Lord, you baptize me. But he prevented him, saying: Allow it, since thus is it proper to fulfill all things.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.14, writing of the Ebionites:
Παλιν δε αρνουνται ειναι αυτον ανθρωπον, δηθεν απο του λογου ου ειρηκεν ο σωτηρ εν τω αναγγεληναι αυτω οτι, Ιδου, η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου εξω εστηκασιν, οτι, Τις μου εστι μητηρ και αδελφοι; και εκτεινας την χειρα επι τους μαθητας εφη· Ουτοι εισιν οι αδελφοι μου και η μητηρ και αδελφαι, οι ποιουντες τα θεληματα του πατρος μου.
But again they deny that he was a man, apparently from the word which the savior spoke when it was announced to him: Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, that is: Who is my mother and brothers? And he stretched out his hand over the disciples and said: These who my brothers and mother and sisters, those who are doing the wishes of my father.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.16, writing of the Ebionites (de Santos 6; Lagrange 5):
Ου φασκουσι δε εκ θεου πατρος αυτον γεγεννησθαι, αλλα εκτισθαι, ως ενα των αρχαγγελων, μειζονα δε αυτων οντα, αυτον δε κυριευειν και αγγελων και παντων υπο του παντοκρατορος πεποιημενων, και ελθοντα και υφηγησαμενον, ως το παρ αυτοις κατα Εβραιους ευαγγελιον καλουμενον περιεχει, οτι Ηλθον καταλυσαι τας θυσιας, και εαν μη παυσησθε του θυειν, ου παυσεται αφ υμων η οργη.
And they say that he was not engendered from God the father, but created, as one of the archangels, but being greater than they are, and that he is Lord both of angels and of all things made by the creator of all, and that he came also to declare, as the gospel among them called according to the Hebrews has: I came to abolish the sacrifices, and, if you do not cease to sacrifice, the wrath will not cease from you.
From Epiphanius, Panarion 30.22, writings of the Ebionites (de Santos 7; Lagrange 6):
Αυτοι δε αφανισαντες αφ εαυτων την της αληθειας ακολουθιαν ηλλαξαν το ρητον, οπερ εστι πασι φανερον εκ των συνεζευγμενων λεξεων, και εποιησαν τους μαθητας μεν λεγοντας· Που θελεις ετοιμασωμεν σοι το πασχα φαγειν; και αυτον δηθεν λεγοντα· Μη επιθυμια επεθυμησα κρεας τουτο το πασχα φαγειν μεθ υμων;
And they themselves, having removed from themselves the following of the truth, changed the word, which is apparent to all from the words in context, and made the disciples to say: Where do you wish us to prepare the Passover for you to eat? And they made him to clearly say: It is not with desire that I have desired to eat meat, this Passover, with you, is it?
Jerome.
Early century V.
From Jerome, On Matthew 2, commentary on Matthew 12.13 (de Santos 23):
In evangelio quo utuntur Nazaraeni et Ebionitae, quod nuper in Graecum de Hebraeo sermone transtulimus, et quod vocatur a plerisque Matthaei authenticum, homo iste qui aridam habet manum caementarius scribitur istius modi vocibus auxilium precans: Caementarius eram, manibus victum quaeritans. precor te, Iesu, ut mihi restituas sanitatem, ne turpiter mendicem cibos.
In the gospel which the Nazaraeans and Ebionites use, which we recently translated from Hebrew speech into Greek, and which is called by many the authentic [gospel] of Matthew, this man who has the dry hand is written to be a mason, praying for help with words of this kind: I was a mason, seeking a livelihood with my hands. I pray, Jesus, that you restore health to me, lest I disgracefully beg food.
An Aramaic proverb.
Aurelio de Santos Otero, on page 53, throws in the following Aramaic saying on the authority of L. Wallace, The Textual History of an Aramaic Proverb (Traces of the Ebionean Gospel), Journal of Biblical Literature 60 (1941), pages 403-415. Wallace contends that this proverb bears a trace of the Ebionite gospel (de Santos 11):
אהא חמרא וכטש לשרגא׃
Vino el asno y rompiу la lбmpara.
The ass came and broke the lamp.
I myself have no idea whether it is plausible to attribute this saying to any of the Jewish gospels. I provide it here merely for the sake of completeness.
Papyrus Egerton 2:
English Translation
English Translation
Fragment 1 Verso
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: "Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?"
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: "Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped."
And they said: "We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from."
Jesus answered and said to them: "Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]"
------
* Possible reconstructions:
"Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does."
"Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does."
"Because it's unexplained, how he does, what he does."
"And see, how he does, what he does."
"Who is condemning, how he does, what he does."
Fragment 1 Recto
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
------------
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
Fragment 2 Recto
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: "Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?"
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: "Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men...'"
----
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
"Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, ..."
Fragment 2 Verso
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
"(...) shut up (...) has been subjected uncertainly (...) its weight unweighted?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (...) and sowed upon the (...). And the (...) water (...) the (...). And (...) before them, he brought forth fruit (...) much (...) for joy (...)
(Dodd:) "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a secret place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore. And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit...
(Schmidt:) "Why is the seed enclosed in the ground, the abundance buried? Hidden for a short time, it will be immeasurable."
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground. And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it. And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared...
(Cerfaux:) "(...) enclosed like me, buried, uncertain, and making possible immeasurable abundance?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river. And on the water, the roots spread out and fruit appeared...
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground. And the sprinkled waterpurified(?) the ground. (...) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
(Lagrange:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus walked at the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with sand and sowed seed on the sand. And then he poured running water over it. And it run to seed and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: "Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?"
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: "Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped."
And they said: "We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from."
Jesus answered and said to them: "Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]"
------
* Possible reconstructions:
"Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does."
"Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does."
"Because it's unexplained, how he does, what he does."
"And see, how he does, what he does."
"Who is condemning, how he does, what he does."
Fragment 1 Recto
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
------------
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
Fragment 2 Recto
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: "Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?"
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: "Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men...'"
----
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
"Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, ..."
Fragment 2 Verso
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
"(...) shut up (...) has been subjected uncertainly (...) its weight unweighted?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (...) and sowed upon the (...). And the (...) water (...) the (...). And (...) before them, he brought forth fruit (...) much (...) for joy (...)
(Dodd:) "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a secret place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore. And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit...
(Schmidt:) "Why is the seed enclosed in the ground, the abundance buried? Hidden for a short time, it will be immeasurable."
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground. And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it. And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared...
(Cerfaux:) "(...) enclosed like me, buried, uncertain, and making possible immeasurable abundance?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river. And on the water, the roots spread out and fruit appeared...
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground. And the sprinkled waterpurified(?) the ground. (...) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
(Lagrange:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus walked at the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with sand and sowed seed on the sand. And then he poured running water over it. And it run to seed and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
English Translation
1
. . . to the lawyers: ". . . everyone who acts contrary to the law, but not me . . . what he does, as he does it." And having turned to the rulers of the people he spoke the following saying, "Search the scriptures in which you think that you have life; these are the ones which bear witness to me. Do not think that I came to accuse you to my father. There is one that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope." And when they said, "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for you, we do not know where you come from." Jesus answered and said to them, "Now accusation is raised against your unbelief with respect to those to whom he bore witness. Because if you had believed Moses, you would believe me since it is about me that he wrote to your fathers."
1
. . . to the lawyers: ". . . everyone who acts contrary to the law, but not me . . . what he does, as he does it." And having turned to the rulers of the people he spoke the following saying, "Search the scriptures in which you think that you have life; these are the ones which bear witness to me. Do not think that I came to accuse you to my father. There is one that accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope." And when they said, "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for you, we do not know where you come from." Jesus answered and said to them, "Now accusation is raised against your unbelief with respect to those to whom he bore witness. Because if you had believed Moses, you would believe me since it is about me that he wrote to your fathers."
2
. . . to gather stones together [to stone] him. And the rulers laid their hands on him to [deliver] him to the crowd. But they were not able to arrest him since the hour of his being handed over had not yet come. But the Lord himself escaped from their hands and turned away from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper. If therefore you will, I will be clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the purification as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
. . . to gather stones together [to stone] him. And the rulers laid their hands on him to [deliver] him to the crowd. But they were not able to arrest him since the hour of his being handed over had not yet come. But the Lord himself escaped from their hands and turned away from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper. If therefore you will, I will be clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the purification as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
Gospel of the Egyptians
Clem. Alex. Strom. iii. 9. 64.
Whence it is with reason that after the Word had told about the End, Salome saith: Until when shall men continue to die? (Now, the Scripture speaks of man in two senses, the one that is seen, and the soul: and again, of him that is in a state of salvation, and him that is not: and sin is called the death of the soul) and it is advisedly that the Lord makes an answer: So long as women bear children.
66. And why do not they who walk by anything rather than the true rule of the Gospel go on to quote the rest of that which was said to Salome: for when she had said, 'I have done well, then, in not bearing children?' (as if childbearing were not the right thing to accept) the Lord answers and says: Every plant eat thou, but that which hath bitterness eat not.
iii. 13. 92. When Salome inquired when the things concerning which she asked should be known, the Lord said: When ye have trampled on the garment of shame, and when the two become one and the male with the female is neither male nor female. In the first place, then, we have not this saying in the four Gospels that have been delivered to us, but in that according to the Egyptians.
(The so-called Second Epistle of Clement has this, in a slightly different form, c. xii. 2: For the Lord himself being asked by some one when his kingdom should come, said: When the two shall be one, and the outside (that which is without) as the inside (that which is within), and themale with the female neither male nor female.)
There are allusions to the saying in the Apocryphal Acts, see pp. 335, 429, 450.
iii. 6. 45. The Lord said to Salome when she inquired: How long shall death prevail? 'As long as ye women bera children', not because life is an ill, and the creation evil: but as showing the sequence of nature: for in all cases birth is followed by decay.
Excerpts from Theodotus, 67. And when the Saviour says to Salome that there shall be death as long as women bear children, he did not say it as abusing birth, for that is necessary for the salvation of believers.
Strom. iii. 9. 63. But those who set themselves against God's creation because of continence, which has a fair-sounding name, quote also those words which were spoken to Salome, of which I made mention before. They are contained, I think (or I take it) in the Gospel according to the Egyptians. For they say that 'the Savior himself said: I came to destroy the works of the female'. By female he means lust: by works, birth and decay.
Hippolytus against Heresies, v. 7. (The Naassenes) say that the soul is very hard to find and to perceive; for it does not continue in the same fashion or shape or in one emotion so that one can either describe it or comprehend its essence. And they have these various changes of the soul, set forth in the Gospel entitled according to the Egyptians.
Epiphanius, Heresy lxii. 2 (Sabellians). Their whole deceit (error) and the strength of it they draw from some apocryphal books, especially from what is called the Egyptian Gospel, to which some have given that name. For in it many suchlike things are recorded (or attributed) as from the person of the Saviour, said in a corner, purporting that he showed his disciples that the same person was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Clem. Alex. Strom. iii. 9. 64.
Whence it is with reason that after the Word had told about the End, Salome saith: Until when shall men continue to die? (Now, the Scripture speaks of man in two senses, the one that is seen, and the soul: and again, of him that is in a state of salvation, and him that is not: and sin is called the death of the soul) and it is advisedly that the Lord makes an answer: So long as women bear children.
66. And why do not they who walk by anything rather than the true rule of the Gospel go on to quote the rest of that which was said to Salome: for when she had said, 'I have done well, then, in not bearing children?' (as if childbearing were not the right thing to accept) the Lord answers and says: Every plant eat thou, but that which hath bitterness eat not.
iii. 13. 92. When Salome inquired when the things concerning which she asked should be known, the Lord said: When ye have trampled on the garment of shame, and when the two become one and the male with the female is neither male nor female. In the first place, then, we have not this saying in the four Gospels that have been delivered to us, but in that according to the Egyptians.
(The so-called Second Epistle of Clement has this, in a slightly different form, c. xii. 2: For the Lord himself being asked by some one when his kingdom should come, said: When the two shall be one, and the outside (that which is without) as the inside (that which is within), and themale with the female neither male nor female.)
There are allusions to the saying in the Apocryphal Acts, see pp. 335, 429, 450.
iii. 6. 45. The Lord said to Salome when she inquired: How long shall death prevail? 'As long as ye women bera children', not because life is an ill, and the creation evil: but as showing the sequence of nature: for in all cases birth is followed by decay.
Excerpts from Theodotus, 67. And when the Saviour says to Salome that there shall be death as long as women bear children, he did not say it as abusing birth, for that is necessary for the salvation of believers.
Strom. iii. 9. 63. But those who set themselves against God's creation because of continence, which has a fair-sounding name, quote also those words which were spoken to Salome, of which I made mention before. They are contained, I think (or I take it) in the Gospel according to the Egyptians. For they say that 'the Savior himself said: I came to destroy the works of the female'. By female he means lust: by works, birth and decay.
Hippolytus against Heresies, v. 7. (The Naassenes) say that the soul is very hard to find and to perceive; for it does not continue in the same fashion or shape or in one emotion so that one can either describe it or comprehend its essence. And they have these various changes of the soul, set forth in the Gospel entitled according to the Egyptians.
Epiphanius, Heresy lxii. 2 (Sabellians). Their whole deceit (error) and the strength of it they draw from some apocryphal books, especially from what is called the Egyptian Gospel, to which some have given that name. For in it many suchlike things are recorded (or attributed) as from the person of the Saviour, said in a corner, purporting that he showed his disciples that the same person was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Papyrus Oxyrhnchus 1224
It weighed me down. Then Jesus approached in a vision and said, "Why are you discouraged? For not . . . you, but the . . . "
. . . "you said, although you are not answering. What then did you renounce? What is the new doctrine that they say you teach, or what is the new baptism that you proclaim? Answer and . . . "
When the scribes and Pharisees and priests saw him, they were angry that he was reclining in the midst of sinners. But when Jesus heard, he said, "Those who are healthy have no need of a physician . . . "
" . . . and pray for your enemies. For the one who is not against you is for you. The one who is far away today, tomorrow will be near you and in . . . the adversary . . .
. . . "you said, although you are not answering. What then did you renounce? What is the new doctrine that they say you teach, or what is the new baptism that you proclaim? Answer and . . . "
When the scribes and Pharisees and priests saw him, they were angry that he was reclining in the midst of sinners. But when Jesus heard, he said, "Those who are healthy have no need of a physician . . . "
" . . . and pray for your enemies. For the one who is not against you is for you. The one who is far away today, tomorrow will be near you and in . . . the adversary . . .
The Epistle of Jesus
Here is a copy of the the letter from King Abgar of Edessa to Jesus, delivered by Ananias to Jerusalem:
From Abgar Uchama the King to Jesus the good Savior in Jerusalem, greetings! I have heard about you, and your ability to heal without the benefit of drugs or herbs. It is said hereabouts that you make the blind see and the lame walk; You cleanse lepers, cast out demons and spirits, cure long-term diseases, and raise the dead. When I heard about these wonders, I concluded that either you are God or the Son of God. So now I am writing to ask you to visit with me, and hear me describe my affliction.
Moreover, I have heard that the Jews are speaking against you and wish to harm you. I have a city here for your safety. It is small but noble, and sufficient for both of us.
Jesus' reply:
You are blessed, for you believe in me having not yet seen me. For it is written of me that those who see me won't believe in me, but those who haven't will, and those who believe will live!
But concerning your letter that I should come to you: It is necessary that I fulfill all the purposes for which I was sent here. Afterwards, I must be taken back to Him who sent me. When that time comes, and I am taken up, I will send one of my disciples to you, so that you may be healed of your affliction, and that you and yours might have life.
After the fulfillment of this prophesy, he appeared to Thaddeus, his disciple, and sent him to Edessa, where King Abgar was healed of his affliction, and many came to know of the power of the risen Lord through the disciple.
Here is a copy of the the letter from King Abgar of Edessa to Jesus, delivered by Ananias to Jerusalem:
From Abgar Uchama the King to Jesus the good Savior in Jerusalem, greetings! I have heard about you, and your ability to heal without the benefit of drugs or herbs. It is said hereabouts that you make the blind see and the lame walk; You cleanse lepers, cast out demons and spirits, cure long-term diseases, and raise the dead. When I heard about these wonders, I concluded that either you are God or the Son of God. So now I am writing to ask you to visit with me, and hear me describe my affliction.
Moreover, I have heard that the Jews are speaking against you and wish to harm you. I have a city here for your safety. It is small but noble, and sufficient for both of us.
Jesus' reply:
You are blessed, for you believe in me having not yet seen me. For it is written of me that those who see me won't believe in me, but those who haven't will, and those who believe will live!
But concerning your letter that I should come to you: It is necessary that I fulfill all the purposes for which I was sent here. Afterwards, I must be taken back to Him who sent me. When that time comes, and I am taken up, I will send one of my disciples to you, so that you may be healed of your affliction, and that you and yours might have life.
After the fulfillment of this prophesy, he appeared to Thaddeus, his disciple, and sent him to Edessa, where King Abgar was healed of his affliction, and many came to know of the power of the risen Lord through the disciple.
The Gospel of Mark, Freer
Afterward Jesus appeared to the eleven as they reclined at table and reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he arose. The eleven made an excuse: "This age of lawlessness and unbelief is controlled by Satan, who, by means of unclean spirits, doesn't allow the truth to be known. So," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now!"
Christ replied to them, "The measure of Satan's years of power is filled up, although other fearful things draw nigh to those for whom I, because of their sin, was delivered to death, that they might turn back and not sin anymore so that they might inherit the imperishable, spiritual glory of righteousness in heaven."
Christ replied to them, "The measure of Satan's years of power is filled up, although other fearful things draw nigh to those for whom I, because of their sin, was delivered to death, that they might turn back and not sin anymore so that they might inherit the imperishable, spiritual glory of righteousness in heaven."
Sayings of the Savior
Acts 20:35, quoted by Paul: It is more blessed to give than receive.
Justin and several others: In the last days, there will be dissenting opinions and squabbles brought about by false teachers.
Theodatus quotes Clement of Alexandria: Save your soul and your life!
Apelles quotes Epiphanius: Be competent money managers!
Tertullian: One who has never gone through trials can never perceive the Kingdom of Heaven!
Clement of Alexandria: Seek first the Reign of the Deity and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Ask for great things and the Deity will add unto you small things.
Actus Vercellenses: Those with me haven't understood me.
Origen and several others: He who is close to me is close to the fire; she who is far from the fire is far from the Kingdom.
Luke 6:4, variant reading from Codex D: On the Sabbath Jesus saw a man working, and he said to him, "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you don't know what you are doing, you are a law-breaker and cursed!"
Inscription on a mosque in India (1601), but traced back to at least the 8th century: Jesus, on whom be peace, said, "The world is like a bridge. Go over it, but do not install yourself upon it."
Ephraem: I have chosen you before the world was.
Berlin papyrus 11710: Jesus to Nathaniel: Walk in the sun!
Fayyum Fragment: As he led them out, he said, "All of you will be offended tonight, as it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" When Peter said, "Even if all, not I," Jesus said, "Before the cock crows twice, three times you will today deny me."
Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians; Clement, Bishop of Rome, first century: Show mercy so that you may receive it. Forgive others so that you may be forgiven. As you do, it will be so done to you. As you give, so will it be given to you. As you judge, so will you also be judged. As you show kindness, so will you be shown kindness. With the same rule you use to measure these things, so will you be measured.
An Ancient Christian Sermon; Pseudo-Clement, second century: If you are gathered with me into my bosom yet you do not keep my commandments, I will discard you and say to you, "Get away from me; I do not know where you are from, you evildoer!"
Let the lambs not fear the wolves after their death. As for you, do not fear those who kill you, for they can do no more. Fear him who has the power to throw soul and body into hell after you are dead.
If you do not guard something small, who will give you something great? Whoever is faithful with very little is faithful with very much.
Ignatius to the Smyrnians, first decade of the second century: Hold and handle me to see that I am not a disembodied demon.
Epistle of Barnabas, between A.D. 70 and 135: Those who want to see me and gain my kingdom must receive me through suffering and affliction.
Acts 20:35, quoted by Paul: It is more blessed to give than receive.
Justin and several others: In the last days, there will be dissenting opinions and squabbles brought about by false teachers.
Theodatus quotes Clement of Alexandria: Save your soul and your life!
Apelles quotes Epiphanius: Be competent money managers!
Tertullian: One who has never gone through trials can never perceive the Kingdom of Heaven!
Clement of Alexandria: Seek first the Reign of the Deity and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Ask for great things and the Deity will add unto you small things.
Actus Vercellenses: Those with me haven't understood me.
Origen and several others: He who is close to me is close to the fire; she who is far from the fire is far from the Kingdom.
Luke 6:4, variant reading from Codex D: On the Sabbath Jesus saw a man working, and he said to him, "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you don't know what you are doing, you are a law-breaker and cursed!"
Inscription on a mosque in India (1601), but traced back to at least the 8th century: Jesus, on whom be peace, said, "The world is like a bridge. Go over it, but do not install yourself upon it."
Ephraem: I have chosen you before the world was.
Berlin papyrus 11710: Jesus to Nathaniel: Walk in the sun!
Fayyum Fragment: As he led them out, he said, "All of you will be offended tonight, as it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" When Peter said, "Even if all, not I," Jesus said, "Before the cock crows twice, three times you will today deny me."
Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians; Clement, Bishop of Rome, first century: Show mercy so that you may receive it. Forgive others so that you may be forgiven. As you do, it will be so done to you. As you give, so will it be given to you. As you judge, so will you also be judged. As you show kindness, so will you be shown kindness. With the same rule you use to measure these things, so will you be measured.
An Ancient Christian Sermon; Pseudo-Clement, second century: If you are gathered with me into my bosom yet you do not keep my commandments, I will discard you and say to you, "Get away from me; I do not know where you are from, you evildoer!"
Let the lambs not fear the wolves after their death. As for you, do not fear those who kill you, for they can do no more. Fear him who has the power to throw soul and body into hell after you are dead.
If you do not guard something small, who will give you something great? Whoever is faithful with very little is faithful with very much.
Ignatius to the Smyrnians, first decade of the second century: Hold and handle me to see that I am not a disembodied demon.
Epistle of Barnabas, between A.D. 70 and 135: Those who want to see me and gain my kingdom must receive me through suffering and affliction.
The Preaching of Peter
Jesus to the disciples: If anyone of Israel desires to repent and through my name believes in Yahweh, his sins will be forgiven him. For 12 years go into the world and preach this message so that no one may say, "We haven't heard."
I have chosen the twelve because I have found them worthy to be my disciples. I sent these, whom I was sure would be true Apostles, into the world to proclaim to all the joyous message that all may know that there is only one qeos, and to reveal the future through those who believe in me. The end of which is that those who hear and believe might be saved; and those who do not believe may yet testify that they too have heard the message. That they might not be able to excuse themselves by saying, "We haven't heard."
Jesus to the disciples: If anyone of Israel desires to repent and through my name believes in Yahweh, his sins will be forgiven him. For 12 years go into the world and preach this message so that no one may say, "We haven't heard."
I have chosen the twelve because I have found them worthy to be my disciples. I sent these, whom I was sure would be true Apostles, into the world to proclaim to all the joyous message that all may know that there is only one qeos, and to reveal the future through those who believe in me. The end of which is that those who hear and believe might be saved; and those who do not believe may yet testify that they too have heard the message. That they might not be able to excuse themselves by saying, "We haven't heard."
Freer Logion (between Mark 16:14 and 16:15)
And they excused themselves, saying, This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things dominated by the spirits.[28] Therefore reveal your righteousness now. — thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ responded to them, The limit of the years of Satan's power is completed, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who sinned I was handed over to death, that they might return to the truth and no longer sin, in order that they might inherit the spiritual and incorruptible heavenly glory of righteousness.
And they excused themselves, saying, This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things dominated by the spirits.[28] Therefore reveal your righteousness now. — thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ responded to them, The limit of the years of Satan's power is completed, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who sinned I was handed over to death, that they might return to the truth and no longer sin, in order that they might inherit the spiritual and incorruptible heavenly glory of righteousness.
Apocrypha: Traditions of Mattias
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges, “Marvel at what is present,” laying this down as the first step toward the knowledge of things beyond.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 3.4.26.3
They say that Matthias also taught this: “To fight with the flesh and misuse it, without yielding to it through undisciplined pleasure, so to increase the soul through faith and knowledge.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6.35.2
So Zaccheus whom they call Matthias, the chief tax collector, when he had heard that the Lord had esteemed him highly enough to be with him, said, “Behold, half of my present possessions I give as alms, and Lord, if I ever extorted money from anyone in any way, I return it fourfold.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7.13.82.1
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity, “If the neighbor of an elect person sins, the elect person sins. For if he had led himself as the word dictates, the neighbor would have been in awe of his life so that he did not sin.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges, “Marvel at what is present,” laying this down as the first step toward the knowledge of things beyond.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 3.4.26.3
They say that Matthias also taught this: “To fight with the flesh and misuse it, without yielding to it through undisciplined pleasure, so to increase the soul through faith and knowledge.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6.35.2
So Zaccheus whom they call Matthias, the chief tax collector, when he had heard that the Lord had esteemed him highly enough to be with him, said, “Behold, half of my present possessions I give as alms, and Lord, if I ever extorted money from anyone in any way, I return it fourfold.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7.13.82.1
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity, “If the neighbor of an elect person sins, the elect person sins. For if he had led himself as the word dictates, the neighbor would have been in awe of his life so that he did not sin.”
LIST OF AUTHENTIC AGRAPHA
The sources from which the authentic Agrapha may be gathered are: (a) the New Testament and the New Testament manuscripts; (b) the Apocryphal tradition; (c) the patristic citations; and (d) the socalled "Oxyrhynchus Logia" of Jesus. Agrapha contained in Jewish or Mohammedan sources may be curious, but they are hardly authentic. Since the criticism of the Agrapha is in most cases difficult, and often unsatisfactory, frequent disagreement in the critical results must be expected as a matter of course. The following Agrapha are probably genuine sayings of Jesus.
(a) In the New Testament and the New Testament manuscripts: In Codices D and Phi , and in some versions of Matt., xx, 28, "But ye seek from the small to increase, and from the greater to be less." In Codex D of Luke, vi, 4: "On the same day, seeing one working on the Sabbath, he said to him: Man, if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou; but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed and a transgressor of the Law." In Acts, xx, 35, "Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive."
(b) In apocryphal tradition: In the Gospel according to the Hebrews (Jerome, Ezech., xviii, 7): "In the Gospel which the Nazarenes are accustomed to read, that according to the Hebrews, there is put among the greatest crimes he who shall have grieved the spirit of his brother." In the same Gospel (Jerome, Eph., v, 3 sq.): "In the Hebrew Gospel too we read of the Lord saying to the disciples: And never, said he, rejoice, except when you have looked upon your brother in love." In Apostolic Church Order, 26: "For he said to us before, when he was teaching: That which is weak shall be saved through that which is strong." In "Acta Philippi", 34: "For the Lord said to me: Except ye make the lower into the upper and the left into the right, ye shall not enter into my kingdom."
(c) In patristic citations: Justin Martyr, Dial. 47: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever things I apprehend you, in those I shall judge you." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. I, 24, 158: "For ask, he says for the great things, and the small shall be added to you." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. I, 28, 177: "Rightly therefore the Scripture also in its desire to make us such dialecticians, exhorts us: Be approved moneychangers, disapproving some things, but holding fast that which is good." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. V, 10, 64: "For not grudgingly, he saith, did the Lord declare in a certain gospel: My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house." Origen, Homil. in Jer., XX, 3: "But the Saviour himself saith: He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me, is far from the kingdom."
(d) In the Oxyrhynchus Logia: The first Logion is part of Luke, vi, 42; of the fourth, only the word "poverty" is left; the eighth, too, is badly mutilated. The text of the other Logia is in a more satisfactory condition. Second Logion: "Jesus saith, Except you fast to the world, you shall in no wise find the kingdom of God." Third Logion: "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieved over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not." Fifth Logion: "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God; and wherever there is one alone, I say I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I." Sixth Logion: "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him." Seventh Logion: "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid." Eighth Logion: "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear . . ." Resch's contention that seventy-five Agrapha are probably genuine Sayings of Jesus harmonizes with the assumption that all spring from the same source, but does not commend itself to the judgment of other scholars.
The sources from which the authentic Agrapha may be gathered are: (a) the New Testament and the New Testament manuscripts; (b) the Apocryphal tradition; (c) the patristic citations; and (d) the socalled "Oxyrhynchus Logia" of Jesus. Agrapha contained in Jewish or Mohammedan sources may be curious, but they are hardly authentic. Since the criticism of the Agrapha is in most cases difficult, and often unsatisfactory, frequent disagreement in the critical results must be expected as a matter of course. The following Agrapha are probably genuine sayings of Jesus.
(a) In the New Testament and the New Testament manuscripts: In Codices D and Phi , and in some versions of Matt., xx, 28, "But ye seek from the small to increase, and from the greater to be less." In Codex D of Luke, vi, 4: "On the same day, seeing one working on the Sabbath, he said to him: Man, if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou; but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed and a transgressor of the Law." In Acts, xx, 35, "Remember the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said: It is a more blessed thing to give, rather than to receive."
(b) In apocryphal tradition: In the Gospel according to the Hebrews (Jerome, Ezech., xviii, 7): "In the Gospel which the Nazarenes are accustomed to read, that according to the Hebrews, there is put among the greatest crimes he who shall have grieved the spirit of his brother." In the same Gospel (Jerome, Eph., v, 3 sq.): "In the Hebrew Gospel too we read of the Lord saying to the disciples: And never, said he, rejoice, except when you have looked upon your brother in love." In Apostolic Church Order, 26: "For he said to us before, when he was teaching: That which is weak shall be saved through that which is strong." In "Acta Philippi", 34: "For the Lord said to me: Except ye make the lower into the upper and the left into the right, ye shall not enter into my kingdom."
(c) In patristic citations: Justin Martyr, Dial. 47: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever things I apprehend you, in those I shall judge you." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. I, 24, 158: "For ask, he says for the great things, and the small shall be added to you." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. I, 28, 177: "Rightly therefore the Scripture also in its desire to make us such dialecticians, exhorts us: Be approved moneychangers, disapproving some things, but holding fast that which is good." Clement of Alexandria, Strom. V, 10, 64: "For not grudgingly, he saith, did the Lord declare in a certain gospel: My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house." Origen, Homil. in Jer., XX, 3: "But the Saviour himself saith: He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me, is far from the kingdom."
(d) In the Oxyrhynchus Logia: The first Logion is part of Luke, vi, 42; of the fourth, only the word "poverty" is left; the eighth, too, is badly mutilated. The text of the other Logia is in a more satisfactory condition. Second Logion: "Jesus saith, Except you fast to the world, you shall in no wise find the kingdom of God." Third Logion: "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieved over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not." Fifth Logion: "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God; and wherever there is one alone, I say I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I." Sixth Logion: "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him." Seventh Logion: "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid." Eighth Logion: "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear . . ." Resch's contention that seventy-five Agrapha are probably genuine Sayings of Jesus harmonizes with the assumption that all spring from the same source, but does not commend itself to the judgment of other scholars.
(a) Being mere Sayings, and not discourses, the Agrapha do not embrace the lengthy sections ascribed to Jesus in the "Didascalia" and the "Pistis Sophia." These works contain also some brief quotations of alleged words of Jesus, though they may have to be excluded from the Sayings for other reasons. Such seems to be the Saying in "Didasc. Syr." II, 8 (ed. Lagarde, p. 14); "A man is unapproved, if he be untempted."
(b) Being Sayings of Jesus, the Agrapha do not embrace: (1) The Sayings contained in religious romances, such as we find in the apocryphal Gospels, the apocryphal Acts, or the Letter of Christ to Abgar (Eus. Hist. Eccl., I, 13). (2) Scripture passages ascribed to Jesus by a mere oversight. Thus "Didasc. Apost. Syr." (ed. Lagarde, p. 11, line 12) assigns to the Lord the words of Prov., xv, 1 (Sept.), "Wrath destroyeth even wise men". (3) The expressions attributed to Jesus by the mistake of transcribers. The Epistle of Barnabas, iv, 9, reads: "As the son of God says, Let us resist all iniquity, and hold it in hatred." But this is merely a rendering of a mistake of the Latin scribe who wrote "sicut dicit filius Dei", instead of "sicut decet filios Dei", the true rendering of the Greek òs prépei uìoîs Theoû. (4) The Sayings attributed to Jesus by mere conjecture. Resch has put forth the conjecture that the words of Clem. Alex. Strom. I, 8, 41, "These are they who ply their looms and weave nothing, saith the Scripture", refer to a Saying of Jesus, though there is no solid foundation for this belief.
(c) Coming down to us through channels outside the canonical Gospels, the Agrapha do not comprise: (1) Mere parallel forms, or amplifications, or, again, combinations of Sayings contained in the canonical Gospels. Thus we find a combination of Matt., vi, 19; x, 9; Luke, xii, 33, in Ephr. Syr. Test. (opp. Græce, ed. Assemani, II, 232): "For I heard the Good Teacher in the divine gospels saying to his disciples, Get you nothing on earth." (2) Homiletical paragraphs of Jesus, thoughts given by ancient writers. Thus Hippolytus (Demonstr. adv. Judæos, VII) paraphrases Ps. lxviii (lxix), 26: "Whence he saith, Let their temple, Father, be desolate."
(b) Being Sayings of Jesus, the Agrapha do not embrace: (1) The Sayings contained in religious romances, such as we find in the apocryphal Gospels, the apocryphal Acts, or the Letter of Christ to Abgar (Eus. Hist. Eccl., I, 13). (2) Scripture passages ascribed to Jesus by a mere oversight. Thus "Didasc. Apost. Syr." (ed. Lagarde, p. 11, line 12) assigns to the Lord the words of Prov., xv, 1 (Sept.), "Wrath destroyeth even wise men". (3) The expressions attributed to Jesus by the mistake of transcribers. The Epistle of Barnabas, iv, 9, reads: "As the son of God says, Let us resist all iniquity, and hold it in hatred." But this is merely a rendering of a mistake of the Latin scribe who wrote "sicut dicit filius Dei", instead of "sicut decet filios Dei", the true rendering of the Greek òs prépei uìoîs Theoû. (4) The Sayings attributed to Jesus by mere conjecture. Resch has put forth the conjecture that the words of Clem. Alex. Strom. I, 8, 41, "These are they who ply their looms and weave nothing, saith the Scripture", refer to a Saying of Jesus, though there is no solid foundation for this belief.
(c) Coming down to us through channels outside the canonical Gospels, the Agrapha do not comprise: (1) Mere parallel forms, or amplifications, or, again, combinations of Sayings contained in the canonical Gospels. Thus we find a combination of Matt., vi, 19; x, 9; Luke, xii, 33, in Ephr. Syr. Test. (opp. Græce, ed. Assemani, II, 232): "For I heard the Good Teacher in the divine gospels saying to his disciples, Get you nothing on earth." (2) Homiletical paragraphs of Jesus, thoughts given by ancient writers. Thus Hippolytus (Demonstr. adv. Judæos, VII) paraphrases Ps. lxviii (lxix), 26: "Whence he saith, Let their temple, Father, be desolate."
LOGIA, a title used to describe a collection of the sayings of Jesus Christ (XO-yta 'Incro0) and therefore generally applied to the "Sayings of Jesus" discovered in Egypt by B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt. There is some question as to whether the term is rightly used for this purpose. It does not occur in the Papyri in this sense. Each "saying" is introduced by the phrase "Jesus says" (Xi-yet) and the collection is described in the introductory words of the 1903 series as X6yot not as Xlryta. Some justification for the employment of the term is found in early Christian litera ture. Several writers speak of the Xosyta rol) Kvpiou or To, Kvpt.ccat X6-yta, i.e., oracles of (or concerning) the Lord. Polycarp, for instance, speaks of "those who pervert the oracles of the Lord" (Philipp. 7), and Papias, as Eusebius tells us, wrote a work with the title "Expositions of the Oracles of the Lord." The expression has been variously interpreted. It need mean no more than narra tives of (or concerning) the Lord ; on the other h'and, the phrase is capable of a much more definite meaning, and there are many scholars who hold that it refers to a document which contained a collection of the sayings of Jesus, and which is believed to be the source or the principal source of the teachings of Jesus found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark.
"The Sayings..
These fragments, to which the term Logia is also applied, consist of (a) a papyrus leaf containing seven or eight sayings of Jesus discovered in 1897, (b) a second leaf con taining five more sayings discovered in 1903, (c) two fragments of unknown Gospels, the former published in 1903, the latter in 1907. All these were found amongst the great mass of papyri acquired by the Egyptian Exploration Fund from the ruins of Oxyrhynchus, one of the chief early Christian centres in Egypt, situated some 120 m. S. of Cairo. The 8 sayings discovered in 1897 may be translated as follows : 1. ". . . and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." 2. "Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the kingdom of God; and except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath, ye shall not see the Father." 3. "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not. . . ." 4. ". . . poverty . . . ." 5. "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God, and wherever there is one alone, I say, I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me, cleave the wood and there am I." 6. "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him." 7. "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a high hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid." 8. "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear [but the other ear hast thou closed]." The "sayings" of 1903 are as follows:— I. "Jesus saith, Let not him who seeks . . cease until he finds and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom and having reached the kingdom he shall rest." 2. "Jesus saith (ye ask? who are those) that draw us (to the kingdom if) the kingdom is in Heaven? . . the fowls of the air and all beasts that are under the earth or upon the earth and the fishes of the sea (these are they which draw) you and the kingdom of Heaven is within you and whosoever shall know himself shall find it. (Strive therefore?) to know yourselves and ye shall be aware that ye are the sons of the (Almighty?) Father; (and?) ye shall know that ye are in (the city of God?) and ye are (the city?)."
3. "Jesus saith, A man shall not hesitate . . . to ask concerning his place (in the kingdom. Ye shall know) that many that are first shall be last and the last first and (they shall have eternal life?)." 4. "Jesus saith, Everything that is not before thy face and that which is hidden from thee shall be revealed to thee. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest nor buried which shall not be raised." 5. "His disciples question him and say, How shall we fast and how shall we (pray?) . . . and what (commandment) shall we keep . . . Jesus saith . . . do not . . . of truth . . . blessed is he . . . ." First Gospel Fragment.—The fragment of a lost Gospel which was discovered in 1903 contained originally about fifty lines, but many of them have perished and others are undecipherable. The translation, as far as it can be made out, is as follows : 1-7. "(Take no thought) from morning until even nor from evening until morning either for your food what ye shall eat or for your raiment what ye shall put on. 7-13. Ye are far better than the lilies which grow but spin not. Having one garment what do ye (lack) ? . . . 13-15. Who could add to your stature? 15-16. He himself will give you your garment. 17-23. His disciples say unto him, When wilt thou be manifest unto us and when shall we see thee? He saith, When ye shall be stripped and not be ashamed • • • He said, The key of knowledge ye hid : ye entered not in yourselves, and to them that were entering in, ye opened not." Second Gospel Fragment.—The second Gospel fragment dis covered in 1907 "consists of a single vellum leaf, practically com plete except at one of the lower corners and here most of the lacunae admit of a satisfactory solution." The translation is as follows : . . . before he does wrong makes all manner of subtle excuse. But give heed lest ye also suffer the same things as they: for the evil doers among men receive their reward not among the living only, but also await punishment and much torment. And he took them and brought them into the very place of purification and was walking in the temple. And a certain Pharisee, a chief priest, whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Saviour, Who gave thee leave to walk in this place of purification, and to see these holy vessels when thou hast not washed nor yet have thy disciples bathed their feet? But defiled thou hast walked in this temple, which is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and changed his garments, neither does he venture to see these holy vessels. And the Saviour straightway stood still with his disciples and answered him, Art thou then, being here in the temple, clean? He saith unto him, I am clean ; for I washed in the pool of David and having descended by one staircase, I ascended by another and I put on white and clean garments, and then I came and looked upon these holy vessels. The Saviour answered and said unto him, Woe ye blind, who see not. Thou hast washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day and hast cleansed and wiped the outside skin which also the harlots and flute-girls anoint and wash and wipe and beautify for the lust of men ; but within they are full of scorpions and all wickedness. But I and my disciples who thou sayest have not bathed have been dipped in the waters of eternal life which come from . . . . But woe unto the . . . .
"The Sayings..
These fragments, to which the term Logia is also applied, consist of (a) a papyrus leaf containing seven or eight sayings of Jesus discovered in 1897, (b) a second leaf con taining five more sayings discovered in 1903, (c) two fragments of unknown Gospels, the former published in 1903, the latter in 1907. All these were found amongst the great mass of papyri acquired by the Egyptian Exploration Fund from the ruins of Oxyrhynchus, one of the chief early Christian centres in Egypt, situated some 120 m. S. of Cairo. The 8 sayings discovered in 1897 may be translated as follows : 1. ". . . and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye." 2. "Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the kingdom of God; and except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath, ye shall not see the Father." 3. "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieveth over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not. . . ." 4. ". . . poverty . . . ." 5. "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God, and wherever there is one alone, I say, I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me, cleave the wood and there am I." 6. "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him." 7. "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a high hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid." 8. "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear [but the other ear hast thou closed]." The "sayings" of 1903 are as follows:— I. "Jesus saith, Let not him who seeks . . cease until he finds and when he finds he shall be astonished; astonished he shall reach the kingdom and having reached the kingdom he shall rest." 2. "Jesus saith (ye ask? who are those) that draw us (to the kingdom if) the kingdom is in Heaven? . . the fowls of the air and all beasts that are under the earth or upon the earth and the fishes of the sea (these are they which draw) you and the kingdom of Heaven is within you and whosoever shall know himself shall find it. (Strive therefore?) to know yourselves and ye shall be aware that ye are the sons of the (Almighty?) Father; (and?) ye shall know that ye are in (the city of God?) and ye are (the city?)."
3. "Jesus saith, A man shall not hesitate . . . to ask concerning his place (in the kingdom. Ye shall know) that many that are first shall be last and the last first and (they shall have eternal life?)." 4. "Jesus saith, Everything that is not before thy face and that which is hidden from thee shall be revealed to thee. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest nor buried which shall not be raised." 5. "His disciples question him and say, How shall we fast and how shall we (pray?) . . . and what (commandment) shall we keep . . . Jesus saith . . . do not . . . of truth . . . blessed is he . . . ." First Gospel Fragment.—The fragment of a lost Gospel which was discovered in 1903 contained originally about fifty lines, but many of them have perished and others are undecipherable. The translation, as far as it can be made out, is as follows : 1-7. "(Take no thought) from morning until even nor from evening until morning either for your food what ye shall eat or for your raiment what ye shall put on. 7-13. Ye are far better than the lilies which grow but spin not. Having one garment what do ye (lack) ? . . . 13-15. Who could add to your stature? 15-16. He himself will give you your garment. 17-23. His disciples say unto him, When wilt thou be manifest unto us and when shall we see thee? He saith, When ye shall be stripped and not be ashamed • • • He said, The key of knowledge ye hid : ye entered not in yourselves, and to them that were entering in, ye opened not." Second Gospel Fragment.—The second Gospel fragment dis covered in 1907 "consists of a single vellum leaf, practically com plete except at one of the lower corners and here most of the lacunae admit of a satisfactory solution." The translation is as follows : . . . before he does wrong makes all manner of subtle excuse. But give heed lest ye also suffer the same things as they: for the evil doers among men receive their reward not among the living only, but also await punishment and much torment. And he took them and brought them into the very place of purification and was walking in the temple. And a certain Pharisee, a chief priest, whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Saviour, Who gave thee leave to walk in this place of purification, and to see these holy vessels when thou hast not washed nor yet have thy disciples bathed their feet? But defiled thou hast walked in this temple, which is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and changed his garments, neither does he venture to see these holy vessels. And the Saviour straightway stood still with his disciples and answered him, Art thou then, being here in the temple, clean? He saith unto him, I am clean ; for I washed in the pool of David and having descended by one staircase, I ascended by another and I put on white and clean garments, and then I came and looked upon these holy vessels. The Saviour answered and said unto him, Woe ye blind, who see not. Thou hast washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day and hast cleansed and wiped the outside skin which also the harlots and flute-girls anoint and wash and wipe and beautify for the lust of men ; but within they are full of scorpions and all wickedness. But I and my disciples who thou sayest have not bathed have been dipped in the waters of eternal life which come from . . . . But woe unto the . . . .
Papyrus Egerton 2:
English Translation
English Translation
Fragment 1 Verso
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: "Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?"
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: "Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped."
And they said: "We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from."
Jesus answered and said to them: "Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]"
------
* Possible reconstructions:
"Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does."
"Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does."
"Because it's unexplained, how he does, what he does."
"And see, how he does, what he does."
"Who is condemning, how he does, what he does."
Fragment 1 Recto
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
------------
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
Fragment 2 Recto
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: "Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?"
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: "Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men...'"
----
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
"Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, ..."
Fragment 2 Verso
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
"(...) shut up (...) has been subjected uncertainly (...) its weight unweighted?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (...) and sowed upon the (...). And the (...) water (...) the (...). And (...) before them, he brought forth fruit (...) much (...) for joy (...)
(Dodd:) "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a secret place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore. And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit...
(Schmidt:) "Why is the seed enclosed in the ground, the abundance buried? Hidden for a short time, it will be immeasurable."
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground. And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it. And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared...
(Cerfaux:) "(...) enclosed like me, buried, uncertain, and making possible immeasurable abundance?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river. And on the water, the roots spread out and fruit appeared...
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground. And the sprinkled waterpurified(?) the ground. (...) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
(Lagrange:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus walked at the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with sand and sowed seed on the sand. And then he poured running water over it. And it run to seed and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: "Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?"
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: "Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped."
And they said: "We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from."
Jesus answered and said to them: "Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]"
------
* Possible reconstructions:
"Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does."
"Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does."
"Because it's unexplained, how he does, what he does."
"And see, how he does, what he does."
"Who is condemning, how he does, what he does."
Fragment 1 Recto
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: "Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean."
And the Lord said to him: "I will, be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: "Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]"
------------
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
Fragment 2 Recto
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: "Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?"
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: "Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: 'This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men...'"
----
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
"Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, ..."
Fragment 2 Verso
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
"(...) shut up (...) has been subjected uncertainly (...) its weight unweighted?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (...) and sowed upon the (...). And the (...) water (...) the (...). And (...) before them, he brought forth fruit (...) much (...) for joy (...)
(Dodd:) "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a secret place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore. And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit...
(Schmidt:) "Why is the seed enclosed in the ground, the abundance buried? Hidden for a short time, it will be immeasurable."
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground. And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it. And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared...
(Cerfaux:) "(...) enclosed like me, buried, uncertain, and making possible immeasurable abundance?"
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river. And on the water, the roots spread out and fruit appeared...
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground. And the sprinkled waterpurified(?) the ground. (...) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
(Lagrange:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus walked at the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with sand and sowed seed on the sand. And then he poured running water over it. And it run to seed and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
Chapter LII. Other Sayings of Christ
Since, then, while the heaven and the earth still stand, sacrifices have passed away, and kingdoms, and prophecies among those who are born of woman, and such like, as not being ordinances of God; hence therefore He says, 'Every plant which the heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.' Wherefore He, being the true Prophet, said, 'I am the gate of life; he who enters through me enters into life,' there being no other teaching able to save. Wherefore also He cried, and said, 'Come unto me, all who labour,' that is, who are seeking the truth, and not finding it; and again, 'My sheep hear my voice;' and elsewhere, 'Seek and find,' since the truth does not lie on the surface.
Chapter LIII. Other Sayings of Christ
But also a witnessing voice was heard from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him.' And in addition to this, willing to convict more fully of error the prophets from whom they asserted that they had learned, He proclaimed that they died desiring the truth, but not having learned it, saying, 'Many prophets and kings desired to see what ye see, and to hear what you hear; and verily I say to you, they neither saw nor heard.' Still further He said, 'I am he concerning whom Moses prophesied, saying, A Prophet shall the Lord our God raise unto you of your brethren, like unto me: Him hear in all things; and whosoever will not hear that Prophet shall die.'
Chapter LIV. Other Sayings
Whence it is impossible without His teaching to attain to saving truth, though one seek it for ever where the thing that is sought is not. But it was, and is, in the word of our Jesus. Accordingly, He, knowing the true things of the law, said to the Sadducees, asking on what account Moses permitted to marry seven, 'Moses gave you commandments according to your hard-heartedness; for from the beginning it was not so: for He who created man at first, made him male and female.'
Chapter LV. Teaching of Christ
But to those who think, as the Scriptures teach, that God swears, He said, 'Let your yea be yea, and nay, nay; for what is more than these is of the evil one.' And to those who say that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are dead, He said, 'God is not of the dead, but of the living.' And to those who suppose that God tempts, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'The tempter is the wicked one,' who also tempted Himself. To those who suppose that God does not foreknow, He said, 'For your heavenly Father knows that ye need all these things before ye ask Him.' And to those who believe, as the Scriptures say, that He does not see all things, He said, 'Pray in secret, and your Father, who sees secret things, will reward you.'
Chapter LVI. Teaching of Christ
And to those who think that He is not good, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'From which of you shall his son ask bread, and he will give him a stone; or shall ask a fish, and he will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him, and to those who do His will!' But to those who affirmed that He was in the temple, He said, 'Swear not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet.' And to those who supposed that God is pleased with sacrifices, He said, 'God wishes mercy, and not sacrifices' —the knowledge of Himself, and not holocausts.
Chapter LVII. Teaching of Christ
But to those who are persuaded that He is evil, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Call not me good, for One only is good.' And again, 'Be ye good and merciful, as your Father in the heavens, who makes the sun rise on good and evil men, and brings rain upon just and unjust.' But to those who were misled to imagine many gods, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Hear, O Israel; the Lord your God is one Lord.'
Since, then, while the heaven and the earth still stand, sacrifices have passed away, and kingdoms, and prophecies among those who are born of woman, and such like, as not being ordinances of God; hence therefore He says, 'Every plant which the heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up.' Wherefore He, being the true Prophet, said, 'I am the gate of life; he who enters through me enters into life,' there being no other teaching able to save. Wherefore also He cried, and said, 'Come unto me, all who labour,' that is, who are seeking the truth, and not finding it; and again, 'My sheep hear my voice;' and elsewhere, 'Seek and find,' since the truth does not lie on the surface.
Chapter LIII. Other Sayings of Christ
But also a witnessing voice was heard from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him.' And in addition to this, willing to convict more fully of error the prophets from whom they asserted that they had learned, He proclaimed that they died desiring the truth, but not having learned it, saying, 'Many prophets and kings desired to see what ye see, and to hear what you hear; and verily I say to you, they neither saw nor heard.' Still further He said, 'I am he concerning whom Moses prophesied, saying, A Prophet shall the Lord our God raise unto you of your brethren, like unto me: Him hear in all things; and whosoever will not hear that Prophet shall die.'
Chapter LIV. Other Sayings
Whence it is impossible without His teaching to attain to saving truth, though one seek it for ever where the thing that is sought is not. But it was, and is, in the word of our Jesus. Accordingly, He, knowing the true things of the law, said to the Sadducees, asking on what account Moses permitted to marry seven, 'Moses gave you commandments according to your hard-heartedness; for from the beginning it was not so: for He who created man at first, made him male and female.'
Chapter LV. Teaching of Christ
But to those who think, as the Scriptures teach, that God swears, He said, 'Let your yea be yea, and nay, nay; for what is more than these is of the evil one.' And to those who say that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are dead, He said, 'God is not of the dead, but of the living.' And to those who suppose that God tempts, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'The tempter is the wicked one,' who also tempted Himself. To those who suppose that God does not foreknow, He said, 'For your heavenly Father knows that ye need all these things before ye ask Him.' And to those who believe, as the Scriptures say, that He does not see all things, He said, 'Pray in secret, and your Father, who sees secret things, will reward you.'
Chapter LVI. Teaching of Christ
And to those who think that He is not good, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'From which of you shall his son ask bread, and he will give him a stone; or shall ask a fish, and he will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him, and to those who do His will!' But to those who affirmed that He was in the temple, He said, 'Swear not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet.' And to those who supposed that God is pleased with sacrifices, He said, 'God wishes mercy, and not sacrifices' —the knowledge of Himself, and not holocausts.
Chapter LVII. Teaching of Christ
But to those who are persuaded that He is evil, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Call not me good, for One only is good.' And again, 'Be ye good and merciful, as your Father in the heavens, who makes the sun rise on good and evil men, and brings rain upon just and unjust.' But to those who were misled to imagine many gods, as the Scriptures say, He said, 'Hear, O Israel; the Lord your God is one Lord.'
The Gospel of the Nazaraeans
quoted from Clement of Alexandria:
"Whoever marvels will reign, and whoever has reigns will rest. Whoever looks will not rest until he finds; whoever finds will marvel; whoever marvels will reign. Whoever reigns will rest."
"Whoever marvels will reign, and whoever has reigns will rest. Whoever looks will not rest until he finds; whoever finds will marvel; whoever marvels will reign. Whoever reigns will rest."
quoted from 2 Clement:
"If you do not fulfill my commands then even if you should gather together in my bosom, I will throw you out and say: Leave me, I do not know where you come from, you workers of evil."
"If you do not fulfill my commands then even if you should gather together in my bosom, I will throw you out and say: Leave me, I do not know where you come from, you workers of evil."
quoted from Jerome:
"The Lord's mother and brothers said to him, "John baptizes for the forgiveness of sins. Let's go and be baptized by John!" The Lord said to them, "In what way have I sinned that I should go and be baptized by him? Unless, of course, I have just committed the sin of ignorance!"
"The Lord's mother and brothers said to him, "John baptizes for the forgiveness of sins. Let's go and be baptized by John!" The Lord said to them, "In what way have I sinned that I should go and be baptized by him? Unless, of course, I have just committed the sin of ignorance!"
"Give us today tomorrow's bread."
"If your brother has sinned against you with words, but has asked forgiveness and made reparations, forgive him seven times a day." Simon, his disciple, asked him, "Seven times a day?" The Lord told him, "Yes, I'm telling you, as many as seventy times seven times; for it is written that the words of sinful discourse were found even after the Holy Spirit anointed the prophets."
"When the Lord had come out of baptism's waters, the entire of the Holy Spirit descended on him and remained. The Spirit said, "My Son, through all the prophets I have been waiting for you so that I might rest in you. For you are my rest; you are my first-begotten Son that will reign forever."
"The Lord said to his disciples, Be joyful only when you look upon your brother's face with love. The most grievous offenders are those who have offended their brothers' spirits."
quoted from Origen:
The other of two rich men said to him, "Master, what good works should I do so that I will live?" The Lord said to him, "Man, fulfill the law and the prophets." The rich man said, "I have done that already." Then the Lord commanded, "Go and sell everything you have and distribute it among the poor, then come and follow me." The rich man could only scratch his head, for what the Lord had said hadn't pleased him at all. So the Lord said to him "How can you say that you have fulfilled the law and the prophets? For it stands written in the law, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Yet, look around and see that many of the sons of Abraham are begrimed with dirt and die with hunger. Your house is full of all kinds of desirable things, but none of your wealth comes out of it for them!" He turned and said to his disciple Simon, who was sitting near by, "Simon, son of Jona, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven."
The other of two rich men said to him, "Master, what good works should I do so that I will live?" The Lord said to him, "Man, fulfill the law and the prophets." The rich man said, "I have done that already." Then the Lord commanded, "Go and sell everything you have and distribute it among the poor, then come and follow me." The rich man could only scratch his head, for what the Lord had said hadn't pleased him at all. So the Lord said to him "How can you say that you have fulfilled the law and the prophets? For it stands written in the law, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Yet, look around and see that many of the sons of Abraham are begrimed with dirt and die with hunger. Your house is full of all kinds of desirable things, but none of your wealth comes out of it for them!" He turned and said to his disciple Simon, who was sitting near by, "Simon, son of Jona, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven."
"Jesus said, Even so my mother, the Holy Spirit, took me by one of my hairs and carried me to the great Mount Tabor."
quoted from Eusebius:
"I choose for myself the most worthy - they are given me by my Father in Heaven."
"I choose for myself the most worthy - they are given me by my Father in Heaven."
quoted from Haimo of Auxerre:
"As the Lord spoke the words of Isaiah from the cross, thousands of the Jews standing around became believers."
"As the Lord spoke the words of Isaiah from the cross, thousands of the Jews standing around became believers."
amplified from a marginal note on a copy of Aurora:
"Jesus entered the temple of Yahweh and drove out all those who bought or sold. He overturned the moneychanger's tables and the seats of the pigeon-sellers. Rays of light came out from his eyes, by which many were terrified and ran away."
"Jesus entered the temple of Yahweh and drove out all those who bought or sold. He overturned the moneychanger's tables and the seats of the pigeon-sellers. Rays of light came out from his eyes, by which many were terrified and ran away."
quoted from Epiphanius:
"There appeared a man of about thirty years of age named Jesus who chose us. When he came to Capernaum, he went into the house of Simon Peter and said, "As I walked along the Lake of Tiberias, I chose John and James the sons of Zebedee, then Simon, Andrew, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the Iscariot. You, Matthew, I called as you sat at the tax collection table and you followed me. I will you to be 'sent ones' for a testimony to Israel."
"There appeared a man of about thirty years of age named Jesus who chose us. When he came to Capernaum, he went into the house of Simon Peter and said, "As I walked along the Lake of Tiberias, I chose John and James the sons of Zebedee, then Simon, Andrew, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the Iscariot. You, Matthew, I called as you sat at the tax collection table and you followed me. I will you to be 'sent ones' for a testimony to Israel."
"I have come to do away with the system of sacrifices. If you do not quit sacrificing, the wrath of Yahweh will not quit you."
"The disciples said, "Where do you want us to prepare the Passover?" Jesus answered, "Do you think I desire with desire to eat flesh with you at this Passover?""
from other sources:
"Whoever seeks will not rest until he finds; whoever finds will be amazed; whoever is amazed will reign; whoever reigns will rest."
"Whoever seeks will not rest until he finds; whoever finds will be amazed; whoever is amazed will reign; whoever reigns will rest."
"The Lord appeared to James, who had sworn that he would not eat until he should see the Lord risen from them that are asleep. The Lord said, "Bring a table and bread!" James did as he was told. The Lord took the bread, blessed it and broke it. Handing it to James the Just, he said, "My brother, you may now eat your bread, for the Son of Man is risen from sleepers."
"When he came to Peter and the others with him, he said to them, "Behold! Touch me and see that I am not a bodiless demon!" Right away, they touched him and believed, being in close contact with his flesh and his spirit."
Apocrypha: Traditions of Mattias
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges, “Marvel at what is present,” laying this down as the first step toward the knowledge of things beyond.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 3.4.26.3
They say that Matthias also taught this: “To fight with the flesh and misuse it, without yielding to it through undisciplined pleasure, so to increase the soul through faith and knowledge.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6.35.2
So Zaccheus whom they call Matthias, the chief tax collector, when he had heard that the Lord had esteemed him highly enough to be with him, said, “Behold, half of my present possessions I give as alms, and Lord, if I ever extorted money from anyone in any way, I return it fourfold.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7.13.82.1
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity, “If the neighbor of an elect person sins, the elect person sins. For if he had led himself as the word dictates, the neighbor would have been in awe of his life so that he did not sin.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.9.45.4
But the begining of this is to marvel at things, as Plato says in the Theatetus and as Matthias says in the Traditions when he urges, “Marvel at what is present,” laying this down as the first step toward the knowledge of things beyond.
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 3.4.26.3
They say that Matthias also taught this: “To fight with the flesh and misuse it, without yielding to it through undisciplined pleasure, so to increase the soul through faith and knowledge.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 4.6.35.2
So Zaccheus whom they call Matthias, the chief tax collector, when he had heard that the Lord had esteemed him highly enough to be with him, said, “Behold, half of my present possessions I give as alms, and Lord, if I ever extorted money from anyone in any way, I return it fourfold.”
At this the savior said, “When the son of man came today, he found that which was lost.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 7.13.82.1
They say that Matthias the apostle in the Traditions says at every opportunity, “If the neighbor of an elect person sins, the elect person sins. For if he had led himself as the word dictates, the neighbor would have been in awe of his life so that he did not sin.”
Unknown Gospels I & II
I
This gospel fragment is of the school of John, and dated to around 150.
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
I
This gospel fragment is of the school of John, and dated to around 150.
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
The Secret Gospel of Mark
I find the Secret Gospel of Mark fascinating. Copied by a scribe in the 18th century from an earlier (how early we don't know) copy, there has been a great deal of controversy among scholars regarding its authenticity. I believe the Clementine letter is authentic for reasons of style. There can be no justifiable suspicion of Morton Smith's integrity and I give no airing time to claims that Professor Smith forged the document..period!
secretmark.htm"HYPERLINK "secretmark.htm
Beginning of three-page handwritten addition penned into the endpapers of a printed book, Isaac Voss' 1646 edition of the Epistolae genuinae S. Ignatii Martyris. The addition is in 18th century Greek minuscule copying a letter of Clement of Alexandria "to Theodore" concerning a dispute with the Carpocratians, an heterodox Christian sect. It was discovered by Morton Smith in 1958 when he, as a graduate student of Columbia University, was cataloguing the manuscript collection of the Mar Saba Monastery south of Jerusalem.
secretmark1.htm
Page 1
Translation of Andrew Bernhard (his website listed below)
01 From the letters of the most holy Clement of the Stomateis. To Theodore:
02 You did well silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocratians.
03 For they are the prophesied wandering stars. From the narrow road of the commandments
04 they are wandering into a boundless abyss of carnal and bodily sins.
05 For having been puffed up in knowledge - as they call it - of the depths of Satan, they fail to notice
06 that they are throwing themselves down into the darkness of dark lies. And having boasted
07 that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. With these people, then, it is
08 necessary to check them constantly and in everything. For even if they say something true, still
09 the lover of the truth should not agree with them. For not all true things are truth.
10 One must not value what human opinion considers truth more than the
11 true truth, which is recognized through faith. Now, concerning their babblings about the divinely
12 inspired Gospel according to Mark: some are wholly false while others, even if partly true,
13 are still not completely true. The true parts, because they have been mixed
14 with invented stories are debased so that, as the saying goes, even the
15 salt loses its flavor. As for Mark then, during the time when Peter was in Rome,
16 he wrote up the deeds of the Lord, not actually recording everything, nor
17 hinting at the mysteries, but instead picking out the things he thought would
18 increase the faith of those being taught. Then, when Peter was martyred, Mark went
19 to Alexandria, bringing both his knowledge and the things he remembered hearing from Peter.
20 From what he brought, he supplemented his first book with the appropriate items
21 about knowledge for those who are making progress. He arranged a more spiritual
22 gospel for the use of those being perfected. Nevertheless, he did not reveal the things
23 which are not to be discussed. He did not write out the hierophantic instruction of the
24 Lord, but added other deeds to the ones he had already written. Then, he
25 added certain sayings, the interpretation of which he knew would initiate the hearers
26 into the innermost sanctuary of the truth which has been hidden seven times. This is the way
27 he prepared them, in my opinion, not ungrudgingly or unguardedly. And
28 when he died, he left his writing to the church in
I find the Secret Gospel of Mark fascinating. Copied by a scribe in the 18th century from an earlier (how early we don't know) copy, there has been a great deal of controversy among scholars regarding its authenticity. I believe the Clementine letter is authentic for reasons of style. There can be no justifiable suspicion of Morton Smith's integrity and I give no airing time to claims that Professor Smith forged the document..period!
secretmark.htm"HYPERLINK "secretmark.htm
Beginning of three-page handwritten addition penned into the endpapers of a printed book, Isaac Voss' 1646 edition of the Epistolae genuinae S. Ignatii Martyris. The addition is in 18th century Greek minuscule copying a letter of Clement of Alexandria "to Theodore" concerning a dispute with the Carpocratians, an heterodox Christian sect. It was discovered by Morton Smith in 1958 when he, as a graduate student of Columbia University, was cataloguing the manuscript collection of the Mar Saba Monastery south of Jerusalem.
secretmark1.htm
Page 1
Translation of Andrew Bernhard (his website listed below)
01 From the letters of the most holy Clement of the Stomateis. To Theodore:
02 You did well silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocratians.
03 For they are the prophesied wandering stars. From the narrow road of the commandments
04 they are wandering into a boundless abyss of carnal and bodily sins.
05 For having been puffed up in knowledge - as they call it - of the depths of Satan, they fail to notice
06 that they are throwing themselves down into the darkness of dark lies. And having boasted
07 that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. With these people, then, it is
08 necessary to check them constantly and in everything. For even if they say something true, still
09 the lover of the truth should not agree with them. For not all true things are truth.
10 One must not value what human opinion considers truth more than the
11 true truth, which is recognized through faith. Now, concerning their babblings about the divinely
12 inspired Gospel according to Mark: some are wholly false while others, even if partly true,
13 are still not completely true. The true parts, because they have been mixed
14 with invented stories are debased so that, as the saying goes, even the
15 salt loses its flavor. As for Mark then, during the time when Peter was in Rome,
16 he wrote up the deeds of the Lord, not actually recording everything, nor
17 hinting at the mysteries, but instead picking out the things he thought would
18 increase the faith of those being taught. Then, when Peter was martyred, Mark went
19 to Alexandria, bringing both his knowledge and the things he remembered hearing from Peter.
20 From what he brought, he supplemented his first book with the appropriate items
21 about knowledge for those who are making progress. He arranged a more spiritual
22 gospel for the use of those being perfected. Nevertheless, he did not reveal the things
23 which are not to be discussed. He did not write out the hierophantic instruction of the
24 Lord, but added other deeds to the ones he had already written. Then, he
25 added certain sayings, the interpretation of which he knew would initiate the hearers
26 into the innermost sanctuary of the truth which has been hidden seven times. This is the way
27 he prepared them, in my opinion, not ungrudgingly or unguardedly. And
28 when he died, he left his writing to the church in
The Secret Gospel of Mark
I find the Secret Gospel of Mark fascinating. Copied by a scribe in the 18th century from an earlier (how early we don't know) copy, there has been a great deal of controversy among scholars regarding its authenticity. I believe the Clementine letter is authentic for reasons of style. There can be no justifiable suspicion of Morton Smith's integrity and I give no airing time to claims that Professor Smith forged the document..period!
secretmark.htm"HYPERLINK "secretmark.htm
Beginning of three-page handwritten addition penned into the endpapers of a printed book, Isaac Voss' 1646 edition of the Epistolae genuinae S. Ignatii Martyris. The addition is in 18th century Greek minuscule copying a letter of Clement of Alexandria "to Theodore" concerning a dispute with the Carpocratians, an heterodox Christian sect. It was discovered by Morton Smith in 1958 when he, as a graduate student of Columbia University, was cataloguing the manuscript collection of the Mar Saba Monastery south of Jerusalem.
secretmark1.htm
Page 1
Translation of Andrew Bernhard (his website listed below)
01 From the letters of the most holy Clement of the Stomateis. To Theodore:
02 You did well silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocratians.
03 For they are the prophesied wandering stars. From the narrow road of the commandments
04 they are wandering into a boundless abyss of carnal and bodily sins.
05 For having been puffed up in knowledge - as they call it - of the depths of Satan, they fail to notice
06 that they are throwing themselves down into the darkness of dark lies. And having boasted
07 that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. With these people, then, it is
08 necessary to check them constantly and in everything. For even if they say something true, still
09 the lover of the truth should not agree with them. For not all true things are truth.
10 One must not value what human opinion considers truth more than the
11 true truth, which is recognized through faith. Now, concerning their babblings about the divinely
12 inspired Gospel according to Mark: some are wholly false while others, even if partly true,
13 are still not completely true. The true parts, because they have been mixed
14 with invented stories are debased so that, as the saying goes, even the
15 salt loses its flavor. As for Mark then, during the time when Peter was in Rome,
16 he wrote up the deeds of the Lord, not actually recording everything, nor
17 hinting at the mysteries, but instead picking out the things he thought would
18 increase the faith of those being taught. Then, when Peter was martyred, Mark went
19 to Alexandria, bringing both his knowledge and the things he remembered hearing from Peter.
20 From what he brought, he supplemented his first book with the appropriate items
21 about knowledge for those who are making progress. He arranged a more spiritual
22 gospel for the use of those being perfected. Nevertheless, he did not reveal the things
23 which are not to be discussed. He did not write out the hierophantic instruction of the
24 Lord, but added other deeds to the ones he had already written. Then, he
25 added certain sayings, the interpretation of which he knew would initiate the hearers
26 into the innermost sanctuary of the truth which has been hidden seven times. This is the way
27 he prepared them, in my opinion, not ungrudgingly or unguardedly. And
28 when he died, he left his writing to the church in
Page 2
01 Alexandria, where it is even now still extremely carefully guarded, being read
02 only to those who have been initiated into the greatest mysteries. The miserable
03 demons, however, are always devising destruction for the human race.
04 After being taught by them and using their deceptive arts, Carpocrates
05 was able to enslave some elder from the church in Alexandria
06 and get the written part of the secret gospel from him. And he
07 interpreted it according to his blasphemous and carnal opinion. Still
08 he defiles it, mixing with the most undefiled and holy narratives the most
09 shameless lies. The teaching of the Carpocratians is derived from this mixture.
10 Therefore, one must never yield to them, just as I said before. Also, one must not concede
11 to them that the secret gospel is from Mark, when they put forth their lies.
12 Rather one must deny it, even with an oath. For one does not have to speak
13 the whole truth to everyone. For this reason the wisdom of God declares through Solomon,
14 "Answer the fool from his folly," teaching that, from people whose minds are blinded,
15 the light of the truth must be concealed. At once, she (Wisdom)
16 says, "From the one who has not, it will be taken," and, "Let the fool go in darkness."
17 But we are the children of light, who have been illuminated in the rising of the heights of the
18 spirit of the Lord. "Where the spirit of the Lord is," she says, "there is freedom." For all
19 things are pure to those who are pure. So I will not hesitate to answer the questions for you,
20 exposing their lies from the actual words of the gospel.
21 At any rate, after the part, "They were going up on the road to Jerusalem" and the following things
22 until, "after three days he will arise," it takes up according to the text:
23 "And they went to Bethany and there was a woman whose brother had died.
24 And coming up to him, she prostrated herself before Jesus and said to him, 'Son of David,
25 have mercy on me.' But the disciples rebuked her. And becoming angry,
26 Jesus went with her to the garden where the tomb was. And
Page 3
01 immediately a great sound was heard from the tomb, and Jesus, going toward it
02 rolled away the stone from the entrance to the tomb. And going in immediately where
03 the young man was, he stretched out a hand and raised him up, holding
04 his hand. Then, the man looked at him and loved him and
05 he began to call him to his side, that he might be with him. And going from
06 the tomb, they went to the house of the young man. For he was rich. And after
07 six days, Jesus instructed him. And when it was late, the young man went
08 to him. He had put a linen around his naked body, and
09 he remained with him through that night. For Jesus taught him
10 the mystery of the kingdom of God. After he got up from there,
11 he turned to the region of the Jordan." And after these things, this follows:
12 "James and John go to him," and that whole section.
13 But the "naked man with naked man" and the other things you wrote about are
14 not found. After, "and he goes to Jericho," it adds only, "And the
15 brother of the young man whom Jesus loved was there, as well as
16 his mother and Salome. And Jesus did not welcome them."
17 But the many other things which you wrote both seem, and are, most false. So,
18 the truth according to the right interpretation. . .
Where did this letter come from? I believe that a
It is written in the Gospel of the Hebrews:
When Christ wished to come upon the earth to men, the good Father summoned a mighty power in heaven, which was called Michael, and entrusted Christ to the care thereof. And the power came into the world and it was called Mary, and Christ was in her womb seven months.
(Cyril of Jerusalem, Discourse on Mary Theotokos 12a)
According to the Gospel written in the Hebrew speech, which the Nazaraeans read, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit shall descend upon him. . . Further in the Gospel which we have just mentioned we find the following written:
And it came to pass when the Lord was come up out of the water, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended upon him and rested on him and said to him: My son, in all the prophets was I waiting for thee that thou shouldest come and I might rest in thee. For thou art my rest; thou art my first-begotten Son that reignest for ever.
(Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 4 [on Isaiah 11:2])
And if any accept the Gospel of the Hebrews - here the Savior says:
Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away on to the great mountain Tabor.
(Origen, Commentary on John 2.12.87 [on John 1:3])
As also it stands written in the Gospel of the Hebrews:
He that marvels shall reign, and he that has reigned shall rest.
(Clement, Stromateis 2.9.45.5)
To those words (from Plato, Timaeus 90) this is equivalent:
He that seeks will not rest until he finds; and he that has found shall marvel; and he that has marvelled shall reign; and he that has reigned shall rest.
(Ibid., 5.14.96.3)
As we have read in the Hebrew Gospel, the Lord says to his disciples:
And never be ye joyful, save when ye behold your brother with love.
(Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians 3 [on Ephesians 5:4])
In the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which the Nazaraeans are wont to read, there is counted among the most grievous offences:
He that has grieved the spirit of his brother.
(Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel 6 [on Ezekiel 18:7])
The Gospel called according to the Hebrews which was recently translated by me into Greek and Latin, which Origen frequently uses, records after the resurrection of the Savior:
And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, he went to James and appeared to him. For James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had drunk the cup of the Lord until he should see him risen from among them that sleep. And shortly thereafter the Lord said: Bring a table and bread! And immediately it added: he took the bread, blessed it and brake it and gave it to James the Just and said to him: My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of man is risen from among them that sleep.
(Jerome, De viris inlustribus 2)
quoted from 2 Clement:
"The married should not repudiate the spouse; the unmarried should remain so."
I find the Secret Gospel of Mark fascinating. Copied by a scribe in the 18th century from an earlier (how early we don't know) copy, there has been a great deal of controversy among scholars regarding its authenticity. I believe the Clementine letter is authentic for reasons of style. There can be no justifiable suspicion of Morton Smith's integrity and I give no airing time to claims that Professor Smith forged the document..period!
secretmark.htm"HYPERLINK "secretmark.htm
Beginning of three-page handwritten addition penned into the endpapers of a printed book, Isaac Voss' 1646 edition of the Epistolae genuinae S. Ignatii Martyris. The addition is in 18th century Greek minuscule copying a letter of Clement of Alexandria "to Theodore" concerning a dispute with the Carpocratians, an heterodox Christian sect. It was discovered by Morton Smith in 1958 when he, as a graduate student of Columbia University, was cataloguing the manuscript collection of the Mar Saba Monastery south of Jerusalem.
secretmark1.htm
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Translation of Andrew Bernhard (his website listed below)
01 From the letters of the most holy Clement of the Stomateis. To Theodore:
02 You did well silencing the unspeakable teachings of the Carpocratians.
03 For they are the prophesied wandering stars. From the narrow road of the commandments
04 they are wandering into a boundless abyss of carnal and bodily sins.
05 For having been puffed up in knowledge - as they call it - of the depths of Satan, they fail to notice
06 that they are throwing themselves down into the darkness of dark lies. And having boasted
07 that they are free, they have become slaves of servile desires. With these people, then, it is
08 necessary to check them constantly and in everything. For even if they say something true, still
09 the lover of the truth should not agree with them. For not all true things are truth.
10 One must not value what human opinion considers truth more than the
11 true truth, which is recognized through faith. Now, concerning their babblings about the divinely
12 inspired Gospel according to Mark: some are wholly false while others, even if partly true,
13 are still not completely true. The true parts, because they have been mixed
14 with invented stories are debased so that, as the saying goes, even the
15 salt loses its flavor. As for Mark then, during the time when Peter was in Rome,
16 he wrote up the deeds of the Lord, not actually recording everything, nor
17 hinting at the mysteries, but instead picking out the things he thought would
18 increase the faith of those being taught. Then, when Peter was martyred, Mark went
19 to Alexandria, bringing both his knowledge and the things he remembered hearing from Peter.
20 From what he brought, he supplemented his first book with the appropriate items
21 about knowledge for those who are making progress. He arranged a more spiritual
22 gospel for the use of those being perfected. Nevertheless, he did not reveal the things
23 which are not to be discussed. He did not write out the hierophantic instruction of the
24 Lord, but added other deeds to the ones he had already written. Then, he
25 added certain sayings, the interpretation of which he knew would initiate the hearers
26 into the innermost sanctuary of the truth which has been hidden seven times. This is the way
27 he prepared them, in my opinion, not ungrudgingly or unguardedly. And
28 when he died, he left his writing to the church in
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01 Alexandria, where it is even now still extremely carefully guarded, being read
02 only to those who have been initiated into the greatest mysteries. The miserable
03 demons, however, are always devising destruction for the human race.
04 After being taught by them and using their deceptive arts, Carpocrates
05 was able to enslave some elder from the church in Alexandria
06 and get the written part of the secret gospel from him. And he
07 interpreted it according to his blasphemous and carnal opinion. Still
08 he defiles it, mixing with the most undefiled and holy narratives the most
09 shameless lies. The teaching of the Carpocratians is derived from this mixture.
10 Therefore, one must never yield to them, just as I said before. Also, one must not concede
11 to them that the secret gospel is from Mark, when they put forth their lies.
12 Rather one must deny it, even with an oath. For one does not have to speak
13 the whole truth to everyone. For this reason the wisdom of God declares through Solomon,
14 "Answer the fool from his folly," teaching that, from people whose minds are blinded,
15 the light of the truth must be concealed. At once, she (Wisdom)
16 says, "From the one who has not, it will be taken," and, "Let the fool go in darkness."
17 But we are the children of light, who have been illuminated in the rising of the heights of the
18 spirit of the Lord. "Where the spirit of the Lord is," she says, "there is freedom." For all
19 things are pure to those who are pure. So I will not hesitate to answer the questions for you,
20 exposing their lies from the actual words of the gospel.
21 At any rate, after the part, "They were going up on the road to Jerusalem" and the following things
22 until, "after three days he will arise," it takes up according to the text:
23 "And they went to Bethany and there was a woman whose brother had died.
24 And coming up to him, she prostrated herself before Jesus and said to him, 'Son of David,
25 have mercy on me.' But the disciples rebuked her. And becoming angry,
26 Jesus went with her to the garden where the tomb was. And
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01 immediately a great sound was heard from the tomb, and Jesus, going toward it
02 rolled away the stone from the entrance to the tomb. And going in immediately where
03 the young man was, he stretched out a hand and raised him up, holding
04 his hand. Then, the man looked at him and loved him and
05 he began to call him to his side, that he might be with him. And going from
06 the tomb, they went to the house of the young man. For he was rich. And after
07 six days, Jesus instructed him. And when it was late, the young man went
08 to him. He had put a linen around his naked body, and
09 he remained with him through that night. For Jesus taught him
10 the mystery of the kingdom of God. After he got up from there,
11 he turned to the region of the Jordan." And after these things, this follows:
12 "James and John go to him," and that whole section.
13 But the "naked man with naked man" and the other things you wrote about are
14 not found. After, "and he goes to Jericho," it adds only, "And the
15 brother of the young man whom Jesus loved was there, as well as
16 his mother and Salome. And Jesus did not welcome them."
17 But the many other things which you wrote both seem, and are, most false. So,
18 the truth according to the right interpretation. . .
Where did this letter come from? I believe that a
It is written in the Gospel of the Hebrews:
When Christ wished to come upon the earth to men, the good Father summoned a mighty power in heaven, which was called Michael, and entrusted Christ to the care thereof. And the power came into the world and it was called Mary, and Christ was in her womb seven months.
(Cyril of Jerusalem, Discourse on Mary Theotokos 12a)
According to the Gospel written in the Hebrew speech, which the Nazaraeans read, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit shall descend upon him. . . Further in the Gospel which we have just mentioned we find the following written:
And it came to pass when the Lord was come up out of the water, the whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended upon him and rested on him and said to him: My son, in all the prophets was I waiting for thee that thou shouldest come and I might rest in thee. For thou art my rest; thou art my first-begotten Son that reignest for ever.
(Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 4 [on Isaiah 11:2])
And if any accept the Gospel of the Hebrews - here the Savior says:
Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away on to the great mountain Tabor.
(Origen, Commentary on John 2.12.87 [on John 1:3])
As also it stands written in the Gospel of the Hebrews:
He that marvels shall reign, and he that has reigned shall rest.
(Clement, Stromateis 2.9.45.5)
To those words (from Plato, Timaeus 90) this is equivalent:
He that seeks will not rest until he finds; and he that has found shall marvel; and he that has marvelled shall reign; and he that has reigned shall rest.
(Ibid., 5.14.96.3)
As we have read in the Hebrew Gospel, the Lord says to his disciples:
And never be ye joyful, save when ye behold your brother with love.
(Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians 3 [on Ephesians 5:4])
In the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which the Nazaraeans are wont to read, there is counted among the most grievous offences:
He that has grieved the spirit of his brother.
(Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel 6 [on Ezekiel 18:7])
The Gospel called according to the Hebrews which was recently translated by me into Greek and Latin, which Origen frequently uses, records after the resurrection of the Savior:
And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, he went to James and appeared to him. For James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had drunk the cup of the Lord until he should see him risen from among them that sleep. And shortly thereafter the Lord said: Bring a table and bread! And immediately it added: he took the bread, blessed it and brake it and gave it to James the Just and said to him: My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of man is risen from among them that sleep.
(Jerome, De viris inlustribus 2)
quoted from 2 Clement:
"The married should not repudiate the spouse; the unmarried should remain so."
quoted from Justin's Apology:
The Lord said, "You will be like sheep among wolves." Peter said, "What if the wolves tear the sheep to pieces?" The Lord replied, "Then let the sheep not fear the wolves after death. So, have no fear of those that kill you, for that is the last and worst they can do. Fear the one who has power to throw you into hell after you've been killed."
The Lord said, "You will be like sheep among wolves." Peter said, "What if the wolves tear the sheep to pieces?" The Lord replied, "Then let the sheep not fear the wolves after death. So, have no fear of those that kill you, for that is the last and worst they can do. Fear the one who has power to throw you into hell after you've been killed."
from the Oxyrhynchus Papyrii:
"You will not recognize the Kingdom of Yahweh until you make what is in your right hand the same as what is in your left hand; what is in your left hand the same as what is in your right hand; what is above as what is below; what is behind you as what is before."
"You will not recognize the Kingdom of Yahweh until you make what is in your right hand the same as what is in your left hand; what is in your left hand the same as what is in your right hand; what is above as what is below; what is behind you as what is before."
from the Epistle of Titus:
"What manner of woman are you! You have told me a mystery of resurrection, you who instituted vain festivals in your own honor and delighted in worldly revelries and amusements! See what manner of young people are among you! Come together and think about the condition of your souls, for he is here who is a soul-thinker, and the last days of persecution and punishment are upon us. To me, those who despise their sinful condition are precious. I see that some have allowed their hearts to grow cold through vanity. Some have surrendered themselves to this age of uncleanliness and turned to the devil. I can help them by exhorting them by saying: O you hearts who abandon yourselves to voluptuousness! The fear of the Deity is not in you!"
"What manner of woman are you! You have told me a mystery of resurrection, you who instituted vain festivals in your own honor and delighted in worldly revelries and amusements! See what manner of young people are among you! Come together and think about the condition of your souls, for he is here who is a soul-thinker, and the last days of persecution and punishment are upon us. To me, those who despise their sinful condition are precious. I see that some have allowed their hearts to grow cold through vanity. Some have surrendered themselves to this age of uncleanliness and turned to the devil. I can help them by exhorting them by saying: O you hearts who abandon yourselves to voluptuousness! The fear of the Deity is not in you!"
Finally:
"Hear me, my chosen lambs! Do not fear the wolves!
The cypress tree is a mystery of pious conduct."
"Hear me, my chosen lambs! Do not fear the wolves!
The cypress tree is a mystery of pious conduct."
Gospel fragment discovered in 1907 " consists of z single vellum leaf, practically complete except at one of the lower corners and here most of the lacunae admit of a satisfactory solution." The translation is as follows:.
before he does wrong makes all manner of subtle excuse. But give heed lest ye also suffer the same things as they: for the evil doers among men receive their reward not among the living only, but also await punishment and much torment. And he took them and brought them into the very place of purification and was walking in the temple. And a certain Pharisee, a chief priest, whose name was Levi, met them and said to the Saviour, Who gave thee leave to walk in this place of purification, and to see these holy vessels when thou hast not washed nor yet have thy disciples bathed their feet? But defiled thou hast walked in this temple, which is a pure place, wherein no other man walks except he has washed himself and changed his garments neither does he venture to see these holy vessels. And the Saviour straightway stood still with his disciples and answered him, Art thou then, being here in the temple, clean? He saith unto him, I am clean; for I washed in the pool of David and having descended by one staircase, I ascended by another and I put on white and clean garments, and then I came and looked upon these holy vessels. The Saviour answered and said unto him, Woe ye blind, who see not. Thou hast washed in these running waters wherein dogs and swine have been cast night and day and hast cleansed and wiped the outside skin which also the harlots and flutegirls anoint and wash and wipe and beautify for the lust of men; but within they are full of scorpions and all wickedness. But I and my disciples who thou sayest have not bathed have been dipped in the waters of eternal life which come from heaven...But woe unto thee... .
The agrapha.
Paul.
1 Thessalonians 4.15-17a:
Τουτο γαρ υμιν λεγομεν εν λογω κυριου, οτι ημεις οι ζωντες οι περιλειπομενοι εις την παρουσιαν του κυριου ου μη φθασωμεν τους κοιμηθεντας· οτι αυτος ο κυριος εν κελευσματι, εν φωνη αρχαγγελου και εν σαλπιγγι θεου, καταβησεται απ ουρανου και οι νεκροι εν Χριστω αναστησονται πρωτον, επειτα ημεις οι ζωντες οι περιλειπομενοι αμα συν αυτοις αρπαγησομεθα εν νεφελαις εις απαντησιν του κυριου εις αερα.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the advent of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord himself, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Afterward we who are alive and remain will be raptured up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
1 Thessalonians 4.15-17a:
Τουτο γαρ υμιν λεγομεν εν λογω κυριου, οτι ημεις οι ζωντες οι περιλειπομενοι εις την παρουσιαν του κυριου ου μη φθασωμεν τους κοιμηθεντας· οτι αυτος ο κυριος εν κελευσματι, εν φωνη αρχαγγελου και εν σαλπιγγι θεου, καταβησεται απ ουρανου και οι νεκροι εν Χριστω αναστησονται πρωτον, επειτα ημεις οι ζωντες οι περιλειπομενοι αμα συν αυτοις αρπαγησομεθα εν νεφελαις εις απαντησιν του κυριου εις αερα.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain to the advent of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord himself, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Afterward we who are alive and remain will be raptured up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
John.
Revelation 3.3b; 22.7:
Εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης, ηξω ως κλεπτης, και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε.
If therefore you do not wake up, I shall come as a thief, and you will not know at which hour I shall come upon you.
Και ιδου, ερχομαι ταχυ· μακαριος ο τηρων τους λογους της προφητειας του βιβλιου τουτου.
And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
The epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 1.9-3.22 also contain extensive sayings of the risen Lord.
Revelation 3.3b; 22.7:
Εαν ουν μη γρηγορησης, ηξω ως κλεπτης, και ου μη γνως ποιαν ωραν ηξω επι σε.
If therefore you do not wake up, I shall come as a thief, and you will not know at which hour I shall come upon you.
Και ιδου, ερχομαι ταχυ· μακαριος ο τηρων τους λογους της προφητειας του βιβλιου τουτου.
And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.
The epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 1.9-3.22 also contain extensive sayings of the risen Lord.
The Acts of the Apostles.
Acts 20.35b:
Μακαριον εστιν μαλλον διδοναι η λαμβανειν.
It is blessed rather to give than to receive.
Acts 20.35b:
Μακαριον εστιν μαλλον διδοναι η λαμβανειν.
It is blessed rather to give than to receive.
The Acts of Peter.
Acts of Peter 10:
Qui mecum sunt non me intellexerunt.
Those who are with me have not understood me.
Acts of Peter 10:
Qui mecum sunt non me intellexerunt.
Those who are with me have not understood me.
The Didache.
Didache 1.6:
Αλλα και περι τουτου δε ειρηται· Ιδρωσατω η ελεμοσυνη σου εις ταις χειρας σου μεχρις αν γνως τινι δως.
But rather also concerning this he has said: Let your alm sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it.
Didache 1.6:
Αλλα και περι τουτου δε ειρηται· Ιδρωσατω η ελεμοσυνη σου εις ταις χειρας σου μεχρις αν γνως τινι δως.
But rather also concerning this he has said: Let your alm sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it.
Barnabas.
Barnabas 7.11b:
Ουτω, φησιν, οι θελοντες με ιδειν και αψασθαι μου της βασιλειας οφειλουσιν θλιβεντες και παθοντες λαβειν με.
Thus, he says, those who wish to see me and take hold of my kingdom must receive me in tribulation and suffering.
Barnabas 12.1:
Ομοιως παλιν περι του σταυρου οριζει εν αλλω προφητη λεγοντι· Και τοτε ταυτα συντελεσθησεται; λεγει κυριος· Οταν ξυλον κλιθη και αναστη, και οταν εκ ξυλου αιμα σταξη. εχεις παλιν περι του σταυρου και του σταυρουσθαι μελλοντος.
Likewise again he narrates concerning the cross in another prophet, who says: And when will these things be consummated? The Lord says: When the tree shall lean over and stand up, and when blood shall flow from the tree. You have again a note concerning the cross and the who was to be crucified.
This saying may reflect an Ezekiel apocryphon partially preserved in 4Q385 (translation slightly modified from Michael Owen Wise, Martin G. Abegg, and Edward M. Cook, The Dead Sea scrolls: A New Translation, page 448):
[And] I said: O LORD, when will [th]ese things come to pass? And the LORD said to [me: Until ... and after many] days a tree shall bend, and it shall stand up....*
Barnabas 7.11b:
Ουτω, φησιν, οι θελοντες με ιδειν και αψασθαι μου της βασιλειας οφειλουσιν θλιβεντες και παθοντες λαβειν με.
Thus, he says, those who wish to see me and take hold of my kingdom must receive me in tribulation and suffering.
Barnabas 12.1:
Ομοιως παλιν περι του σταυρου οριζει εν αλλω προφητη λεγοντι· Και τοτε ταυτα συντελεσθησεται; λεγει κυριος· Οταν ξυλον κλιθη και αναστη, και οταν εκ ξυλου αιμα σταξη. εχεις παλιν περι του σταυρου και του σταυρουσθαι μελλοντος.
Likewise again he narrates concerning the cross in another prophet, who says: And when will these things be consummated? The Lord says: When the tree shall lean over and stand up, and when blood shall flow from the tree. You have again a note concerning the cross and the who was to be crucified.
This saying may reflect an Ezekiel apocryphon partially preserved in 4Q385 (translation slightly modified from Michael Owen Wise, Martin G. Abegg, and Edward M. Cook, The Dead Sea scrolls: A New Translation, page 448):
[And] I said: O LORD, when will [th]ese things come to pass? And the LORD said to [me: Until ... and after many] days a tree shall bend, and it shall stand up....*
Justin Martyr.
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 35; Syrian Didascalia 6.5:
Εσονται σχισματα και αιρεσεις.
There shall be schisms and heresies.
Justin Martyr, Dialogue 47:
Διο και ημετερος κυριος Ιησους Χριστος ειπεν· Εν οις αν υμας καταλαβω, ιν τουτοις και κρινω.
On this account our Lord Jesus Christ also said: In what things I take you [by surprise], in those things I also will judge.
Compare 1 Corinthians 11.19.
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 35; Syrian Didascalia 6.5:
Εσονται σχισματα και αιρεσεις.
There shall be schisms and heresies.
Justin Martyr, Dialogue 47:
Διο και ημετερος κυριος Ιησους Χριστος ειπεν· Εν οις αν υμας καταλαβω, ιν τουτοις και κρινω.
On this account our Lord Jesus Christ also said: In what things I take you [by surprise], in those things I also will judge.
Compare 1 Corinthians 11.19.
Irenaeus.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4:
Praedicta itaque benedictio ad tempora regni sine contradictione pertinet, quando regnabunt iusti surgentes a mortuis, quando et creatura renovata et liberata multitudinem fructificabit universae escae, ex rore caeli et ex fertilitate terrae, quemadmodum presbyteri meminerunt, qui Iohannem discipulum domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo, quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat dominus et dicebat:
The blessing thus predicted pertains, without [fear of] contradiction, to the times of the kingdom, when the just, rising from the dead, will reign, when even the creation, renewed and liberated, will produce a multitude of foods of all kinds from the dew of heaven and the fertility of the earth, just as the elders who saw John the disciple of the Lord remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord would teach about those times and would say:
Venient dies in quibus vineae nascentur, singulae decem millia palmitum habentes, et in unoquoque palmite dena millia brachiorum, et in unoquoque brachio dena millia flagellorum, et in unoquoque flagello dena millia botruorum, et in unoquoque botro dena millia acinorum, et unumquodque acinum expressum dabit vigintiquinque metretas vini. Et cum eorum apprehenderit aliquis sanctorum botrum, alius clamabit botrus: Ego melior sum, me sume, per me dominum benedic. similiter et granum tritici decem millia spicarum generaturum, et unamquamque spicam habituram decem millia granorum, et unumquodque granum quinque bilibres similae clarae mundae; et reliqua autem poma et semina et herbam secundum congruentiam his consequentem, et omnia animalia his cibis utentia, quae a terra accipiuntur, pacifica et consentanea invicem fieri, subiecta hominibus cum omni subiectione.
The days will come in which vines will grow, each having ten thousand shoots, and on each shoot ten thousand branches, and on each branch ten thousand twigs, and on each twig ten thousand clusters, and in each cluster ten thousand grapes, and each grape, when pressed, will give twenty-five measures of wine. And, when one of those saints takes hold of a cluster, another cluster will clamor: I am better, take me, bless the Lord through me! Similarly a grain of wheat also will generate ten thousand heads, and each head will have ten thousand grains, and each grain five double pounds of clear and clean flour. And the remaining fruits and seeds and herbiage will follow through in congruence with these, and all the animals using these foods which are taken from the earth will in turn become peaceful and consenting, subject to men with every subjection.
Haec autem et Papias Iohannis auditor, Polycarpi autem contubernalis, vetus homo, per scripturam testimonium perhibit in quarto librorum suorum: sunt enim illi quinque libri conscripti. et adiecit dicens: Haec autem credibilia sunt credentibus. et Iuda, inquit, proditore non credente et interrogante: Quomodo ergo tales geniturae a domino perficientur? dixesse dominum: Videbunt qui venient in illa.
These things Papias too, who was a earwitness of John and companion of Polycarp, and an ancient man, wrote and testified in the fourth of his books. For there are five books written by him. And he adds, saying: But these things are believable by the believers. And, he says, Judas the traitor did not believe and asked: How therefore will such generations be brought to completion by the Lord? The Lord said: Those who come into those [times] will see.
Confer Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4:
Praedicta itaque benedictio ad tempora regni sine contradictione pertinet, quando regnabunt iusti surgentes a mortuis, quando et creatura renovata et liberata multitudinem fructificabit universae escae, ex rore caeli et ex fertilitate terrae, quemadmodum presbyteri meminerunt, qui Iohannem discipulum domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo, quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat dominus et dicebat:
The blessing thus predicted pertains, without [fear of] contradiction, to the times of the kingdom, when the just, rising from the dead, will reign, when even the creation, renewed and liberated, will produce a multitude of foods of all kinds from the dew of heaven and the fertility of the earth, just as the elders who saw John the disciple of the Lord remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord would teach about those times and would say:
Venient dies in quibus vineae nascentur, singulae decem millia palmitum habentes, et in unoquoque palmite dena millia brachiorum, et in unoquoque brachio dena millia flagellorum, et in unoquoque flagello dena millia botruorum, et in unoquoque botro dena millia acinorum, et unumquodque acinum expressum dabit vigintiquinque metretas vini. Et cum eorum apprehenderit aliquis sanctorum botrum, alius clamabit botrus: Ego melior sum, me sume, per me dominum benedic. similiter et granum tritici decem millia spicarum generaturum, et unamquamque spicam habituram decem millia granorum, et unumquodque granum quinque bilibres similae clarae mundae; et reliqua autem poma et semina et herbam secundum congruentiam his consequentem, et omnia animalia his cibis utentia, quae a terra accipiuntur, pacifica et consentanea invicem fieri, subiecta hominibus cum omni subiectione.
The days will come in which vines will grow, each having ten thousand shoots, and on each shoot ten thousand branches, and on each branch ten thousand twigs, and on each twig ten thousand clusters, and in each cluster ten thousand grapes, and each grape, when pressed, will give twenty-five measures of wine. And, when one of those saints takes hold of a cluster, another cluster will clamor: I am better, take me, bless the Lord through me! Similarly a grain of wheat also will generate ten thousand heads, and each head will have ten thousand grains, and each grain five double pounds of clear and clean flour. And the remaining fruits and seeds and herbiage will follow through in congruence with these, and all the animals using these foods which are taken from the earth will in turn become peaceful and consenting, subject to men with every subjection.
Haec autem et Papias Iohannis auditor, Polycarpi autem contubernalis, vetus homo, per scripturam testimonium perhibit in quarto librorum suorum: sunt enim illi quinque libri conscripti. et adiecit dicens: Haec autem credibilia sunt credentibus. et Iuda, inquit, proditore non credente et interrogante: Quomodo ergo tales geniturae a domino perficientur? dixesse dominum: Videbunt qui venient in illa.
These things Papias too, who was a earwitness of John and companion of Polycarp, and an ancient man, wrote and testified in the fourth of his books. For there are five books written by him. And he adds, saying: But these things are believable by the believers. And, he says, Judas the traitor did not believe and asked: How therefore will such generations be brought to completion by the Lord? The Lord said: Those who come into those [times] will see.
Confer Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60.
Clement of Alexandria.
Clement of Alexandria, Excerpts from Theodotus 2.2:
Δια τουτο λεγει ο σωτηρ· Σωζου συ και η ψυχη σου.
On this account the savior says: Save yourself and your soul.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.19:
Ειδες, γαρ φησι, τον αδελφον σου; ειδες τον θεον σου.
For he says: Have you seen your brother? You have seen your God.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.24:
Αιτεισθε γαρ φησι τα μεγαλα και τα μικρα υμιν προστεθησεται.
For he says: Ask for the great things, and the little things will be added unto you.
The passive is a periphrasis for the name of God; it is God who will add the little things.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.28:
Εικοτως αρα και η γραφη τοιουτους ημας διαλεκτικους ουτως εθελουσα γενεσθαι παραινει· Γινεσθε δε δοκιμοι τραπεζιται, τα μεν αποδοκιμαζοντες, το δε καλον κατεχοντες.
With reason, then, the scripture, wishing us to become such kind of dialectics, exhorts: But become approved moneychangers, rejecting the [evil] things, and embracing the good.
Compare the ειδος, or coin-image, in 1 Thessalonians 5.21-22. A τραπεζα (Aramaic shulchan) is a table; a τραπεζιτης (Aramaic shulchani) is a moneychanger.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 3.15:
Και παλιν ο κυριος φησιν· Ο γημας μη εκβαλλετω και ο μη γαμησας μη γαμειτω· ο κατα προθεσιν ευνουχιας ομολογησας μη γημαι, αγαμος διαμενετω.
And again the Lord says: Let the one who has married not be cast out, and let the one who has not married not marry. He who has confessed that he will not marry according to his decision of eunuchhood, let him remain unmarried.
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 3.12; Miscellanies 4.8 (confer Didascalia 2.3; 1 Peter 4.8):
Ναι, μην και περι αγαπης· Αγαπη, φησι, καλυπτει πληθος αμαρτιων.
Yes, indeed, concerning love also he says: Love covers a multitude of sins.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 5.10:
Μυστηριον εμον εμοι και τοις υιοις του οικου μου.
My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house.
Refer to a similar line from pseudo-Clement.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 6.44:
Και ο κυριος· Εξελθετε, ειπεν, εκ των δεσμων οι θελοντες.
And the Lord said: Go out, those who wish to do so, from your bonds.
Clement of Alexandria, Excerpts from Theodotus 2.2:
Δια τουτο λεγει ο σωτηρ· Σωζου συ και η ψυχη σου.
On this account the savior says: Save yourself and your soul.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.19:
Ειδες, γαρ φησι, τον αδελφον σου; ειδες τον θεον σου.
For he says: Have you seen your brother? You have seen your God.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.24:
Αιτεισθε γαρ φησι τα μεγαλα και τα μικρα υμιν προστεθησεται.
For he says: Ask for the great things, and the little things will be added unto you.
The passive is a periphrasis for the name of God; it is God who will add the little things.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 1.28:
Εικοτως αρα και η γραφη τοιουτους ημας διαλεκτικους ουτως εθελουσα γενεσθαι παραινει· Γινεσθε δε δοκιμοι τραπεζιται, τα μεν αποδοκιμαζοντες, το δε καλον κατεχοντες.
With reason, then, the scripture, wishing us to become such kind of dialectics, exhorts: But become approved moneychangers, rejecting the [evil] things, and embracing the good.
Compare the ειδος, or coin-image, in 1 Thessalonians 5.21-22. A τραπεζα (Aramaic shulchan) is a table; a τραπεζιτης (Aramaic shulchani) is a moneychanger.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 3.15:
Και παλιν ο κυριος φησιν· Ο γημας μη εκβαλλετω και ο μη γαμησας μη γαμειτω· ο κατα προθεσιν ευνουχιας ομολογησας μη γημαι, αγαμος διαμενετω.
And again the Lord says: Let the one who has married not be cast out, and let the one who has not married not marry. He who has confessed that he will not marry according to his decision of eunuchhood, let him remain unmarried.
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 3.12; Miscellanies 4.8 (confer Didascalia 2.3; 1 Peter 4.8):
Ναι, μην και περι αγαπης· Αγαπη, φησι, καλυπτει πληθος αμαρτιων.
Yes, indeed, concerning love also he says: Love covers a multitude of sins.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 5.10:
Μυστηριον εμον εμοι και τοις υιοις του οικου μου.
My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house.
Refer to a similar line from pseudo-Clement.
Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 6.44:
Και ο κυριος· Εξελθετε, ειπεν, εκ των δεσμων οι θελοντες.
And the Lord said: Go out, those who wish to do so, from your bonds.
Tertullian.
Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter 20:
Neminem intentatum regna coelestia consecuturum.
No man can obtain the heavenly kingdom that has not passed through temptation.
Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter 20:
Neminem intentatum regna coelestia consecuturum.
No man can obtain the heavenly kingdom that has not passed through temptation.
Pseudo-Clementines.
Pseudo-Clement, Epitome 1.96:
Ο κυριος ημων Ιησους Χριστος, ο υιος του θεου, εφη· Τα αγαθα ελθειν δει, μακαριος δε, φησιν, δι ου ερχεται.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, said: The good things must come, and blessed is the one, he says, through whom they come.
Pseudo-Clementine Homilies 19.20:
Και ο Πετρος· Μεμνημεθα του κυριου ημων και διδασκαλου, ως εντελλομενος ειπεν ημιν· Τα μυστηρια εμοι και τοις υιοις του οικου μου φυλαξατε.
And Peter [said]: We remember our Lord and teacher, how he commanded and said to us: Keep the mysteries for me and for the sons of my house.
Refer to a similar line from Clement of Alexandria.
Pseudo-Clement, Epitome 1.96:
Ο κυριος ημων Ιησους Χριστος, ο υιος του θεου, εφη· Τα αγαθα ελθειν δει, μακαριος δε, φησιν, δι ου ερχεται.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, said: The good things must come, and blessed is the one, he says, through whom they come.
Pseudo-Clementine Homilies 19.20:
Και ο Πετρος· Μεμνημεθα του κυριου ημων και διδασκαλου, ως εντελλομενος ειπεν ημιν· Τα μυστηρια εμοι και τοις υιοις του οικου μου φυλαξατε.
And Peter [said]: We remember our Lord and teacher, how he commanded and said to us: Keep the mysteries for me and for the sons of my house.
Refer to a similar line from Clement of Alexandria.
The Apostolic Church Order.
Apostolic Church Order 26:
Μαρθα ειπεν δια Μαριαμ οτι ειδεν αυτην μειδιωσαν· Μαρια ειπεν· Ουκετι εγελασα· προελεγε γαρ υμιν οτε εδιδασκεν οτι το ασθενεις δια του ισχυρου σωθησεται.
Martha said about Mary that she had seen her smiling. Mary said: I never laughed, for he said to you when he taught that the sick would be saved through the strong.
My thanks to Alan Humm for information on this text; I had never heard of it before. It is also called the Apostolic Church Ordinance.
Hippolytus.
Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60:
Του ουν κυριου διηγουμενου τοις μαθηταις περι της μελλουσης των αγιων βασιλειας ως ειη ενδοξος και θαυμαστη, καταπλαγεις ο Ιουδας επι τοις λεγομενοις εφη· Και τις αρα οψεται ταυτα; ο δε κυριος εφη· Ταυτα οψονται οι αξιοι γενομενοι.
When therefore the Lord narrated to the disciples that the imminent kingdom of the saints would be glorious and wondrous, Judas, bewildered by these words, said: And who will see these things? But the Lord said: Those who have become worthy will see these things.
Confer Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4.
Apostolic Church Order 26:
Μαρθα ειπεν δια Μαριαμ οτι ειδεν αυτην μειδιωσαν· Μαρια ειπεν· Ουκετι εγελασα· προελεγε γαρ υμιν οτε εδιδασκεν οτι το ασθενεις δια του ισχυρου σωθησεται.
Martha said about Mary that she had seen her smiling. Mary said: I never laughed, for he said to you when he taught that the sick would be saved through the strong.
My thanks to Alan Humm for information on this text; I had never heard of it before. It is also called the Apostolic Church Ordinance.
Hippolytus.
Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60:
Του ουν κυριου διηγουμενου τοις μαθηταις περι της μελλουσης των αγιων βασιλειας ως ειη ενδοξος και θαυμαστη, καταπλαγεις ο Ιουδας επι τοις λεγομενοις εφη· Και τις αρα οψεται ταυτα; ο δε κυριος εφη· Ταυτα οψονται οι αξιοι γενομενοι.
When therefore the Lord narrated to the disciples that the imminent kingdom of the saints would be glorious and wondrous, Judas, bewildered by these words, said: And who will see these things? But the Lord said: Those who have become worthy will see these things.
Confer Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4.
Origen.
Origen, On Matthew 15.14, from the gospel according to the Hebrews:
Scriptum est in evangelio quodam, quod dicitur secundum Hebraeos, si tamen placet suscipere illud, non ad auctoritatem sed ad manifestationem propositae quaestionis: Dixit, inquit, ad eum alter divitum: Magister, quid bonum faciens vivam? dixit ei: Homo, leges et prophetas fac. respondit ad eum: Feci. dixit ei: Vade vende omnia quae possides et divide pauperibus, en veni, sequere me.
It is written in a certain gospel, which is called according to the Hebrews, if yet it pleases one to accept it, not as an authority, but as a manifestation of the proposed question: The second of the rich men said unto him: Master, what good thing can I do and live? He said unto him: O man, do that which is in the law and the prophets. He answered him: I have kept them. He said unto him: Go, sell all that you own and distribute it to the poor, and come, follow me.
Coepit autem dives scalpere caput suum et non placuit ei. et dixit ad eumdominus: Quomodo dicis: Legem feci et prophetas? quoniam scriptum est in lege: Diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. et ecce, multi fratres tui filii Abrahae amicti sunt stercore, morientes prae fame, et domus tua plena est multis bonis, et non egreditur omnino aliquid ex ea ad eos.
But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it pleased him not. And the Lord said unto him: How can you say: I have kept the law and the prophets? For it is written in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And behold, many of your brethren, sons of Abraham, are clad in filth, dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, and nothing at all goes out of it unto them.
Et conversus dixit Simoni, discipulo suo sedenti apud se: Simon, fili Ioanne, facilius est camelum intrare per foramen acus quam divitem in regnum caelorum.
And he turned and said unto Simon his disciple, who was sitting by him: Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to enter in by the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Origen, On Matthew 15.14, from the gospel according to the Hebrews:
Scriptum est in evangelio quodam, quod dicitur secundum Hebraeos, si tamen placet suscipere illud, non ad auctoritatem sed ad manifestationem propositae quaestionis: Dixit, inquit, ad eum alter divitum: Magister, quid bonum faciens vivam? dixit ei: Homo, leges et prophetas fac. respondit ad eum: Feci. dixit ei: Vade vende omnia quae possides et divide pauperibus, en veni, sequere me.
It is written in a certain gospel, which is called according to the Hebrews, if yet it pleases one to accept it, not as an authority, but as a manifestation of the proposed question: The second of the rich men said unto him: Master, what good thing can I do and live? He said unto him: O man, do that which is in the law and the prophets. He answered him: I have kept them. He said unto him: Go, sell all that you own and distribute it to the poor, and come, follow me.
Coepit autem dives scalpere caput suum et non placuit ei. et dixit ad eumdominus: Quomodo dicis: Legem feci et prophetas? quoniam scriptum est in lege: Diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. et ecce, multi fratres tui filii Abrahae amicti sunt stercore, morientes prae fame, et domus tua plena est multis bonis, et non egreditur omnino aliquid ex ea ad eos.
But the rich man began to scratch his head, and it pleased him not. And the Lord said unto him: How can you say: I have kept the law and the prophets? For it is written in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And behold, many of your brethren, sons of Abraham, are clad in filth, dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, and nothing at all goes out of it unto them.
Et conversus dixit Simoni, discipulo suo sedenti apud se: Simon, fili Ioanne, facilius est camelum intrare per foramen acus quam divitem in regnum caelorum.
And he turned and said unto Simon his disciple, who was sitting by him: Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to enter in by the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Origen, On Jeremiah, Latin homily 20.3 (confer Didymus, commentary on Psalm 88.8):
Qui iuxta me est iuxta ignem est.
Qui longe est a me longe est a regno.
He that is near me is near the fire.
He that is far from me is far from the kingdom.
Jeremias translates back into Aramaic to find two four-beat stichoi with rhythm and a preponderance of the letter mem:
Man diqerib 'immi qerib 'im nura.
Man direchiq minni rechiq mimmalkuta.
Qui iuxta me est iuxta ignem est.
Qui longe est a me longe est a regno.
He that is near me is near the fire.
He that is far from me is far from the kingdom.
Jeremias translates back into Aramaic to find two four-beat stichoi with rhythm and a preponderance of the letter mem:
Man diqerib 'immi qerib 'im nura.
Man direchiq minni rechiq mimmalkuta.
Origen, On Matthew 13.2:
Και Ιησους γουν φησιν· Δια τους ασθενουντας ησθενουν και δια τους πεινωντας επεινων και δια τους δειψωντας εδιψων.
And Jesus indeed says: On account of the sick I was sick and on account of the hungry I was hungry and on account of the thirsty I was thirsty.
Και Ιησους γουν φησιν· Δια τους ασθενουντας ησθενουν και δια τους πεινωντας επεινων και δια τους δειψωντας εδιψων.
And Jesus indeed says: On account of the sick I was sick and on account of the hungry I was hungry and on account of the thirsty I was thirsty.
Origen, On Jeremiah 14.5:
Και εν τω ευαγγελιω αναγεγραπται· Και αποστελλει η σοφια τα τεκνα αυτης.
And in the gospel it is written: And wisdom sends out her children.
Και εν τω ευαγγελιω αναγεγραπται· Και αποστελλει η σοφια τα τεκνα αυτης.
And in the gospel it is written: And wisdom sends out her children.
Didymus (the blind).
Didymus, commentary on Psalm 88.8 (confer Origen, On Jeremiah, Latin homily 20.3):
Διο φησιν ο σωτηρ· Ο εγγυς μου, εγγυς του πυρος· ο δε μακραν απ εμου, μακραν απο της βασιλειας.
On this account the savior says: He that is near me is near the fire. But he that is far from me is far from the kingdom.
Didymus, commentary on Psalm 88.8 (confer Origen, On Jeremiah, Latin homily 20.3):
Διο φησιν ο σωτηρ· Ο εγγυς μου, εγγυς του πυρος· ο δε μακραν απ εμου, μακραν απο της βασιλειας.
On this account the savior says: He that is near me is near the fire. But he that is far from me is far from the kingdom.
Eusebius.
Eusebius, Theophany 4.12 (in Syriac, apud Jeremias, and Latin):
Egbe li shappire; shappire hanon dihab li ab debashemayya.
Eligo mihi quae mihi placent; placent mihi quae mihi dat pater meus in caelis.
I choose for myself those who please me; they please me whom my father in heaven gives me.
Eusebius, Theophany 4.12 (in Syriac, apud Jeremias, and Latin):
Egbe li shappire; shappire hanon dihab li ab debashemayya.
Eligo mihi quae mihi placent; placent mihi quae mihi dat pater meus in caelis.
I choose for myself those who please me; they please me whom my father in heaven gives me.
Epiphanius.
Epiphanius, Panarion 66.42:
Δια τουτο λεγει· Ο λαλων εν τοις προφηταις, ιδου, παρειμι.
On this account he says: The one speaking in the prophets, behold, I am here.
Epiphanius, Panarion 66.42:
Δια τουτο λεγει· Ο λαλων εν τοις προφηταις, ιδου, παρειμι.
On this account he says: The one speaking in the prophets, behold, I am here.
The Didascalia.
Didascalia 2.8:
Λεγει γαρ η γραφη· Ανηρ αδοκιμος απειραστος.
For the scripture says: An unproven man is one who is untempted.
Didascalia 2.8:
Λεγει γαρ η γραφη· Ανηρ αδοκιμος απειραστος.
For the scripture says: An unproven man is one who is untempted.
Jerome.
Jerome, On Ephesians 3, commentary on Ephesians 5.4 (from the gospel according to the Hebrews):
Numquam inquit laeti sitis nisi cum fratrem vestrum videritis in caritate.
Never be content, he said, except when you look upon your brother in love [or in charity].
Jerome, On Ephesians 3, commentary on Ephesians 5.4 (from the gospel according to the Hebrews):
Numquam inquit laeti sitis nisi cum fratrem vestrum videritis in caritate.
Never be content, he said, except when you look upon your brother in love [or in charity].
Jerome, Against Pelagius 3.2:
Si peccaverit, inquit, frater tuus in verbo, et satis tibi fecerit, septies in die suscipe eum. dixit illi Simon discipulus eius: Septies in die? respondit dominus et dixit ei: Etiam ego dico tibi, usque septuagies septies. etenim in prophetis quoque, postquam uncti sunt spiritu sancto, inventus est sermo peccati.
If your brother sins in word, says he, and makes satisfaction to you, seven times a day receive him. Simon his disciple said to him: Seven times a day? The Lord responded and said to him: Still I say to you, until seventy times seven. For indeed in the prophets, even after they were anointed by the holy spirit, the speech of sin was found.
Si peccaverit, inquit, frater tuus in verbo, et satis tibi fecerit, septies in die suscipe eum. dixit illi Simon discipulus eius: Septies in die? respondit dominus et dixit ei: Etiam ego dico tibi, usque septuagies septies. etenim in prophetis quoque, postquam uncti sunt spiritu sancto, inventus est sermo peccati.
If your brother sins in word, says he, and makes satisfaction to you, seven times a day receive him. Simon his disciple said to him: Seven times a day? The Lord responded and said to him: Still I say to you, until seventy times seven. For indeed in the prophets, even after they were anointed by the holy spirit, the speech of sin was found.
Augustine.
Augustine, Against Adversaries of the Law and Prophets 2.4.14 (it is now known that this saying comes from Thomas 52):
The apostles asked the Lord: [Loosely:] Has the advent already happened in the past?
And the Lord answered: You have dismissed the living one who is before your eyes and talk idly of the dead.
Augustine, Against Adversaries of the Law and Prophets 2.4.14 (it is now known that this saying comes from Thomas 52):
The apostles asked the Lord: [Loosely:] Has the advent already happened in the past?
And the Lord answered: You have dismissed the living one who is before your eyes and talk idly of the dead.
Macarius.
Macarius, Homilies 12.17:
Λοιπον ο κυριος ελεγεν αυτοις· Τι θαυμαζετε τα σημεια; κληρονομιαν μεγαλην διδωμι υμιν ην ουκ εχει ο κοσμος ολος.
Finally, the Lord said to them: Why do you wonder at signs? I am giving you a great inheritance which the whole world does not have.
Macarius, Homilies 12.17:
Λοιπον ο κυριος ελεγεν αυτοις· Τι θαυμαζετε τα σημεια; κληρονομιαν μεγαλην διδωμι υμιν ην ουκ εχει ο κοσμος ολος.
Finally, the Lord said to them: Why do you wonder at signs? I am giving you a great inheritance which the whole world does not have.
Canonical Rule of the Holy Apostles.
Canonical Rule of the Holy Apostles 3:
Ει τις μεταλαβη το σωμα του κυριου και λουσεται, επικαταρατος εσται, καθως ειπεν ο κυριος.
In anyone partakes of the body of the Lord and [also] bathes, he will be accursed, just as the Lord said.
[Ο σημερον ω]ν μακραν αυριον [εγγυς υμων γ]ενησεται.
[He who today i]s far away tomorrow [close at hand to you will] be.
Canonical Rule of the Holy Apostles 3:
Ει τις μεταλαβη το σωμα του κυριου και λουσεται, επικαταρατος εσται, καθως ειπεν ο κυριος.
In anyone partakes of the body of the Lord and [also] bathes, he will be accursed, just as the Lord said.
[Ο σημερον ω]ν μακραν αυριον [εγγυς υμων γ]ενησεται.
[He who today i]s far away tomorrow [close at hand to you will] be.
Theodorus Balsamo.
Aurelio de Santos Otero has the following on page 116 of Los evangйlios apуcrifos (text 26):
...la sentencia evangйlica que dice: «Pasa la apariencia de este mundo».
...το ευαγγελικον ρημα το λεγον· «Παραγει γαρ το σχημα του κοσμου τουτου» (Theodorus Balsamo, Epits. de Rasaph.: PG 138,1373).
[Greek portion only:] ...the evangelical word that says: The scheme of this world is passing.
My thanks to Barry Norby for the information on Theodore Balsamo, who lived in century XII (died circa 1204) in Contantinople. This agraphon looks to me like a case of mistaken attribution; it is a Pauline saying (1 Corinthians 7.31) which Theodore has apparently attributed to the gospel(s).
Aurelio de Santos Otero has the following on page 116 of Los evangйlios apуcrifos (text 26):
...la sentencia evangйlica que dice: «Pasa la apariencia de este mundo».
...το ευαγγελικον ρημα το λεγον· «Παραγει γαρ το σχημα του κοσμου τουτου» (Theodorus Balsamo, Epits. de Rasaph.: PG 138,1373).
[Greek portion only:] ...the evangelical word that says: The scheme of this world is passing.
My thanks to Barry Norby for the information on Theodore Balsamo, who lived in century XII (died circa 1204) in Contantinople. This agraphon looks to me like a case of mistaken attribution; it is a Pauline saying (1 Corinthians 7.31) which Theodore has apparently attributed to the gospel(s).
Old homily.
Old English Homilies and Homiletic Treatises of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, homily XVI:
Estote fortes in bello et pugnate cum antiquo serpente, et accipietis regnum aeternum, dicit dominus.
Be strong in the battle and fight with the ancient serpent, and you will receive the eternal kingdom, says the Lord.
Aurelio de Santos Otero has the following on page 119 of Los evangйlios apуcrifos (text 38):
«Sed fuertes en la batalla y luchad con la serpiente antigua, y alcanzarйis el reino eterno», dice el Seсor.
«Estote fortes in bello et pugnate cum antiquo serpente, et accipietis regnum aeternum», dicit Dominus (Old English Homilies and Homiletic Treatises of the twelfth and thirteenth Centuries. Ed. R. Morris, serie I, p. 151, London 1868. Tambiйn se encuentra en el Brevario Romano, Comm. Apostol., ant. ad Magnificat, II Vнsperas).
Old English Homilies and Homiletic Treatises of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, homily XVI:
Estote fortes in bello et pugnate cum antiquo serpente, et accipietis regnum aeternum, dicit dominus.
Be strong in the battle and fight with the ancient serpent, and you will receive the eternal kingdom, says the Lord.
Aurelio de Santos Otero has the following on page 119 of Los evangйlios apуcrifos (text 38):
«Sed fuertes en la batalla y luchad con la serpiente antigua, y alcanzarйis el reino eterno», dice el Seсor.
«Estote fortes in bello et pugnate cum antiquo serpente, et accipietis regnum aeternum», dicit Dominus (Old English Homilies and Homiletic Treatises of the twelfth and thirteenth Centuries. Ed. R. Morris, serie I, p. 151, London 1868. Tambiйn se encuentra en el Brevario Romano, Comm. Apostol., ant. ad Magnificat, II Vнsperas).
Gospel of the Nazaraeans
Matthew 2:15: "And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."
To Matt. 2:15 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, (in Jerome, On Illustrious Men 3)--"Out of Egypt have I called my son" and "For he shall be called a Nazaraean." Cf. Also margin of codex 1424 -- This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son . . ."
Commentary:
The original text of "Matthew" (whose name was appended to the present gospel) had "for he shall be called a Nazaraean"; Jerome left this out when translating, but makes mention of it later in his own works.
To Matt. 2:15 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, (in Jerome, On Illustrious Men 3)--"Out of Egypt have I called my son" and "For he shall be called a Nazaraean." Cf. Also margin of codex 1424 -- This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son . . ."
Commentary:
The original text of "Matthew" (whose name was appended to the present gospel) had "for he shall be called a Nazaraean"; Jerome left this out when translating, but makes mention of it later in his own works.
Matthew 4:5: "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple..."
To Matt. 4:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has not to the holy city, but to Jerusalem.
Commentary:
The acknowledgment that there was a Jewish Gospel written prior to the Greek versions is clear. Naturally, the name of the most important city in the world would be stated. The phrase "the holy city", depending on who is reading the text, might refer to the Samaritan "holy city" (where the Samaritans were known to have built a copy of the Jewish Temple).
Matthew 6:11: "Give us this day our daily bread."
To Matt. 6:11 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 6:11)--In the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews, for "bread essential to existence" I found "mahar," which means "of tomorrow"; so the sense is: our bread for tomorrow, that is, of the future, give us this day.
Commentary:
Note Jerome's admission of the Hebraic gospel. I believe the original gospel verse is correct, since Yahshua was preaching the coming "Kingdom of God".
To Matt. 4:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has not to the holy city, but to Jerusalem.
Commentary:
The acknowledgment that there was a Jewish Gospel written prior to the Greek versions is clear. Naturally, the name of the most important city in the world would be stated. The phrase "the holy city", depending on who is reading the text, might refer to the Samaritan "holy city" (where the Samaritans were known to have built a copy of the Jewish Temple).
Matthew 6:11: "Give us this day our daily bread."
To Matt. 6:11 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 6:11)--In the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews, for "bread essential to existence" I found "mahar," which means "of tomorrow"; so the sense is: our bread for tomorrow, that is, of the future, give us this day.
Commentary:
Note Jerome's admission of the Hebraic gospel. I believe the original gospel verse is correct, since Yahshua was preaching the coming "Kingdom of God".
Matthew 7:5: Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
To Matt. 7:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel reads here: "If you be in my bosom and do not the will of my Father who is in heaven, I will cast you away from my bosom."
Commentary:
You will note that this is an addition to the text we presently have that was, apparently, deleted from Jerome's version.
Matthew 10:16: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
To Matt. 10:16 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans -- The Jewish Gospel: [wise] more than serpents.
Commentary:
The sense of "wise" here appears to be caution, not cunning.
To Matt. 7:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel reads here: "If you be in my bosom and do not the will of my Father who is in heaven, I will cast you away from my bosom."
Commentary:
You will note that this is an addition to the text we presently have that was, apparently, deleted from Jerome's version.
Matthew 10:16: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
To Matt. 10:16 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans -- The Jewish Gospel: [wise] more than serpents.
Commentary:
The sense of "wise" here appears to be caution, not cunning.
Matthew 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
To Matt. 11:12 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: [the kingdom of heaven] is plundered.
Commentary:
The words have been changed, thus damaging the original sense of the phrase. What is being said here appears to be that the death of John the Immerser was a great blow to the testimony for the Kingdom of God.
To Matt. 11:12 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: [the kingdom of heaven] is plundered.
Commentary:
The words have been changed, thus damaging the original sense of the phrase. What is being said here appears to be that the death of John the Immerser was a great blow to the testimony for the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 11:25: "At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."
To Matt. 11:25 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: I am grateful to thee.
Commentary:
Even though the words have been altered, the context is the same.
To Matt. 11:25 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: I am grateful to thee.
Commentary:
Even though the words have been altered, the context is the same.
Matthew 12:10: "And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? That they might accuse him."
To Matt. 12:10 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 12:13)--In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and the Ebionites use, which we have recently translated from Hebrew to Greek, and which most people call the authentic [Gospel] of Matthew, the man who had the withered hand is described as a mason who begged for help in the following words: "I was a mason, earning a living with my hands; I beg you, Jesus, restore my health to me, so that I need not beg for my food in shame."
Commentary:
Here is the admission by Jerome that "most people" call the original Hebrew gospel (that the Nazarenes and Ebionites - sects of messianism - use the authentic (original) gospel. He also tells us here that he translated it from Hebrew to Greek (thus the additions, deletions, etc. that we now have in our New Covenant).
To Matt. 12:10 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 12:13)--In the Gospel which the Nazarenes and the Ebionites use, which we have recently translated from Hebrew to Greek, and which most people call the authentic [Gospel] of Matthew, the man who had the withered hand is described as a mason who begged for help in the following words: "I was a mason, earning a living with my hands; I beg you, Jesus, restore my health to me, so that I need not beg for my food in shame."
Commentary:
Here is the admission by Jerome that "most people" call the original Hebrew gospel (that the Nazarenes and Ebionites - sects of messianism - use the authentic (original) gospel. He also tells us here that he translated it from Hebrew to Greek (thus the additions, deletions, etc. that we now have in our New Covenant).
Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
To Matt. 12:40b cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel does not have: three days and three nights.
Commentary:
The alteration of this verse is quite significant, for it alters what Yahshua said. He, apparently, had said that the only sign given to the people would be the "sign of Jonah" -- that is, Jonah was sent to declare YHVH's judgment against the people of Nineveh if they did not repent. Likewise, Yahshua was sent to declare YHVH's judgment against the people of Israel, yet they would not repent. Thus, the verse probably read: "For as Jonas was in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth". Of course, Yahshua was comparing himself and his situation to Jonah's in every sense. The "heart of the earth" and the "whale's belly" were known to have represented "Leviathan", or figuratively, the "grave" and "death", because it is also associated with the word "yam", the "sea", or the "abyss". The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols states: "these sea-monsters have many names: "Tannim" (dragon); "rahav" (expanse) and "yam" (se", but the most common name is Leviathan, known in Jewish legend as the King of the Sea" [p. 96]. In the book of Revelation, Leviathan is called Abaddon, the King of "destruction" (or corruption), who comes up from the abyss or "Sea"; Abaddon is the "beast of the sea", that "old serpent" whose abode is an "expanse" (the grave).
To Matt. 12:40b cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel does not have: three days and three nights.
Commentary:
The alteration of this verse is quite significant, for it alters what Yahshua said. He, apparently, had said that the only sign given to the people would be the "sign of Jonah" -- that is, Jonah was sent to declare YHVH's judgment against the people of Nineveh if they did not repent. Likewise, Yahshua was sent to declare YHVH's judgment against the people of Israel, yet they would not repent. Thus, the verse probably read: "For as Jonas was in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth". Of course, Yahshua was comparing himself and his situation to Jonah's in every sense. The "heart of the earth" and the "whale's belly" were known to have represented "Leviathan", or figuratively, the "grave" and "death", because it is also associated with the word "yam", the "sea", or the "abyss". The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols states: "these sea-monsters have many names: "Tannim" (dragon); "rahav" (expanse) and "yam" (se", but the most common name is Leviathan, known in Jewish legend as the King of the Sea" [p. 96]. In the book of Revelation, Leviathan is called Abaddon, the King of "destruction" (or corruption), who comes up from the abyss or "Sea"; Abaddon is the "beast of the sea", that "old serpent" whose abode is an "expanse" (the grave).
Matthew 15:5: "But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me..."
To Matt. 15:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: Corban is what you should gain from us.
Commentary:
Corban (or korban) is the gift of a child to his parents in their old age, sort of like a pension, by which they are provided for when they are no longer able to work or care for themselves.
To Matt. 15:5 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: Corban is what you should gain from us.
Commentary:
Corban (or korban) is the gift of a child to his parents in their old age, sort of like a pension, by which they are provided for when they are no longer able to work or care for themselves.
Matthew 16:2-4: "He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye said, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" ...A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
To Matt. 16:2 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: What is marked with an asterisk [i.e., from "When it is evening" to the end of v. 3] is not found in other manuscripts, and is not found in the Jewish Gospel.
Commentary:
In other words, what we have here is an addition to the text, one that Jerome apparently wanted to elaborate on with another chance to call the Jews "hypocrites". In reply to the question posed to Yahshua, he simply stated that they would receive no sign except the sign of Jonah.
To Matt. 16:2 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: What is marked with an asterisk [i.e., from "When it is evening" to the end of v. 3] is not found in other manuscripts, and is not found in the Jewish Gospel.
Commentary:
In other words, what we have here is an addition to the text, one that Jerome apparently wanted to elaborate on with another chance to call the Jews "hypocrites". In reply to the question posed to Yahshua, he simply stated that they would receive no sign except the sign of Jonah.
Matthew 16:17: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jo-na: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
To Matt. 16:17 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: "son of John" [for "Bar-Jona"].
Commentary:
This is telling us that Simon (Peter) is the son of Yohanan (John), not Jonah or Yonah.
To Matt. 16:17 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: "son of John" [for "Bar-Jona"].
Commentary:
This is telling us that Simon (Peter) is the son of Yohanan (John), not Jonah or Yonah.
Matthew 18:21-22: "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
Luke 17:3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
To Matt. 18:21-22 (Luke 17:3-4) cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Against Pelagius, III.2)--He says, "If your brother has sinned by a word, and repented, receive him seven times a day." Simon, his disciple, said to him, "Seven times a day?" The Lord answered, "Yes, I tell you, as much as seventy times seven times! For in the prophets also, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of sin [sinful speech?] was found."
Commentary:
Sinning by a "word" simply implies that any man might sin in his speech; thus, if he realizes his error and turns from it (i.e. learns from his mistake), then he should be received by his brothers as many times as is necessary. This is called "regeneration", a honing process by which one learns the path to YHVH.
Luke 17:3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."
To Matt. 18:21-22 (Luke 17:3-4) cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Against Pelagius, III.2)--He says, "If your brother has sinned by a word, and repented, receive him seven times a day." Simon, his disciple, said to him, "Seven times a day?" The Lord answered, "Yes, I tell you, as much as seventy times seven times! For in the prophets also, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of sin [sinful speech?] was found."
Commentary:
Sinning by a "word" simply implies that any man might sin in his speech; thus, if he realizes his error and turns from it (i.e. learns from his mistake), then he should be received by his brothers as many times as is necessary. This is called "regeneration", a honing process by which one learns the path to YHVH.
Matthew 18:22: "Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
To Matt. 18:22 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has, immediately after "seventy times seven": For in the prophets also, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of sin [sinful speech?] was found in them.
Commentary:
Even the prophets were not free of sin even though they were the "oracles" of Elohim.
To Matt. 18:22 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has, immediately after "seventy times seven": For in the prophets also, after they were anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of sin [sinful speech?] was found in them.
Commentary:
Even the prophets were not free of sin even though they were the "oracles" of Elohim.
Matthew 19:16-24: "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you , That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
To Matt. 19:16-24 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Origen, Commentary on Matt. 15:14 in the Latin version) The second of the rich men said to him, "Teacher, what good thing can I do and live?" He said to him "Sir, fulfil the law and the prophets." He answered, "I have." Jesus said, "Go, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor; and come, follow me." But the rich man began to scratch his head, for it did not please him. And the Lord said to him, "How can you say, I have fulfilled the law and the prophets, when it is writtten in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself; and lo, many of your brothers, sons of Abraham, are covered with filth, dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, none of which goes out to them?" And he turned and said to Simon, his disciple, who was sitting by him, "Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
Commentary:
This verse is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Since the Gospel of the Nazaraeans was written first in Hebrew, Mark and Luke had to have taken their own renditions from it. Mark, although purportedly written first, follows the Hebrew original here. See the following:
To Matt. 19:16-24 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Origen, Commentary on Matt. 15:14 in the Latin version) The second of the rich men said to him, "Teacher, what good thing can I do and live?" He said to him "Sir, fulfil the law and the prophets." He answered, "I have." Jesus said, "Go, sell all that you have and distribute to the poor; and come, follow me." But the rich man began to scratch his head, for it did not please him. And the Lord said to him, "How can you say, I have fulfilled the law and the prophets, when it is writtten in the law: You shall love your neighbor as yourself; and lo, many of your brothers, sons of Abraham, are covered with filth, dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, none of which goes out to them?" And he turned and said to Simon, his disciple, who was sitting by him, "Simon, son of Jonah, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
Commentary:
This verse is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Since the Gospel of the Nazaraeans was written first in Hebrew, Mark and Luke had to have taken their own renditions from it. Mark, although purportedly written first, follows the Hebrew original here. See the following:
Mark 10:18: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God."
Luke 18:19: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God."
To Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [perhaps a reference to the Gospel of the Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.7.26)--"Why do you call me good? One there is who is good -- my Father who is in heaven -- who makes his sun to rise on the just and on the unjust, and sense rain on the pure and on sinners." (Cf. Also Matt. 5:45).
Commentary:
Special mention must be made of this verse. It is found in all three gospels. Here, Yahshua is making a plain and clear statement: that he is not God and refuses to be called "good", that there is only one God, his Father - Yahvah! Since it is in the Hebrew gospel, the original, we must conclude that Mark and Luke both copied it specifically from that source in the Hebrew that was the original of what has known to have become the book of "Matthew".
Luke 18:19: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God."
To Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [perhaps a reference to the Gospel of the Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.7.26)--"Why do you call me good? One there is who is good -- my Father who is in heaven -- who makes his sun to rise on the just and on the unjust, and sense rain on the pure and on sinners." (Cf. Also Matt. 5:45).
Commentary:
Special mention must be made of this verse. It is found in all three gospels. Here, Yahshua is making a plain and clear statement: that he is not God and refuses to be called "good", that there is only one God, his Father - Yahvah! Since it is in the Hebrew gospel, the original, we must conclude that Mark and Luke both copied it specifically from that source in the Hebrew that was the original of what has known to have become the book of "Matthew".
Matthew 20:22: "But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able."
To Matt. 20:22 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [believed to be a gloss for Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.8.11)--"But" he says, "even if you drink the cup which I drink, you will not be able to enter where I go."
Commentary:
Yahshua is telling the disciples that even though they might die with him, they would not yet sit at the Father's right hand; that event is for a future time, after Yahshua has "prepared" a place for them.
To Matt. 20:22 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [believed to be a gloss for Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.8.11)--"But" he says, "even if you drink the cup which I drink, you will not be able to enter where I go."
Commentary:
Yahshua is telling the disciples that even though they might die with him, they would not yet sit at the Father's right hand; that event is for a future time, after Yahshua has "prepared" a place for them.
Matthew 21:12: "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves..."
To Matt. 21:12 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, quoted in a marginal note of a thirteenth century manuscript [thus if this is true, and there are other sources that also seem to have had access to the Hebrew gospel at that time, then this Hebrew Gospel was available even in the 13th century] of the Aurora by Peter of Riga -- In the Gospel books which the Nazarenes use it is written: From his eyes went forth rays which terrified them and put them to flight.
Commentary:
First of all, the word "temple" here does not refer to the interior of the Temple, but to the "heiron" or precincts of the Temple. These precinct buildings were both on the hill of Ophel, on the Bridge of the Red Heifer, and on the Mount of Olives where the family of Hanan (Annas) had a dove aviary and sold doves to pilgrims (who gathered on the Mount of Olives at festivals to await the opening of the doors of the Temple at midnight). This area was referred to as Beth Pagi in the Talmud. Beth Pagi, however, was both within and without the Sabbath Limit. Where the boundary of Bethphage left off, the boundary of Beth Hini (or Bethany) began. The combined area was called Beth Pagi. The elders would have to go to the area outside the Sabbath Limit in order to judge a rebellious elder, or to add to the City Limits of Jerusalem. Thus there were moneychangers, vendors of all sorts, and the dove aviary of Annas (the Vice President of the Sanhedrin who was called the Ab bet din, or Father of the Court) before whom Yahshua would have been taken for the accusatory process (by Jewish law). This is why Yahshua was first taken to Annas, who either would have written (legally it could have been oral) the charges against him. His office (and home) would have been in the area of Beth Pagi on the Mount of Olives. There is overwhelming evidence of this fact. The second high priest (literally called the High Priest) was the "President" of the Beth Din. The real power, however, lay in the hands of the "Father of the Court", Annas (Hanan), who was called by Josephus the "ancientest of the priests", and the patriarch of an assimilated family: Boethus, Kimchit, Hanan, and Phiabi (Fabus), who operated the government of Israel from the time of King Herod until the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The Talmud and Tosefta speak of these families as "serpents"; therefore, it is no wonder that John the Immerser and Yahshua referred to them in those terms (vipers, serpents, etc.). These families were intermarried with the "Herodians" who were, in fact, instrumental to them as "spies". For more complete information on this family, see A Book of Evidence at http://members.tripod.com/~nkuehl/index.html -- in particular, "The Night of Watching" and "The Jewish Trial".
To Matt. 21:12 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, quoted in a marginal note of a thirteenth century manuscript [thus if this is true, and there are other sources that also seem to have had access to the Hebrew gospel at that time, then this Hebrew Gospel was available even in the 13th century] of the Aurora by Peter of Riga -- In the Gospel books which the Nazarenes use it is written: From his eyes went forth rays which terrified them and put them to flight.
Commentary:
First of all, the word "temple" here does not refer to the interior of the Temple, but to the "heiron" or precincts of the Temple. These precinct buildings were both on the hill of Ophel, on the Bridge of the Red Heifer, and on the Mount of Olives where the family of Hanan (Annas) had a dove aviary and sold doves to pilgrims (who gathered on the Mount of Olives at festivals to await the opening of the doors of the Temple at midnight). This area was referred to as Beth Pagi in the Talmud. Beth Pagi, however, was both within and without the Sabbath Limit. Where the boundary of Bethphage left off, the boundary of Beth Hini (or Bethany) began. The combined area was called Beth Pagi. The elders would have to go to the area outside the Sabbath Limit in order to judge a rebellious elder, or to add to the City Limits of Jerusalem. Thus there were moneychangers, vendors of all sorts, and the dove aviary of Annas (the Vice President of the Sanhedrin who was called the Ab bet din, or Father of the Court) before whom Yahshua would have been taken for the accusatory process (by Jewish law). This is why Yahshua was first taken to Annas, who either would have written (legally it could have been oral) the charges against him. His office (and home) would have been in the area of Beth Pagi on the Mount of Olives. There is overwhelming evidence of this fact. The second high priest (literally called the High Priest) was the "President" of the Beth Din. The real power, however, lay in the hands of the "Father of the Court", Annas (Hanan), who was called by Josephus the "ancientest of the priests", and the patriarch of an assimilated family: Boethus, Kimchit, Hanan, and Phiabi (Fabus), who operated the government of Israel from the time of King Herod until the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The Talmud and Tosefta speak of these families as "serpents"; therefore, it is no wonder that John the Immerser and Yahshua referred to them in those terms (vipers, serpents, etc.). These families were intermarried with the "Herodians" who were, in fact, instrumental to them as "spies". For more complete information on this family, see A Book of Evidence at http://members.tripod.com/~nkuehl/index.html -- in particular, "The Night of Watching" and "The Jewish Trial".
Matthew 23:27: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness."
To Matt. 23:27 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [again, probably a reference to Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.8.23)--"You are whitewashed tombs filled within with dead men's bones," that is, there is not within you the living man.
Commentary:
There were a multitude of tombs around Jerusalem. During festival periods, they were whitened so that the public might not touch them and become defiled, which would prevent them from "eating the passover" (in particular), or entering the Temple grounds. This was probably, however, a reference to the "Tombs of the Prophets", believed to have been built during the first century to memorialize the "prophets". These are the same prophets that Yashua refers to as having been killed by the ancestors of the people who built them.
To Matt. 23:27 cf. Gospel of the Naassenes [again, probably a reference to Nazaraeans] (in Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, V.8.23)--"You are whitewashed tombs filled within with dead men's bones," that is, there is not within you the living man.
Commentary:
There were a multitude of tombs around Jerusalem. During festival periods, they were whitened so that the public might not touch them and become defiled, which would prevent them from "eating the passover" (in particular), or entering the Temple grounds. This was probably, however, a reference to the "Tombs of the Prophets", believed to have been built during the first century to memorialize the "prophets". These are the same prophets that Yashua refers to as having been killed by the ancestors of the people who built them.
Matthew 23:35: "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zach-a-ri-as son of Bar-a-chi-as, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar."
To Matt. 23:35 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 23:35)--In the gospel which the Nazarenes use, for "son of Barachiah" we find written, "son of Jehoiada." Cf. Also -- And Zechariah the son of Jehoiada said, "For he was of two names" -- Peter of Laodicea Commentary on Matthew 23:35 ed. Heinrici V.267.
Commentary:
Jehoiada was the father of Zechariah the prophet, a high priest [2 Chronicles 24:20]. There can be no doubt that Jerome replaced this name with "Barachiah", for it was clearly in the Hebrew original as Jehoiada.
To Matt. 23:35 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 23:35)--In the gospel which the Nazarenes use, for "son of Barachiah" we find written, "son of Jehoiada." Cf. Also -- And Zechariah the son of Jehoiada said, "For he was of two names" -- Peter of Laodicea Commentary on Matthew 23:35 ed. Heinrici V.267.
Commentary:
Jehoiada was the father of Zechariah the prophet, a high priest [2 Chronicles 24:20]. There can be no doubt that Jerome replaced this name with "Barachiah", for it was clearly in the Hebrew original as Jehoiada.
Matthew 25:22: He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them."
To Matt. 25:22ff. Cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Eusebius, Theophany on Matt. 25:14f.)--But the Gospel [written] in Hebrew letters which has reached our hands [Eusebius, by his own admission, claims that there was a gospel written in the Hebrew] turns the threat not against the man who had hid [the talent], but against him who had lived dissolutely--for it told of three servants: one who wasted his master's possessions with harlots and flute-girls, one who multiplied his gains, and one who hid the talent; and accordingly, one was accepted, one was only rebuked, and one was shut up in prison.
Commentary:
A different version of the same parable.
To Matt. 25:22ff. Cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Eusebius, Theophany on Matt. 25:14f.)--But the Gospel [written] in Hebrew letters which has reached our hands [Eusebius, by his own admission, claims that there was a gospel written in the Hebrew] turns the threat not against the man who had hid [the talent], but against him who had lived dissolutely--for it told of three servants: one who wasted his master's possessions with harlots and flute-girls, one who multiplied his gains, and one who hid the talent; and accordingly, one was accepted, one was only rebuked, and one was shut up in prison.
Commentary:
A different version of the same parable.
Matthew 26:74: Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew."
To Matt. 26:74 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: And he denied, and he swore [i.e., took an oath], and he cursed.
Commentary:
This is interesting, for here we understand clearly that Peter not only cursed [bitterly cursed, or execrated Yahshua], but he also denied knowing him, and most importantly, he "took an oath" that he did not know him. Taking an "oath" or sheba [seven] is the most serious self-condemnation that he committed. This is literally a swearing of truth between Yahvah and man. It is like standing before Yahvah and denying adamantly knowing Yahshua. Yahvah is the Elohim of the Oath, thus of Complete and Perfect Truth. No wonder he cried bitterly. He knew he had lied to Yahvah.
To Matt. 26:74 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans: The Jewish Gospel has: And he denied, and he swore [i.e., took an oath], and he cursed.
Commentary:
This is interesting, for here we understand clearly that Peter not only cursed [bitterly cursed, or execrated Yahshua], but he also denied knowing him, and most importantly, he "took an oath" that he did not know him. Taking an "oath" or sheba [seven] is the most serious self-condemnation that he committed. This is literally a swearing of truth between Yahvah and man. It is like standing before Yahvah and denying adamantly knowing Yahshua. Yahvah is the Elohim of the Oath, thus of Complete and Perfect Truth. No wonder he cried bitterly. He knew he had lied to Yahvah.
Matthew 27:16: "And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas."
To Matt. 27:16 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 27:16)--In the Gospel according to the Hebrews Barabbas is interpreted as "son of their master (teacher?)." He had been condemned because of insurrection and murder.
Commentary:
This makes complete sense. Barabbas, means literally "son of the father" (or in the philosophical sense "teacher" or "master"). He was probably a leader of the Zealot faction who were then attempting to do away with Roman administration in Jerusalem. He might well have been associated with Judas the Galilean, the head of the Zealot movement.
To Matt. 27:16 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 27:16)--In the Gospel according to the Hebrews Barabbas is interpreted as "son of their master (teacher?)." He had been condemned because of insurrection and murder.
Commentary:
This makes complete sense. Barabbas, means literally "son of the father" (or in the philosophical sense "teacher" or "master"). He was probably a leader of the Zealot faction who were then attempting to do away with Roman administration in Jerusalem. He might well have been associated with Judas the Galilean, the head of the Zealot movement.
Luke 23:34: "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."
To Luke 23:34 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Haimo of Auxerre, Commentary on Isaiah 53:12)--As it is said in the Gospel of the Nazarenes: At this word of the Lord, many thousands of Jews standing around the cross, believed.
Commentary:
Just prior to a Jewish execution, the accused is asked to confess (not his crime, but his sin) so that he might be forgiven by Yahvah and be allowed to enter the World Without End. The Mishnah is quite clear about this: "[When] he was ten cubits from the place of stoning (beth haseqilah or execution site, which was on the Mount of Olives at Beth Pagi) they say to him, "Confess," for it is usual for those about to be put to death to confess. For whoever confesses has a share in the world to come" [Mishnah, Sanhedrin 6:2]. The reason given for this is that Joshua asked Achan to confess his transgression before the congregation put him to death. Yahshua did not confess as they wanted him to; instead, he prayed that the Father (Yahvah) might forgive them for their sin. The second thing about this Scripture in the Hebrew that we must note is that the word "cross" did not exist during the first century in the Hebrew language. Therefore, the Jews who wrote that original Hebrew gospel would not have used the Greek word "stauros" - stake or pole - but the word 'ets - "tree" (it is always translated in the apostles, and Peter, in particular, as xulon -- living tree, or "green tree"). The Jewish people had to adapt another word in order to come up with the modern Hebrew word tslav for "cross".
To Luke 23:34 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Haimo of Auxerre, Commentary on Isaiah 53:12)--As it is said in the Gospel of the Nazarenes: At this word of the Lord, many thousands of Jews standing around the cross, believed.
Commentary:
Just prior to a Jewish execution, the accused is asked to confess (not his crime, but his sin) so that he might be forgiven by Yahvah and be allowed to enter the World Without End. The Mishnah is quite clear about this: "[When] he was ten cubits from the place of stoning (beth haseqilah or execution site, which was on the Mount of Olives at Beth Pagi) they say to him, "Confess," for it is usual for those about to be put to death to confess. For whoever confesses has a share in the world to come" [Mishnah, Sanhedrin 6:2]. The reason given for this is that Joshua asked Achan to confess his transgression before the congregation put him to death. Yahshua did not confess as they wanted him to; instead, he prayed that the Father (Yahvah) might forgive them for their sin. The second thing about this Scripture in the Hebrew that we must note is that the word "cross" did not exist during the first century in the Hebrew language. Therefore, the Jews who wrote that original Hebrew gospel would not have used the Greek word "stauros" - stake or pole - but the word 'ets - "tree" (it is always translated in the apostles, and Peter, in particular, as xulon -- living tree, or "green tree"). The Jewish people had to adapt another word in order to come up with the modern Hebrew word tslav for "cross".
Matthew 27:51: "And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent..."
To Matt. 27:51 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Letter 120 to Hedibia and Commentary on Matthew 27:51): In the Gospel that is written in Hebrew letters we read, not that the curtain of the temple was torn, but that the astonishingly large lintel of the temple collapsed.
Commentary:
Again, here is a notation by Jerome that this gospel was written in Hebrew. The "lintel" to which Jerome is here referring was not a lintel over the Sanctuary House of the Temple. It was the lintel over the inner Nicanor Gate, and it was this lintel (held in place by a 60-foot high wall around the Sanctuary) from which hung the first veil. The Holy Place of the Temple was inside the Sanctuary area, not exclusively in the House. It was restricted to all Israelites (per Josephus) by this 60-foot high wall; thus, no one might be able to see into the Court of the Priests nor the altar area. The wall carving at Dura Europa of the Temple clearly shows this Nicanor Gate with its veil hanging in place, and behind we see the smoke from the altar and the blue veil hanging over the Holy of Holies.
The Nicanor was the "Great Gate" of the Temple referred to in Mishnah, Middot 4:2. "A golden vine was standing at the entrance of the sanctuary, trained over the posts. Whoever gave a leaf or a berry or a cluster brings it and hangs it on it. Said R. Eleazar bar Sadoq, 'There was an incident, and three hundred priests were appointed [to clear it since it was too heavy'" [Mishnah, Middot 3:8]. The "Great Gate" was seventy-five feet in height, and its doors were sixty feet high. It would have taken this "Great Gate" in order to hold up the great stone lintel holding the veil at the entrance of the Sanctuary. (Note, the Sanctuary is the complete interior courtyard of the priests, including the building of the House of Yahvah. It includes the Court of Priests, the Altar, the Porch and Steps and the House, as well as the priestly offices on either side of the building and its underground offices).
To Matt. 27:51 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans (in Jerome, Letter 120 to Hedibia and Commentary on Matthew 27:51): In the Gospel that is written in Hebrew letters we read, not that the curtain of the temple was torn, but that the astonishingly large lintel of the temple collapsed.
Commentary:
Again, here is a notation by Jerome that this gospel was written in Hebrew. The "lintel" to which Jerome is here referring was not a lintel over the Sanctuary House of the Temple. It was the lintel over the inner Nicanor Gate, and it was this lintel (held in place by a 60-foot high wall around the Sanctuary) from which hung the first veil. The Holy Place of the Temple was inside the Sanctuary area, not exclusively in the House. It was restricted to all Israelites (per Josephus) by this 60-foot high wall; thus, no one might be able to see into the Court of the Priests nor the altar area. The wall carving at Dura Europa of the Temple clearly shows this Nicanor Gate with its veil hanging in place, and behind we see the smoke from the altar and the blue veil hanging over the Holy of Holies.
The Nicanor was the "Great Gate" of the Temple referred to in Mishnah, Middot 4:2. "A golden vine was standing at the entrance of the sanctuary, trained over the posts. Whoever gave a leaf or a berry or a cluster brings it and hangs it on it. Said R. Eleazar bar Sadoq, 'There was an incident, and three hundred priests were appointed [to clear it since it was too heavy'" [Mishnah, Middot 3:8]. The "Great Gate" was seventy-five feet in height, and its doors were sixty feet high. It would have taken this "Great Gate" in order to hold up the great stone lintel holding the veil at the entrance of the Sanctuary. (Note, the Sanctuary is the complete interior courtyard of the priests, including the building of the House of Yahvah. It includes the Court of Priests, the Altar, the Porch and Steps and the House, as well as the priestly offices on either side of the building and its underground offices).
Matthew 27:65: "Pilate said unto them, Ye [i.e. the Sanhedrin of the Temple have their own police force or "watch"] have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can."
To Matt. 27:65 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, as recorded in a marginal note of some mss: The Jewish Gospel has: And he delivered armed men to them, that they might sit opposite the cave and guard it day and night.
Commentary:
Note something here: there were never Roman centurians who guarded the Tomb of Yahshua -- there were only Temple police guards present at the tomb. Thus this is the reason they reported to Caiaphas the events of that morning. Roman guards would never have fallen asleep on the job, lest they be put to death; neither would they have reported to Caiaphas who would have had no control over them. For more evidence on this, see A Book of Evidence at http://www.truthandwisdom.org -- in the chapter entitled "The Lamp of the World". The "marginal note" is questionable. Pilate clearly told the Sanhedrin to send its own men, and it did.
To Matt. 27:65 cf. Gospel of the Nazaraeans, as recorded in a marginal note of some mss: The Jewish Gospel has: And he delivered armed men to them, that they might sit opposite the cave and guard it day and night.
Commentary:
Note something here: there were never Roman centurians who guarded the Tomb of Yahshua -- there were only Temple police guards present at the tomb. Thus this is the reason they reported to Caiaphas the events of that morning. Roman guards would never have fallen asleep on the job, lest they be put to death; neither would they have reported to Caiaphas who would have had no control over them. For more evidence on this, see A Book of Evidence at http://www.truthandwisdom.org -- in the chapter entitled "The Lamp of the World". The "marginal note" is questionable. Pilate clearly told the Sanhedrin to send its own men, and it did.
The Gospel of Peter
Translated by Raymond Brown
[1] But of the Jews none washed his hands, neither Herod nor one of his judges. And since they did not desire to wash, Pilate stood up. [2] And then Herod the king orders the Lord to be taken away, having said to them, 'What I ordered you to do, do.'
[3] But Joseph, the friend of Pilate and of the Lord, had been standing there; and knowing they were about to crucify him, he came before Pilate and requested the body of the Lord for burial. [4] And Pilate, having sent to Herod, requested his body. [5] And Herod said: 'Brother Pilate, even if no one had requested him, we would have buried him, since indeed Sabbath is dawning. For in the Law it has been written: The sun is not to set on one put to death.'
And he gave him over to the people before the first day of their feast of the Unleavened Bread. [6] But having taken the Lord, running, they were pushing him and saying, 'Let us drag along the Son of God now that we have power over him.' [7] And they clothed him with purple and sat him on a chair of judgment, saying: 'Judge justly, King of Israel.' [8] And a certain one of them, having brought a thorny crown, put it on the head of the Lord. [9] And others who were standing there were spitting in his face, and others slapped his cheeks. Others were jabbing him with a reed; and some scourged him, saying, 'With such honor let us honor the Son of God.'
[10] And they brought two wrongdoers and crucified the Lord in the middle of them. But he was silent as having no pain. [11] And when they had set the cross upright, they inscribed that THIS IS THE KING OF ISRAEL. [12] And having put his garments before him, they divided them up and threw as a gamble for them. [13] But a certain one of those wrongdoers reviled them, saying: 'We have been made suffer thus because of the wrong that we have done; but this one, having become Savior of men, what injustice had he done to you?' [14] And having become irritated at him, they ordered that there be no leg-breaking, so that he might die tormented.
[15] But is was midday, and darkness held fast all Judea; 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. [16] And someone of them said: 'Give him to drink gall with vinegary wine.' And having made a mixture, they gave to drink. [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.' And having said this, he was taken up.
[20] And at the same hour the veil of the Jerusalem sanctuary was torn into two. [21] And they drew out the nails from the hands of the Lord and placed him on the earth; and all the earth was shaken, and a great fear came about. [22] Then the sun shone, and it was found to be the ninth hour. [23] And the Jews rejoiced and gave his body to Joseph that he might bury it, since he was one who had seen the many good things he did. [24] And having taken the Lord, he washed and tied him with a linen cloth and brought him into his own sepulcher, called the Garden of Joseph.
[25] Then the Jews and the elders and the priests, having come to know how much wrong they had done themselves, began to beat themselves and say: 'Woe to our sins. The judgment has approached and the end of Jerusalem.' [26] But I with the companions was sorrowful; and having been wounded in spirit, we were in hiding, for we were sought after by them as wrongdoers and as wishing to set fire to the sanctuary. [27] In addition to all these things we were fasting; and we were sitting mourning and weeping night and day until the Sabbath.
[28] But the scribes and Pharisees and elders, having gathered together with one another, having heard that all the people were murmuring and beating their breasts, saying that 'If at his death these very great signs happened, behold how just he was,' [29] feared (especially the elders) and came before Pilate, begging him and saying, [30] 'Give over soldiers to us in order that we may safeguard his burial place for three days, lest, having come, his disciples steal him, and the people accept that he is risen from the death, and they do us wrong.' [31] But Pilate gave over to them Petronius the centurion with soldiers to safeguard the sepulcher. And with these the elders and scribes came to the burial place. [32] And having rolled a large stone, all who were there, together with the centurion and the soldiers, placed it against the door of the burial place. [33] And they marked it with seven wax seals; and having pitched a tent there, they safeguarded it. [34] But early when the Sabbath was dawning, a crowd came from Jerusalem and the surrounding area in order that they might see the sealed tomb.
[35] But in the night in which the Lord's day dawned, when the soldiers were safeguarding it two by two in every watch, there was a loud voice in heaven; [36] and they saw that the heavens were opened and that two males who had much radiance had come down from there and come near the sepulcher. [37] But that stone which had been thrust against the door, having rolled by itself, went a distance off the side; and the sepulcher opened, and both the young men entered. [38] And so those soldiers, having seen, awakened the centurion and the elders (for they too were present, safeguarding). [39] And while they were relating what they had seen, again they see three males who have come out from they sepulcher, with the two supporting the other one, and a cross following them, [40] and the head of the two reaching unto heaven, but that of the one being led out by a hand by them going beyond the heavens. [41] And they were hearing a voice from the heavens saying, 'Have you made proclamation to the fallen-asleep?' [42] And an obeisance was heard from the cross, 'Yes.' [43]
And so those people were seeking a common perspective to go off and make these things clear to Pilate; [44] and while they were still considering it through, there appear again the opened heavens and a certain man having come down and entered into the burial place. [45] Having seen these things, those around the centurion hastened at night before Pilate (having left the sepulcher which they were safeguarding) and described all the things that they indeed had seen, agonizing greatly and saying: 'Truly he was God's Son.'
[46] In answer Pilate said: 'I am clean of the blood of the Son of God, but it was to you that this seemed [the thing to do].'
[47] Then all, having come forward, were begging and exhorting him to command the centurion and the soldiers to say to no one what they had seen.
[48] 'For,' they said, 'it is better for us to owe the debt of the greatest sin in the sight of God than to fall into the hands of the Jewish people and be stoned.' [49] And so Pilate ordered the centurion and the soldiers to say nothing.
[50] Now at the dawn of the Lord's Day Mary Magdalene, a female disciple of the Lord (who, afraid because of the Jews since they were inflamed with anger, had not done at the tomb of the Lord what women were accustomed to do for the dead beloved by them), [51] having taken with her women friends, came to the tomb where he had been placed. [52] And they were afraid lest the Jews should see them and were saying, 'If indeed on that day on which he was crucified we could not weep and beat ourselves, yet now at his tomb we may do these things. [53] But who will roll away for us even the stone placed against the door of the tomb in order that, having entered, we may sit beside him and do the expected things? [54] For the stone was large, and we were afraid lest anyone see us. And if we are unable, let is throw against the door what we bring in memory of him; let us weep and beat ourselves until we come to our homes.'
[55] And having gone off, they found the sepulcher opened. And having come forward, they bent down there and saw there a certain young man seated in the middle of the sepulcher, comely and clothed with a splendid robe, who said to them: [56] 'Why have you come? Whom do you seek? Not that one who was crucified? He is risen and gone away. But if you do not believe, bend down and see the place where he lay, because he is not here. For he is risen and gone away to there whence he was sent.' [57] Then the women fled frightened.
[58] Now it was the final day of the Unleavened Bread; and many went out returning to their home since the feast was over. [59] But we twelve disciples of the Lord were weeping and sorrowful; and each one, sorrowful because of what had come to pass, departed to his home. [60] But I, Simon Peter, and my brother Andrew, having taken our nets, went off to the sea. And there was with us Levi of Alphaeus whom the Lord ...
Translated by Raymond Brown
[1] But of the Jews none washed his hands, neither Herod nor one of his judges. And since they did not desire to wash, Pilate stood up. [2] And then Herod the king orders the Lord to be taken away, having said to them, 'What I ordered you to do, do.'
[3] But Joseph, the friend of Pilate and of the Lord, had been standing there; and knowing they were about to crucify him, he came before Pilate and requested the body of the Lord for burial. [4] And Pilate, having sent to Herod, requested his body. [5] And Herod said: 'Brother Pilate, even if no one had requested him, we would have buried him, since indeed Sabbath is dawning. For in the Law it has been written: The sun is not to set on one put to death.'
And he gave him over to the people before the first day of their feast of the Unleavened Bread. [6] But having taken the Lord, running, they were pushing him and saying, 'Let us drag along the Son of God now that we have power over him.' [7] And they clothed him with purple and sat him on a chair of judgment, saying: 'Judge justly, King of Israel.' [8] And a certain one of them, having brought a thorny crown, put it on the head of the Lord. [9] And others who were standing there were spitting in his face, and others slapped his cheeks. Others were jabbing him with a reed; and some scourged him, saying, 'With such honor let us honor the Son of God.'
[10] And they brought two wrongdoers and crucified the Lord in the middle of them. But he was silent as having no pain. [11] And when they had set the cross upright, they inscribed that THIS IS THE KING OF ISRAEL. [12] And having put his garments before him, they divided them up and threw as a gamble for them. [13] But a certain one of those wrongdoers reviled them, saying: 'We have been made suffer thus because of the wrong that we have done; but this one, having become Savior of men, what injustice had he done to you?' [14] And having become irritated at him, they ordered that there be no leg-breaking, so that he might die tormented.
[15] But is was midday, and darkness held fast all Judea; 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. [16] And someone of them said: 'Give him to drink gall with vinegary wine.' And having made a mixture, they gave to drink. [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.' And having said this, he was taken up.
[20] And at the same hour the veil of the Jerusalem sanctuary was torn into two. [21] And they drew out the nails from the hands of the Lord and placed him on the earth; and all the earth was shaken, and a great fear came about. [22] Then the sun shone, and it was found to be the ninth hour. [23] And the Jews rejoiced and gave his body to Joseph that he might bury it, since he was one who had seen the many good things he did. [24] And having taken the Lord, he washed and tied him with a linen cloth and brought him into his own sepulcher, called the Garden of Joseph.
[25] Then the Jews and the elders and the priests, having come to know how much wrong they had done themselves, began to beat themselves and say: 'Woe to our sins. The judgment has approached and the end of Jerusalem.' [26] But I with the companions was sorrowful; and having been wounded in spirit, we were in hiding, for we were sought after by them as wrongdoers and as wishing to set fire to the sanctuary. [27] In addition to all these things we were fasting; and we were sitting mourning and weeping night and day until the Sabbath.
[28] But the scribes and Pharisees and elders, having gathered together with one another, having heard that all the people were murmuring and beating their breasts, saying that 'If at his death these very great signs happened, behold how just he was,' [29] feared (especially the elders) and came before Pilate, begging him and saying, [30] 'Give over soldiers to us in order that we may safeguard his burial place for three days, lest, having come, his disciples steal him, and the people accept that he is risen from the death, and they do us wrong.' [31] But Pilate gave over to them Petronius the centurion with soldiers to safeguard the sepulcher. And with these the elders and scribes came to the burial place. [32] And having rolled a large stone, all who were there, together with the centurion and the soldiers, placed it against the door of the burial place. [33] And they marked it with seven wax seals; and having pitched a tent there, they safeguarded it. [34] But early when the Sabbath was dawning, a crowd came from Jerusalem and the surrounding area in order that they might see the sealed tomb.
[35] But in the night in which the Lord's day dawned, when the soldiers were safeguarding it two by two in every watch, there was a loud voice in heaven; [36] and they saw that the heavens were opened and that two males who had much radiance had come down from there and come near the sepulcher. [37] But that stone which had been thrust against the door, having rolled by itself, went a distance off the side; and the sepulcher opened, and both the young men entered. [38] And so those soldiers, having seen, awakened the centurion and the elders (for they too were present, safeguarding). [39] And while they were relating what they had seen, again they see three males who have come out from they sepulcher, with the two supporting the other one, and a cross following them, [40] and the head of the two reaching unto heaven, but that of the one being led out by a hand by them going beyond the heavens. [41] And they were hearing a voice from the heavens saying, 'Have you made proclamation to the fallen-asleep?' [42] And an obeisance was heard from the cross, 'Yes.' [43]
And so those people were seeking a common perspective to go off and make these things clear to Pilate; [44] and while they were still considering it through, there appear again the opened heavens and a certain man having come down and entered into the burial place. [45] Having seen these things, those around the centurion hastened at night before Pilate (having left the sepulcher which they were safeguarding) and described all the things that they indeed had seen, agonizing greatly and saying: 'Truly he was God's Son.'
[46] In answer Pilate said: 'I am clean of the blood of the Son of God, but it was to you that this seemed [the thing to do].'
[47] Then all, having come forward, were begging and exhorting him to command the centurion and the soldiers to say to no one what they had seen.
[48] 'For,' they said, 'it is better for us to owe the debt of the greatest sin in the sight of God than to fall into the hands of the Jewish people and be stoned.' [49] And so Pilate ordered the centurion and the soldiers to say nothing.
[50] Now at the dawn of the Lord's Day Mary Magdalene, a female disciple of the Lord (who, afraid because of the Jews since they were inflamed with anger, had not done at the tomb of the Lord what women were accustomed to do for the dead beloved by them), [51] having taken with her women friends, came to the tomb where he had been placed. [52] And they were afraid lest the Jews should see them and were saying, 'If indeed on that day on which he was crucified we could not weep and beat ourselves, yet now at his tomb we may do these things. [53] But who will roll away for us even the stone placed against the door of the tomb in order that, having entered, we may sit beside him and do the expected things? [54] For the stone was large, and we were afraid lest anyone see us. And if we are unable, let is throw against the door what we bring in memory of him; let us weep and beat ourselves until we come to our homes.'
[55] And having gone off, they found the sepulcher opened. And having come forward, they bent down there and saw there a certain young man seated in the middle of the sepulcher, comely and clothed with a splendid robe, who said to them: [56] 'Why have you come? Whom do you seek? Not that one who was crucified? He is risen and gone away. But if you do not believe, bend down and see the place where he lay, because he is not here. For he is risen and gone away to there whence he was sent.' [57] Then the women fled frightened.
[58] Now it was the final day of the Unleavened Bread; and many went out returning to their home since the feast was over. [59] But we twelve disciples of the Lord were weeping and sorrowful; and each one, sorrowful because of what had come to pass, departed to his home. [60] But I, Simon Peter, and my brother Andrew, having taken our nets, went off to the sea. And there was with us Levi of Alphaeus whom the Lord ...
There are actually quite a lot of agrapha, many of which are quoted by the Fathers and other Christian literature. Some had a penchant for quoting them extensively, like Clement of Alexandria, whose Stromata is literally dotted with these sayings:
For He says, "Have you seen your brother? You have seen your God." (1.19)
For He says, "Ask for the great things, and the little things will be added unto you." (1.24)
With reason, then, the scripture, wishing us to become such kind of dialectics, exhorts: "But become approved moneychangers, rejecting the [evil] things, and embracing the good." (1.28)
And again the Lord says, "Let the one who has married not be cast out, and let the one who has not married not marry. He who has confessed that he will not marry according to his decision of eunuchhood, let him remain unmarried." (3.15)
Finally, there is also this one anecdote which St. Irenaeus and St. Hippolytus of Rome record about Judas and Jesus.
The blessing thus predicted pertains, without [fear of] contradiction, to the times of the kingdom, when the just, rising from the dead, will reign, when even the creation, renewed and liberated, will produce a multitude of foods of all kinds from the dew of heaven and the fertility of the earth, just as the elders who saw John the disciple of the Lord remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord would teach about those times and would say:
The blessing thus predicted pertains, without [fear of] contradiction, to the times of the kingdom, when the just, rising from the dead, will reign, when even the creation, renewed and liberated, will produce a multitude of foods of all kinds from the dew of heaven and the fertility of the earth, just as the elders who saw John the disciple of the Lord remembered that they had heard from him how the Lord would teach about those times and would say:
"The days will come in which vines will grow, each having ten thousand shoots, and on each shoot ten thousand branches, and on each branch ten thousand twigs, and on each twig ten thousand clusters, and in each cluster ten thousand grapes, and each grape, when pressed, will give twenty-five measures of wine. And, when one of those saints takes hold of a cluster, another cluster will clamor: 'I am better, take me, bless the Lord through me!'
Similarly a grain of wheat also will generate ten thousand heads, and each head will have ten thousand grains, and each grain five double pounds of clear and clean flour. And the remaining fruits and seeds and herbiage will follow through in congruence with these, and all the animals using these foods which are taken from the earth will in turn become peaceful and consenting, subject to men with every subjection."
Similarly a grain of wheat also will generate ten thousand heads, and each head will have ten thousand grains, and each grain five double pounds of clear and clean flour. And the remaining fruits and seeds and herbiage will follow through in congruence with these, and all the animals using these foods which are taken from the earth will in turn become peaceful and consenting, subject to men with every subjection."
These things Papias too, who was a earwitness of John and companion of Polycarp, and an ancient man, wrote and testified in the fourth of his books. For there are five books written by him. And he adds, saying: But these things are believable by the believers. And, he says, Judas the traitor did not believe and asked: "How therefore will such generations be brought to completion by the Lord?" The Lord said, "Those who come into those [times] will see."
(Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4)
(Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.33.3-4)
When therefore the Lord narrated to the disciples that the imminent kingdom of the saints would be glorious and wondrous, Judas, bewildered by these words, said, "And who will see these things?" But the Lord said: "Those who have become worthy will see these things."
(Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60)
(Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.60)
Apocrypha: Egerton Gospel
Fragment 1:
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: “Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?”
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: “Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped.”
And they said: “We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from.”
Jesus answered and said to them: “Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]”
——
* Possible reconstructions:
“Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does.”
“Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does.”
“Because it’s unexplained, how he does, what he does.”
“And see, how he does, what he does.”
“Who is condemning, how he does, what he does.”
Fragment 1:
[...] And Jesus said to the lawyers: “Punish every wrongdoer and transgressor, and not me. [...]* he does, how does he do it?”
And turning to the rulers of the people he said this word: “Search the scriptures, in which you think you have life. These are they, which testify about me. Do not suppose that I have come to accuse you to my father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you have hoped.”
And they said: “We know that God spoke to Moses,but as for you, we do not know, where you are from.”
Jesus answered and said to them: “Now is accused your disbelief in those who have been commended by him. For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. For about me he wrote to your fathers [...]”
——
* Possible reconstructions:
“Judge the deeds, how he does, what he does.”
“Because an outlaw does not know, how he does, what he does.”
“Because it’s unexplained, how he does, what he does.”
“And see, how he does, what he does.”
“Who is condemning, how he does, what he does.”
Fragment 1 Recto
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: “Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean.”
And the Lord said to him: “I will, be clean.”
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: “Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]”
————
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
[...] and taking up stones together to stone him. And the rulers laid their hands upon him to seize him and hand him over to the crowd. And they could not take him because the hour of his arrest had not yet come. But the Lord himself, escaping from their hands, withdrew from them.
And behold, a leper coming to him, says: “Teacher Jesus, while traveling with lepers and eating together with them in the inn, I myself also became a leper.* If therefore you will, I am clean.”
And the Lord said to him: “I will, be clean.”
And immediately the leprosy left him. And Jesus said to him: “Go show yourself to the priests and offer concerning the cleansing as Moses commanded and sin no more [...]”
————
* (Schmidt:) You look for the lepers and were eating with publicans. Have mercy, I am like them.
The original reconstruction is factually impossible (traveling with lepers), therefore this new one.
Fragment 2 Recto
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: “Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?”
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: “Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men…’”
—-
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
“Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, …”
Coming to him, they tested him in an exacting way, saying: “Teacher Jesus, we know that you have come from God, for what you do testifies beyond all the prophets. Therefore tell us, is it lawful to pay to kings the things which benefit their rule? Shall we pay them or not?”
But Jesus, perceiving their purpose and becoming indignant said to them: “Why do you call me teacher with your mouth, not doing what I say? Well did Isaiah* prophesy concerning you, saying: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men…’”
—-
* Jes 29:13 (NRS): The Lord said:
“Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote, …”
Fragment 2 Verso
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
“(…) shut up (…) has been subjected uncertainly (…) its weight unweighted?”
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (…) and sowed upon the (…). And the (…) water (…) the (…). And (…) before them, he brought forth fruit (…) much (…) for joy (…)
(unfortunately this fragment is in such a bad state, that it cannot be sufficiently reconstructed. What follows is first the text which can be reconstructed pretty sure and then some more speculative restaurations.)
“(…) shut up (…) has been subjected uncertainly (…) its weight unweighted?”
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the lip of the Jordan river, stretching out his right hand, filled it with (…) and sowed upon the (…). And the (…) water (…) the (…). And (…) before them, he brought forth fruit (…) much (…) for joy (…)
(Dodd:) “When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a secret place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?”
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore . And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist , and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit…
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore . And thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist , and it was watered before them and brought forth fruit…
(Schmidt:) “Why is the seed enclosed in the ground, the abundance buried? Hidden for a short time, it will be immeasurable.”
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground . And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it . And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared…
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with seed and sowed it upon the ground . And thereupon he poured sufficient water over it . And looking at the ground before them, the fruit appeared…
(Cerfaux:) “(…) enclosed like me, buried, uncertain, and making possible immeasurable abundance?”
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river . And on the water , the roots spread out and fruit appeared…
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground . And the sprinkled water purified(?) the ground . (…) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he took a fig-tree and planted it in the river . And on the water , the roots spread out and fruit appeared…
(Lietzmann:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus, as he walked, stood on the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with water and sowed on the ground . And the sprinkled water purified(?) the ground . (…) and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
(Lagrange:) And when they where perplexed at the strange question, Jesus walked at the banks of the River Jordan, and stretching out his right hand, he filled it with sand and sowed seed on the sand . And then he poured running water over it . And it run to seed and coming out before them, the fruit appeared.
Though the fragment cannot be reconstructed sufficiently, the meaning can be found:
A small seed in the ground is hidden and invisible. How does its abundance become immeasurable?
(By growing and bringing fruit.)
To clarify this, Jesus performs a miracle: He walks up to the river Jordan and with the water he gives rise to a spontaneous ripening of fruit. (much, for joy!)
Though the fragment cannot be reconstructed sufficiently, the meaning can be found:
A small seed in the ground is hidden and invisible. How does its abundance become immeasurable?
(By growing and bringing fruit.)
To clarify this, Jesus performs a miracle: He walks up to the river Jordan and with the water he gives rise to a spontaneous ripening of fruit. (much, for joy!)
Apocryphal Scriptures
Apostolic Church Order, 26: "For he said to us before, when he was teaching: That which is weak shall be saved through that which is strong."
Acts of Philip 34: "For the Lord said to me: Except ye make the lower into the upper and the left into the right, ye shall not enter into my kingdom."
Patristic citations
Justin Martyr, Dial. 47: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever things I apprehend you, in those I shall judge you."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, I, 24, 158: "For ask, he says for the great things, and the small shall be added to you."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, I, 28, 177: "Rightly therefore the Scripture also in its desire to make us such dialecticians, exhorts us: Be approved moneychangers, disapproving some things, but holding fast that which is good."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, V, 10, 64: "For not grudgingly, he saith, did the Lord declare in a certain gospel: My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house."
Origen, Homil. in Jer., XX, 3: "But the Saviour himself saith: He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me, is far from the kingdom."
Oxyrhynchus Logia
Second Logion: "Jesus saith, Except you fast to the world, you shall in no wise find the kingdom of God."
Third Logion: "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieved over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not."
Fifth Logion: "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God; and wherever there is one alone, I say I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I."
Sixth Logion: "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him."
Seventh Logion: "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid."
Eighth Logion: "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear . . ."
Apostolic Church Order, 26: "For he said to us before, when he was teaching: That which is weak shall be saved through that which is strong."
Acts of Philip 34: "For the Lord said to me: Except ye make the lower into the upper and the left into the right, ye shall not enter into my kingdom."
Patristic citations
Justin Martyr, Dial. 47: "Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, In whatsoever things I apprehend you, in those I shall judge you."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, I, 24, 158: "For ask, he says for the great things, and the small shall be added to you."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, I, 28, 177: "Rightly therefore the Scripture also in its desire to make us such dialecticians, exhorts us: Be approved moneychangers, disapproving some things, but holding fast that which is good."
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, V, 10, 64: "For not grudgingly, he saith, did the Lord declare in a certain gospel: My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house."
Origen, Homil. in Jer., XX, 3: "But the Saviour himself saith: He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me, is far from the kingdom."
Oxyrhynchus Logia
Second Logion: "Jesus saith, Except you fast to the world, you shall in no wise find the kingdom of God."
Third Logion: "Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them, and my soul grieved over the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart, and see not."
Fifth Logion: "Jesus saith, Wherever there are two, they are not without God; and wherever there is one alone, I say I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me; cleave the wood, and there am I."
Sixth Logion: "Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him."
Seventh Logion: "Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a hill and stablished can neither fall nor be hid."
Eighth Logion: "Jesus saith, Thou hearest with one ear . . ."
Justin and several others: In the last days, there will be dissenting opinions and squabbles brought about by false teachers.
Theodatus quotes Clement of Alexandria: Save your soul and your life!
Apelles quotes Epiphanius: Be competent money managers!
Tertullian: One who has never gone through trials can never perceive the Kingdom of Heaven!
Clement of Alexandria: Seek first the Reign of the Deity and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Ask for great things and the Deity will add unto you small things.
Actus Vercellenses: Those with me haven't understood me.
Origen and several others: He who is close to me is close to the fire; she who is far from the fire is far from the Kingdom.
Luke 6:4, variant reading from Codex D: On the Sabbath Jesus saw a man working, and he said to him, "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you don't know what you are doing, you are a law-breaker and cursed!"
Inscription on a mosque in India (1601), but traced back to at least the 8th century: Jesus, on whom be peace, said, "The world is like a bridge. Go over it, but do not install yourself upon it."
Ephraem: I have chosen you before the world was.
Berlin papyrus 11710: Jesus to Nathaniel: Walk in the sun!
Fayyum Fragment: As he led them out, he said, "All of you will be offended tonight, as it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" When Peter said, "Even if all, not I," Jesus said, "Before the cock crows twice, three times you will today deny me."
Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians; Clement, Bishop of Rome, first century: Show mercy so that you may receive it. Forgive others so that you may be forgiven. As you do, it will be so done to you. As you give, so will it be given to you. As you judge, so will you also be judged. As you show kindness, so will you be shown kindness. With the same rule you use to measure these things, so will you be measured.
An Ancient Christian Sermon; Pseudo-Clement, second century: If you are gathered with me into my bosom yet you do not keep my commandments, I will discard you and say to you, "Get away from me; I do not know where you are from, you evildoer!"
Let the lambs not fear the wolves after their death. As for you, do not fear those who kill you, for they can do no more. Fear him who has the power to throw soul and body into hell after you are dead.
If you do not guard something small, who will give you something great? Whoever is faithful with very little is faithful with very much.
Ignatius to the Smyrnians, first decade of the second century: Hold and handle me to see that I am not a disembodied demon.
Theodatus quotes Clement of Alexandria: Save your soul and your life!
Apelles quotes Epiphanius: Be competent money managers!
Tertullian: One who has never gone through trials can never perceive the Kingdom of Heaven!
Clement of Alexandria: Seek first the Reign of the Deity and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Ask for great things and the Deity will add unto you small things.
Actus Vercellenses: Those with me haven't understood me.
Origen and several others: He who is close to me is close to the fire; she who is far from the fire is far from the Kingdom.
Luke 6:4, variant reading from Codex D: On the Sabbath Jesus saw a man working, and he said to him, "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you don't know what you are doing, you are a law-breaker and cursed!"
Inscription on a mosque in India (1601), but traced back to at least the 8th century: Jesus, on whom be peace, said, "The world is like a bridge. Go over it, but do not install yourself upon it."
Ephraem: I have chosen you before the world was.
Berlin papyrus 11710: Jesus to Nathaniel: Walk in the sun!
Fayyum Fragment: As he led them out, he said, "All of you will be offended tonight, as it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" When Peter said, "Even if all, not I," Jesus said, "Before the cock crows twice, three times you will today deny me."
Letter of the Romans to the Corinthians; Clement, Bishop of Rome, first century: Show mercy so that you may receive it. Forgive others so that you may be forgiven. As you do, it will be so done to you. As you give, so will it be given to you. As you judge, so will you also be judged. As you show kindness, so will you be shown kindness. With the same rule you use to measure these things, so will you be measured.
An Ancient Christian Sermon; Pseudo-Clement, second century: If you are gathered with me into my bosom yet you do not keep my commandments, I will discard you and say to you, "Get away from me; I do not know where you are from, you evildoer!"
Let the lambs not fear the wolves after their death. As for you, do not fear those who kill you, for they can do no more. Fear him who has the power to throw soul and body into hell after you are dead.
If you do not guard something small, who will give you something great? Whoever is faithful with very little is faithful with very much.
Ignatius to the Smyrnians, first decade of the second century: Hold and handle me to see that I am not a disembodied demon.
Unknown Gospels I & II
I
This gospel fragment is of the school of John, and dated to around 150.
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
I
This gospel fragment is of the school of John, and dated to around 150.
Jesus was keeping company with tax collectors. After he had eaten with them in the inn, a leper approached him and said, "Master Jesus, I was eating with lepers and keeping company with them, thus I became a leper. If you desire it, I am clean."
Immediately the Lord said, "I AM, be clean." Then the leprosy left him.
The scribes and lawyers came to test him, thus tempt him to break the law. "Master Jesus," they said, "we know that you came from Yahweh, for you have outdone all the prophets. Tell us, according to your teaching, are we allowed to bankroll kings by paying their taxes? Should we pay or not?" But Jesus discerned their evil intention and became angry, saying to them, "Why do you call me 'Master' with your mouth, but do nothing I say? Isaiah has spoken truly concerning you: 'This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; their worship is vanity. They teach man-made rules.'"
Jesus and his disciples were walking along the bank of the Jordan river. Jesus quizzed his disciples, "Behold, a grain of wheat. When it is planted by nature, lying invisible beneath the earth, do we consider that time is well spent pondering its wealth?"
And as they were pondering, perplexed by this strange question, Jesus knelt and sowed a handful of wheat on the bank, watering it. Immediately before their eyes, the wheat sprouted and grew to seed, to their amazement and great joy.
II
Here is another nameless gospel excerpt of the Synoptic school found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to the early second century.
"Evil doers plan their evil works through crafty designs. Guard that you do not deserve the same fate as they! Evil doers not only receive their just recompense in this life, but they must also suffer punishment and great torment after."
He took his disciples to the place of purification, and he walked through the courts of the Temple of Jerusalem. Levi, a Pharisee, fell in with them and asked the Savior, "Who gave you and your followers permission to inspect this holy place and its holy utensils without having bathed and changed your clothing or even washing your feet? You are defiled, and have defiled this holy place and its utensils!"
Not venturing to leave that place, the Savior spoke to Levi and said, "How is it with you, since you, too, are in the same Temple Court as we are? Are you then clean?" Levi said, "I am clean, because I washed in the pool of David by going down the one stair, through the water, and up the other stair, and I have put on clean, white clothing in the prescribed manner. Only after becoming clean have I ventured into this pure place and viewed its holy utensils."
Then the Savior said to him, "Woe unto you unseeing blind man! So you have washed yourself in the water that was poured out from the same source where dogs and swine lie day after day. So you have scrubbed your skin to a chafe, just like prostitutes and erotic dancers do, making themselves up with rouge, oils, and perfumes in order to arouse men, looking so attractive, but being full of scorpions and vermin of every kind. You, who bathed with the swine, have dared to accused those who have been cleansed in the living water which falls from Heaven of being unclean? Woe to you and all like you!"
The Papyrii Library of Oxyrhynchus
SIDE1
He took [the disciples] and went into the place of purification itself and walked around in the Temple. And a certain Pharisee, a high priest named [...] approached them and fell in with them and said to the savior, "Who allowed you to set foot in this place of purification and look upon these holy vessels when you have not bathed and your disciples have not even washed their feet? In spite of being unclean, you have set foot in this temple which is clean, in which no one may walk unless he has bathed and changed his clothes, nor dare to look at these holy vessels." And
standing with his disciples, the savior answered him,
SIDE2
"Then are you, being in the Temple, clean?' He [the Pharisee] said to him, "I am clean, for I have bathed in the pool of David. I went down into it by
one flight of stairs and came up out of it by another. Then I put on clean,
white clothes. Only then did I come and view these holy vessels." The savior answered him, "Woe to the blind who cannot see! You have bathed in these gushing waters, in which dogs and pigs lie night and day! And you have washed and scraped the outer layer of skin, just where prostitutes and flute girls anoint, bathe, cleanse and adorn in order to arouse the desires of men—but they are filled with scorpions and all kinds of evil on the inside. But I and my disciples, whom you say have not washed, have been dipped in waters [of which you know nothing ...]
(Some of the biblical texts found at Oxyrhynchus were later identified as passages from the Gospel of Thomas once it was found nearby a generation later.)
He who has found the meaning of these words (of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas) will not experience death.
The one who is far from you today will be near tomorrow.
The splinter that is in your brother's eye you see; but the beam that is in your own eye you cannot. When you pull the beam out of your eye, then you may see clearly enough to remove your brother's splinter.
If you do not fast as to the things of this world, you will not find the kingdom of Yahweh. If you do not keep the Sabbath, you will not see the Father.
Jesus says: A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither does a doctor cure those who know him well.
The Pharisees have obtained the keys of the kingdom, but they have hidden them. They do not go in themselves, and they do not allow those in who desire to go. But you, be wise as serpents and meek as doves.
The scribes, the Pharisees, and the priests were angry when they saw that Jesus reclined at the table with sinners. Jesus heard of their anger and said: The healthy do not need a doctor.
Pray for your enemies. The one who is not against you is for you. The one who is today far away will be near you tomorrow
His disciples asked him, When will we again be able to see you? He said, When you have undressed and are not ashamed.
SIDE1
He took [the disciples] and went into the place of purification itself and walked around in the Temple. And a certain Pharisee, a high priest named [...] approached them and fell in with them and said to the savior, "Who allowed you to set foot in this place of purification and look upon these holy vessels when you have not bathed and your disciples have not even washed their feet? In spite of being unclean, you have set foot in this temple which is clean, in which no one may walk unless he has bathed and changed his clothes, nor dare to look at these holy vessels." And
standing with his disciples, the savior answered him,
SIDE2
"Then are you, being in the Temple, clean?' He [the Pharisee] said to him, "I am clean, for I have bathed in the pool of David. I went down into it by
one flight of stairs and came up out of it by another. Then I put on clean,
white clothes. Only then did I come and view these holy vessels." The savior answered him, "Woe to the blind who cannot see! You have bathed in these gushing waters, in which dogs and pigs lie night and day! And you have washed and scraped the outer layer of skin, just where prostitutes and flute girls anoint, bathe, cleanse and adorn in order to arouse the desires of men—but they are filled with scorpions and all kinds of evil on the inside. But I and my disciples, whom you say have not washed, have been dipped in waters [of which you know nothing ...]
(Some of the biblical texts found at Oxyrhynchus were later identified as passages from the Gospel of Thomas once it was found nearby a generation later.)
He who has found the meaning of these words (of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas) will not experience death.
The one who is far from you today will be near tomorrow.
The splinter that is in your brother's eye you see; but the beam that is in your own eye you cannot. When you pull the beam out of your eye, then you may see clearly enough to remove your brother's splinter.
If you do not fast as to the things of this world, you will not find the kingdom of Yahweh. If you do not keep the Sabbath, you will not see the Father.
Jesus says: A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither does a doctor cure those who know him well.
The Pharisees have obtained the keys of the kingdom, but they have hidden them. They do not go in themselves, and they do not allow those in who desire to go. But you, be wise as serpents and meek as doves.
The scribes, the Pharisees, and the priests were angry when they saw that Jesus reclined at the table with sinners. Jesus heard of their anger and said: The healthy do not need a doctor.
Pray for your enemies. The one who is not against you is for you. The one who is today far away will be near you tomorrow
His disciples asked him, When will we again be able to see you? He said, When you have undressed and are not ashamed.
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