[sinful discourse?] was found. (Variant to Mt18:22 in the Zion Gospel Ed.) 16. The other of the two rich men said to him (7): Master, what good thing
must I do that I may live? He said to him: Man, fulfil the law and the pro-
phets. He answered him: That have I done. He said to him: Go and sell all
that thou possessest and distributed it among the poor, and then come and
follow me. But the rich man then began to scratch his head and it [the say-
ing] pleased him not. And the Lord said to him: How canst thou say, I have
fulfilled the law and the prophets? For it stands written in the law: Love
thy neighbour as theyself; (1') and behold, many of thy brethren, sons of
Abraham, are begrimed with dirt and die of hunger - and thy house is full of
many good things and nothing at all comes forth from it to them! And he
turned and said to Simon, his disciple, who was sitting by him: 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. (Origen, Com. on Mt. XV 14
on 19:16ff. in the Latin rendering)
==2. Mt16:2f. (onwards from "When it was evening"); the saying is also lacking ==in S B phi sy(cs) sa. 3. Mt16:17;Jn1:42,21:15ff. 4. Lk17:4. 5. Mt18:21f.
==6. Jas3:2. 7. Mt19:16-24. 1'. Lv19:18.
17. In the Gospel which the Nazarenes use, instead of "son of Barachias" (2)
we have found written "son of Joiada". (3) (Jerome, Com. on Mt23:35) 18. But since the Gospel [written] in Hebrew characters which has come into
our hands enters the threat not against the man who had hid [the talent],
but against him who had lived dissolutely (4) - for he [the master] had
three servants: one who squandered his master's substance with harlots and
flute-girls (5), one who multiplied the gain, and one who hid the talent;
and accordingly one was accepted (with joy), another merely rebuked, and
another cast into into prison - I wonder whether in Matthew the threat which
is uttered after the word against the man who did nothing may refer not to
him, but by epanalepsis to the first who had feasted and drunk with the
drunken. (Eusebius, Theophania on Mt25:14f: Klostermann p9#15, not Gressman) 19. The Jewish Gospel: And he denied and swore and damned himself. (Mt26:74 Z) ==2. Mt23:35;Zech1:1. 3. 2Ch24:20ff. 4. Mt25:14-30. 5. Papyrus Oxy. 840.
20. Barabbas ... is interpreted in the so-called Gospel according to the
Hebrews as "son of their teacher". (Jerome, Com. on Mt. on 27:16) 21. But in the Gospel which is written in Hebrew characters we read not that
the veil of the temple was rent, but that the lintel of the temple of won-
drous size collapsed. (Jerome, Epist. 120 to Hedibia and Com. on Mt27:51) 22. The Jewish Gospel: And he delivered to them armed men that they might sit
over against the cave and guard it day and night. (Mt27:65 Variant, Zion) 23. He (Christ) himself taught the reason for the separations of souls (1)
that take place in houses, as we found somewhere in the Gospel that is
spread abroad among the Jews in the Hebrew tongue, in which it is said: I
choose (2) for myself the most worthy (3): the most worthy are those whom my
Father in heaven has not given me. (4) (Eusebius,Theo.-Syriac-IV12,Mt10:34f) EXAMPLES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES:
24. As it is said in the Gospel of the Nazaraeans: At this word of the Lord
(5) many thousands of the Jews who were standing round the cross became be-
lievers. (6) (Haimo of Auxerre, Com. on Is. on 53:12) 25. In the Gospel books which the Nazarenes use we read: Rays went forth from
his eyes, by which they were affrighted and fled. (7) (Aurora of Peter Riga) 26. These eight days of the Passover at which Christ, the Son of God, rose
again (8) signify eight days after the recurrence [?] of the Passover (9) at
which all the seed of Adam will be judged, (10) as is proclaimed in the Gos-
pel of the Hebrews; and for this reason the learned believe that the day of
judgment will be at Easter time, because on that day Christ rose again, that
on that day also the saints should rise again. (Cat. celtique 49; Studi ...) ==1. Mt10:34ff. 2. Jn13:18,15:16,19. 3. Mt10:13.
==4. Jn6:37,39,17:2,6,9;Mt11:27. 5. Lk23:34. 6. Lk23:48;GosOfPet7:25;GN35.
==7. Mt21:12ff. 8. Mk16:1-8 ||. 9. Rm4:25. 10. Rv20:11ff.
27. In these cities (namely Chorazin and Bethsaida) many wonders have been
wrought, (1) as their number the Gospel according to the Hebrews gives 53.
(Hist. Com. Lk., 10:13; MS:Clm. 6235, fol. 56r: cited by Bischoff in ...) 28. For thus the Gospel which is entitled "According to the Hebrews" reports:
When (2) Joseph looked out with his eyes, he saw a crowd of pilgrams who
were coming in company to the cave, (3) and he said: I will arise and go out
to meet them. And when Joseph went out, he said to Simon (4): It seems to me
as if those coming were soothsayers, for lo, every moment they look up to
heaven and confer one with another. But they seem also to be strangers, for
their appearance differs from ours; they have caps on their heads and their
garments seem to me to be silky, and they have breeches on their legs. And
lo, they have halted and are looking at me, and lo, they have again set
themselves in motion and are coming here. From these words it is clear that
not merely three men, but a crowd of pilgrims came to the Lord, even if ac-
cording to some the foremost leaders of this crowd were named with the de-
finite names Melchus, Caspar and Phadizarda. (Sedulius Scotus, Com. on Mt) 29. on Mt.ix.20 [a woman with an issue of blood] named Mariosa. on Mt.xii.10
"a man" by name Malchus and he was a mason. on Mt.xii.42 "the queen", namely
Meroe, "of the south", that is Aethiopia. (Com. Mt. MS: Wurzburg. ...) ==1. Lk10:13;Mt11:20f. 2. Mt2:9ff. 3. Jus.Dia.78;Prote.Jac.18,19,21. 4. Mk6:3?
30. on Lk.viii.42 "the daughter", that is the synagogue, whose name is Marios-
sa. on Lk.xi.31 "the queen of the south" whose name is Meruae. (MS:Clm 6235) From the "Historia passionis Domini", MS: Theolog. Sammelhandschrift saec.
XIV-XV, foll. 8-71 (saec. XIV):
31. [And he wiped their feet. (1)] And as it is said in the Gospel of the Naz-
araeans: He kissed the feet of each one of them. (2) (fol.25v) 32. And how the angel strengthened Christ in his struggle in prayer, (3) is
told in the Gosple of the Nazaraeans. And the same is also adduced by Anselm
in his lamentation: Be constant, Lord, for now comes the time in which
through thy passion mankind sold in Adam will be ransomed. (4) (fol.32r) 33. In the Gospel of the Nazaraeans the reason is given why John was known to
the high priest. (5) As he was the son of the poor fisherman Zebedee, (6) he
had often brought fish to the palace of the high priests Annas and Caiaphas.
And John went out to the damsel that kept the door and secured from her per-
mission for his companion Peter, who stood weeping loudly before the door,
to come in. (fol.35r)
34. We read in the Gospel of the Nazaraeans that the Jews bribed four soldiers
to scourge the Lord (7) so severely that the blood might flow from every
part of his body. They had also bribed the same soldiers to the end that
they crucified him as it is said in Jn. xix ... (fol.44r) ==1. Jn13:5. 2. Lk7:38-45. 3. Lk22:43ff. 4. Gal.3:13. 5. Jn18:15ff.
==6. Mk1:19f. 7. Mk15:15-20;Mt27:27-31;Jn19:1-3.
35. [Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (1)] Note that in
the Gospel of the Nazaraeans we have to read that at this virtuous discourse
of Christ eight thousand were later converted to the faith; namely three
thousand on the day of Pentecost as stated in the Acts of the Apostles ii,
(2) and subsequently five thousand about whom we are informed in the Acts of
the Apostles x [?]. (3) (fol.55r)
36. Also in the Gospel of the Nazaraeans we read that at the time of Christ's
death the lintel of the temple, of immense size, had split. (4) (Josephus
says the same and adds that overhead awful voices were heard which said: Let
us depart from this abode (5)). (fol65r) ==1. Lk23:34;GN24. 2. Acts2:41. 3. Acts4:4. 4. GN21. 5. Bell.Jud. VI,293-300.
Gospel of the Ebionites Fragments:
1. In the Gospel that is in general use amongst them, which is called accord-
ing to Matthew, which however is not whole (and) complete but forged and
mutilated - they call it the Hebrew Gospel - it is reported: There appeared
a certain man named Jesus of about thirty years of age, (1) who chose us.
(2) And when he came to Capernaum, (3) he entered into the house of Simon
(4) whose surname was Peter, (5) and opened his mouth and said: As I passed
along the Lake of Tiberias, (6) I chose John and James the sons of Zebedee,
and Simon and Andrew and Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the Isca-
riot, (7) and thee, Matthew, I called as thou didst sit at the receipt of
custom, and thou didst follow me. (8) You therefore I will to be twelve
apostles for a testimony unto Israel. (9) (Epiphanius, Haer. 30.13,2f.) ==1. Lk3:23. 2. Lk6:13. 3. Mk1:21;Lk4:31. 4. Mk1:29;Lk4:38. 5. Mt4:18. 6. Mk1: ==16;Mt4:18. 7. Mt10:2-4 ||. 8. Mt9:9. 9. Mt10:2,6;Mk3:14;Lk6:13;Barnabas8:3.
2. And: It came to pass that John was baptizing (1); and there went out to him
Pharisees and were baptized, (2) and all Jerusalem. (3) And John had a gar-
ment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his food, as
it saith, was wild honey, (4) the taste of which was like that of manna, as
a cake dipped in oil. (5) Thus they were resolved to pervert the word of
truth into a lie and to put a cake in the place of locusts. (ibid. 30.13,4f) 3. & the beginning of their Gospel runs: It came to pass in the days of Herod
the king of Judaea, (6) that there came
, John and baptized with the baptism of repentance in the
river Jordan. (8) It was said of him that he was of the lineage of Aaron the
priest, a son of Zacharias & Elisabeth; (9) & all went out to him. (10) (,6) 4. And after much has been recorded it proceeds: When the people were baptized
(11) Jesus also came and was baptized by John. (12) And as he came up from
the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Holy Spirit in the form of
a dove that descended (13) and entered into him. And a voice (sounded) from
heaven that said: Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased. (14)
And again: I have this day begotten thee. (15) And immediately a great light
shone round about the place. (16) When John saw this, it saith, he saith
unto him: Who art thou, Lord? And again a voice from heaven (rang out) to
him: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. (17) And then, it
saith, John fell down before him and said: I beseech thee, Lord, baptize
thou me. But he prevented him and said: Suffer it; for this it is fitting
that everything should be fulfilled. (1') (ibid. 30.13,7f.) ==1. Mk1:4 (Mt3:1). 2. Mt3:7. 3. Mt3:5;Mk1:5. 4. Mt3:4;Mk1:6.
==5. Ex16:31;Nm1:8. 6. Lk1:5. 7. Lk3:2. 8. Mk1:4f;Lk3:3. 9. Lk1:5-18,3:2.
==10. Mt3:5;Mk1:5. 11. Lk3:21. 12. Lk3:21;Mt3:13;Mk1:9. 13. Mt3:16 ||.
==14. Mk1:11. 15. Lk3:23 D;Ps2:7. 16. On the shining of a light at the baptism ==of Jesus cf. Walter Bauer, Leben Jesu, 134-139. 17. Mt3:17. 1'. Mt3:14f.
5. Moreover they deny that he was a man, evidently on the ground of the word
which the Saviour spoke when it was reported to him: "Behold, thy mother and
thy brethren stand without", namely: Who is my mother and who are my bre-
thren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples and said: These
are my brethren & mother & sisters, who do the will of my Father.(2) (.14.5) 6. They say that he (Christ) was not begotten of God the Father, but created
as one of the archangels ... that he rules over the angels and all the crea-
tures of the Almighty, and that he came and declared, as their Gospel, which
is called (according to Matthew? according to the Hebrews?), reports: I am
come to do away with sacrifices, (3) and if ye cease not from sacrificing,
the wrath of God will not cease from you. (4) (ibid. 30.16,4f.) 7. But they abandon the proper sequence of the words and pervert the saying,
(5) as is plain to all from the readings attached, and have let the disci-
ples say: Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee the passover? and him to
answer to that: Do I desire at this Passover to eat flesh with you? (.22,4) ==2. Mt12:47-50. 3. Mt5:17f. 4. Jn3:36b. 5. Mt26:17ff ||;Lk22:15.
Gospel of the Hebrews Fragments:
1. 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 therof. And the power
came into the world and it was called Mary, and Christ was in her womb seven
months. (From the Coptic translation of a discourse ascribed to Cyril of
Jerusalem, edited by E.A.W. Budge, Misc. Coptic Texts 1915, Coptic p.60 ...) 2. 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, (1) the
whole fount of the Holy Spirit descended upon him and rested on him (1') and
said to him: My Son, (2') in all the prophets was I waiting for thee that
thou shouldest come and I might rest in thee. (3') For thou art my rest;
(4') thou art my first-begotten Son (5') that reignest for ever. (6')
(Jerome, Comm. Is. IV on Is. 11:2)
==1. Mt3:16. 1'. I11:2,61:1. 2'. In the Coptic Epistle of James of the cod.
==Jung the risen Christ says to James and the disciples: "Soyez Elus, ==resseblez au Fils de l'Esprit Saint" (Peuch-Quispel, Vig. Chr. 8,1954,p.12) ==3'. Ecc24:7. 4'. Ps132:14. 5'. Ps2:7;Lk3:22 D;Mk1:11;Ex4:22;Jr31:9;Col1:15; ==Hebr1:6. 6'. Ps89:29f.;Lk1:33.
3. And if any accept the Gospel of the Hebrews - here the Saviour says: Even
so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, (7) take me by one of my hairs and carry
me away (8) on to the great mountain (9) Tabor. (Origen, Com. on Jn. II,12;
Hom. on Jer. XV,4; Jerome, Com. on Micah 7:6; Com. on I40:9; Ezek16:13) 4a. As also it stands written in the Gospel of the Hebrews: He that marvels
shall reign, and he that has reigned shall rest. (Clem. Alex., Strom.IIix45) 4b. To those words (10) this is equivalent: (11) He that seeks will not rest
until he finds; and he that has found shall marvel; and he that has marveled
shall reign; and he that has reigned shall rest. (12) (Clem. Alex. Strom.
V xiv, 96; cf. P. Oxy. 654 and the Coptic Gospel of Thomas p. 297 below) 5. 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. (13) (Jerome
Com. on Eph. 5:4)
==7. Mk1:12;Mt4:1. 8. Ezek8:3;Bel and the Dragon36. 9. Mt4:8.
==10. Plato,Timaeus 90. 11. Mt7:7;Lk11:9. 12. Mt11:28f; ==Clem. Alex. Quis dives salvetur 23,3;Corp.Hermet. 13,20. 13. Lk15:31f.
6. In the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which the Nazaraeans are wont to
read, there is counted among the most grievous offences: He that grieved the
spirit of his brother. (1) (Jerome, Com. on Ezek. 18:7) 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 re-
surrection of the Saviour: And when the Lord had given the linen cloth to
the servant of the priest, he went to James and appeared to him. (2) For
James had sworn that he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had
drunk the cup of the Lord until (3) he should see him risen from among them
that sleep. And shortly thereafter the Lord said: Bring a table and bread!
And immediately it is added: he took the bread, blessed it and brake it and
gave it (4) to James the Just & said to him: My brother, eat thy bread, for
the Son of man is risen from among them that sleep. (5) (Jerome, vir.inl.2) ==1. Mt18:6. 2. 1Cor15:7. 3. Mk14:25 ||. 4. Mk14:22 ||;1Cor11:23f. 5.Mk8:31 || ::::::::::::::
john
::::::::::::::
My dear children, I write this to you so you won't do wrong, but even if a person does do wrong, we have someone to intercede with God the Father: Jesus Christ, the just. He himself is the propitiatory offering for our offenses, and not just ours but those of all the world.
And the way we can tell if we really know him is by whether we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS. Anyone saying "I know him" who doesn't KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS is a liar and has no honesty in him. But if someone does keep his word, that person truly has perfect love for God: that's how we can tell that we are part of Christ. The person who says "I'm with Christ" is OBLIGATED to look at the PATH CHRIST FOLLOWED AND FOLLOW IT TOO.
Dear friends, I'm not sending you a NEW COMMANDMENT, but the same OLD one you've had from the very beginning. What is this OLD COMMANDMENT?
The message that you have already received. 1Jn2:1-7(Gaus)
See also Rm2:12-16,3:29-31; 1Th4; 2Th2; Jm1:19-27,2; 1Jn4;
Mt28:16-20,7:21-23,5:14-20,5-7
::::::::::::::
josephus
::::::::::::::
Some excerpts from Anchor Bible's _A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus_ by John P. Meier, 1991, ISBN:0-385-26425-9, pp.56-88: [CBD, #26425, (508)977-5000, $17.95]
The first and most important potential "witness" to Jesus' life and activity is the Jewish aristocrat, politician, soldier, turncoat, and historian, Joseph ben Matthias (ad 37/38 - sometime after 100). Known as Flavius Josephus from his patrons the Flavian emperors (Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian), he wrote two great works: _The Jewish War_, begun in the years immediately following the fall of Jerusalem in ad70, and the much longer _Jewish Antiquities_, written c. 93-94. Both books, at least in some versions, contain passages mentioning Jesus. The problem is that at least one passage is certainly a later Christian product. The question is: Are the other passages spurious as well?
The clearly unauthentic text is a long interpolation found only in the Old Russian (popularly known as the "Slavonic") verison of _The Jewish War_, surviving in Russian and Rumanian manuscripts. This passage is a wildly garbled condensation of various Gospel events, seasoned with the sort of bizarre legendary expansions found in apocryphal gospels and acts of the 2d and 3d centuries. ...
More difficult to judge are the two references to Jesus in _The Jewish Antiquities_. The shorter passage - and the one less disputed - occurs in a context where Josephus has just described the death of the procurator Festus and the appointment of Albinus as his successor (ad62). While Albinus is still on his way to Palestine, the high priest Ananus the Younger convenes the Sanhedrin without the procurator's consent and has certain enemies put to death. The key passage (Ant.
20.9.1 #200) reads: "Being therefore this kind of person [i.e., a heartless Sadducee], Ananus, thinking that he had a favorable opportunity because Festus had died and Albinus was still on his way, called a meeting [literally, "sanhedrin"] of judges and brought into it the brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah [ton adelphon Iesou tou legomenou Christou], James by name, and some others. He made the accusation that they had transgressed the law, and he handed them over to be stoned."
There are a number of intriguing points about this short passage.
First of all, unlike the text about Jesus from the Slavonic Josephus, this narrative is found in the main Greek-manuscript tradition of _The Antiquities_ without any notable variation. The early 4th-century Church historian Eusebius also quotes this passage from Josephus in his _Ecclesiastical History_ (2.23.22). ...
If we judge this short passage about James to be authentic, we are already aided in the much more difficult judgment about the second, longer, and more disputed text in Ant. 18.3.3 #63-64. This is the so-called _Testimonium Flavianum_ (i.e., the "testimony of Flavius Josephus"). Almost every opinion imaginable has been voiced on the authenticity or inauthenticity of this passage. Four basic positions can be distilled. (1) The entire account about Jesus is a Christian interpolation; Josephus simply did not mention Jesus in this section of _The Antiquities_. (2) While there are signs of heavy Christian redaction, some mention of Jesus at this point in _The Antiquities_ - perhaps a pejorative one - caused a Christian scribe to substitute his own positive account. The original wording as a whole has been lost, though some traces of what Josephus wrote may still be found. (3) The text before us is basically what Josephus wrote; the two or three insertions by a Christian scribe are easily isolated from the clearly non-Christian core. Often, however, scholars will proceed to make some modifications in the text after the insertions are omitted. (4) The _Testimonium_ is entirely by Josephus.
With a few exceptions, this last position has been given up today by the scholarly community. The first opinion has its respectable defenders but does not seen to be the majority view. Most recent opinions move somewhere within the spectrum of the second and third positions. It is perhaps symptomatic that among sustainers of some authentic substratum (plus Christian additions, changes, and deletions) are the Jewish scholars Paul Winter and Louis H. Feldman, the hardly orthodox Christian scholars S.G.F. Brandon and Morton Smith, main-line Protestant scholars like James H. Charlesworth, and Catholic scholars like Carlo M. Martini, Wolfgang Trilling, and A.-M. Dubarle.
As it stands in the Greek text of _The Antiquities (the so-called "Vulgate" text) [Loeb Classics: Josephus Antiquities Volume 9 (books 18-20 & index), ISBN:0-674-99477-9 -ph], the _Testimonium_ reads thus:
[I've added brackets around the three passages Meier claims are Christian forgery. Translation from the Greek is by Meier. -ph]
At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man [if indeed one should
call him a man.] For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of
people who receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following
both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. [He was the
Messiah.] And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the
leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved
him previously did not cease to do so. [For he appeared to them on the
third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of
these and countless other wondrous things about him.] And up until
this very day the tribe of Christians, named after him, has not died out.
At first glance, three passages within the _Testimonium_ strike one as obviously Christian:
(1) The proviso "if indeed one should call him a man" seeks to modify the previous designation of Jesus as simply a wise man. ...
(2) "He was the Messiah" is clearly a Christian profession of faith (cf. Luke 23:35; John 7:26; Acts 9:22 - each time with the houtos used here in Josephus, and each time in a context of Jewish unbelief.) This is something Josephus the Jew would never affirm. ...
(3)The affirmation of an appearance after death ("For he appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of these and countless other wondrous things about him") is also clearly a Christian profession of faith, including a creedal "according to the Scriptures" (cf. 1Cor15:5). ...
In short, the first impression of what is Christian interpolation may well be the correct impression. A second glance confirms this first impression. Precisely these three Christian passages are the clauses that interrupt the flow of what is otherwise a concise text carefully written in a fairly neutral - or even purposely ambiguous - tone:
[repeat quote without bracketed text]
The flow of thought is clear. Josephus calls Jesus by the generic title "wise man" (sophos aner, perhaps the Hebrew hakam). He then proceeds to "unpack" that generic designation with two of its main components in the Greco-Roman world: miracle working and effective teaching. This double display of "wisdom" wins him a large following among both Jews and Gentiles, and presumably - though no explicit reason is given - it is this huge success that moves the leading men to accuse him before Pilate. Despite his shameful death on the cross, his earlier adherents do not give up their loyalty to him, and so (note the transition that is much better without the reference to the resurrection) the tribe of Christians has not yet died out.
But even if these deletions do uncover an earlier text, is there sufficient reasom to claim that it comes from Josephus? The answer is yes; our initial, intuitive hypothesis can be confirmed by further considerations drawn from the text's history, context, language, and thought.
First of all, unlike the passage about Jesus in the Slavonic _Jewish War_, the _Testimonium_ is present in all the Greek manuscripts and in all the numerous manuscripts of the Latin translation, made by the school of Cassiodorus in the 6th century; variant versions in Arabic and Syriac have recently been added to the large inventory of indirect witnesses. These facts must be balanced, however, by the sobering realization that we have only three Greek manuscripts of Book 18 of _The Antiquities_, the earliest of which dates from the 11th century. One must also come to terms with the strange silence about the _Testimonium_ in the Church Fathers before Eusebius. I will return to this point at the end of the treatment of Josephus.
Second, once we have decided that the reference to "the brother of Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah, James by name" is an authentic part of the text in Book 20, some earlier references to Jesus becomes a priori likely. Significantly, in Ant. 20.9.1 Josephus thinks that, to explain who James is, it is sufficient to relate him to "Jesus-who-is-called-Messiah." Josephus does not feel that he must stop to explain who this Jesus is; he is presumed to be the known fixed point that helps locate James on the map. None of this would make any sense to Josephus' audience, which is basically Gentile, unless Josephus had previously introduced Jesus and explained something about him.
Of course, this does not prove that the text we have isolated in Ant.18.3.3 is the original one, but it does make probable that some references to Jesus stood here in the authentic text of _The Antiquities_.
Third, the vocabulary and grammer of the passage (after the clearly Christian material is removed) cohere well with Josephus' style and language; the same cannot be said when the test's vocabulary and grammar are compared with that of the NT. Indeed, many key words and phrases in the _Testimonium_ are either absent from the NT or are used there in an entirely different sense; in contrast, almost every word in the core of the _Testimonium_ is found elsewhere in Josephus - in fact, most of the vocabularly turns out to be characteristic of Josephus. ...
This comparison of vocabulary between Josephus and the NT does not provide a neat solution to the problem of authenticity, but it does force us to ask which of two possible scenarios is more probable. Did a Christian of some unknown century so immerse himself in the vocabulary and style of Josephus that, without the aid of any modern dictionaries and concordances, he was able to (1) strip himself of the NT vocabulary with which he would naturally speak of Jesus and (2) reproduce prefectly the Greek of Josephus for most of the _Testimonium_ - no doubt to create painstakingly an air of verisimilitude - while at the same time destroying that air with a few patently Christian affirmations? Or is it more likely that the core statement, (1) which we first isolated simply by extracting what would strike anyone at first glance as Christian affirmations, and (2) which we found to be written in typically Josephan vocabularly that diverged from the usage of the NT, was in fact written by Josephus himself? Of the two scenarios, I find the second much more probable.
These observations are bolstered by a fourth consideration, which dwells more on the content of what is said, especially its implied theological views. ...
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lawless
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Match for in NRSV:
Dn11:14,Mt23:28,24:12,Lk22:37,2Cr6:14,2Th2:3,7-9,1Tm1:9,Hb10:17,1Pt4:3,
2Pt2:7-8,3:17,1Jn3:4
Keywords: (Strong's)
H6530. periyts, per-eets'; from H6555; violent, i.e. a tyrant:--destroyer,
ravenous, robber. Ps17:4,I35:9,Jr7:11,Ez7:22,18:10,Dn11:14 G111. athemitos, ath-em'-ee-tos; from G1 (as a neg. particle) and a der.
of themis (statute: from the base of G5087); illegal; by impl.
flagitious:--abominable, unlawful thing. Ac10:28,1Pt4:3 G113. athesmos, ath'-es-mos; from G1 (as a neg. particle) and a der. of
G5087 (in the sense of enacting); lawless, i.e. (by impl.)
criminal:--wicked. 2Pt2:7,3:17
G264. hamartano, ham-ar-tan'-o; perh. from G1 (as a neg. particle) and
the base of G3313; prop. to miss the mark (and so not share in the
prize), i.e. (fig.) to err, esp. (mor.) to sin.--for your faults,
offend, sin, trespass. Occurs 43 times in 37 verses.
G266. hamartia, ham-ar'-tee'-ah; from G264; sin (prop.
abstr.):--offence, sin (-ful). [derived from archery - literally
"missing the mark"] Occurs 174 times 151 verses, 2Th2:3 G458. anomia, an-om-ee'-ah; from G459; illegality, i.e. violation of law
or (gen.) wickedness:--iniquity, X transgress (-ion of) the law,
unrighteousness. Mt7:23,13:41,23:28,24:12,Rm4:7,6:19,2Cr6:14,2Th2:7,Tt2:14,
Hb1:9,8:12,10:17,1Jh3:4
G459. anomos, an'-om-os; from G1[a] (as a neg. particle) and G3551[nomos];
lawless, i.e. (neg.) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by impl. a Gentile),
or (pos.) wicked:--without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked.
[= The AntiChrist] Mk15:28,Lk22:37,Ac2:23,1Cr9:21,2Th2:8,1Tm1:9,2Pt2:8 G460. anomos, an-om'-oce; adv. from G459; lawlessly, i.e. (spec.) not
amenable to (the Jewish) law:--without law. Romans 2:12 G500. antichristos, an-tee'-khris-tos: from G473 and G5547; an opponent of
the Messiah:--antichrist. 1Jn2:18,22,4:3,2Jn1:7 G3551. nomos, nom'-os; from a prim. nemo (to parcel out, espec. food or
grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), gen.
(regulation), spec. (of Moses [includ. the volume]; also of the Gospel),
or fig. (a principle):--law. Occurs 197 times in 158 verses.
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matt
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The Great Commission:
But the eleven students [mathetes:G3101] went on to Galilee, to the mountain Jesus named, and saw him and bowed before him, though some were hesitant.
And Jesus came forward and spoke to them, saying, "All authority [exousia:G1849] in the sky and earth is given to me. So go out and TEACH [matheteuo:G3100] ALL NATIONS [ethnos:G1484], bathing [baptizo:G907] them in the name of the Father, the son, and the holy spirit [pneuma:G4151], and TEACHING them to KEEP EVERYTHING I COMMANDED YOU. And do you see? I am with you, every day until the culmination of time." Mt28:16-20(Gaus)
Strong's:
G907. baptizo, bap-tid'-zo; from a der. of G911; to make whelmed (i.e.
fully wet); used only (in the N.T.) of ceremonial ablution, espec.
(techn.) of the ordinance of Chr. baptism:--baptist, baptize, wash. 80x/65v G1484. ethnos, eth'-nos; prob. from G1486; a race (as of the same habit),
i.e. a tribe; spec. a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by impl.
pagan):--Gentile, heathen, nation, people. Occurs 164 times in 152 verses.
H1471. gowy, go'ee; rarely (short.) goy, go'-ee; appar. from the same root
as H1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also
(fig.) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation,
people. Occurs 559 times in 512 verses in Hebrew Scriptures (OT).
G1849. exousia, ex-oo-see'-ah; from G1832 (in the sense of ability);
privilege, i.e. (subj.) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (obj.)
mastery (concr. magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control),
delegated influence:--authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right,
strength. Occurs 103 times in 93 verses.
G2222. zoe, dzo-ay'; from G2198; life (lit. or fig.):--life (-time).
Comp. G5590. Occurs 134 times in 126 verses.
G3100. matheteuo, math-ayt-yoo'-o; from G3101; intrans. to become a
pupil; trans. to disciple, i.e. enrol as scholar:--be disciple,
instruct, teach. Mt13:52,27:57,28:19,Ac14:21.
G3101. mathetes, math-ay-tes'; from G3129; a learner, i.e. pupil:
--disciple. Occurs 268 times in 252 verses.
G4151. pneuma, pnyoo'-mah; from G4154; a current of air, i.e. breath
(blast) or a breeze; by anal. or fig. a spirit, i.e. (human) the
rational soul, (by impl.) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or
(superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the
Holy Spirit:--ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Comp. G5590.
[Said properly, the word contains an audible puff of air: p(ah)nyu-mah]
Occurs 385 times in 350 verses. Equivalent to Hebrew ruwach:H7307 G5590. psuche, psoo-khay'; from G5594; breath, i.e. (by impl.) spirit, abstr.
or concr. (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the
one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the
other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus
exactly correspond respectively to the Heb. H5315, H7307 and H2416):
--heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you. 105 times in 94 verses.
The Critical Importance of Righteousness [Faith + Works]: "Not everyone saying 'Lord, Lord' to me will get into the kingdom of the skies [Christian Heaven], BUT ONLY those who do the WILL of my Father in the skies. MANY will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and exorcise demons in your name and work many wonders in your name?' And I will say to them, 'I must confess I never met you; go away from me, workers of LAWLESSNESS [anomia:G458]. '" Mt7:21-23(Gaus)
Strong's:
G458. anomia, an-om-ee'-ah; from G459; illegality, i.e. violation of law
or (gen.) wickedness:--iniquity, X transgress (-ion of) the law,
unrighteousness. Mt7:23,13:41,23:28,24:12,Rm4:7,6:19,2Cr6:14,2Th2:7,Tt2:14,
Hb1:9,8:12,10:17,1Jh3:4
G459. anomos, an'-om-os; from G1[a] (as a neg. particle) and G3551[nomos];
lawless, i.e. (neg.) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by impl. a Gentile),
or (pos.) wicked:--without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked.
[= The AntiChrist] Mk15:28,Lk22:37,Ac2:23,1Cr9:21,2Th2:8,1Tm1:9,2Pt2:8 G460. anomos, an-om'-oce; adv. from G459; lawlessly, i.e. (spec.) not
amenable to (the Jewish) law:--without law. Romans 2:12 G500. antichristos, an-tee'-khris-tos: from G473 and G5547; an opponent of
the Messiah:--antichrist. 1John2:18,22,4:3, 2John1:7 G3551. nomos, nom'-os; from a prim. nemo (to parcel out, espec. food or
grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), gen.
(regulation), spec. (of Moses [includ. the volume]; also of the Gospel),
or fig. (a principle):--law. Occurs 197 times in 158 verses.
Intro to Jesus' teaching on the Law:
"You are the light of the world. A city can't be hidden lying on a mountaintop. Nor do people light a candle and cover it with a big basket; they put it up on a tall candlestick where it can shine for everyone in the house. That's how your light must shine in front of the world, so that people see your good deeds [ergon:G2041] and give credit to your Father in the skies. Don't think I came to dissolve the Law [nomos:G3551] or the Prophets: I didn't come to dissolve them, I came to fulfill them.
I assure you, till the sky and the earth go away, not one letter [iota:G2503] [Hebrew:yodh] or punctuation mark [keraia:G2762] [Hebrew:qots] of the Law [nomos:G3551] will ever go away until everything has come to pass. So ANYONE who dissolves even one of the smallest commands and TEACHES others the same way, will be known as the lowest in the kingdom of the skies; whereas anyone who keeps the commands and TEACHES them too, will be known as someone great in the kingdom of the skies. I'm telling you, if you don't brim over with justice [dikaiosune:G1243] more than the canon-lawyers and Pharisees, you will not get into the kingdom of the skies." Mt5:14-20(Gaus)
Technical terms:
Law: Torah/Pentateuch: Genesis/Exodus/Leviticus/Numbers/Deuteronomy Prophets: 7 major: Joshua/Judges/Samuel/Kings/Isaiah/Jeremiah/Ezekiel
12 minor: Hosea/Joel/Amos/Ob/Jonah/Micah/Nah/Hab/Zep/Hag/Zec/Mal yodh: the smallest Hebrew letter, see Alphabet in Dictionary qots: the small stroke or horn or tittle on the lower right hand corner
that distinguishes the beth from a kaph, see Alphabet in Dictionary
Strong's:
G1343. dikaiosune, dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay; from G1342; equity (of character
or act); spec. (Chr.) justification:--righteousness. 93 times in 85 verses.
G2041. ergon, er'-gon; from a prim. (but obsol.) ergo (to work); toil
(as an effort or occupation); by impl. an act:--deed, doing, labour, work.
Occurs 176 times in 161 verses.
G2503. iota, ee-o'-tah; of Heb. or. [the tenth letter of the Heb.
alphabet: yodh]; "iota", the name of the ninth letter of the Gr. alphabet,
put (fig.) for a very small part of anything:--jot. Mt5:18.
G2762. keraia, ker-ah'-yah; fem. of a presumed der. of the base of
G2768; something horn-like, i.e. (spec.) the apex of a Heb. letter (fig.
the least particle):--tittle. Mt5:18,Lk16:17
Gaus' Glossary, pg. 502-503: [ISBN:0-933999-99-2] Righteousness - dikaiosyne. What in heaven's name is "righteousness"?
Paul never stops talking of it; it's evidently the most important thing to have. But it keeps slipping out of our grasp, especially when you try to make one passage harmonize with another as to its meaning. You might say it's the religious equivalent of being law-abiding citizens; etymologically it means "being just." The basic confusion is one of active versus passive [Works versus Faith]. Sometimes "being just" is active and means "justice in action" or "acting like upright people." Just as often, though, and particulary in some of the knotty passages in Romans, "being just" is passive and means "being classed among the just," "being acquitted," or "being cleared of guilt." But what I called the "basic confusion" above is really only a confusion to us as modern readers: both active and passive meanings are consistent with Paul's thought and the New Testament's thought generally. Good standing with God, as both Jesus and Paul say, is originally passive in origin, because you can't earn it, it can only be conferred by God's free gift.
But it then presumably continues in active mode as you start to live like the saved children of God that you are. American readers must clear aside an additional obstacle here: the underlying notion of *conferred merit* does not square well with the American national philosophy that you stand or fall by your own actions and nothing else. But by Paul's classification, that philosophy would not be righteousness, but self-righteousness.
See Mt5-7, the Sermon on the Mount, for details.
See also Rm2:12-16,3:29-31; 1Th4; 2Th2; Jm1:19-27,2; 1Jn2:1-7,4 ::::::::::::::
mattprio
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Why was the Gospel of Matthew given priority in the early Greco-Roman Church?
202?: Irenaeus: bishop of Lyons, supports Quartodecimans in Easter controversy
against Pope Victor in 190, wrote "Against Heresies" in Greek (lost), extant
Latin; "... they have apostatized in their opinions from Him who is God, and
imagined that they have themselves discovered more than the apostles, by
finding out another god; & that the apostles preached the Gospel still some-
what under the influence of Jewish opinions, but that they themselves are
purer, and more intelligent, than the apostles." [AH3.12.12,ANF,v.1]
The teachings of the 12 Apostles, even though they were Jewish, were of great importance to the early Greco-Roman Church.
Where can one find the teachings of the 12 Apostles?
The Septuagint? (Greek OT)
91-101: Pope Clement I: Phil4:3?, wrote to Corinth in 95: "1 Clement" (AF)
{...Clement's Bible is the Old Testament, to which he refers repeatedly as
Scripture (graphe), quoting it with more or less exactness. Clement also
makes occasional reference to certain words of Jesus; though they are
authoritative for him, he does not appear to enquire how their authenticity
is ensured. In two of the three instances that he speaks of remembering 'the
words' of Christ or of the Lord Jesus, it seems that he has a written record
in mind, but he does not call it a 'gospel'. He knows several of Paul's
epistles, and values them highly for their content; the same can be said of
the Epistle to the Hebrews, with which he is well acquainted. Although these
writings obviously possess for Clement considerable significance, he never
refers to them as authoritative 'Scripture'.} [Canon NT,Metzger,p.43]
The Bishop?
110?: Ignatius: bishop of Antioch, martyred in Rome, letters subject to heavy
Christian forgery, advocated bishop: "careful not to oppose the bishop, in
order that we may be obedient to God. ... regard the bishop as the Lord him-
self." [IEph5-6]; "godly bishop ... presiding in the place of God ... Lord
did nothing without the Father, ... so you must not do anything without the
bishop ... be subject to the bishop ... as Jesus Christ in the flesh was to
the Father," [IMag2,6-7,13]; "subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ, ...
respect the bishop, who is a model of the Father," [ITr2-3]; "follow the
bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, ... one who honors the bishop
has been honored by God;" [ISmy8-9] (Apostolic Fathers)
The Epistles of Paul of Tarsus?
Paul of Tarsus was not one of the 12 Apostles and he opposed them and the Jerusalem Church of Peter and James. Paul of Tarsus never knew Jesus the man. Paul of Tarsus himself had trouble with his own converts, hardly surprising given they were pagans and called him God come down to earth.
Paul of Tarsus was rejected by the Nazarenes and other early Christians.
The Gnostic Valentinus claimed to teach the "Secret Wisdom" of Paul [Rm16:25,1Cor2:7]. Besides all of Paul's letters were private letters to specific churches, not stand alone gospels or teachings.
The Gospel of John?
The Gospel of John was the favorite of the Gnostics and was rejected by many for just this reason. The Gospel of John was the source of many heresies, such as the Montanists, like Tertullian.
Luke, Acts or Mark?
Luke and Mark were not one of the 12 Apostles, in fact, according to Papias, Mark didn't even follow Jesus but followed Peter (his Bishop?).
Which leaves only the Gospel of Matthew. According to oral tradition (Papias) Matthew was one of the 12 Apostles and he recorded the sayings of Jesus in Aramaic. But the Greco-Roman Church didn't know Aramaic [excluding scholars such as Jerome who valued the Jewish-Christian Gospels highly] and in fact rejected the Aramaic Nazarenes who were the followers of the Jerusalem Church of Peter and James. Thus the Greek Gospel of Matthew.
339?: Eusebius: bishop of Caesarea, b.260?, cites "Caesarean" NT text-type,
wrote: "Ecclesiastical History" (EH); Loeb Classics: 2 volumes (Greek);
quoting Papias bishop of Hierapolis (130?): {"And the Presbyter used to say this, 'Mark became Peter's interpreter and wrote
accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said
or done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had he followed him,
but later on, as I said, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as
necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord's
oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points
as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out
nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them.'" This
is related by Papias about Mark, and about Matthew this was said, "Matthew
collected the oracles in the Hebrew language , and each interpreted
them as best he could."}[EH3.39.14-16(Loeb)]; Eusebius' NT Canon [EH3.3,25]:
Recognized: 4 Holy Gospels, Acts, 10 Pauline Letters, 1-2Tim, Tit, 1Pt, 1Jn;
Disputed: Didache, Barnabas, Hermas, Diatessaron, Jewish-Christian Gospels,
Hebrews, Acts of Paul, James, 2Pt, 2-3Jn, Jude, Rev, Apocalypse of Peter
Rejected: Gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, Acts of Andrew, John ...
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parthenos
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