NON-CANONICAL ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

Introduction

There were many available to early Christians_not just the Mat_ thew, Mark, Luke, and John familiar to readers of the New TesLment today. Even though most of these othei Gospels have become lost from public The Çospel of the Nazareans some were highly influential within orthodox -view, circles throughout the Middle Ages. These would include, for example, the inniguint Infancy of rhomas, which tells of the miraculous and often mischievous deeds of as a young boy between the ages of five and twelve, and the so-called hoto-Gospel of James, which records events leading up to (and including) Jesus'birth by rccounting the miraculous birth, early life, and betrothal of his motheç the virgin Mary-an account highly induential on pictorial art in subsequent centuries. Jewish in the early centuries of the church were widely thought Others of these Gospels played a significant role in one community or to have preferred the to all others, since it is Matthew another in antiquity, but came to be lost-known to us only by name until that shesses the importance of keeping the Jewish Law down to every jot modern times, when uncovered by professional archaeologists looking for and tittle (5: I 7-20) and that emphasizes, more than any other, the Jewishness them or by accident. of these, some have been uncovered in their of Jesus.r According to a number of ancient sources, one gKrup of Jewish "nti."ty; as is the case of the Coptic Gospet of Thomas, a collection of I 14 sayings Christians, sometimes known as the Nazareans, produced their own version of Jesus, some evidently representing actual teachings of the historical iesus, of Matthew, translated into , the language of Jesus and of Jews but others conveying "gnostic" understandings of J"ror' message. other living in Palestinê.2 This version would have been pfoduced sometime nea¡ Gospels have been recovered only in fragments, including thã famous the end of the first century or the beginning of the second, peter, Gospel allegedly written by Jesus' apostle, which, among otherthings, Eventually this "Gospel of the Nazareans" fell into disfavor with the 'records the actual events of the resuûection, in which Jesus ir r""n Christian community at large, both because few Christians in later centuries from his tomb, yet tall as a giant. others are known only as they are"."rgiig brien! could read Aramaic and because the Gospel's Jewish emphases were con- quoted by church fathers who cite them in order to malign their views, sidered suspicious. As a result, the Gospel came to be lost. Now we know including several Gospers used by various groups of Jewish christians in of it only through quotations of its text by church fathers like , and the early centuries of the church. by references to it in the margins of several Greek manuscripts of the Gospel have I included fifteen of our earliest non-canonical Gospels in the collection "*ttfi:sg"ti#iff;'reveal here. They are of varying theological persuasion: sorne appear to clearly the Jewish-christian concerns of the be perfectly "orthodox" in their views (e.g., Eg"rton papyrus 2Ì others Gospel and show that the Gospel cóntained stories of lesus' baptism, public represent a form Jewish of christianity that later came to be condemned as ministr¡ death, and resurrection. It evidently did not include, however, the heretical (e.g., the Gospel of the Nazareans); yet others appear to have been frrst two chapters of Matthew's Gospel, which record the events surrounding wriuen ..Gnostics,'r by early Christian (e.g., the Cospei ãf philip). These Jesus'miraculous birth. For according to many Jewish Christians, Jesus was t:xts-arg not completely representative of the various forms of early Chris- not born of a virgin, but was a natural human being who was specially tian belief about Jesus' words, deeds, and activities; but since they derive chosen to be the messiah because God considered him to be more righteous from a wide range of time and place from within the fi¡st th¡ee ceniuries of than anyone else. early christianity, they give some sense of the rich diversity of christian Today scholars debate whether the church fathers were right in thinking views from this early period of the church. that the Gospel of the Nazareans was an Aramaic version of Matthew; it may have instead been an original composition, in Aramaic, based on oral üaditions about Jesus that were in wide circulation and available both to this author and the author of Matthew.

rS@ Bart D. ElrmÀn,The New Tþstament: A H¡storícal Intruductìonto the Earb Chríst¡anwñtings, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford, 2003), chap. 7. 25æ Elrmm, to¡t Christianit¡es,99-103.

f Translqtion by Bart D. Ehrman, based on the Greek, Latin, and Syriac texts in A. F. J. For thc views of Gnostics, rc Ehmm, Zos, Chrtstiarit¡es,11314. Klijn, Jewish-Christian Gospel Traditioz (VCSupp 17; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992) 47-1 15. I 10 NON-CANONICAL qOSPELS THE çOSPEL OF THE NAZ"AREANS 11

The following are the fragments of the Gospel quoted in our surviving sources, split apart." (Jerome, Commentary on . On Matthew 7:5. In this place the Matthew 27, 5l) Iewish Gospel reads: "Even if you a¡e resting on my breast but do not In the Gospel according to the He- do the will of my Father in heaven, It is written in a certain I Gospel that locked up in prison. (Eusebius, Iåao_ I is called ,.according I brews, which was actually written I will cast you away from my to the He_ phania, 4,22) in the Chaldean or Syriac language but breast." (MS 1424) brews" (ifin any event anyofie is inclined with Hebrew letters, which the Nazareans . On Matthew 10:16. The Jewish to accept it, not as an authorit¡ but to But [the Lord] taught abour the rea- still use today and which is the Gospel Gospel says, "more than serpents." shed some light on the question we have 3 son for the division of the souls in according to the Apostles, or, as most (MS 1424) posed) that the houses, as another ¡ich man asked [Je_ we have found somewhere believe, according to Matthew-a Gospel . On Matthew ll:12. The Jewish susl, "Master, what good thing must I do in the Gospel used by the Jews and wriþ ,,O ..I that can also be found in the library of Gospel reads, 'þlunders." (MS to have life?" He replied to him, man, ten in Hebrew, where he says will Caesarea-the following story is found: 1424) you should keep the law and the proph_ choose for myself those who are god_ .I "Behold, the mother of the Lord and his . On Matthew ll:25. The Jewish ets." He responded, have already dõne those given to me by my Father in ..Go, brothers were saying to him, 'John the Gospel says, 'lI give you thanks." thar." Iesus said ro him, sell all that heaven." (Eueebius, Theophaniø 4, 12) Baptist is baptizing for the remission of (MS 1424) you have and distribute the proceeds to , In the Gospel that ..ac- sins. I-et us go and be baptized by him.' . On Matthew 12:40. The Jewish the poor; then come, follow me." is called 4 cording to the Hebrews," But he replied to them, 'What sin have I Gospel does not read, "Three days But the rich man began to scratch his for the head, for words, "bread to sustain our lives,' I committed that I should go to be baptized and three nights." (MS 899) he was not pleased. And the ..mahar," ..How found the word which by him? Unless possibly what I just said . On Matthew 15:5. The Jewish Lord said to him, can you say, .I means "[bread] for tomorrow." (Jerome, was spoken in ignorance."' (Jerome, Gospel yo.u have kept the law and the prophets?;For Com_ says, "That which .you mentaty on Matthew,6, Against the Pelngians, 3, 2) would have had as a beneût from it is written in the law, shall love ll) your neighbor as yourself.' us is now an offering lto the Tem- But look, Ih the Gospel that the Nazareans many à And in the same volume the ple?1." (MS 1424) of your brothers, sons of Abraham, and \, use, which I recently following found: "[Jesus] . are clothed in excrement 10 is On Matthew 16:2-3. The passages and dying of hanslated from Hebrew into Greek, hunger and said, 'If your brother sins by speaking a marked with an asterisk are not set while your house is filled ;ith which most people consider the authentic word against you, but then makes up good things, not it forth in other copies, nor in the lany one of which goes version of Matthew, the man with a with_ to you, you should accept him seven Jewish Gospel. (MS 1424) forth to these others." He tumed and said ered hand is described as a mason, who times a day.' His discþle said to . to his disciple Simon, Simon On Matthew 16:17. The Jewish sitting beside him, sought for help in wordg like ,I "Simon, these: him, 'Seven times in a day?'The Lord Gospel says, "son of John," (MS son of Jonah, it is easier for a was a mason who made a living with my responded, 'Yes indeed, I tell you-even 566) camel to pass through the eye ofa needle hands; I beseech you, Jesus, restore than for my up to sevénty times sevent For even . On Matthew 18:22. After the a rich person to enter the king- health so I do not have to beg for food among the prophets, after they were words "seventy times seven" dom of heaven." (, Commentaly the shamefully." (Jerome, Commentary on on Matthew, anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of Jewish Gospel reads: "For even 15, 14) Matthew, 12, 13) sin was found."' (Ierome, Against the among the prophets, after they Pelagíans,3,2) were anointed by the Holy Spirit, In the Gospel the Nazareans use, a word of sin was found." (MSS O [Cf. Matt. 25:14-jO] For the Gos_ V we find "son of Johoiada" instead ^ s66, 899) L pel that has come down to us in of "son of Barachia." (Jerome, Commen- Variant Readings Noted ln New . On Hebrew letters makes the threat not tary on Matthew 23,35) Matthew 26:74. The lewish Ibstament against the one who hid the (master,s) Manuscrlpts Gospel says, "And he made a de- The name of rhat (i.e., money but against the one who engaged 7 one Barab_ nial, and swore, and cursed." / bas) is interpreted to mean ,,son . On Matthew 4:5. The Jewish (MSS 4, 273,899,1414) in riotous living. For [the master] had of their master" in the Gospel does not have, "into . three slaves, one who used up his fortune Gospel written ac_ 11 On Matthew 27:65. The lewish cording to the Hebrews. (Jerome, the holy city,'but "in Jeru- Gospel says, gave with whores and flute-players, one who Coz_ 'And he them mentary on Matthew 27,16) salem." (MS 566) armed men invested the money and increased its . to sit opposite the cave, value, and one who On Matthew 5:22. The words to keep watch over it day and hid it. The first was In the Gospel we have often re- "without cause" are not present in night." (MS 1424) welcomed with open arms, the second ..the B ferred to, we read that enor- was blamed, and some copies, nor in the Jewish only the third was mous lintel of the temple was broken and Gospel. (MS 1424)