5 "And it is written that on the day of the Passover youseized him, and likewise during the Passover you crucifiedhim." Dial., Ill; cf. Dial. 70; Matt, xxvi. 2, 17 ff., 30,57.
We may add that, as Justin so distinctly and directly refers to the Apostle John as the author of the Apocalypse,(1) there is confirmation of the conclusion, otherwise arrived at, that he did not, and could not, know the Gospel and also ascribe it to him. Finally, the description which Justin gives of the manner of teaching of Jesus excludes the idea that he knew the fourth Gospel. "Brief and concise were the sentences uttered by him: for he was no Sophist, but his word was the power of God."(2) No one could for a moment assert that this description applies to the long and artificial discourses of the fourth Gospel, whilst, on the other hand, it eminently describes the style of teaching in the Synoptics, with which the numerous Gospels in circulation amongst early Christians were, of course, more nearly allied.
The inevitable conclusion at which we must arrive is that, so far from indicating any acquaintance with the fourth Gospel, the writings of Justin not only do not furnish the slightest evidence of its existence, but offer presumptive testimony against its Apostolical origin.
Tischendorf only devotes a short note to Hegesippus,(3) and does not pretend to find in the fragments of his writings, preserved to us by Eusebius, or the details of his life which he has recorded, any evidence for our Gospels. Apologists generally admit that this source, at least, is barren of all testimony for the fourth Gospel, but Canon Westcott cannot renounce so important a witness without an effort, and he therefore boldly says: "When he, (Hegesippus) speaks of 'the door of Jesus' in his account of the death of St. James, there can be little
doubt that he alludes to the language of our Lord recorded by St. John."(1) The passage to which Canon Westcott refers, but which he does not quote, is as follows:—"Certain, therefore, of the seven heretical parties amongst the people, already described by me in the Memoirs, inquired of him, what was the door of Jesus; and he declared this ([———]—Jesus) to be the Saviour. From which some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the aforementioned heretics did not believe either a resurrection, or that he shall come to render to every one according to his works. As many as believed, however, did so, through James." The rulers fearing that the people would cause a tumult, from considering Jesus to be the Messiah [———], entreat James to persuade them concerning Jesus, and prevent their being deceived by him; and in order that he may be heard by the multitude, they place James upon a wing of the temple, and cry to him: "O just man, whom we all are bound to believe, inasmuch as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified, declare plainly to us what is the door of Jesus."(2) To find in this a reference to the fourth Gospel, requires a good deal of apologetic ingenuity. It is perfectly clear that, as an allusion to John x. 7, 9: "I am the door," the question: "What is the door of Jesus?" is mere nonsense, and the reply of James totally irrelevant. Such a question in reference to the discourse
in the fourth Gospel, moreover, in the mouths of the antagonistic Scribes and Pharisees, is quite inconceivable, and it is unreasonable to suppose that it has any connection with it. Various emendations of the text have been proposed to obviate the difficulty of the question, but none of these have been adopted, and it has now been generally accepted, that [———] is used in an idiomatic sense. The word is very frequently employed in such a manner, or symbolically, in the New Testament,(1) and by the Fathers. The Jews were well acquainted with a similar use of the word in the Old Testament, in some of the Messianic Psalms, as for instance: Ps. cxviii. 19, 20 (cxvii. 19, 20 Sept.). 19," Open to me the gates [———] of righteousness; entering into them, I will give praise to the Lord;" 20, "This is the gate [———] of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it"(2) Quoting this passage, Clement of Alexandria remarks: "But explaining the saying of the prophet, Barnabas adds: Many gates [———] being open, that which is in righteousness is in Christ, in which all those who enter are blessed."(3) Grabe explains the passage of Hegesippus, by a reference to the frequent allusions in Scripture to the two ways: one of light, the other of darkness; the one leading to life, the other to death; as well as the simile of two gates which is coupled with them, as in Matt. viL 13 ff. He, therefore, explains the question of the rulers: "What is the door of Jesus?" as an inquiry into the judgment of James concerning him:
whether he was a teacher of truth or a deceiver of the people; whether belief in him was the way and gate of life and salvation, or of death and perdition.(1) He refers as an illustration to the Epistle of Barnabas, xviii.: "There are two ways of teaching and of power: one of light, the other of darkness. But there is a great difference between the two ways."(2) The Epistle, under the symbol of the two ways, classifies the whole of the moral law.(3) In the Clementine Homilies, xviii. 17, there is a version of the saying, Matt. vii. 13f, derived from another source, in which "way" is more decidedly even than in our first Synoptic made the equivalent of "gate:" "Enter ye through the narrow and straitened way [———] through which ye shall enter into life." Eusebius himself, who has preserved the fragment, evidently understood it distinctly in the same sense, and he gave its true meaning in another of his works, where he paraphrases the question into an enquiry, as to the opinion which Jamas held concerning Jesus [———].(4)
This view is supported by many learned men, and Routh has pointed out that Ernesti considered he would have been right in making [———], doctrine, teaching, the equivalent of [———], although he admits that Eusebius does not once use it in his history, in connection with Christian doctrine.(5)
He might, however, have instanced this passage, in which it is clearly used in this sense, and so explained by Eusebius. In any other sense the question is simple nonsense. There is evidently no intention on the part of the Scribes and Pharisees here to ridicule, in asking: "What is the door of Jesus?" but they desire James to declare plainly to the people, what is the teaching of Jesus, and his personal pretension. To suppose that the rulers of the Jews set James upon a wing of the temple, in order that they might ask him a question, for the benefit of the multitude, based upon a discourse in the fourth Gospel, unknown to the Synoptics, and even in relation to which such an inquiry as: "What is the door of Jesus?" becomes mere ironical nonsense, surpasses all that we could have imagined even of apologetic zeal.
We have already(1) said all that is necessary with regard to Hegesippus, in connection with the Synoptics, and need not add more here. It is certain that had he said anything interesting about our Gospels and, we may say, particularly about the fourth, the fact would have been recorded by Eusebius.
Nor need we add much to our remarks regarding Papias of Hierapolis.(2) It is perfectly clear that the works of Matthew and Mark,(3) regarding which he records
3 It is evident that Papias did not regard the works by"Matthew" and "Mark" which he mentions, as of any authority.Indeed, all that he reports regarding the latter is merelyapologetic, and in deprecation of criticism.
such important particulars, are not the Gospels in our Canon, which pass under their names; he does not seem to have known anything of the third Synoptic; and there is no reason to suppose that he referred to the fourth Gospel or made use of it. He is, therefore, at least, a total blank so far as the Johannine Gospel and our third Synoptic are concerned, but he is more than this, and it may, we think, be concluded that Papias was not acquainted with any such Gospels which he regarded as Apostolic compositions, or authoritative documents. Had he said anything regarding the composition or authorship of the fourth Gospel, Eusebius would certainly have mentioned the fact, and this silence of Papias is strong presumptive evidence against the Johannine Gospel.(1) Tischendorfs argument in regard to the Phrygian Bishop is mainly directed to this point, and he maintains that the silence of Eusebius does not make Papias a witness against the fourth Gospel, and does not involve the conclusion that he did not know it, inasmuch as it was not, he affirms, the purpose of Eusebius to record the mention or use of the books of the New Testament which were not disputed.(2) It might be contended that this reasoning is opposed to the practice and express declaration of Eusebius himself, who says: "But in the course of the history I shall, with the successions (from the Apostles), carefully intimate what ecclesiastical writers of the various periods made use of
the Antilegomena (or disputed writings), and which of them, and what has been stated by these as well regarding the collected [———] and Homologumena (or accepted writings), as regarding those which are not of this kind."(1) It is not worth while, however, to dwell upon this, here. The argument in the case of Papias stands upon a broader basis. It is admitted that Eusebius engages carefully to record what ecclesiastical writers state regarding the Homologumena, and that he actually does so. Now Papias has himself expressed the high value he attached to tradition, and his eagerness in seeking information from the Presbyters. The statements regarding the Gospels composed by Matthew and Mark, quoted by Eusebius, are illustrative at once both of the information collected by Papias and of that cited by Eusebius. How comes it, then, that nothing whatever is said about the fourth Gospel, a work so peculiar and of such exceptional importance, said to be composed by the Apostle whom Jesus loved? Is it possible to suppose that when Papias collected from the Presbyter the facts which he has recorded concerning Matthew and Mark he would not also have inquired about a Gospel by John had he known of it? Is it possible that he could have had nothing interesting to tell about a work presenting so many striking and distinctive features? Had he collected any information on the subject he would certainly have recorded it, and as certainly Eusebius would have quoted what he said,(2) as he did the account of the other two Gospels, for he even mentions that Papias
made use of the 1st Epistle of John, and 1st Epistle of Peter, two equally accepted writings. The legitimate presumption, therefore, is that, as Eusebius did not mention the fact, he did not find anything regarding the fourth Gospel in the work of Papias, and that Papias was not acquainted with it. This presumption is confirmed by the circumstance that when Eusebius writes, elsewhere (H. E. iii. 24), of the order of the Gospels, and the composition of John's Gospel, he has no greater authority to give for his account than mere tradition: "they say" [———].
Proceeding from this merely negative argument, Tischendorf endeavours to show that not only is Papias not a witness against the fourth Gospel, but that he presents testimony in its favour. The first reason he advances is that Eusebius states: "The same (Papias) made use of testimonies out of the first Epistle of John, and likewise out of that of Peter."(l) On the supposed identity of the authorship of the Epistle and Gospel, Tischendorf, as in the case of Polycarp, claims this as evidence for the fourth Gospel. Eusebius, however, does not quote the passages upon which he bases this statement, and knowing his inaccuracy and the hasty and uncritical manner in which he and the Fathers generally jump at such conclusions, we must reject this as sufficient evidence that Papias really did use the Epistle, and that Eusebius did not adopt his opinion from a mere superficial analogy of passages.(2) But if it were certain that Papias actually quoted from the Epistle, it does not in the least follow that he
ascribed it to the Apostle John, and the use of the Epistle would scarcely affect the question as to the character and authorship of the fourth Gospel
The next testimony advanced by Tischendorf is indeed of an extraordinary character. There is a Latin MS. (Vat. Alex. 14) in the Vatican, which Tischendorf assigns to the ninth century, in which there is a preface by an unknown hand to the Gospel according to John, which commences as follows: "Evangelium iohannis manifestatum et datum est ecclesiis ab iohannc ad hue in corpore constituto, sicut papias nomine hicrapolitanus discipulus iohannis carus in exotericis id est in extremis quinque libris retulit." "The Gospel of John was published and given to the churches by John whilst he was still in the flesh, as Papias, named of Hierapolis, an esteemed disciple of John, related in his 'Exoterics' that is his last five books." Tischendorf says: "There can, therefore, be no more decided declaration made of the testimony of Papias for the Johannine Gospel."(1) He wishes to end the quotation here, and only refers to the continuation, which he is obliged to admit to be untenable, in a note. The passage proceeds: "Disscripsit vero evangelium dictante iohanne recte." "He (Papias) indeed wrote out the Gospel, John duly dictating;" then follows another passage regarding Marcion, representing him also as a contemporary of John, which Tischendorf likewise confesses to be untrue.(2) Now Tischendorf admits that the writer desires it to be understood that he derived the information that Papias wrote the fourth Gospel at the dictation of John likewise from the work of Papias, and as it is perfectly impossible, by his own admissions, that Papias, who was not a
contemporary of the Apostle, could have stated this, the whole passage is clearly fabulous and written by a person who never saw the book at all. This extraordinary piece of evidence is so obviously absurd that it is passed over in silence by other critics, even of the strongest apologetic tendency, and it stands here a pitiable instance of the arguments to which destitute criticism can be reduced.
In order to do full justice to the last of the arguments of Tischendorf, we shall give it in his own words: "Before we separate from Papias, we have still to consider one testimony for the Gospel of John which Irenæus, v. 36, § 2, quotes out of the very mouth of the Presbyters, those high authorities of Papias: 'And therefore, say they, the Lord declared: In my Father's house are many mansions(1) (John xiv. 2). As the Presbyters set this declaration in connection with the blessedness of the righteous in the City of God, in Paradise, in Heaven, according as they bear thirty, sixty, or one hundred-fold fruit, nothing is more probable than that Irenæus takes this whole declaration of the Presbyters, which he gives, §§ 1-2, like the preceding description of the thousand years' reign, from the work of Papias. But whether this be its origin or not, the authority of the Presbyters is in any case higher than that of Papias," &c.(1) Now in the quotation from Irenseus given in this
passage, Tischendorf renders the oblique construction of the text by inserting "say they," referring to the Presbyters of Papias, and, as he does not give the original, he should at least have indicated that these words are supplementary. We shall endeavour as briefly as possible to state the facts of the case.
Irenæus, with many quotations from Scripture, is arguing that our bodies are preserved, and that the Saints who have suffered so much in the flesh shall in that flesh receive the fruits of their labours. In v. 33, § 2, he refers to the saying given in Matt. xix. 29 (Luke xviii. 29, 30) that whosoever has left lands, &c., because of Christ shall receive a hundred-fold in this world, and in the next, eternal life; and then, enlarging on the abundance of the blessings in the Millennial kingdom, he affirms that Creation will be renovated, and the Earth acquire wonderful fertility, and he adds: § 3, "As the Presbyters who saw John the disciple of the Lord, remember that they heard from him, how the Lord taught concerning those times and said:" &c. ("Quemadmodum pres-byteri meminerunt, qui Joannem discipulum Domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo, quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat Dominus, et dicebat," &c.), and then he quotes the passage: "The days will come in which vines will grow each having ten thousand Branches," &c.; and "In like manner that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears," &c. With regard to these he says, at the beginning of the next paragraph, v. 33, § 4, "These things are testified in writing by Papias, a hearer of John and associate of Polycarp, an ancient
man, in the fourth of his books: for there were five books composed by him.(1) And he added saying: 'But these things are credible to believers. And Judas the traitor not believing, and asking how shall such growths be effected by the Lord, the Lord said: They who shall come to them shall see.' Prophesying of these times, therefore, Isaiah says: 'The Wolf also shall feed with the Lamb,' &c. &c. (quoting Isaiah xi. 6—9), and again he says, recapitulating: 'Wolves and lambs shall then feed together,'" &c. (quoting Isaiah lxv. 25), and so on, continuing his argument. It is clear that Irenæus introduces the quotation from Papias, and ending his reference at: "They who shall come to them shall see," he continues, with a quotation from Isaiah, his own train of reasoning. We give this passage to show the manner in which Irenæus proceeds. He then continues with the same subject, quoting (v. 34,35) Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, the Apocalypse, and sayings found in the New Testament bearing upon the Millennium. In c. 35 he argues that the prophecies he quotes of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apocalypse must not be allegorized away, but that they literally describe the blessings to be enjoyed, after the coming of Antichrist and the resurrection, in the New Jerusalem on earth, and he quotes Isaiah vi. 12, lx. 5, 21, and a long passage from Baruch iv. 36, v. 9 (which he ascribes to Jeremiah), Isaiah xlix. 16, Gala-tians iv. 26, Rev. xxi. 2, xx. 2—15, xxi. 1—6, all descriptive, as he maintains, of the Millennial kingdom prepared for the Saints; and then in v. 36, the last chapter of his work on Heresies, as if resuming his
1 Eusebius has preserved the Greek of this passage (H. E.,iii. 39), and goes on to contradict the statement of Irenæusthat Papias was a hearer and contemporary of the Apostles.Eusebius states that Papias in his prefaco by no meansasserts that he was.
previous argument, he proceeds:(1) § 1. "And that these things shall ever remain without end Isaiah says: 'For like as the new heaven and the new earth which I make remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name continue,'(2) and as the Presbyters say, then those who have been deemed worthy of living in heaven shall go thither, and others shall enjoy the delights of Paradise, and others shall possess the glory of the City; for everywhere the Saviour shall be seen as those who see him shall be worthy. § 2. But that there is this distinction of dwelling [———] of those bearing fruit the hundred fold, and of the (bearers) of the sixty fold, and of the (bearers of) the thirty fold: of whom some indeed shall be taken up into the heavens, some shall live in Paradise, and some shall inhabit the City, and that for this reason [———] propter hoc) the Lord declared: In the... (plural) of my Father are many mansions [———].(3) For all things are of God, who prepares for all the fitting habitation, as his Word says, that distribution is made to all by the Father according
as each is or shall be worthy. And this is the couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the Wedding. The Presbyters disciples of the Apostles state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance,"(1) &c. &c.
Now it is impossible for any one who attentively considers the whole of this passage, and who makes himself acquainted with the manner in which Irenæus conducts his argument, and interweaves it with quotations, to assert that the phrase we are considering must have been taken from a book referred to three chapters earlier, and was not introduced by Irenæus from some other source. In the passage from the commencement of the second paragraph Irenæus enlarges upon, and illustrates, what "the Presbyters say" regarding the blessedness of the saints, by quoting the view held as to the distinction between those bearing fruit thirty fold, sixty fold, and one hundred fold,(2) and the interpretation given of the
saying regarding "many mansions," but the source of his quotation is quite indefinite, and may simply be the exegesis of his own day. That this is probably the case is shown by the continuation: "And this is the Couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the Wedding"—an allusion to the marriage supper upon which Irenæus had previously enlarged;(1) immediately after which phrase, introduced by Irenæus himself, he says: "The Presbyters, the disciples of the apostles, state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved," &c. Now, if the preceding passages had been a mere quotation from the Presbyters of Papias, such a remark would have been out of place and useless, but being the exposition of the prevailing views, Irenæus confirms it and prepares to wind up the whole subject by the general statement that the Presbyters, the disciples of the Apostles, affirm that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance and ascend through the Spirit to the Son, and through the Son to the Father, &c., and a few sentences after he closes his work.
In no case, however, can it be legitimately affirmed that the citation of "the Presbyters," and the "Presbyters, disciples of the Apostles," is a reference to the work of Papias. When quoting "the Presbyters who saw John the disciple of the Lord," three chapters before, Irenæus distinctly states that Papias testifies what he quotes in writing in the fourth of his books, but there is nothing whatever to indicate that "the Presbyters," and "the Presbyters, disciples of the Apostles," subsequently referred to, after a complete change of context, have anything to do with Papias. The references to Presbyters in this
work of Irenæus are very numerous, and when we remember the importance which the Bishop of Lyons attached to "that tradition which comes from the Apostles, which is preserved in the churches by a succession of Presbyters,"(1) the reference before us assumes a very different complexion. In one place, Irenæus quotes "the divine Presbyter" [———], "the God-loving Presbyter" [———],(2) who wrote verses against the heretic Marcus. Elsewhere he supports his extraordinary statement that the public career of Jesus, instead of being limited to a single year, extended over a period of twenty years, and that he was nearly fifty when he suffered,(3) by the appeal: "As the gospel and all the Presbyters testify, who in Asia met with John the disciple of the Lord (stating) that these things were transmitted to them by John. For he continued among them till the times of Trajan."(4) That these Presbyters are not quoted from the work of Papias may be inferred from the fact that Eusebius, who had his work, quotes the passage from Irenseus without allusion to Papias, and as he adduces two witnesses only, Irenæus and Clement of Alexandria, to prove the assertion regarding John, he would certainly have referred to the earlier authority, had the work of Papias contained the statement, as he does for the stories regarding the
daughters of the Apostle Philip; the miracle in favour of Justus, and other matters.(1) We need not refer to Clement, nor to Polycarp, who had been "taught by Apostles," and the latter of whom Irenæus knew in his youth.(2) Irenæus in one place also gives a long account of the teaching of some one upon the sins of David and other men of old, which he introduces: "As I have heard from a certain Presbyter, who had heard it from those who had seen the Apostles, and from those who learnt from them."(3) &c. Further on, speaking evidently of a different person, he says: "In this manner also a Presbyter disciple of the Apostles, reasoned regarding the two Testaments:"(4) and quotes fully. In another place Irenæus, after quoting Gen. ii. 8, "And God planted a Paradise eastward in Eden," &c., states: "Wherefore the Presbyters who are disciples of the Apostles [———], say that those who were translated had been translated thither," there to remain till the consummation of all things awaiting immortality, and Irenæus explains that it was into this Paradise that Paul was caught up (2 Cor. xii. 4).(5) It seems highly probable that these "Presbyters the disciples of the Apostles" who are quoted on Paradise, are the same "Presbyters the disciples of the Apostles" referred to on the same subject (v. 36, §§ 1,2) whom we
are discussing, but there is nothing whatever to connect them with Papias. He also speaks of the Scptuagint translation of the Bible as the version of the "Presbyters,"(1) and on several occasions he calls Luke "the follower and disciple of the Apostles" (Sectator et discipulus apostolorum)(2), and characterizes Mark as "the interpreter and follower of Peter" (interpres et sectator Petri)(3), and refers to both as having learnt from the words of the Apostles.(4) Here is, therefore, a wide choice of Presbyters, including even Evangelists, to whom the reference of Irenæus may with equal right be ascribed,(5) so that it is unreasonable to claim it as an allusion to the work of Papias.(6) In fact, Dr. Tischendorf and Canon Westcott(7) stand almost alone in
5 In the New Testament the term Presbyter is even used inreference to Patriarchs and Prophets. Heb. xi. 2; cf.Matt xv. 2; Mark vii. 3, 5.6 With regard to the Presbyters quoted by Irenæusgenerally. Cf. Routh, Reliq. Sacrse, i. p. 47 ff.
advancing this passage as evidence that either Papias or his Presbyters(1) were acquainted with the fourth Gospel, and this renders the statement which is made by them without any discussion all the more indefensible. Scarcely a single writer, however apologetic, seriously cites it amongst the external testimonies for the early existence of the Gospel, and the few who do refer to the passage merely mention, in order to abandon, it.(2) So far as the question as to whether the fourth Gospel was mentioned in the work of Papias is concerned, the passage has practically never entered into the controversy at all, the great mass of critics having recognized that it is of no evidential value whatever, and, by common consent, tacitly excluded it.(3) It is
admitted that the Bishop of Hierapolis cannot be shown to have known the fourth Gospel, and the majority affirm that he actually was not acquainted with it. Being, therefore, so completely detached from Papias, it is obvious that the passage does not in any way assist the fourth Gospel, but becomes assignable to vague tradition, and subject to the cumulative force of objections, which prohibit an early date being ascribed to so indefinite a reference.
Before passing on there is one other point to mention: Andrew of Cæsarea, in the preface to his Commentary on the Apocalypse, mentions that Papias maintained "the credibility" [———] of that book, or in other words, its apostolic origin.(1) His strong millenarian opinions would naturally make such a composition stand high in his esteem, if indeed it did not materially contribute to the formation of his views, which is still more probable. Apologists admit the genuineness of this statement, nay, claim it as undoubted evidence of the acquaintance of Papias with the Apocalypse.(2) Canon Westcott, for instance, says: "He maintained, moreover, 'the divine inspiration' of the Apocalypse, and commented, at least, upon part of it."(3) Now, he must, therefore, have recognized the book as the work of the Apostle John, and we shall, hereafter, show that it is impossible that the author of the Apocalypse is the author of the Gospel; therefore, in this way also, Papias
is a witness against the Apostolic origin of the fourth Gospel.
We must now turn to the Clementine Homilies, although, as we have shown,(1) the uncertainty as to the date of this spurious work, and the late period which must undoubtedly he assigned to its composition, render its evidence of very little value for the canonical Gospels. The passages pointed out in the Homilies as indicating acquaintance with the fourth Gospel were long advanced with hesitation, and were generally felt to be inconclusive, but on the discovery of the concluding portion of the work and its publication by Dressel in 1853, it was found to contain a passage which apologists now claim as decisive evidence of the use of the Gospel, and which even succeeded in converting some independent critics.(2) Tischendorf(3) and Canon Westcott,(4) in the few lines devoted to the Clementines, do not refer to the earlier proof passages, but rely entirely upon that last discovered. With a view, however, to making the whole of the evidence clear, we shall give all of the supposed allusions to the fourth Gospel, confronting them with the text. The first is as follows:— [———]
[———]
The first point which is apparent here is that there is a total difference both in the language and real meaning of these two passages. The Homily uses the word [———] instead of the [———] of the Gospel, and speaks of the gate of life, instead of the door of the Sheepfold. We have already(1) discussed the passage in the Pastor of Hernias in which similar reference is made to the gate [———] into the kingdom of God, and need not here repeat our argument. In Matt. vii. 13, 14, we have the direct description of the gate [———] which leads to life [———], and we have elsewhere quoted the Messianic Psalm cxviii. 19, 20: "This is the gate of the Lord [———],(2) the righteous shall enter into it." In another place, the author of the Homilies, referring to a passage parallel to, but differing from, Matt. xxiii. 2, which we have elsewhere considered,(3) and which is derived from a Gospel different from ours, says: "Hearthem(Scribes and Pharisees who sit upon Moses' seat), he said, as entrusted with the key of the kingdom which is knowledge, which alone is able to open the gate of life [———], through which alone is the entrance to Eternal life."(4) Now in the very next chapter to that in which the saying which we are discussing occurs, a very few lines after it indeed, we have the following passage: "Indeed he said further: 'I am he
concerning whom Moses prophesied, saying: 'a prophet shall the Lord our God raise up to you from among your brethren as also (he raised) me; hear ye him regarding all things, but whosoever will not hear that prophet he shall die.'"(1) There is no such saying in the canonical Gospels or other books of the New Testament attributed to Jesus, but a quotation from Deuteronomy xviii. 15 f., materially different from this, occurs twice in the Acts of the Apostles, once being put into the mouth of Peter applied to Jesus,(2) and the second time also applied to him, being quoted by Stephen.(3) It is quite clear that the writer is quoting from uncanonical sources, and here is another express declaration regarding himself: "I am he," &c., which is quite in the spirit of the preceding passage which we are discussing, and probably derived from the same source. In another place we find the following argument: "But the way is the manner of life, as also Moses says: 'Behold I have set before thy face the way of life, and the way of death'(4) and in agreement the teacher said: 'Enter ye through the narrow and straitened way through which ye shall enter into life,' and in another place a certain person inquiring: 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' he intimated the Commandments of the Law."(5) It has to be observed that the Homilies teach the doctrine
that the spirit in Jesus Christ had already appeared in Adam, and by a species of transmigration passed through Moses and the Patriarchs and prophets: "who from the beginning of the world, changing names and forms, passes through Time [———] until, attaining his own seasons, being on account of his labours anointed by the mercy of God, he shall have rest for ever."(1) Just in the same way, therefore, as the Homilies represent Jesus as quoting a prophecy of Moses, and altering it to a personal declaration: "I am the prophet," &c., so here again they make him adopt this saying of Moses and, "being the true prophet," declare: "I am the gate or the way of life,"—inculcating the same commandments of the law which the Gospel of the Homilies represents Jesus as coming to confirm and not to abolish. The whole system of doctrine of the Clementines, as we shall presently see, indicated here even by the definition of "the true prophet," is so fundamentally opposed to that of the fourth Gospel that there is no reasonable ground for supposing that the author made use of it, and this brief saying, varying as it does in language and sense from the parallel in that work, cannot prove acquaintance with it. There is good reason to believe that the author of the fourth Gospel, who most undeniably derived materials from earlier Evangelical works, may have drawn from a source likewise used by the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and thence many analogies might well be presented with quotations from that or kindred Gospels.(2) We find, further, this community of source in the fact,
that in the fourth Gospel, without actual quotation, there is a reference to Moses, and, no doubt, to the very passage (Deut. xviii. 15), which the Gospel of the Clementines puts into the mouth of Jesus, John v. 46: "For had ye believed Moses ye would believe me, for he wrote of me." Whilst the Ebionite Gospel gave prominence to this view of the case, the dogmatic system of the Logos Gospel did not permit of more than mere reference to it.
The next passage pointed out as derived from the Johannine Gospel occurs in the same chapter: "My sheep hear my voice." [———]
There was no more common representation amongst the Jews of the relation between God and his people than that of a Shepherd and his Sheep,(1) nor any more current expression than: hearing his voice. This brief anonymous saying was in all probability derived from the same source as the preceding,(2) which cannot be identified with the fourth Gospel. Tradition, and the acknowledged existence of other written records of the teaching of Jesus oppose any exclusive claim to this fragmentary saying.
We have already discussed the third passage regarding the new birth in connection with Justin,(3) and may therefore pass on to the last and most important passage, to which we have referred as contained in the concluding portion of the Homilies first published by Dressel in
1853. We subjoin it in contrast with the parallel in the fourth Gospel [———]
It is necessary that we should consider the context of this passage in the Homily, the characteristics of which are markedly opposed to the theory that it was derived from the fourth Gospel We must mention that, in the Clementines, the Apostle Peter is represented as maintaining that the Scriptures are not all true, but are mixed up with what is false, and that on this account, and in order to inculcate the necessity of distinguishing between the true and the false, Jesus taught his disciples, "Be ye approved money changers,"(1) an injunction not found in our Gospels. One of the points which Peter denies is the fall of Adam, a doctrine which, as Neander remarked, "he must combat as blasphemy."(2) At the part we are
considering he is discussing with Simon,—under whose detested personality, as we have elsewhere shown, the Apostle Paul is really attacked,—and refuting the charges he brings forward regarding the origin and continuance of evil. The Apostle Peter in the course of the discussion asserts that evil is the same as pain and death, but that evil does not exist eternally and, indeed, does not really exist at all, for pain and death are only accidents without permanent force—pain is merely the disturbance of harmony, and death nothing but the separation of soul from body.(1) The passions also must be classed amongst the things which are accidental, and are not always to exist; but these, although capable of abuse, are in reality beneficial to the soul when properly restrained, and carry out the will of God. The man who gives them unbridled course ensures his own punishment.(2) Simon inquires why men die prematurely and periodical diseases come, and also visitations of demons and of madness and other afflictions; in reply to which Peter explains that parents by following their own pleasure in all things and neglecting proper sanitary considerations, produce a multitude of evils for their children, and this either through
carelessness or ignorance.(1) And then follows the passage we are discussing: "Wherefore also our Teacher," &c., and at the end of the quotation, he continues: "and truly such sufferings ensue in consequence of ignorance," and giving an instance,(2) he proceeds: "Now the sufferings which you before mentioned are the consequence of ignorance, and certainly not of an evil act, which has been committed,"(3) &c. Now it is quite apparent that the peculiar variation from the parallel in the fourth Gospel in the latter part of the quotation is not accidental, but is the point upon which the whole propriety of the quotation depends. In the Gospel of the Clementines the man is not blind from his birth, "that the works of God might be made manifest in him,"—a doctrine which would be revolting to the author of the Homilies,—but the calamity has befallen him in consequence of some error of ignorance on the part of his parents which brings its punishment; but "the power of God" is made manifest in healing the sins of ignorance. The reply of Jesus is a professed quotation, and it varies very substantially from the parallel in the Gospel, presenting evidently a distinctly different version of the episode. The substitution of [———] for [———] in the opening is also significant, more especially as Justin likewise in his general remark, which we have discussed, uses the same word. Assuming the passage in the fourth Gospel to be the account of a historical episode, as apologists, of course, maintain, the case stands thus:—The author of the Homilies introduces a narrative of a historical
incident in the life of Jesus, which may have been, and probably was, reported in many early gospels in language which, though analogous to, is at the same time decidedly different, in the part which is a professed quotation, from that of the fourth Gospel, and presents another and natural comment upon the central event. The reference to the historical incident is, of course, no evidence whatever of dependence on the fourth Gospel, which, although it may be the only accidentally surviving work which contains the narrative, had no prescriptive and exclusive property in it, and so far from the partial agreement in the narrative proving the use of the fourth Gospel, the only remarkable point is, that all narratives of the same event and reports of words actually spoken do not more perfectly agree, while, on the other hand, the very decided variation in the reply of Jesus, according to the Homily, from that given in the fourth Gospel leads to the distinct presumption that it is not the source of the quotation.
It is perfectly unreasonable to assert that such a reference, without the slightest indication of the source from which the author derived his information, must be dependent on one particular work, more especially when the part which is given as distinct quotation substantially differs from the record in that work. We have already illustrated this on several occasions, and may once more offer an instance. If the first Synoptic had unfortunately perished, like so many other gospels of the early Church, and in the Clementines we met with the quotation: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" [———], apologists would certainly assert, according to the principle upon which they act in
the present case, that this quotation was clear evidence of the use of Luke vi. 20: "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." [———], more especially as a few codices actually insert [———], the slight variations being merely ascribed to free quotation from memory. In point of fact, however, the third Synoptic might not at the time have been in existence, and the quotation might have been derived, as it is, from Matt. v. 3. Nothing is more certain and undeniable than the fact that the author of the fourth Gospel made use of materials derived from oral tradition and earlier records for its composition.(1) It is equally undeniable that other gospels had access to the same materials, and made use of them; and a comparison of our three Synoptics renders very evident the community of materials, including the use of the one by the other, as well as the diversity of literary handling to which those materials were subjected. It is impossible with reason to deny that the Gospel according to the Hebrews, for instance, as well as other earlier evangelical works now lost, may have drawn from the same sources as the fourth Gospel, and that narratives derived from the one may, therefore, present analogies with the other whilst still perfectly independent of it.(2) Whatever private opinion, therefore, any one may form as to the source of the anonymous quotations which we have been considering, it is evident that they are totally insufficient to prove that the Author of
the Clementine Homilies must have made use of the fourth Gospel, and consequently they do not establish even the contemporary existence of that work. If such quotations, moreover, could be traced with fifty times greater probability to the fourth Gospel, it is obvious that they could do nothing towards establishing its historical character and apostolic origin.
Leaving, however, the few and feeble analogies by which apologists vainly seek to establish the existence of the fourth Gospel and its use by the author of the pseudo-Clementine Homilies, and considering the question for a moment from a wider point of view, the results already attained are more than confirmed. The doctrines held and strongly enunciated in the Clementines seem to us to exclude the supposition that the author can have made use of a work so fundamentally at variance with all his views as the fourth Gospel, and it is certain that, holding those opinions, he could hardly have regarded such a Gospel as an apostolic and authoritative document. Space will not permit our entering adequately into this argument, and we must refer our readers to works more immediately devoted to the examination of the Homilies for a close analysis of their dogmatic teaching,(1) but we may in the briefest manner point out some of their more prominent doctrines in contrast with those of the Johannine Gospel.
One of the leading and most characteristic ideas of the Clementine Homilies is the essential identity of Judaism and Christianity. Christ revealed nothing new with regard to God, but promulgated the very same truth concerning him as Adam, Moses, and the Patriarchs, and in fact the right belief is that Moses and Jesus were essentially one and the same.(1) Indeed, it may be said that the teaching of the Homilies is more Jewish than Christian.(2) In the preliminary Epistle of the Apostle Peter to the Apostle James, when sending the book, Peter entreats that James will not give it to any of the Gentiles,(3) and James says: "Necessarily and rightly our Peter reminded us to take precautions for the security of the truth, that we should not communicate the books of his preachings, sent to us, indiscriminately to all, but to him who is good and discreet and chosen to teach, and who iscircumcised,(4) being faithful."(5) &c. Clement also is represented as describing his conversion to Christianity in the following terms: "For this cause I fled for refuge to the Holy God and Law of the Jews, with faith in the certain conclusion that, by the righteous judgment of God, both the Law is prescribed, and the soul beyond doubt everywhere receives
the desert of its actions."(1) Peter recommends the inhabitants of Tyre to follow what are really Jewish rites, and to hear "as the God-fearing Jews have heard "(2) The Jew has the same truth as the Christian: "For as there is one teaching by both (Moses and Jesus), God accepts him who believes either of these."(3) The Law was in fact given by Adam as a true prophet knowing all things, and it is called "Eternal," and neither to be abrogated by enemies nor falsified by the impious.(4) The author, therefore, protests against the idea that Christianity is any new thing, and insists that Jesus came to confirm, not abrogate, the Mosaic Law.(5) On the other hand the author of the fourth Gospel represents Christianity in strong contrast and antagonism to Judaism.(6) In his antithetical system, the religion of Jesus is opposed to Judaism as well as all other belief, as Light to Darkness and Life to Death.(7) The Law which Moses gave is treated as merely national, and neither of
general application nor intended to be permanent, being only addressed to the Jews. It is perpetually referred to as the "Law of the Jews," "your Law,"—and the Jewish festivals as Feasts of the Jews, and Jesus neither held the one in any consideration nor did he scruple to shew his indifference to the other.(1) The very name of "the Jews" indeed is used as an equivalent for the enemies of Christ.(2) The religion of Jesus is not only absolute, but it communicates knowledge of the Father which the Jews did not previously possess.(3) The inferiority of Mosaism is everywhere represented: "and out of his fulness all we received, and grace for grace. Because the Law was given through Moses;grace and truthcame through Jesus Christ."(4) "Verily verily I say unto you: Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven."(6) The fundamental difference of Christianity from Judaism will further appear as we proceed.
The most essential principle of the Clementines, again, is Monotheism,—the absolute oneness of God,—which the author vehemently maintains as well against the ascription of divinity to Christ as against heathen Polytheism and the Gnostic theory of the Demiurge as distinguished from the Supreme God.(6) Christ not only is not God,
but he never asserted himself to be so.(1) He wholly ignores the doctrine of the Logos, and his speculation is confined to the [———], the Wisdom of Proverbs viii., &c., and is, as we shall see, at the same time a less developed and very different doctrine from that of the fourth Gospel.(2) The idea of a hypostatic Trinity seems to be quite unknown to him, and would have been utterly abhorrent to his mind as sheer Polytheism. On the other hand, the fourth Gospel proclaims the doctrine of a hypostatic Trinity in a more advanced form than any other writing of the New Testament. It is, indeed, the fundamental principle of the work,(3) as the doctrine of the Logos is its most characteristic feature. In the beginning the "Word not only was with God, but "the Word was God" [———].(4)
He is the "only begotten God" [———],(5) equivalent to the "Second God" [———] of Philo, and, throughout, his absolutely divine nature is asserted both by the Evangelist, and in express terms in the discourses of Jesus.(6) Nothing could be more opposed to the principles of the Clementines.
According to the Homilies, the same Spirit, the [———], appeared in Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and finally in Jesus, who are the only "true prophets" and are called the seven Pillars [———] of the world.(1) These seven(2) persons, therefore, are identical, the same true Prophet and Spirit" who from the beginning of the world, changing names and forms, passes through Time,"(3) and these men were thus essentially the same as Jesus.(4) As Neander rightly observes, the author of the Homilies "saw in Jesus a new appearance of that Adam whom he had ever venerated as the source of all the true and divine in man."(5) We need not point out how different these views are from the Logos doctrine of the fourth Gospel.(6) In other points there is an equally wide gulf between the Clementines and the fourth Gospel. According to the author of the Homilies, the chief dogma of