The many and widely divergent forms of Christianity known to us today are all claimed to be based on the New Testament, an internally divisive anthology of 27 books. But when one researches the vast array of writings by various Christian groups in the early centuries following Jesus' death that were eventually excluded from the proto-orthodox canon, one discovers that Christianity outside the canon was even more diverse than Christianity within the canon. Today there are over 2,000 different denominations under the umbrella of Christianity that are all derived from an interpretation of the New Testament canon. In light of this, it is no small thing to consider just how much more diverse Christianity was in its developmental stages, when many competing theologies were everywhere to be found. In the non-canonical and "apocryphal" Christian texts that have been uncovered in recent years, we are confronted with conflicting views of Jesus Christ's life and teachings. Thus, in the beginning there was no unified emergence of Christianity to be found, but rather a numerous array of differing branches and versions at odds with one another.
Many of these non-canonical works that were later deemed "heretical" by the group that eventually won out and thus became "orthodox" fall into several different schools of thought. The subject of the essay at hand will focus on one of these schools of thought and the gospel that bears their name and philosophy. This branch of early Christianity was known as the Ebionites.
The Ebionites were Jewish Christians. Rather than viewing Christianity as a break from their Jewish faith, they viewed it as a new development within Judaism. They interpreted Christianity as a fulfillment of the expectations of Judaism, not as a divorce from Judaism. They maintained that Jesus was the Messiah to the Jews sent from the Jewish God and that Christianity was therefore first and foremost a Jewish religion not to be fragmented and divided from it. Because they held fast to the belief that they were upholding Jesus' true message, they claimed to be the spiritual descendants of Jesus' first followers who were carrying on the work started by them. They retained the Old Testament as sacred scripture and had other scriptures that did not eventually make it into the canon, but which they maintained were inspired and authoritative because they affirmed the Jewishness at the heart of the Christian message. They also retained the close observance of Jewish customs such as circumcision, kosher food laws, observance of the Sabbath, and so on.
As strict monotheists, the Ebionites maintained that Jesus himself was not divine, and that to suggest that he was anything but human was to call their firmly-held monotheism into question. It should be noted that Epiphanius misinterprets and misunderstands this Ebionite viewpoint in his criticism of their Gospel tradition. The Ebionite view of Jesus was that he was human, that he was not born of a virgin but rather through the sexual union of Joseph and Mary, that he was indistinguishable from others like him. Indistinguishable, that is, except in one respect. According to Ebionite thought, Jesus was a uniquely righteous man. His right standing before the God of the Jews resulted in his adoption by God. At his baptism, God had adopted Jesus at that point in time to be his son and gave him the mission of dying on the Cross to atone for the sins of others and to enable others to follow the Mosaic Law. In other words, the Ebionites maintained that the death of Jesus did not replace the Law, but atoned for people's neglect of the Law and enabled continued understanding and keeping of it.
In this sense, the Ebionites held a very similar view to that of the author of Matthew's Gospel. The perspective of Jesus as presented in Matthew's Gospel as a primarily Jewish figure coincided well with groups such as the Ebionites who insisted that one must be a Jew and follow the Jewish law in order to be a follower of Christ. It is for this reason that the Ebionites accepted as sacred scripture a truncated version of the Gospel of Matthew which omitted the first two chapters. Another writing that originated from this group is known simply as the Gospel of the Ebionites. This document as a whole no longer survives intact. We know about this gospel through the quotations made of it by Epiphanius, a heresy hunter who wrote in the fourth century. What we find in the quoted fragments are very interesting. The particular group of Ebionite Christians from whence this writing originates had a slightly different take on the death of Jesus as opposed to other Ebionite groups who differed, but not dramatically so. Interestingly enough, it was the nature of Christ's death that became the main inspiration for the Ebionite standard of strict observance of vegetarianism. It was in this aspect that Christianity played a role in the Jewish Ebionite tradition. This group viewed Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for sins. Because of this, Jewish sacrifices in the Temple were seen as no longer necessary.
The reason these Ebionites became vegetarians on principle had to do with the fact that the only circumstance under which people in the ancient world consumed meat was when an animal had undergone ritual slaughter by a priest. This choice of diet was reflected in the way they related their Gospel traditions. Consider, for example, the words attributed to Jesus near the end of Epiphanius' fragment quotations: "I have no desire to eat the flesh of the Paschal Lamb with you." This suggests a very different attitude of Jesus toward the Passover meal than what came to be understood in the orthodox tradition. According to the Ebionites, Jesus did not participate in Passover for the same reason his Ebionite interpreters abstained for meat. Also of note is that in the Gospel of the Ebionites, the diet of John the Baptist differs from that which is recorded as his diet in the canonical Gospels. In the Ebionite interpretation, one letter in the Greek word for "locust" is altered, rendering the reading to be that John subsisted on wild honey and cakes of manna.
The following is the text of the Gospel of the Ebionites, as quoted and commented on by Epiphanius:
THE GOSPEL OF THE EBIONITES
Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses 30.3 (Holl, GCS 25, pp. 335f.):
1. And they only accept the Gospel of Matthew. This alone they use, as do also the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus. They call it the Gospel of the Hebrews. To tell the truth, Matthew wrote only in Hebrew and in Hebrew letters the narrative and preaching of the Gospel in the New Testament. Others again have asserted that the Gospel of John is kept in a Hebrew translation in the treasuries of the Jews - namely at Tiberias - and that it is hidden there as some converts from Judaism have told us accurately. Even the book of the Acts of the Apostles translated from the Greek into the Hebrew is said to be kept there in the treasuries, so that the Jews, who told us this and read it, came in this way to belief in Christ.
Ibid. 30.13:
2. In the Gospel of Matthew used by them - not in a perfect but in a mutilated and castrated form - called the Gospel of the Hebrews it is recorded: 'And there was a man named Jesus, and he was about thirty years old; he has chosen us and he came into Capernaum and entered into the house of Simon, surnamed Peter, and he opened his mouth and said, "As I walked by the sea of Tiberias, I chose John and James, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon and Andrew and Thaddaeus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot; you also, Matthew, when you were sitting at the receipt of custom, did I call and you followed me. According to my intention you shall be twelve apostles for a testimony to Israel".'
3. And it came to pass when John baptized, that the Pharisees came to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem also. He had a garment of camels' hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins. And his meat was wild honey, which tasted like manna, formed like cakes of oil.
4. The beginning of their Gospel reads thus: 'It came to pass in the days of Herod, King of Judaea, that John came and baptized with the baptism of repentance in the river Jordan; he is said to be from the tribe of Aaron and a son of Zacharias the priest and of Elizabeth, and all went out to him.'
5. And after many other words it goes on: 'After the people had been baptized, Jesus came also, and was baptized by John. And as he came out of the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and entering into him. And a voice was heard from heaven, "You are my beloved Son, and in you am I well pleased." And again, "This day have I begotten you." And suddenly a great light shone in that place. And John, seeing him, said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then a voice was heard from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thereat John fell at his feet and said, "I pray you, Lord, baptize me." But he would not, saying, "Suffer it, for thus it is fitting that all should be accomplished".'
Ibid. 30.14:
6. They also deny that he is a man, basing their assertion on the word which he said when he was told: 'Behold your mother and your brethren stand outside.' 'Who is my mother and who are my brethren?' And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, 'My brethren and my mother and sisters are those who do the will of my Father.'
Ibid. 30.16:
7. They say that he is not begotten by God the Father but created like one of the archangels, being greater than they. He rules over the angels and the beings created by God and he came and declared, as the gospel used by them records: 'I have come to abolish the sacrifices: if you do not cease from sacrificing, the wrath [of God] will not cease from weighing upon you.'
Ibid. 30.22:
8. Those who reject meat have inconsiderately fallen into error and said, 'I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.' They leave the true order of words and distort the word which is clear to all from the connection of the words and make the disciples say: 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' To which he replied, 'I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.'
Many of these non-canonical works that were later deemed "heretical" by the group that eventually won out and thus became "orthodox" fall into several different schools of thought. The subject of the essay at hand will focus on one of these schools of thought and the gospel that bears their name and philosophy. This branch of early Christianity was known as the Ebionites.
The Ebionites were Jewish Christians. Rather than viewing Christianity as a break from their Jewish faith, they viewed it as a new development within Judaism. They interpreted Christianity as a fulfillment of the expectations of Judaism, not as a divorce from Judaism. They maintained that Jesus was the Messiah to the Jews sent from the Jewish God and that Christianity was therefore first and foremost a Jewish religion not to be fragmented and divided from it. Because they held fast to the belief that they were upholding Jesus' true message, they claimed to be the spiritual descendants of Jesus' first followers who were carrying on the work started by them. They retained the Old Testament as sacred scripture and had other scriptures that did not eventually make it into the canon, but which they maintained were inspired and authoritative because they affirmed the Jewishness at the heart of the Christian message. They also retained the close observance of Jewish customs such as circumcision, kosher food laws, observance of the Sabbath, and so on.
As strict monotheists, the Ebionites maintained that Jesus himself was not divine, and that to suggest that he was anything but human was to call their firmly-held monotheism into question. It should be noted that Epiphanius misinterprets and misunderstands this Ebionite viewpoint in his criticism of their Gospel tradition. The Ebionite view of Jesus was that he was human, that he was not born of a virgin but rather through the sexual union of Joseph and Mary, that he was indistinguishable from others like him. Indistinguishable, that is, except in one respect. According to Ebionite thought, Jesus was a uniquely righteous man. His right standing before the God of the Jews resulted in his adoption by God. At his baptism, God had adopted Jesus at that point in time to be his son and gave him the mission of dying on the Cross to atone for the sins of others and to enable others to follow the Mosaic Law. In other words, the Ebionites maintained that the death of Jesus did not replace the Law, but atoned for people's neglect of the Law and enabled continued understanding and keeping of it.
In this sense, the Ebionites held a very similar view to that of the author of Matthew's Gospel. The perspective of Jesus as presented in Matthew's Gospel as a primarily Jewish figure coincided well with groups such as the Ebionites who insisted that one must be a Jew and follow the Jewish law in order to be a follower of Christ. It is for this reason that the Ebionites accepted as sacred scripture a truncated version of the Gospel of Matthew which omitted the first two chapters. Another writing that originated from this group is known simply as the Gospel of the Ebionites. This document as a whole no longer survives intact. We know about this gospel through the quotations made of it by Epiphanius, a heresy hunter who wrote in the fourth century. What we find in the quoted fragments are very interesting. The particular group of Ebionite Christians from whence this writing originates had a slightly different take on the death of Jesus as opposed to other Ebionite groups who differed, but not dramatically so. Interestingly enough, it was the nature of Christ's death that became the main inspiration for the Ebionite standard of strict observance of vegetarianism. It was in this aspect that Christianity played a role in the Jewish Ebionite tradition. This group viewed Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for sins. Because of this, Jewish sacrifices in the Temple were seen as no longer necessary.
The reason these Ebionites became vegetarians on principle had to do with the fact that the only circumstance under which people in the ancient world consumed meat was when an animal had undergone ritual slaughter by a priest. This choice of diet was reflected in the way they related their Gospel traditions. Consider, for example, the words attributed to Jesus near the end of Epiphanius' fragment quotations: "I have no desire to eat the flesh of the Paschal Lamb with you." This suggests a very different attitude of Jesus toward the Passover meal than what came to be understood in the orthodox tradition. According to the Ebionites, Jesus did not participate in Passover for the same reason his Ebionite interpreters abstained for meat. Also of note is that in the Gospel of the Ebionites, the diet of John the Baptist differs from that which is recorded as his diet in the canonical Gospels. In the Ebionite interpretation, one letter in the Greek word for "locust" is altered, rendering the reading to be that John subsisted on wild honey and cakes of manna.
The following is the text of the Gospel of the Ebionites, as quoted and commented on by Epiphanius:
THE GOSPEL OF THE EBIONITES
Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses 30.3 (Holl, GCS 25, pp. 335f.):
1. And they only accept the Gospel of Matthew. This alone they use, as do also the followers of Cerinthus and Merinthus. They call it the Gospel of the Hebrews. To tell the truth, Matthew wrote only in Hebrew and in Hebrew letters the narrative and preaching of the Gospel in the New Testament. Others again have asserted that the Gospel of John is kept in a Hebrew translation in the treasuries of the Jews - namely at Tiberias - and that it is hidden there as some converts from Judaism have told us accurately. Even the book of the Acts of the Apostles translated from the Greek into the Hebrew is said to be kept there in the treasuries, so that the Jews, who told us this and read it, came in this way to belief in Christ.
Ibid. 30.13:
2. In the Gospel of Matthew used by them - not in a perfect but in a mutilated and castrated form - called the Gospel of the Hebrews it is recorded: 'And there was a man named Jesus, and he was about thirty years old; he has chosen us and he came into Capernaum and entered into the house of Simon, surnamed Peter, and he opened his mouth and said, "As I walked by the sea of Tiberias, I chose John and James, the sons of Zebedee, and Simon and Andrew and Thaddaeus and Simon Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot; you also, Matthew, when you were sitting at the receipt of custom, did I call and you followed me. According to my intention you shall be twelve apostles for a testimony to Israel".'
3. And it came to pass when John baptized, that the Pharisees came to him and were baptized, and all Jerusalem also. He had a garment of camels' hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins. And his meat was wild honey, which tasted like manna, formed like cakes of oil.
4. The beginning of their Gospel reads thus: 'It came to pass in the days of Herod, King of Judaea, that John came and baptized with the baptism of repentance in the river Jordan; he is said to be from the tribe of Aaron and a son of Zacharias the priest and of Elizabeth, and all went out to him.'
5. And after many other words it goes on: 'After the people had been baptized, Jesus came also, and was baptized by John. And as he came out of the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and entering into him. And a voice was heard from heaven, "You are my beloved Son, and in you am I well pleased." And again, "This day have I begotten you." And suddenly a great light shone in that place. And John, seeing him, said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then a voice was heard from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Thereat John fell at his feet and said, "I pray you, Lord, baptize me." But he would not, saying, "Suffer it, for thus it is fitting that all should be accomplished".'
Ibid. 30.14:
6. They also deny that he is a man, basing their assertion on the word which he said when he was told: 'Behold your mother and your brethren stand outside.' 'Who is my mother and who are my brethren?' And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, 'My brethren and my mother and sisters are those who do the will of my Father.'
Ibid. 30.16:
7. They say that he is not begotten by God the Father but created like one of the archangels, being greater than they. He rules over the angels and the beings created by God and he came and declared, as the gospel used by them records: 'I have come to abolish the sacrifices: if you do not cease from sacrificing, the wrath [of God] will not cease from weighing upon you.'
Ibid. 30.22:
8. Those who reject meat have inconsiderately fallen into error and said, 'I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.' They leave the true order of words and distort the word which is clear to all from the connection of the words and make the disciples say: 'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' To which he replied, 'I have no desire to eat the flesh of this Paschal Lamb with you.'
