JUSTIN’S USE OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL.
Christ’s pre-existence, not declared in the other Gospels, is frequently
referred to by Justin.[1] John alone calls Jesus the Word; Justin often
refers to him as such. Justin regards the elevation of the brazen serpent
in the wilderness as typical[2] of the crucifixion. He says it denoted
salvation to those who flee for refuge to him who sent his crucified
son into the world; the idea of God’s sending his Son into the world
is peculiar to John. The descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a
dove, at the baptism of Jesus, is mentioned only in the First and Fourth
Gospels. Justin (Dial. c. 88) says that when Jesus “came out of the
water, the Holy Ghost lighted on him like a dove, _as the Apostles of
this very Christ of ours wrote_.” Justin (Dial. c. 88) cites, as the
words of John the Baptist, “I am not the Christ, but the voice of one
crying.”
This declaration, “I am not the Christ,” and this application to himself
of the language of Isaiah, are attributed to the Baptist only in John
(John i. 20, 23, and iii. 28). Hilgenfeld, the latest representative of
the Tübingen skeptical school, recognizes[3] here the use of the Fourth
Gospel by Justin. And Dr. Ezra Abbot, following Professor Drummond, gives
twenty[4] instances (including the express quotation) of the apparent or
seeming use of this Gospel by Justin.
_The express quotation_ as in John iii. 3, 5, is as follows: “For Christ
also said, ‘Except ye be born again ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven.’ Now, that it is impossible for those who have once been born
to enter into their mothers’ womb is manifest to all.” (Ap. c. 61.) This
is as translated in the Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Dr. Abbot (p. 29)
translates it “Except ye be born again, ye shall in no wise enter into
the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew Arnold, “Except ye be born again ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Our common version is, “Except
a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God;” and in verse
5, “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God.” The revised version, “Except a man be born anew,”
or “from above” (margin), “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” There
is a _substantial_ agreement in the quotation with John’s Gospel, and
unmistakable reference to the interview with Nicodemus, which is found
only in John. The most _rational_ inference is that it was from that
source.
Justin, in this quotation, was as definite as when (Ap. c. 32) he wrote:
“Moses then, who was the first of the prophets, spake in these very
words, ‘The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be
the desire of the nations, binding his foal to the vine, washing his robe
in the blood of the grape.’” (Com. Gen. xlix. 10, 11.) He does not state
_where_ the passage is to be found, and its divergence from Genesis is
greater than the difference in the language of Jesus, as quoted by Justin
and recorded by John.
Justin, in quoting from the Old Testament, usually gives the _name_ of
the prophet, _but nothing more_; just as he gives this quotation as the
language of Christ. He writes _Moses said_, or _Isaiah said_, and he also
writes _Christ said_.
The other Apostolic Fathers, in their quotations from the Old Testament,
do not usually give the name of the prophet, but only, “It is written,”
“God said,” “The Spirit saith,” “The Scripture saith,” and often only
“saith,” “The Scripture” in such cases being implied. And, as a rule,
they do not quote with literal accuracy or a near approximation to it.
It has been objected, that if this quotation was actually from the Fourth
Gospel, more than a single quotation from it should be expected. Let this
be tested by the four epistles confessed to be genuine. There is not a
single quotation by Justin from _either_ of these acknowledged epistles,
and it is doubtful if there is a single reference to them, certainly not
in his Apology.
Nor is this all. The epistle to the Galatians (and Renan says, “Thanks to
the Epistle to the Galatians!”) is not referred to in any way by Clement,
or in Barnabas, or Hermas; nor First Corinthians in Barnabas or Hermas
(and but once in Diognetus); nor Romans in Hermas; nor Revelation in
Barnabas, or Diognetus, or Polycarp, and but once by Clement.
To account for Justin’s silence, it has been imagined, without the
slightest evidence, that Justin was “anti-Pauline.” But how are the
omissions by other writers to be accounted for? How did it happen that
Clement made no reference to Galatians? It was not from hostility,
certainly, for he speaks of “The blessed Apostle Paul.” Yet writing
this epistle from the church at Rome, to the church at Corinth, he has
but a single quotation from Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, and but a
single quotation from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, and _no_
reference to Galatians.
The well-known distinction of everyday application in courts of law and
elsewhere, between positive and negative evidence, is to be kept in mind.
Whether John’s Gospel would be quoted by any writer acquainted with it,
might depend entirely upon his object in writing; and so of Galatians, or
any of the books of the New Testament. While a single undoubted quotation
proves the existence of that which is quoted from, non-quotation may
prove nothing at all.
Justin apparently has one quotation from the Fourth Gospel, with many
implied references to it. But if there were neither the one nor the
other, to infer his ignorance of that Gospel from his silence would be
just as sensible as to infer that a lawyer had never heard of Blackstone,
or Kent, or Story, because he has not quoted from them.
If Justin in his Apology quoted once from Mark, and once from John, and
not at all from Acts, or Revelations, or Paul’s Epistles, it was because
his subject did not call for any use of those writings, beyond the use
which he made of Mark and John. And if (as was apparently the fact) he
quoted Luke six times and Matthew eighteen times in his Apology, it was
doubtless because Matthew better served his purpose, or was more firmly
fixed in his memory, from his having been born in Palestine, where
Matthew’s Gospel was published.
A like explanation accounts for the fact that the Fourth Gospel is not
quoted by Polycarp in his Epistle to the Philippians. Neither does he
quote or cite from Revelations.
The result so far is this: The Fourth Gospel, apparently, is quoted by
Basilides, and Justin, and Papias; and, in addition, there are many
implied references to it. There is about the same amount of evidence in
respect to Mark and the book of Acts. The evidence accumulates as to
Luke’s Gospel, and from Matthew, the quotations and citations become very
numerous.
That these quotations and citations were forgeries is an idea that cannot
be seriously entertained by anybody. There were originals from which
the quotations were taken; and presumptively, those originals were the
“Memoirs” so often referred to by Justin; and _presumptively_ our Gospels
were those _Memoirs_, since they answer the description. And unless it
can be shown that _other_ writings _that will answer the description_
were then extant, this presumption is well nigh conclusive.
[1] Ap. cc. 5, 23, 32, 42, 50, 53, 63; Dial. cc. 48, 57, 68, 76, 85, 100,
101.
[2] Ap. c. 60: Dial. cc. 7, 94, 140.
[3] Abbot, p. 45; Fisher, p. 39; Sears, “The Heart of Christ” (A.D.
1873), pp. 46-67.
[4] Abbot, pp. 40-50.