JUSTIN MARTYR.
Hitherto the extant remains of Christian literature have been
scanty and the stream of evangelical quotation has been equally
so, but as we approach the middle of the second century it becomes
much more abundant. We have copious quotations from a Gospel used
about the year 140 by Marcion; the Clementine Homilies, the date
of which however is more uncertain, also contain numerous
quotations; and there are still more in the undoubted works of
Justin Martyr. When I speak of quotations, I do not wish to beg
the question by implying that they are necessarily taken from our
present Gospels, I merely mean quotations from an evangelical
document of some sort. This reservation has to be made especially
in regard to Justin.
Strictly according to the chronological order we should not have
to deal with Justin until somewhat later, but it will perhaps be
best to follow the order of 'Supernatural Religion,' the principle
of which appears to be to discuss the orthodox writers first and
heretical writings afterwards. Modern critics seem pretty
generally to place the two Apologies in the years 147-150 A.D. and
the Dialogue against Tryphon a little later. Dr. Keim indeed would
throw forward the date of Justin's writings as far as from 155-160
on account of the mention of Marcion [Endnote 89:1], but this is
decided by both Hilgenfeld [Endnote 89:2] and Lipsius to be too
late. I see that Mr. Hort, whose opinion on such matters deserves
high respect, comes to the conclusion 'that we may without fear of
considerable error set down Justin's First Apology to 145, or
better still to 146, and his death to 148. The Second Apology, if
really separate from the First, will then fall in 146 or 147, and
the Dialogue with Tryphon about the same time' [Endnote 89:3]
No definite conclusion can be drawn from the title given by Justin to
the work or works he used, that of the 'Memoirs' or 'Recollections' of
the Apostles, and it will be best to leave our further enquiry quite
unfettered by any assumption in respect to them. The title certainly
does not of necessity imply a single work composed by the Apostles
collectively [Endnote 89:4], any more than the parallel phrase 'the
writings of the Prophets' [Endnote 89:5] ([Greek: ta sungrammata ton
prophaeton]), which Justin couples with the 'Memoirs' as read together
in the public services of the Church, implies a single and joint
production on the part of the Prophets. This hypothesis too is open to
the very great objection that so authoritative a work, if it existed,
should have left absolutely no other trace behind it. So far as the
title is concerned, the 'Memoirs of the Apostles' may be either a
single work or an almost indefinite number. In one place Justin says
that the Memoirs were composed 'by His Apostles and their followers'
[Endnote 90:1], which seems to agree remarkably, though not exactly,
with the statement in the prologue to St. Luke. In another he says
expressly that the Memoirs are called Gospels ([Greek: ha kaleitai
euangelia]) [Endnote 90:2]. This clause has met with the usual fate of
parenthetic statements which do not quite fall in with preconceived
opinions, and is dismissed as a 'manifest interpolation,' a gloss
having crept into the text from the margin. It would be difficult to
estimate the exact amount of probability for or against this theory,
but possible at any rate it must be allowed to be; and though the
_primâ facie_ view of the genuineness of the words is supported by
another place in which a quotation is referred directly 'to the
Gospel,' still too much ought not perhaps to be built on this clause
alone.
* * * * *
A convenient distinction may be drawn between the material and
formal use of the Gospels; and the most satisfactory method
perhaps will be, to run rapidly through Justin's quotations, first
with a view to ascertain their relation to the Canonical Gospels
in respect to their general historical tenor, and secondly to
examine the amount of verbal agreement. I will try to bring out as
clearly as possible the double phenomena both of agreement and
difference; the former (in regard to which condensation will be
necessary) will be indicated both by touching in the briefest
manner the salient points and by the references in the margin; the
latter, which I have endeavoured to give as exhaustively as
possible, are brought out by italics in the text. The thread of
the narrative then, so far as it can be extracted from the genuine
writings of Justin, will be much as follows [Endnote 91:1].
According to Justin the Messiah
was born, without sin, of a
[SIDENOTES] virgin _who_ was descended from [SIDENOTES]
[Matt. 1.2-6.] David, Jesse, Phares, Judah, [Luke 3.31-34.]
Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham, if
not (the reading here is doubtful)
from Adam himself. [Justin
therefore, it may be inferred, had
before him a genealogy, though
not apparently, as the Canonical
Gospels, that of Joseph but of
Mary.] To Mary it was announced
by the angel Gabriel [Luke 1.26.]
that, while yet a virgin, the
power of God, or of the Highest, [Luke 1.35.]
should overshadow her and she
should conceive and bear a Son [Luke 1.31.]
[Matt. 1.21.] whose name she should call Jesus,
because He should save His
people from their sins. Joseph
observing that Mary, his espoused,
was with child was
[Matt. 1.18-25.] warned in a dream not to put
her away, because that which
was in her womb was of the
Holy Ghost. Thus the prophecy,
[Matt. 1.23.] Is. vii. 14 (Behold the
virgin &c.), was fulfilled. The
mother of John the Baptist was [Luke 1.57.]
Elizabeth. The birth-place of
the Messiah had been indicated
[Matt. 2.5, 6.] by the prophecy of Micah (v. 2,
Bethlehem not the least among
the princes of Judah). There
He was born, as the Romans
might learn from the census
taken by Cyrenius the first
_procurator_ [Greek: [Luke 2.1, 2.]
epitropou] _of Judaea_.
His life extended from Cyrenius
to Pontius Pilate. So, in
consequence of this the first census
in Judaea, Joseph went up from
Nazareth where he dwelt to [Luke 2.4.]
Bethlehem _whence he was_, as a
member of the tribe of Judah.
The parents of Jesus could find
no lodging in Bethlehem, so it [Luke 2.7.]
came to pass that He was born
_in a cave near the village_ and
laid in a manger. At His birth [_ibid._]
[Matt. 2.1.] there came Magi _from Arabia_,
who knew by a star that had
appeared in the _heaven_ that a
[Matt. 2.2.] king had been born in Judaea.
Having paid Him their homage
[Matt. 2.11.] and offered gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh, they were
[Matt. 2.12.] warned not to return to Herod
[Matt. 2. 1-7.] whom they had consulted on
the way. He however not willing
that the Child should escape,
[Matt. 2.16.] ordered a massacre of _all_ the
children in Bethlehem, fulfilling
[Matt. 2.17, 18.] the prophecy of Jer. xxxi. 15
(Rachel weeping for her children &c.).
Joseph and his wife meanwhile
[Matt. 2.13-15.] with the Babe had fled
to Egypt, for the Father resolved
that He to whom He had
given birth should not die before
He had preached His word
as a man. There they stayed
[Matt. 2.22] until Archelaus succeeded Herod,
and then returned.
By process of nature He grew
to the age of thirty years or [Luke 3.23.]
more, _not comely of aspect_ (_as
had been prophesied_), practising
[Mark 6.3.] the trade of a carpenter, _making
ploughs and yokes, emblems of
righteousness_. He remained
hidden till John, the herald of
his coming, came forward, the
[Matt 17.12, 13.] spirit of Elias being in him, and
[Matt. 3.2.] as he _sat_ by the river Jordan [Luke 3.3.]
cried to men to repent. As he
[Matt. 3.4.] preached in his wild garb he
declared that he was not the [John 1.19 ff.]
Christ, but that One stronger
[Matt. 3.11, 12.] than he was coming after him [Luke 3. 16, 17.]
whose shoes he was not worthy
to bear, &c. The later history
of John Justin also mentions,
[Matt. 14.3.] how, having been put in prison, [Luke 3.20.]
at a feast on Herod's birthday
[Matt. 14.6 ff.] he was beheaded at the instance
of his sister's daughter. This
[Matt. 17.11-13.] John was Elias who was to come
before the Christ.
At the baptism of Jesus _a fire
was kindled on the Jordan_, and,
as He went up out of the water,
[Matt. 3.16.] the Holy Ghost alighted upon [Luke 3.21, 22.]
Him, and a voice was heard from
heaven _saying in the words of
David_, 'Thou art My Son, _this
day have I begotten Thee_.' After
[Matt. 4.1, 9.] His baptism He was tempted by
the devil, who ended by claiming
homage from Him. To this
Christ replied, 'Get thee behind
[Matt 4.11.] Me, Satan,' &c. So the devil [Luke 4.13.]
departed from Him at that time
worsted and convicted.
Justin knew that the words
of Jesus were short and concise,
not like those of a Sophist. That
He wrought miracles _might be
learnt from the Acts of Pontius
Pilate, fulfilling Is. xxxv. 4-6._
[Matt. 9.29-31, Those who from their _birth_ were [Luke 18.35-43.]
32, 33. 1-8.] blind, dumb, lame, He healed-- [Luke 11.14 ff.]
[Matt. 4.23.] indeed He healed all sickness and [Luke 5.17-26.]
[Matt 9.18 ff.] disease--and He raised the dead. [Luke 8.41 ff.]
_The Jews ascribed these miracles [Luke 7. 11-18.]
to magic_.
Jesus, too (like John, _whose
mission ceased when He appeared
in public_), began His ministry
[Matt 4.17.] by proclaiming that the kingdom
of heaven was at hand.
Many precepts of the Sermon
on the Mount Justin has preserved,
[Matt 5.20.] the righteousness of the
[Matt 5.28.] Scribes and Pharisees, the
[Matt 5.29-32.] adultery of the heart, the offending
[Matt 5.34, 37, eye, divorce, oaths, returning
39]
[Matt 5.44.] good for evil, loving and praying
[Matt 5.42.] for enemies, giving to those that [Luke 6.30.]
[Matt 6.19, 20.] need, placing the treasure in
[Matt 6.25-27.] heaven, not caring for bodily [Luke 12.22-24.]
[Matt 5.45.] wants, but copying the mercy
[Matt 6.21, &c.] and goodness of God, not acting
from worldly motives--above all,
[Matt 7.22, 23.] deeds not words. [Luke 13.26, 27.]
Justin quotes sayings from
[Matt. 8.11, 12.] the narrative of the centurion [Luke 13.28, 29.]
[Matt. 9.13.] of Capernaum and of the feast [Luke 5.32.]
in the house of Matthew. He
[Matt. 10.1 ff.] has, the choosing of the twelve [Luke 6.13.]
Apostles, with the name given
[Mark 3.17.] to the sons of Zebedee, Boanerges
or 'sons of thunder,' the com-
mission of the Apostles, the [Luke 10.19.]
[Matt. 11.12-15.] discourse after the departure of [Luke 16.16.]
the messengers of John, the
[Matt. 16.4.] sign of the prophet Jonas, the
[Matt. 13.3 ff.] parable of the sower, Peter's [Luke 8.5 ff.]
[Matt. 16.15-18.] confession, the announcement of [Luke 9.22.]
[Matt. 16.21.] the Passion.
From the account of the last
journey and the closing scenes
of our Lord's life, Justin has,
[Matt. 19.16,17.] the history of the rich young [Luke 18.18,19.]
[Matt. 21.1 ff.] man, the entry into Jerusalem, [Luke 19.29 ff.]
the cleansing of the Temple, the [Luke 19.46.]
[Matt. 22.11.] wedding garment, the controversial
discourses about the [Luke 20.22-25.]
[Matt. 22.21.] tribute money, the resurrection, [Luke 20.35,36.]
[Matt. 22.37,38.] and the greatest commandment,
[Matt. 23.2 ff.] those directed against the Pha- [Luke 11.42,52.]
[Matt. 25.34,41.] risees and the eschatological
[Matt. 25.14-30.] discourse, the parable of the
talents. Justin's account of the
institution of the Lord's Supper [Luke 22.19,20.]
agrees with that of Luke. After
[Matt. 26.30.] it Jesus sang a hymn, and taking
[Matt. 26.36,37.] with Him three of His disciples
to the Mount of Olives He was
in an agony, His sweat falling in [Luke 22.42-44.]
_drops_ (not necessarily of blood)
to the ground. His captors
surrounded Him _like the 'horned
bulls' of Ps. xxii._ 11-14; there
[Matt. 26.56.] was none to help, for His followers
_to a man_ forsook Him.
[Matt. 26.57 ff.] He was led both before the [Luke 22.66 ff.]
Scribes and Pharisees and before
[Matt. 27.11 ff.] Pilate. In the trial before Pilate [Luke 23.1 ff.]
[Matt. 27.14] He kept silence, _as Ps. xxii._ 15.
Pilate sent Him bound to Herod. [Luke 23.7.]
Justin relates most of the incidents
of the Crucifixion in detail,
for confirmation of which he refers
to the _Acts of Pilate_. He marks
especially the fulfilment in various
places of Ps. xxii. He has the
piercing with nails, the casting of [Luke 24.40.]
[Matt. 27.35.] lots and dividing of the garments, [Luke 23.34.]
[Matt. 27.39 ff.] the _sneers_ of the crowd [Luke 23.35.]
(somewhat expanded from the
[Matt. 27.42.] Synoptics), and their taunt, _He
who raised the dead_ let Him save
[Matt. 27.46.] Himself; also the cry of despair,
'My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me?' and the last
words, 'Father, into Thy hands [Luke 23.46.]
I commend My Spirit.'
[Matt. 27.57-60.] The burial took place in the
evening, the disciples being all
[Matt. 26.31,56.] scattered in accordance with
Zech. xiii. 7. On the third day, [Luke 24.21.]
[Matt. 28.1 ff.] the day of the sun or the first [Luke 24.1 ff.]
(or eighth) day of the week,
Jesus rose from the dead. He
then convinced His disciples that
His sufferings had been prophe- [Luke 24.26, 46.]
tically foretold and they repented [Luke 24.32.]
of having deserted Him. Having
given them His last commission
they saw Him ascend up into [Luke 24.50.]
heaven. Thus believing and
having first waited to receive
power from Him they went forth
into all the world and preached
the word of God. To this day
[Matt. 28.19] Christians baptize in the name
of the Father of all, and of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the
Holy Ghost.
[Matt. 28.12-15.] The Jews spread a story that
the disciples stole the body of
Jesus from the grave and so
deceived men by asserting that
He was risen from the dead and
ascended into heaven.
There is nothing in Justin (as
in Luke xxiv, but cp. Acts i. 3)
to show that the Ascension did
not take place _on the same day_
as the Resurrection.
I have taken especial pains in the above summary to bring out the
points in which Justin way seem to differ from or add to the
canonical narratives. But, without stopping at present to consider
the bearing of these upon Justin's relation to the Gospels, I will
at once proceed to make some general remarks which the summary
seems to suggest.
(1) If such is the outline of Justin's Gospel, it appears to be
really a question of comparatively small importance whether or not
he made use of our present Gospels in their present form. If he
did not use these Gospels he used other documents which contained
substantially the same matter. The question of the reality of
miracles clearly is not affected. Justin's documents, whatever
they were, not only contained repeated notices of the miracles in
general, the healing of the lame and the paralytic, of the maimed
and the dumb, and the raising of the dead--not only did they
include several discourses, such as the reply to the messengers of
John and the saying to the Centurion whose servant was healed,
which have direct reference to miracles, but they also give marked
prominence to the chief and cardinal miracles of the Gospel
history, the Incarnation and the Resurrection. It is antecedently
quite possible that the narrative of these events may have been
derived from a document other than our Gospels; but, if so, that
is only proof of the existence of further and independent evidence
to the truth of the history. This document, supposing it to exist,
is a surprising instance of the homogeneity of the evangelical
tradition; it differs from the three Synoptic Gospels, nay, we may
say even from the four Gospels, _less_ than they differ from
each other.
(2) But we may go further than this. If Justin really used a
separate substantive document now lost, that document, to judge
from its contents, must have represented a secondary, or rather a
tertiary, stage of the evangelical literature; it must have
implied the previous existence of our present Gospels. I do not
now allude to the presence in it of added traits, such as the cave
of the Nativity and the fire on Jordan, which are of the nature of
those mythical details that we find more fully developed in the
Apocryphal Gospels. I do not so much refer to these--though, for
instance, in the case of the fire on Jordan it is highly probable
that Justin's statement is a translation into literal fact of the
canonical (and Justinian) saying, 'He shall baptize with the Holy
Ghost and with fire'--but, on general grounds, the relation which
this supposed document bears to the extant Gospels shows that it
must have been in point of time posterior to them.
The earlier stages of evangelical composition present a nucleus,
with a more or less defined circumference, of unity, and outside
of this a margin of variety. There was a certain body of
narrative, which, in whatever form it was handed down--whether as
oral or written--at a very early date obtained a sort of general
recognition, and seems to have been as a matter of course
incorporated in the evangelical works as they appeared.
Besides this there was also other matter which, without such
general recognition, had yet a considerable circulation, and,
though not found in all, was embodied in more than one of the
current compilations. But, as we should naturally expect, these
two classes did not exhaust the whole of the evangelical matter.
Each successive historian found himself able by special researches
to add something new and as yet unpublished to the common stock.
Thus, the first of our present Evangelists has thirty-five
sections or incidents besides the whole of the first two chapters
peculiar to himself. The third Evangelist has also two long
chapters of preliminary history, and as many as fifty-six sections
or incidents which have no parallel in the other Gospels. Much of
this peculiar matter in each case bears an individual and
characteristic stamp. The opening chapters of the first and third
Synoptics evidently contain two distinct and independent
traditions. So independent indeed are they, that the negative
school of critics maintain them to be irreconcilable, and the
attempts to harmonise them have certainly not been completely
successful [Endnote 101:1]. These differences, however, show what
rich quarries of tradition were open to the enquirer in the first
age of Christianity, and how readily he might add to the stores
already accumulated by his predecessors. But this state of things
did not last long. As in most cases of the kind, the productive
period soon ceased, and the later writers had a choice of two
things, either to harmonise the conflicting records of previous
historians, or to develope their details in the manner that we
find in the Apocryphal Gospels.
But if Justin used a single and separate document or any set of
documents independent of the canonical, then we may say with
confidence that that document or set of documents belonged entirely to
this secondary stage. It possesses both the marks of secondary
formation. Such details as are added to the previous evangelical
tradition are just of that character which we find in the Apocryphal
Gospels. But these details are comparatively slight and insignificant;
the main tendency of Justin's Gospel (supposing it to be a separate
composition) was harmonistic. The writer can hardly have been ignorant
of our Canonical Gospels; he certainly had access, if not to them, yet
to the sources, both general and special, from which they are taken.
He not only drew from the main body of the evangelical tradition, but
also from those particular and individual strains which appear in the
first and third Synoptics. He has done this in the spirit of a true
_desultor_, passing backwards and forwards first to one and then to
the other, inventing no middle links, but merely piecing together the
two accounts as best he could. Indeed the preliminary portions of
Justin's Gospel read very much like the sort of rough _primâ facie_
harmony which, without any more profound study, most people make for
themselves. But the harmonising process necessarily implies matter to
harmonise, and that matter must have had the closest possible
resemblance to the contents of our Gospels.
If, then, Justin made use either of a single document or set of
documents distinct from those which have become canonical, we
conclude that it or they belonged to a later and more advanced
stage of formation. But it should be remembered that the case is a
hypothetical one. The author of 'Supernatural Religion' seems
inclined to maintain that Justin did use such a document or
documents, and not our Gospels. If he did, then the consequence
above stated seems to follow. But I do not at all care to press
this inference; it is no more secure than the premiss upon which
it is founded. Only it seems to me that the choice lies between
two alternatives and no more; either Justin used our Gospels, or
else he used a document later than our Gospels and presupposing
them. The reader may take which side of the alternative he
pleases.
The question is, which hypothesis best covers and explains the
facts. It is not impossible that Justin may have had a special
Gospel such as has just been described. There is a tendency among
those critics who assign Justin's quotations to an uncanonical
source to find that source in the so-called Gospel according to
the Hebrews or some of its allied forms. But a large majority of
critics regard the Gospel according to the Hebrews as holding
precisely this secondary relation to the canonical Matthew.
Justin's document can hardly have been the Gospel according to the
Hebrews, at least alone, as that Gospel omitted the section Matt.
i. 18-ii. 23 [Endnote 103:1], which Justin certainly retained. But
it is within the bounds of possibility--it would be hazardous to
say more--that he may have had another Gospel so modified and
compiled as to meet all the conditions of the case. For my own
part, I think it decidedly the more probable hypothesis that he
used our present Gospels with some peculiar document, such as this
Gospel according to the Hebrews, or perhaps, as Dr. Hilgenfeld
thinks, the ground document of the Gospel according to Peter (a
work of which we know next to nothing except that it favoured
Docetism and was not very unlike the Canonical Gospels) and the
Protevangelium of James (or some older document on which that work
was founded) in addition.
It will be well to try to establish this position a little more in
detail; and therefore I will proceed to collect first, the
evidence for the use, either mediate or direct, of the Synoptic
Gospels, and secondly, that for the use of one or more Apocryphal
Gospels. We still keep to the substance of Justin's Gospel, and
reserve the question of its form.
Of those portions of the first Synoptic which appear to be derived
from a peculiar source, and for the presence of which we have no
evidence in any other Gospel of the same degree of originality,
Justin has the following: Joseph's suspicions of his wife, the
special statement of the significance of the name Jesus ('for He
shall save His people from their sins,' Matt. i. 21, verbally
identical), the note upon the fulfilment of the prophecy Is. vii.
14 ('Behold a virgin,' &c.), the visit of the Magi guided by a
star, their peculiar gifts, their consultation of Herod and the
warning given them not to return to him, the massacre of the
children at Bethlehem, fulfilling Jer. xxxi. 15, the descent into
Egypt, the return of the Holy Family at the succession of
Archelaus. The Temptations Justin gives in the order of Matthew.
From the Sermon on the Mount he has the verses v. 14, 20, 28, vi.
1, vii. 15, 21, and from the controversial discourse against the
Pharisees, xxiii. 15, 24, which are without parallels. The
prophecy, Is. xlii. 1-4, is applied as by Matthew alone. There is
an apparent allusion to the parable of the wedding garment. The
comment of the disciples upon the identification of the Baptist
with Elias (Matt. xvii. 13), the sign of the prophet Jonas
(Matt. xvi. 1, 4), and the triumphal entry (the ass _with the
colt_), show a special affinity to St. Matthew. And, lastly, in
concert with the same Evangelist, Justin has the calumnious report
of the Jews (Matt. xxviii. 12 15) and the baptismal formula (Matt.
xxviii. 19).
Of the very few details that are peculiar to St. Mark, Justin has
the somewhat remarkable one of the bestowing of the surname
Boanerges on the sons of Zebedee. Mark also appears to approach
most nearly to Justin in the statements that Jesus practised the
trade of a carpenter (cf. Mark vi. 3) and that He healed those who
were diseased _from their birth_ (cf. Mark ix. 21), and
perhaps in the emphasis upon the oneness of God in the reply
respecting the greatest commandment.
In common with St. Luke, Justin has the mission of the angel
Gabriel to Mary, the statement that Elizabeth was the mother of
John, that the census was taken under Cyrenius, that Joseph went
up from Nazareth to Bethlehem [Greek: hothen aen], that no room
was found in the inn, that Jesus was thirty years old when He
began His ministry, that He was sent from Pilate to Herod, with
the account of His last words. There are also special affinities
in the phrase quoted from the charge to the Seventy (Luke x. 19),
in the verse Luke xi. 52, in the account of the answer to the rich
young man, of the institution of the Lord's Supper, of the Agony
in the Garden, and of the Resurrection and Ascension.
These coincidences are of various force. Some of the single verses
quoted, though possessing salient features in common, have also,
as we shall see, more or less marked differences. Too much stress
should not be laid on the allegation of the same prophecies,
because there may have been a certain understanding among the
Christians as to the prophecies to be quoted as well as the
versions in which they were to be quoted. But there are other
points of high importance. Just in proportion as an event is from
a historical point of view suspicious, it is significant as a
proof of the use of the Gospel in which it is contained; such
would be the adoration of the Magi, the slaughter of the
innocents, the flight into Egypt, the conjunction of the foal with
the ass in the entry into Jerusalem. All these are strong evidence
for the use of the first Gospel, which is confirmed in the highest
degree by the occurrence of a reflection peculiar to the
Evangelist, 'Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them
of John the Baptist' (Matt. xvii. 13, compare Dial. 49). Of the
same nature are the allusions to the census of Cyrenius (there is
no material discrepancy between Luke and Justin), and the
statement of the age at which the ministry of Jesus began. These
are almost certainly remarks by the third Evangelist himself, and
not found in any previously existing source. The remand to Herod
in all probability belonged to a source that was quite peculiar to
him. The same may be said with only a little less confidence of
the sections of the preliminary history.
Taking these salient points together with the mass of the
coincidences each in its place, and with the due weight assigned
to it, the conviction seems forced upon us that Justin did either
mediately or immediately, and most probably immediately and
directly, make use of our Canonical Gospels.
On the other hand, the argument that he used, whether in addition
to these or exclusively, a Gospel now lost, rests upon the
following data. Justin apparently differs from the Synoptics in
giving the genealogy of Mary, not of Joseph. In Apol. i. 34 he
says that Cyrenius was the first governor (procurator) of Judaea,
instead of saying that the census first took place under Cyrenius.
[It should be remarked, however, that in another place, Dial. 78,
he speaks of 'the census which then took place for the first time
([Greek: ousaes tote protaes]) under Cyrenius.'] He states that
Mary brought forth her Son in a cave near the village of
Bethlehem. He ten times over speaks of the Magi as coming from
Arabia, and not merely from the East. He says emphatically that
all the children ([Greek: pantas haplos tous paidas]) in Bethlehem
were slain without mentioning the limitation of age given in St.
Matthew. He alludes to details in the humble occupation of Jesus
who practised the trade of a carpenter. Speaking of the ministry
of John, he three times repeats the phrase _'as he sat'_ by
the river Jordan. At the baptism of Jesus he says that 'fire was
kindled on' or rather 'in the Jordan,' and that a voice was heard
saying, 'Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.' He adds
to the notice of the miracles that the Jews thought they were the
effect of magic. Twice he refers, as evidence for what he is
saying, to the Acts of Pontius Pilate. In two places Justin sees a
fulfilment of Ps. xxii, where none is pointed out by the
Synoptics. He says that _all_ the disciples forsook their
Master, which seems to overlook Peter's attack on the high
priest's servant. In the account of the Crucifixion he somewhat
amplifies the Synoptic version of the mocking gestures of the
crowd. And besides these matters of fact he has two sayings, 'In
whatsoever I find you, therein will I also judge you,' and 'There
shall be schisms and heresies,' which are without parallel, or
have no exact parallel, in our Gospels.
Some of these points are not of any great importance. The
reference to the Acts of Pilate should in all probability be taken
along with the parallel reference to the census of Cyrenius, in
which Justin asserts that the birth of Jesus would be found
registered. Both appear to be based, not upon any actual document
that Justin had seen, but upon the bold assumption that the
official documents must contain a record of facts which he knew
from other sources [Endnote 107:1]. In regard to Cyrenius he
evidently has the Lucan version in his mind, though he seems to
have confused this with his knowledge that Cyrenius was the first
to exercise the Roman sovereignty in Judaea, which was matter of
history. Justin seems to be mistaken in regarding Cyrenius as
'procurator' [Greek: epitropou] of Judaea. He instituted the
census not in this capacity, but as proconsul of Syria. The first
procurator of Judaea was Coponius. Some of Justin's peculiarities
may quite fairly be explained as unintentional. General statements
without the due qualifications, such as those in regard to the
massacre of the children and the conduct of the disciples in
Gethsemane, are met with frequently enough to this day, and in
works of a more professedly critical character than Justin's. The
description of the carpenter's trade and of the crowd at the
Crucifixion may be merely rhetorical amplifications in the one
case of the general Synoptic statement, in the other of the
special statement in St. Mark. A certain fulness of style is
characteristic of Justin. That he attributes the genealogy to Mary
may be a natural instance of reflection; the inconsistency in the
Synoptic Gospels would not be at first perceived, and the simplest
way of removing it would be that which Justin has adopted. It
should be noticed however that he too distinctly says that Joseph
was of the tribe of Judah (Dial. 78) and that his family came from
Bethlehem, which looks very much like an unobliterated trace of
the same inconsistency. It is also noticeable that in the
narrative of the Baptism one of the best MSS. of the Old Latin (a,
Codex Vercellensis) has, in the form of an addition to Matt. iii.
15, 'et cum baptizaretur lumen ingens circumfulsit de aqua ita ut
timerent omnes qui advenerant,' and there is a very similar
addition in g1 (Codex San-Germanensis). Again, in Luke iii. 22 the
reading [Greek: ego saemeron gegennaeka se] for [Greek: en soi
eudokaesa] is shared with Justin by the most important Graeco-
Latin MS. D (Codex Bezae), and a, b, c, ff, l of the Old Version;
Augustine expressly states that the reading was found 'in several
respectable copies (aliquibus fide dignis exemplaribus), though
not in the older Greek Codices.'
There will then remain the specifying of Arabia as the home of the
Magi, the phrase [Greek: kathezomenos] used of John on the banks
of the Jordan, the two unparallelled sentences, and the cave of
the Nativity. Of these the phrase [Greek: kathezomenos], which
occurs in three places, Dial. 49, 51, 88, but always in Justin's
own narrative and not in quotation, _may_ be an accidental
recurrence; and it is not impossible that the other items may be
derived from an unwritten tradition.
Still, on the whole, I incline to think that though there is not
conclusive proof that Justin used a lost Gospel besides the
present Canonical Gospels, it is the more probable hypothesis of
the two that he did. The explanations given above seem to me
reasonable and possible; they are enough, I think, to remove the
_necessity_ for assuming a lost document, but perhaps not
quite enough to destroy the greater probability. This conclusion,
we shall find, will be confirmed when we pass from considering the
substance of Justin's Gospel to its form.
But now if we ask ourselves _what_ was this hypothetical lost
document, all we can say is, I believe, that the suggestions
hitherto offered are insufficient. The Gospels according to the
Hebrews or according to Peter and the Protevangelium of James have
been most in favour. The Gospel according to the Hebrews in the
form in which it was used by the Nazarenes contained the fire upon
Jordan, and as used by the Ebionites it had also the voice, 'This
day have I begotten Thee.' Credner [Endnote 110:1], and after him
Hilgenfeld [Endnote 110:2], thought that the Gospel according to
Peter was used. But we know next to nothing about this Gospel,
except that it was nearly related to the Gospel according to the
Hebrews, that it made the 'brethren of the Lord' sons of Joseph by
a former wife, that it was found by Serapion in the churches of
his diocese, Rhossus in Cilicia, that its use was at first
permitted but afterwards forbidden, as it was found to favour
Docetism, and that its contents were in the main orthodox though
in some respects perverted [Endnote 110:3]. Obviously these facts
and the name (which falls in with the theory--itself also somewhat
unsubstantial--that Justin's Gospel must have a 'Petrine'
character) are quite insufficient to build upon. The Protevangelium
of James, which it is thought might have been used in an earlier
form than that which has come down to us, contains the legend of
the cave, and has apparently a similar view to the Gospel last
mentioned as to the perpetual virginity of Mary. The kindred
Evangelium Thomae has the 'ploughs and yokes.' And there are some
similarities of language between the Protevangelium and Justin's
Gospel, which will come under review later [Endnote 110:4].
It does not, however, appear to have been noticed that these
Gospels satisfy most imperfectly the conditions of the problem. We
know that the Gospel according to the Hebrews in its Nazarene form
omitted the whole section Matt. i. 18--ii. 23, containing the
conception, the nativity, the visit of the Magi, and the flight
into Egypt, all of which were found in Justin's Gospel; while in
its Ebionite form it left out the first two chapters altogether.
There is not a tittle of evidence to show that the Gospel
according to Peter was any more complete; in proportion as it
resembled the Gospel according to the Hebrews the presumption is
that it was not. And the Protevangelium of James makes no mention
of Arabia, while it expressly says that the star appeared 'in the
East' (instead of 'in the heaven' as Justin); it also omits, and
rather seems to exclude, the flight into Egypt.
It is therefore clear that whether Justin used these Gospels or
not, he cannot in any case have confined himself to them; unless
indeed this is possible in regard to the Gospel that bears the
name of Peter, though the possibility is drawn so entirely from
our ignorance that it can hardly be taken account of. We thus seem
to be reduced to the conclusion that Justin's Gospel or Gospels
was an unknown entity of which no historical evidence survives,
and this would almost be enough, according to the logical Law of
Parsimony, to drive us back upon the assumption that our present
Gospels only had been used. This assumption however still does not
appear to me wholly satisfactory, for reasons which will come out
more clearly when from considering the matter of the documents
which Justin used we pass to their form.
* * * * *
The reader already has before him a collection of Justin's
quotations from the Old Testament, the results of which may be
stated thus. From the Pentateuch eighteen passages are quoted
exactly, nineteen with slight variations, and eleven with marked
divergence. From the Psalms sixteen exactly, including nine (or
ten) whole Psalms, two with slight and three with decided
variation. From Isaiah twenty-five exactly, twelve slightly
variant, and sixteen decidedly. From the other Major Prophets
Justin has only three exact quotations, four slightly divergent,
and eleven diverging more widely. From the Minor Prophets and
other books he has two exact quotations, seven in which the
variation is slight, and thirteen in which it is marked. Of the
distinctly free quotations in the Pentateuch (eleven in all),
three may be thought to have a Messianic character (the burning
bush, the brazen serpent, the curse of the cross), but in none of
these does the variation appear to be due to this. Of the three
free quotations from the Psalms two are Messianic, and one of
these has probably been influenced by the Messianic application.
In the free quotations from Isaiah it is not quite easy to say
what are Messianic and what are not; but the only clear case in
which the Messianic application seems to have caused a marked
divergence is xlii. 1-4. Other passages, such as ii. 5, 6, vii.
10-17, lii. l3-liii. 12 (as quoted in A. i. 50), appear under the
head of slight variation. The long quotation lii. 10-liv. 6, in
Dial. 12, is given with substantial exactness. Turning to the
other Major Prophets, one passage, Jer. xxxi. 15, has probably
derived its shape from the Messianic application. And in the Minor
Prophets three passages (Hos. x. 6, Zech. xii. 10-12, and Micah v.
2) appear to have been thus affected. The rest of the free
quotations and some of the variations in those which are less free
may be set down to defect of memory or similar accidental causes.
Let us now draw up a table of Justin's quotations from the Gospels
arranged as nearly as may be on the same standard and scale as
that of the quotations from the Old Testament. Such a table will
stand thus. [Those only which appear to be direct quotations are
given.]
_Exact._ |_Slightly variant._ | _Variant._ | _Remarks._
| | |
|+D.49, Matt. 3.11, | |repeated in part
| 12 (v.l.) | | similarly.
|D. 51, Matt. 11. | |compounded with
| 12-15; Luke 16. | | omissions but
| 16+. | | striking resem-
| | | blances.
D. 49, Matt. 17. | | |
11-13. | | |
|A.1.15, Matt. 5.28. | |
| |A.1.15, Matt. 5. |from memory?
| | 29; Mark 9.47. |
|A.1.15, Matt. 5.32. | |confusion of read-
| | | ings.
| |+A.1.15, Matt. |from memory?
| | 19.12. |
| |A.1.15, Matt. 5. |compounded.
| | 42; Luke 6.30, |
| | 34. |
Continuous.{ |A.1.15, Matt. 6. | |
{ |19, 20; 16.26; 6.20.| |
| | |
|Continuous.{ |A.1.15 (D.96), |from memory(Cr.),
| { | Luke 6.36; | but prob. diff-
| { | Matt. 5.45; 6. | erent document;
| { | 25-27; Luke 12.| rather marked
| { | 22-24; Matt. 6.| identity in
| { | 32, 33; 6.21. | phrase.
|A.1.15, Matt. 6.1. | |
A.1.15, Matt. 9. | | | do the last
13(?). | | | words belong
| | | to the
| |C | quotation?
| |o { A.1.15, Luke|
| |n { 6.32; Matt.|
| |t { 5.46. |
| |i { A.1.15, (D. |repeated in part
| |n { 128), Luke | similarly, in
| |u { 6.27, 28; | part diversely;
| |o { Matt. 5.44. | confusion in
| |u | MSS.
| |s |
| |s |
Continuous. { |A.1.16, Luke 6.29 | |
{ | (Matt. 5.39, 40.) | |
{ | |A.1.16, Matt. 5. |
{ | | 22 (v.l.) |
{ | |A.1.16, Matt. 5 |[Greek:
{ | | 41. | angaeusei.]
{ |A.1.16, Matt. 5.16. | |
| |D.93, A,1.16, |
| | Matt. 22.40,37,|
| | 38. |
| |A.1.16, D.101, |repeated
| | Matt. 19.16, | diversely.
| | 17 (v.l.); Luke|
| | 18.18,19 (v.l.)|
|A.1.16, Matt. 5. | |
| 34,37. | |
{A.1.16, Matt. | | |
{ 7.21. | | |
C { |A.1.16 (A.1.62), | |repeated in part
o { | Luke 10.16 (v.l.) | | similarly, in
n { | | | part diversely.
t { | |+A.1.16 (D.76), |
i { | | Matt. 7.22, 23 |
n { | | (v.l.); Luke |
u { | | 13.26,27 (v.l.)|
o { |A.1.16, Matt. 13. | |addition.
u { | 42, 43 (v.l.) | |
s { | |A.1.16 (D.35), |
{ | | Matt. 7.15. |
{ |A.1.16, Matt. 7. | |
{ | 16, 19. | |
D.76, Matt. 8.11.| | |
12+. | | |
| |D.35, [Greek: |
| | esontai schi- |
| | smata kai hai- |
| | reseis.] |
|D.76, Matt. 25.41 | |
| (v.l.) | |
|D.35, Matt. 7.15. | |repeated with
| | | nearer
| | | approach to
| | | Matthew, perh.
| | | v.l.
| |D.35, 82, Matt. |repeated with
| |24.24 (Mark 13. | similarity and
| | 22). | divergence.
| |D.82, Matt. 10. |freely.
| | 22, par. |
A.1.19, Luke 18. | | |
27+. | | |
| |A.1.19, Luke 12. |compounded.
| | 4, 5; Matt. |
| | 10.28. |
| |A.1.17, Luke 12. |
| | 48 (v.l.) |
|D.76, Luke 10.19+ | |ins. [Greek:
| | | skolopendron.]
D.105, Matt. 5. | | |
20. | | |
| |D.125, Matt. 13. |condensed narra-
| | 3 sqq. | tive.
| |+D.17, Luke 11. |
| | 52. |
|D.17, Matt. 23.23; | |compounded.
| Luke 11.42. | |
|D.17, 112, Matt. | |repeated simi-
| 23.27; 23.24. | | larly.
| |D.47, [Greek: en |
| | ois an humas |
| | katalabo en |
| | toutois kai |
| | krino.] |
|D.81, Luke 20. | |marked resem-
| 35, 36. | | blance with
| | | difference.
D.107, Matt.16.4.| | |
|D. 122, Matt. 23. | |
| 15. | |
|+D.17, Matt. 21. | |
| 13, 12. | |
| |+A.1.17, Luke 20.|narrative portion
| | 22-25 (v.l.) | free.
|D.100, A.1.63, | |repeated not
| Matt. 11.27 (v.l.)| | identically.
|D.76, 100, Luke | |repeated diverse-
| 9.22. | | diversely;
| | | free (Credner).
A.1.36, Matt. 21.| |D.53, Matt. 21.5.|(Zech. 9.9).
5 (addition). | | |
| |A.1.66, Luke 22. |
| | 19, 20. |
|D.99, Matt. 26. | |
| 39 (v.l.) | |
| |D.103, Luke 22. |
| | 42-44. |
| |D.101, Matt. 27. |
| | 43. |
| |A.1.38, [Greek: |
| | ho nekrous |
| | anegeiras rhu- |
| | sastho eauton.]|
D.99, Matt. 27. | | |compounded.
46; Mark 15.34.| | |
D.105, Luke 23. | | |
46.
The total result may be taken to be that ten passages are
substantially exact, while twenty-five present slight and thirty-
two marked variations [Endnote 116:1]. This is only rough and
approximate, because of the passages that are put down as exact
two, or possibly three, can only be said to be so with a
qualification; though, on the other hand, there are passages
entered under the second class as 'slightly variant' which have a
leaning towards the first, and passages entered under the third
which have a perceptible leaning towards the second. We can
therefore afford to disregard these doubtful cases and accept the
classification very much as it stands. Comparing it then with the
parallel classification that has been made of the quotations from
the Old Testament, we find that in the latter sixty-four were
ranked as exact, forty-four as slightly variant, and fifty-four as
decidedly variant. If we reduce these roughly to a common standard
of comparison the proportion of variation may be represented
thus:--
| Exact. | Slightly | Variant.
| | variant. |
| | |
Quotations from the Old Testament | 10 | 7 | 9
Quotations from the Synoptic Gospels | 10 | 25 | 32
It will be seen from this at once how largely the proportion of
variation rises; it is indeed more than three times as high for
the quotations from the Gospels as for those from the Old Testament.
The amount of combination too is decidedly in excess of that which
is found in the Old Testament quotations.
There is, it is true, something to be said on the other side.
Justin quotes the Old Testament rather as Scripture, the New
Testament rather as history. I think it will be felt that he has
permitted his own style a freer play in regard to the latter than
the former. The New Testament record had not yet acquired the same
degree of fixity as the Old. The 'many' compositions of which
St. Luke speaks in his preface were still in circulation, and were
only gradually dying out. One important step had been taken in the
regular reading of the 'Memoirs of the Apostles' at the Christian
assemblies. We have not indeed proof that these were confined to
the Canonical Gospels. Probably as yet they were not. But it
should be remembered that Irenaeus was now a boy, and that by the
time he had reached manhood the Canon of the Gospels had received
its definite form.
Taking all these points into consideration I think we shall find
the various indications converge upon very much the same conclusion
as that at which we have already arrived. The _a priori_ probabilities
of the case, as well as the actual phenomena of Justin's Gospel,
alike tend to show that he did make use either mediately or immediately
of our Gospels, but that he did not assign to them an exclusive
authority, and that he probably made use along with them of other
documents no longer extant.
The proof that Justin made use of each of our three Synoptics
individually is perhaps more striking from the point of view of
substance than of form, because his direct quotations are mostly
taken from the discourses rather than from the narrative, and
these discourses are usually found in more than a single Gospel,
while in proportion as they bear the stamp of originality and
authenticity it is difficult to assign them to any particular
reporter. There is however some strong and remarkable evidence of
this kind.
At least one case of parallelism seems to prove almost decisively
the use of the first Gospel. It is necessary to give the quotation
and the original with the parallel from St. Mark side by side.
_Justin, Dial._ c.49.
[Greek: Aelias men eleusetai kai apokatastaesei panta, lego de
humin, hoti Aelias aedae aelthe kai ouk epegnosan auton all'
epoiaesan auto hosa aethelaesan. Kai gegraptai hoti tote sunaekan
oi mathaetai, hoti peri Ioannon tou Baptistou eipen autois.]
_Matt._ xvii. 11-13.
[Greek: Aelias men erchetai apokatastaesei panta, lego de humin
hoti Aelias aedae aelthen kai ouk epegnosan auton, alla epoiaesan
auto hosa aethelaesan, [outos kai ho uios tou anthropou mellei
paschein hup' auton.] Tote sunaekan oi mathaetai hoti peri Ioannou
tou Baptistou eipen autois.] The clause in brackets is placed at
the end of ver. 13 by D. and the Old Latin.
_Mark._ ix. 12, 13.
[Greek: Ho de ephae autois, Aelias [men] elthon proton
apokathistanei panta, kai pos gegraptai epi ton uion tou
anthropou, hina polla pathae kai exoudenaethae. Alla lego humin
hoti kai Aelias elaeluthen kai epoiaesan auto hosa aethelon,
kathos gegraptai ep' auton.]
We notice here, first, an important point, that Justin reproduces at
the end of his quotation what appears to be not so much a part of the
object-matter of the narrative as a _comment or reflection of the
Evangelist_ ('Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of
John the Baptist'). This was thought by Credner, who as a rule is
inclined to press the use of an apocryphal Gospel by Justin, to be
sufficient proof that the quotation is taken from our present Matthew
[Endnote 119:1]. On this point, however, there is an able and on the
whole a sound argument in 'Supernatural Religion' [Endnote 119:2].
There are certainly cases in which a similar comment or reflection is
found either in all three Synoptic Gospels or in two of them (e.g.
Matt. vii. 28, 29 = Mark i. 22 = Luke iv. 32; Matt. xiii. 34 = Mark
iv. 33, 34; Matt. xxvi. 43 = Mark xiv. 40; Matt. xix. 22 = Mark x.
22). The author consequently maintains that these were found in the
original document from which all three, or two Synoptics at least,
borrowed; and he notes that this very passage is assigned by Ewald to
the 'oldest Gospel.'
The observation in itself is a fine and true one, and has an
important bearing upon the question as to the way in which our
Synoptic Gospels were composed. We may indeed remark in passing
that the author seems to have overlooked the fact that, when once
this principle of a common written basis or bases for the Synoptic
Gospels is accepted, nine-tenths of his own argument is overthrown;
for there are no divergences in the text of the patristic quotations
from the Gospels that may not be amply paralleled by the differences
which exist in the text of the several Gospels themselves, showing
that the Evangelists took liberties with their ground documents
to an extent that is really greater than that of any subsequent
misquotation. But putting aside for the present this _argumentum
ad hominem_ which seems to follow from the admission here made,
there is, I think, the strongest reason to conclude that in the
present case the first Evangelist is not merely reproducing his
ground document. There is one element in the question which the
author has omitted to notice; that is, the _parallel passage in
St. Mark._ This differs so widely from the text of St. Matthew as
to show that that text cannot accurately represent the original;
it also wants the reflective comment altogether. Accordingly, if
the author will turn to p. 275 of Ewald's book [Endnote 120:1] he
will find that that writer, though roughly assigning the passage
as it appears in both Synoptics to the 'oldest Gospel,' yet in
reconstructing the text of this Gospel does so, not by taking that
of either of the Synoptics pure and simple, but by mixing the two.
All the other critics who have dealt with this point, so far as I
am aware, have done the same. Holtzmann [Endnote 120:2] follows
Ewald, and Weiss [Endnote 120:3] accepts Mark's as more nearly the
original text.
The very extent of the divergence in St. Mark throws out into striking
relief the close agreement of Justin's quotation with St. Matthew.
Here we have three verses word for word the same, even to the finest
shades of expression. To the single exception [Greek: eleusetai]
for [Greek: erchetai] I cannot, as Credner does [Endnote 120:4],
attach any importance. The present tense in the Gospel has undoubtedly
a future signification [Endnote 120:5], and Justin was very naturally
led to give it also a future form by [Greek: apokatastaesei] which
follows. For the rest, the order, particles, tenses are so absolutely
identical, where the text of St. Mark shows how inevitably they must
have differed in another Gospel or even in the original, that I can
see no alternative but to refer the quotation directly to our present
St. Matthew.
If this passage had stood alone, taken in connection with the
coincidence of matter between Justin and the first Gospel, great
weight must have attached to it. But it does not by any means stand
alone. There is an exact verbal agreement in the verses Matt. v. 20
('Except your righteousness' &c.) and Matt. vii. 21 ('Not every one
that saith unto me,' &c.) which are peculiar to the first Gospel.
There is a close agreement, if not always with the best, yet with some
very old, text of St. Matthew in v. 22 (note especially the striking
phrase and construction [Greek: enochos eis]), v. 28 (note [Greek:
blep. pros to epithum].), v. 41 (note the remarkable word [Greek:
angareusei]), xxv. 41, and not too great a divergence in v. 16, vi. 1
([Greek: pros to theathaenai, ei de mae ge misthon ouk echete]), and
xix. 12, all of which passages are without parallel in any extant
Gospel. There are also marked resemblances to the Matthaean text in
synoptic passages such as Matt. iii. 11, 12 ([Greek: eis metanoian, ta
hupodaemata bastasai]), Matt. vi. 19, 20 ([Greek: hopou saes kai
brosis aphanizei], where Luke has simply [Greek: saes diaphtheirei],
and [Greek: diorussousi] where Luke has [Greek: engizei]), Matt. vii.
22, 23 ([Greek: ekeinae tae haemera Kurie, Kurie, k.t.l.]), Matt. xvi.
26 ([Greek: dosei] Matt. only, [Greek: antallagma] Matt., Mark), Matt.
xvi. 1, 4 (the last verse exactly). As these passages are all from the
discourses I do not wish to say that they may not be taken from other
Gospels than the canonical, but we have absolutely no evidence that
they were so taken, and every additional instance increases the
probability that they were taken directly from St. Matthew, which by
this time, I think, has reached a very high degree of presumption.
I have reserved for a separate discussion a single instance which
I shall venture to add to those already quoted, although I am
aware that it is alleged on the opposite side. Justin has the
saying 'Let your yea be yea and your nay nay, for whatsoever is
more than these cometh of the Evil One' ([Greek: Mae omosaete
holos. Esto de humon to nai nai, kai to ou ou; to de perisson
touton ek tou ponaerou]), which is set against the first
Evangelist's 'Let your conversation be Yea yea, Nay nay, for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of the Evil One' ([Greek: ego
de lego humin mae omosai holos... Esto de ho logos humon nai nai,
ou ou; to de perisson, k.t.l.]). Now it is perfectly true that as
early as the Canonical Epistle of James (v. 12) we find the
reading [Greek: aeto de humon to nai nai, kai to ou ou], and that
in the Clementine Homilies twice over we read [Greek: esto humon
to nai nai, (kai) to ou ou], [Greek: kai] being inserted in one
instance and not in the other. Justin's reading is found also
exactly in Clement of Alexandria, and a similar reading (though
with the [Greek: aeto] of James) in Epiphanius. These last two
examples show that the misquotation was an easy one to fall into,
because there can be little doubt that Clement and Epiphanius
supposed themselves to be quoting the canonical text. There
remains however the fact that the Justinian form is supported by
the pseudo-Clementines; and at the first blush it might seem that
'Let your yea be yea' (stand to your word) made better, at least a
complete and more obvious, sense than 'Let your conversation be'
(let it not go beyond) 'Yea yea' &c [Endnote 122:1]. There is,
however, what seems to be a decisive proof that the original form
both of Justin's and the Clementine quotation is that which is
given in the first Gospel. Both Justin and the writer who passes
under the name of Clement add the clause 'Whatsoever is more than
these cometh of evil' (or 'of the Evil One'). But this, while it
tallies perfectly with the canonical reading, evidently excludes
any other. It is consequent and good sense to say, 'Do not go
beyond a plain yes or no, because whatever is in excess of this
must have an evil motive,' but the connection is entirely lost
when we substitute 'Keep your word, for whatever is more than this
has an evil motive'--more than what?
The most important points that can be taken to imply a use of
St. Mark's Gospel have been already discussed as falling under
the head of matter rather than of form.
The coincidences with Luke are striking but complicated. In his
earlier work, the 'Beiträge' [Endnote 123:1], Credner regarded as
a decided reference to the Prologue of this Gospel the statement
of Justin that his Memoirs were composed [Greek: hupo ton
apostolon autou kai ton ekeinois parakolouthaesanton]: but, in the
posthumous History of the Canon [Endnote 123:2], he retracts this
view, having come to recognise a greater frequency in the use of
the word [Greek: parakolouthein] in this sense. It will also of
course be noticed that Justin has [Greek: par. tois ap.] and not
[Greek: par. tois pragmasin], as Luke. It is doubtless true that
the use of the word can be paralleled to such an extent as to make
it not a matter of certainty that the Gospel is being quoted:
still I think there will be a certain probability that it has been
suggested by a reminiscence of this passage, and, strangely
enough, there is a parallel for the substitution of the historians
for the subject-matter of their history in Epiphanius, who reads
[Greek: par. tois autoptais kai hupaeretais tou logou] [Endnote
124:1], where he is explicitly and unquestionably quoting St.
Luke.
There are some marked coincidences of phrase in the account of the
Annunciation--[Greek: eperchesthai, episkaizein, dunamis
hupsistou] (a specially Lucan phrase), [Greek: to gennomenon]
(also a form characteristic of St. Luke), [Greek idou, sullaepsae
en gastri kai texae huion]. Of the other peculiarities of St. Luke
Justin has in exact accordance the last words upon the cross
([Greek: Pater, eis cheiras sou paratithemai to pneuma mou]). In
the Agony in the Garden Justin has the feature of the Bloody
Sweat; but it is right to notice--
(1) That he has [Greek: thromboi] alone, without [Greek:
haimatos]. Luke, [Greek: egeneto ho hidros autou hosei thromboi
haimatos katabainontes]. Justin, [Greek: hidros hosei thromboi
katecheito].
(2) That this is regarded as a fulfilment of Ps. xxii. 14 ('All my
tears are poured out' &c.).
(3) That in continuing the quotation Justin follows Matthew rather
than Luke. These considerations may be held to qualify, though I
do not think that they suffice to remove, the conclusion that St.
Luke's Gospel is being quoted. It seems to be sufficiently clear
that [Greek: thromboi] might be used in this signification without
[Greek: aimatos] [Endnote 124:2], and it appears from the whole
manner of Justin's narrative that he intends to give merely the
sense and not the words, with the exception of the single saying
'Let this cup pass from Me,' which is taken from St. Matthew. We
cannot say positively that this feature did not occur in any other
Gospel, but there is absolutely no reason apart from this passage
to suppose that it did. The construction with [Greek: hosei] is in
some degree characteristic of St. Luke, as it occurs more often in
the works of that writer than in all the rest of the New Testament
put together.
In narrating the institution of the Lord's Supper Justin has the
clause which is found only in St. Luke and St. Paul, 'This do in
remembrance of Me' ([Greek: mou] for [Greek: emaen]). The giving
of the cup he quotes rather after the first two Synoptics, and
adds 'that He gave it to them (the Apostles) alone.' This last
does not seem to be more than an inference of Justin's own.
Two other sayings Justin has which are without parallel except in
St. Luke. One is from the mission of the seventy.
_Justin, Dial._ 76
[Greek: Didomi humin exousian katapatein epano opheon, kai
skorpion, kai skolopendron, kai epano parsaes dunameos tou
echthrou.]
_Luke_ x. 19.
[Greek: Idou, didomi humin taen exousian tou patein epano epheon,
kai skorpion, kai epi pasan taen dunamin tou echthrou.]
The insertion of [Greek: skolopendron] here is curious. It may be
perhaps to some extent paralleled by the insertion of [Greek: kai
eis thaeran] in Rom. xi. 9: we have also seen a strange addition
in the quotation of Ps. li. 19 in the Epistle of Barnabas (c. ii).
Otherwise the resemblance of Justin to the Gospel is striking. The
second saying, 'To whom God has given more, of him shall more be
required' (Apol. i. 17), if quoted from the Gospel at all, is only
a paraphrase of Luke xii. 48.
Besides these there are other passages, which are perhaps stronger
as separate items of evidence, where, in quoting synoptic matter,
Justin makes use of phrases which are found only in St. Luke and
are discountenanced by the other Evangelists. Thus in the account
of the rich young man, the three synoptical versions of the saying
that impossibilities with men are possible with God, run thus:--
_Luke_ xviii. 27.
[Greek: Ta adunata para anthropois dunata para to Theo estin.]
_Mark_ x. 27.
[Greek: Para anthropois adunaton, all' ou para Theo; punta gar
dunata para to Theo].
_Matt_. xix. 26.
[Greek: Para anthropois touto adunaton estin, para de Theo dunata
panta].
Here it will be observed that Matthew and Mark (as frequently
happens) are nearer to each other than either of them is to Luke.
This would lead us to infer that, as they are two to one, they
more nearly represent the common original, which has been somewhat
modified in the hands of St. Luke. But now Justin has the words
precisely as they stand in St. Luke, with the omission of [Greek:
estin], the order of which varies in the MSS. of the Gospel. This
must be taken as a strong proof that Justin has used the peculiar
text of the third Gospel. Again, it is to be noticed that in
another section of the triple synopsis (Mark xii. 20=Matt. xxii.
30=Luke xx. 35, 36) he has, in common with Luke and diverging from
the other Gospels which are in near agreement, the remarkable
compound [Greek: isangeloi] and the equally remarkable phrase
[Greek: huioi taes anastaseos] ([Greek: tekna tou Theou taes
anastaseos] Justin). This also I must regard as supplying a strong
argument for the direct use of the Gospel. Many similar instances
may be adduced; [Greek: erchetai] ([Greek: aexei] Justin) [Greek:
ho ischuroteros] (Luke iii. 16), [Greek: ho nomos kai hoi
prophaetai heos] ([Greek: mechri] Justin) [Greek: Ioannon] (Luke
xvi. 16), [Greek: panti to aitounti] (Luke vi. 30), [Greek: to
tuptonti se epi] ([Greek: sou] Justin) [Greek: taen siagona
pareche kai taen allaen k.t.l.] (Luke vi. 29; compare Matt. v. 39,
40), [Greek: ti me legeis agathon] and [Greek: oudeis agathos ei
mae] (Luke xviii. 19; compare Matt. xix. 17), [Greek: meta tauta
mae echonton] ([Greek: dunamenous] Justin) [Greek: perissoteron]
(om. Justin) [Greek: ti poiaesae k.t.l.] (Luke xii. 4, 5; compare
Matt. X. 28), [Greek: paeganon] and [Greek: agapaen tou Theou]
(Luke xi. 42). In the parallel passage to Luke ix. 22 (=Matt xvi.
21= Mark viii. 31) Justin has the striking word [Greek:
apodokimasthaenai], with Mark and Luke against Matthew, and
[Greek: hupo] with Mark against the [Greek: apo] of the two other
Synoptics. This last coincidence can perhaps hardly be pressed, as
[Greek: hupo] would be the more natural word to use.
In the cases where we have only the double synopsis to compare
with Justin, we have no certain test to distinguish between the
primary and secondary features in the text of the Gospels. We
cannot say with confidence what belonged to the original document
and what to the later editor who reduced it to its present form.
In these cases therefore it is possible that when Justin has a
detail that is found in St. Matthew and wanting in St. Luke, or
found in St. Luke and wanting in St. Matthew, he is still not
quoting directly from either of those Gospels, but from the common
document on which they are based. The triple synopsis however
furnishes such a criterion. It enables us to see what was the
original text and how any single Evangelist has diverged from it.
Thus in the two instances quoted at the beginning of the last
paragraph it is evident that the Lucan text represents a deviation
from the original, and _that deviation Justin has reproduced_. The
word [Greek: isangeloi] may be taken as a crucial case. Both the
other Synoptics have simply [Greek hos angeloi], and this may be
set down as undoubtedly the reading of the original; the form
[Greek: isangeloi], which occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament, and I believe, so far as we know, nowhere else in Greek
before this passage [Endnote 128:1], has clearly been coined by
the third Evangelist and has been adopted from him by Justin. So
that in a quotation which otherwise presents considerable
variation we have what I think must be called the strongest
evidence that Justin really had St. Luke's narrative, either in
itself or in some secondary shape, before him.
We are thus brought once more to the old result. If Justin did not
use our Gospels in their present shape as they have come down to
us, he used them in a later shape, not in an earlier. His
resemblances to them cannot be accounted for by the supposition
that he had access to the materials out of which they were
composed, because he reproduces features which by the nature of
the case cannot have been present in those originals, but of which
we are still able to trace the authorship and the exact point of
their insertion. Our Gospels form a secondary stage in the history
of the text, Justin's quotations a tertiary. In order to reach the
state in which it is found in Justin, the road lies _through_ our
Gospels, and not outside them.
This however does not exclude the possibility that Justin may at
times quote from uncanonical Gospels as well. We have already seen
reason to think that he did so from the substance of the
Evangelical narrative, as it appears in his works, and this
conclusion too is not otherwise than confirmed by its form. The
degree and extent of the variations incline us to introduce such
an additional factor to account for them. Either Justin has used a
lost Gospel or Gospels, besides those that are still extant, or
else he has used a recension of these Gospels with some slight
changes of language and with some apocryphal additions. We have
seen that he has two short sayings and several minute details that
are not found in our present Gospels. A remarkable coincidence is
noticed in 'Supernatural Religion' with the Protevangelium of
James [Endnote 129:1]. As in that work so also in Justin, the
explanation of the name Jesus occurs in the address of the angel
to Mary, not to Joseph, 'Behold thou shalt conceive of the Holy
Ghost and bear a Son and He shall be called the Son of the
Highest, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people from their sins.' Again the Protevangelium has the phrase
'Thou shalt conceive of His Word,' which, though not directly
quoted, appears to receive countenance from Justin. The author
adds that 'Justin's divergences from the Protevangelium prevent
our supposing that in its present form it could have been the
actual source of his quotations,' though he thinks that he had
before him a still earlier work to which both the Protevangelium
and the third Gospel were indebted. So far as the Protevangelium
is concerned this may very probably have been the case; but what
reason there is for assuming that the same document was also
anterior to the third Gospel I am not aware. On the contrary, this
very passage seems to suggest an opposite conclusion. The
quotation in Justin and the address in the Protevangelium both
present a combination of narratives that are kept separate in the
first and third Gospels. But this very fact supplies a strong
presumption that the version of those Gospels is the earliest. It
is unlikely that the first Evangelist, if he had found his text
already existing as part of the speech of the angel to Mary, would
have transferred it to an address to Joseph; and it is little less
unlikely that the third Evangelist, finding the fuller version of
Justin and the Protevangelium, should have omitted from it one of
its most important features. If a further link is necessary to
connect Justin with the Protevangelium, that link comes into the
chain after our Gospels and not before. Dr. Hilgenfeld has also
noticed the phrase [Greek: charan de labousa Mariam] as common to
Justin and the Protevangelium [Endnote 130:1]. This, too, may
belong to the older original of the latter work. The other verbal
coincidences with the Gospel according to the Hebrews in the
account of the Baptism, and with that of Thomas in the 'ploughs
and yokes,' have been already mentioned, and are, I believe, along
with those just discussed, all that can be directly referred to an
apocryphal source.
Besides these there are some coincidences in form between quotations
as they appear in Justin and in other writers, such as especially the
Clementine Homilies. These are thought to point to the existence of a
common Gospel (now lost) from which they may have been extracted. It
is unnecessary to repeat what has been said about one of these
passages ('Let your yea be yea,' &c.). Another corresponds roughly to
the verse Matt. xxv. 41, where both Justin and the Clementine Homilies
read [Greek: hupagete eis to skotos to exoteron o haetoimasen ho
pataer to satana (to diabolo] Clem. Hom.) [Greek: kai tois angelois
autou] for the canonical [Greek: poreuesthe ap' emou eis to pur to
aionion to haetoimasmenon k.t.l.] It is true that there is a
considerable approximation to the reading of Justin and the
Clementines, found especially in MSS. and authorities of a Western
character (D. Latt. Iren. Cypr. Hil.), but there still remains the
coincidence in regard to [Greek: exoteron](?) for [Greek: aionion] and
[Greek: skotos] for [Greek: pyr], which seems to be due to something
more than merely a variant text of the Gospel. A third meeting-point
between Justin and the Clementines is afforded by a text which we
shall have to touch upon when we come to speak of the fourth Gospel.
Of the other quotations common to the Clementines and Justin there is
a partial but not complete coincidence in regard to Matt. vii. 15, xi.
27, xix. 16, and Luke vi. 36. In Matt. vii. 15 the Clementines have
[Greek: polloi eleusontai] where Justin has once [Greek: polloi
eleusontai], once [Greek: polloi aexousin], and once the Matthaean
version [Greek: prosechete apo ton pseudoprophaeton oitines erchontai
k.t.l.] There is however a difference in regard to the reading [Greek:
en endumasi], where the Clementines have [Greek: en endumatie], and
Justin twice over [Greek: endedumenoi]. In Matt. xi. 27, Justin and
the Clementines agree as to the order of the clauses, and twice in the
use of the aorist [Greek: egno] (Justin has once [Greek: ginosko]),
but in the concluding clause ([Greek: ho [ois] Clem.] [Greek: ean
boulaetai ho nios apokalupsai]) Justin has uniformly in the three
places where the verse is quoted [Greek: ois an ho uhios apokalupsae].
In Matt. xix. 16, 17 (Luke xviii. 18, 19) the Clementines and Justin
alternately adhere to the Canonical text while differing from each
other, but in the concluding phrase Justin has on one occasion the
Clementine reading, [Greek: ho pataer mou ho en tois ouranois]. In
Luke vi. 36 the Clementines have [Greek: ginesthe agathoi kai
ioktirmones], where Justin has [Greek: ginesthe chraestoi kai
oiktirmones] against the Canonical [Greek: ginesthe oiktirmones]. On
the other hand, it should be said that the remaining quotations common
to the Clementines and Justin have to all appearance no relation to
each other. This applies to Matt. iv. 10, v. 39, 40, vi. 8, viii. 11,
x. 28; Luke xi. 52. Speaking generally we seem to observe in comparing
Justin and the Clementines phenomena not dissimilar to those which
appear on a comparison with the Canonical Gospels. There is perhaps
about the same degree at once of resemblance and divergence.
The principal textual coincidence with other writers is that with
the Gospel used by the Marcosians as quoted by Irenaeus (Adv.
Haer. i. 20. 3). Here the reading of Matt. xi. 27 is given in a
form very similar to that of Justin, [Greek: oudeis hegno ton
patera ei mae ho uhios, kai (oude Justin) ton uhion, ei mae ho
pataer kai ho (ois] Justin) [Greek: an ho uhios apokalupsae].
This verse however is quoted by the early writers, orthodox as well
as heretical, in almost every possible way, and it is not clear from
the account in Irenaeus whether the Marcosians used an extra-
canonical Gospel or merely a different text of the Canonical.
Irenaeus himself seems to hold the latter view, and in favour of
it may be urged the fact that they quote passages peculiar both to
the first and the third Gospel; on the other hand, one of their
quotations, [Greek: pollakis epethuaesa akousai hena ton logon
touton], does not appear to have a canonical original.
On reviewing these results we find them present a chequered
appearance. There are no traces of coincidence so definite and
consistent as to justify us in laying the finger upon any
particular extra-canonical Gospel as that used by Justin. But upon
the whole it seems best to assume that some such Gospel was used,
certainly not to the exclusion of the Canonical Gospels, but
probably in addition to them.
A confusing element in the whole question is that to which we have
just alluded in regard to the Gospel of the Marcosians. It is
often difficult to decide whether a writer has really before him
an unknown document or merely a variant text of one with which we
are familiar. In the case of Justin it is to be noticed that there
is often a very considerable approximation to his readings, not in
the best text, but in some very early attested text, of the
Canonical Gospels. It will be well to collect some of the most
prominent instances of this.
Matt. iii. 15 ad fin. [Greek: kai pur anaephthae en to Iordanae]
Justin. So a. (Codex Vercellensis of the Old Latin translation)
adds 'et cum baptizaretur lumen ingens circumfulsit de aqua ita ut
timerent onmes qui advenerant;' g[1]. (Codex Sangermanensis of the
same) 'lumen magnum fulgebat de aqua,' &c. See above.
Luke iii. 22. Justin reads [Greek: uhios mon ei su, ego saemeron
gegennaeka se]. So D, a, b, c, ff, l, Latin Fathers ('nonnulli
codices' Augustine). See above.
Matt. v. 28. [Greek: hos un emblepsae] for [Greek: pas ho blepon].
Origen five times as Justin, only once the accepted text.
Matt. v. 29. Justin and Clement of Alexandria read here [Greek:
ekkopson] for [Greek: exele], probably from the next verse or from
Matt. xviii. 8.
Matt. vi. 20. [Greek: ouranois] Clem. Alex. with Justin; [Greek:
ourano] the accepted reading.
Matt. xvi. 26. [Greek: opheleitai] Justin with most MSS. both of
the Old Latin and of the Vulgate, the Curetonian Syriac
(Crowfoot), Clement, Hilary, and Lucifer, against [Greek:
ophelaethaesetai] of the best Alexandrine authorities.
Matt. vi. 21. There is a striking coincidence here with Clement of
Alexandria, who reads, like Justin, [Greek: nous] for [Greek:
cardia]; it would seem that Clement had probably derived his
reading from Justin.
Matt. v. 22. [Greek: hostis an orgisthae] Syr. Crt. (Crowfoot); so
Justin ([Greek: hos]).
Matt. v. 16. Clement of Alexandria (with Tertullian and several
Latin Fathers) has [Greek: lampsato ta erga] and [Greek: ta agatha
erga], where Justin has [Greek: lampsato ta kala erga], for
[Greek: lampsato to phos]. Both readings would seem to be a gloss
on the original.
Matt. v. 37. [Greek: kai] is inserted, as in Justin, by a, b, g,
h, Syr. Crt. and Pst.
Luke x. 16. Justin has the reading [Greek: ho emou akouon akouei
ton aposteilantos me]: so D, i, l (of the Old Latin) in place of
[Greek: ho eme atheton k.t.l.]; in addition to it, E, a, b, Syr.
Crt. and Hel. &c.
Matt. vii. 22. [Greek: ou to so anomati ephagomen kai epiomen]
Justin; similarly Origen, four times, and Syr. Crt.
Luke xiii. 27. [Greek: anomias] for [Greek: adikias], D and
Justin.
Matt. xiii. 43. [Greek: lampsosin] for [Greek: eklampsosin] with
Justin, D, and Origen (twice).
Matt. xxv. 41. Of Justin's readings in this verse [Greek:
hupagete] for [Greek: poreuesthe] is found also in [Hebrew: ?] and
Hippolytus, [Greek: exoteron] for [Greek: aionion] in the cursive
manuscript numbered 40 (Credner; I am unable to verify this),
[Greek: ho haetoimasen ho pater mou] for [Greek: to haetoimasmenon]
D. 1, most Codd. of the Old Latin, Iren. Tert. Cypr. Hil. Hipp.
and Origen in the Latin translation.
Luke xii. 48. D, like Justin, has here [Greek: pleon] for [Greek:
perissoteron] and also the compound form [Greek: apaitaesousin].
Luke xx. 24. Though in the main following (but loosely) the text
of Luke, Justin has here [Greek: to nomisma], as Matt., instead of
[Greek: daenarion]; so D.
Though it will be seen that Justin has thus much in common with D
and the Old Latin version, it should be noticed that he has the
verse, Luke xxii. 19, and especially the clause [Greek: touto
poieite eis taen emaen anamnaesin] which is wanting in these
authorities. On the other hand, he appears to have with them and
other authorities, including Syr. Crt., the Agony in the Garden as
given in Luke xxii, 43,44, which verses are omitted in MSS. of the
best Alexandrine type. Luke xxiii. 34, Justin also has, with the
divided support of the majority of Greek MSS. Vulgate, c, e, f, ff
of the Old Latin, Syr. Crt. and Pst. &c. against B, D (prima
manu), a, b, Memph. (MSS.) Theb.
These readings represent in the main a text which was undoubtedly
current and widely diffused in the second century. 'Though no
surviving manuscript of the Old Latin version dates before the
fourth century and most of them belong to a still later age, yet
the general correspondence of their text with that of the first
Latin Fathers is a sufficient voucher for its high antiquity. The
connexion subsisting between this Latin, version, the Curetonian
Syriac and Codex Bezae, proves that the text of these documents is
considerably older than the vellum on which they are written.'
Such is Dr. Scrivener's verdict upon the class of authorities with
which Justin shows the strongest affinity, and he goes on to add;
'Now it may be said without extravagance that no set of Scriptural
records affords a text less probable in itself, less sustained by
any rational principles of external evidence, than that of Cod. D,
of the Latin codices, and (so far as it accords with them) of
Cureton's Syriac. Interpolations as insipid in themselves as
unsupported by other evidence abound in them all.... It is no less
true to fact than paradoxical in sound, that the worst corruptions
to which the New Testament has ever been subjected originated
within a hundred years after it was composed' [Endnote 135:1].
This is a point on which text critics of all schools are
substantially agreed. However much they may differ in other
respects, no one of them has ever thought of taking the text of
the Old Syriac and Old Latin translations as the basis of an
edition. There can be no question that this text belongs to an
advanced, though early, stage of corruption.
At the same stage of corruption, then, Justin's quotations from
the Gospels are found, and this very fact is a proof of the
antiquity of originals so corrupted. The coincidences are too many
and too great all to be the result of accident or to be accounted
for by the parallel influence of the lost Gospels. The presence,
for instance, of the reading [Greek: o haetoimasen ho pataer] for
[Greek: to haetoimasmenon] in Irenaeus and Tertullian (who has
both 'quem praeparavit deus' and 'praeparatum') is a proof that it
was found in the canonical text at a date little later than
Justin's. And facts such as this, taken together with the
arguments which make it little less than certain that Justin had
either mediately or immediately access to our Gospels, render it
highly probable that he had a form of the canonical text before
him.
And yet large as is the approximation to Justin's text that may be
made without stirring beyond the bounds of attested readings
within the Canon, I still retain the opinion previously expressed
that he did also make use of some extra-canonical book or books,
though what the precise document was the data are far too
insufficient to enable us to determine. So far as the history of
our present Gospels is concerned, I have only to insist upon the
alternative that Justin either used those Gospels themselves or
else a later work, of the nature of a harmony based upon them
[Endnote 136:1]. The theory (if it is really held) that he was
ignorant of our Gospels in any shape, seems to me, in view of the
facts, wholly untenable.