“I shall not waste any ink or paper to prove that the Protevangelium, the Gospel of the Infancy, the Acts of Pilate, etc., in their present forms as known to us and as quoted by Judge Waite, arose at a later period than our canonical Gospels.” ... “A knowledge of the original sources and the literature of the subject would have saved him from this pitiful blunder. I simply refer to Professor Lipsius’ article on the Apocryphal Gospels, in Smith and Wace’s Dictionary of Christian Biography, London, 1880, Vol. II., pp. 700, seq.; and Holtzmann’s Apocryphon des Neuen Testaments, in Schenkel’s Bible Lexicon, Leipzig, 1869, Vol. I., pp. 170 seq. As neither of these articles are by orthodox men, or by those who have the slightest bias toward orthodoxy, they are calculated to inspire confidence in persons of every shade of belief or disbelief. Both are authorities; Meyer’s Conversations-Lexikon says of Professor Lipsius, of Jena, that he is one of the most eminent scholars in Germany.” (See [note 2].)
With this concurring judgment of the most eminent scholars, not much time should be spent upon these Apocryphal books. But a single quotation is given by Judge Waite that is claimed by him to have been made by Justin from either of them. And this (although not to be found in any single passage in our Gospels) may be gathered from different passages, which would be in keeping with Justin’s mode. It corresponds quite nearly, though not precisely, with a part[3] of the description in the Protevangelium of the announcement to Mary. But this no more proves the use of the Protevangelium by Justin than it proves the use of Justin’s Apology by the writer of the Protevangelium. Aside from this quotation, there are a few facts stated by Justin that are claimed, by some persons, to have been taken from the Apocryphal Gospels. One is, that Jesus made ploughs and yokes, which Justin of course would infer, from the fact that it was a part of the business of a carpenter to make ploughs and yokes. Another is, that Jesus was born in a cave. Dr. Thompson, says[4], “It is not impossible, to say the least, but that the apartment in which our Saviour was born was in part a cave. I have seen many such, consisting of one or more rooms in front of and including a cavern, where the cattle were kept.” Justin, who was a native of Judea, added a circumstance well known from tradition, which Luke did not think it of consequence to mention, that the manger was in a cave, i. e., that the stable in which was the manger was in a cave. He had no occasion to resort to books for such a fact. Another is, that Justin refers the Roman Emperor to “Acts of Pilate” as affording evidence of what he had stated concerning Christ’s crucifixion, and the miracles which he had performed. According to the usual course, Pilate should have made a report of the crucifixion. It is supposed that he did, and that it was lost or destroyed. Justin appeals to it, as if then in the archives of the government. Whether he was well or ill informed upon the subject, the document to which he appeals, clearly was not understood by him to be one of the “Memoirs” of Christ, “drawn up” by an Apostle, or a “companion” of an Apostle. Nothing purporting to be Pilate’s report is extant. The Apocryphal book, known as the Gospel of Nicodemus or Acts of Pilate, does not purport to contain[5] any such report. Another is, that Justin says that Christ was of the House of David; a fact which Jesus himself had declared[6] and which is also referred to, in Acts. The only remaining fact, in respect to the alleged use of the Protevangelium, is in relation to the census. It is claimed that Justin and the Protevangelium agree that it was only to be taken in Judea.[7] But Justin does not so state. It also happens, that while Justin makes mention of Cyrenius, the Protevangelium only says, “And there was an order from the Emperor Augustus that all in Bethlehem of Judea should be enrolled,” saying nothing of Cyrenius. This is followed by an absurd and worthless story of occurrences, by the way. Justin has two references to the census, which will be found in the note.[8] Justin, in stating that there was a census in Judea, does not exclude the idea that it was more general.
Judge Waite, following the anonymous author of “The Supernatural,” and others, also claims that Justin’s statement that at the baptism of Jesus “a fire was kindled in the Jordan,” must have been taken either from the “Gospel of the Hebrews,” or the “Preaching of Paul.” As to the former (as he gives the translation from a fragment from Jerome) it is, that, “certainly there shone around the place a great light,” which is not what Justin said. There is no evidence from any quarter that this “Gospel of the Hebrews” was in existence (other than as Matthew’s Gospel was in existence), when Justin wrote. Nor is there any evidence that it was in use, at any period, except among the Nazarenes (a small Judaizing sect of Christians), and the Cerinthians, and Ebionites, two heretical sects. The very authorities quoted to prove its existence, clearly show that it was never in general use, or accepted by the churches generally. Neither the work itself, nor Jerome’s translation of it, has been in existence for centuries. From what is known of it, it seems to have been[9] the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, “not entire and perfect, but corrupted and curtailed.” It omitted the first two chapters. Some of the corruptions show its true character[10] so far as it varied from Matthew’s Hebrew Gospel; for as Papias wrote, and the Fathers generally believed, Matthew first composed his Gospel in the Hebrew dialect.
“The Preaching of Paul” was less known, and even of less account, than the other. Judge Waite says (p. 229) that it “was referred to by Lactantius and others, and was generally known in the second century.” But he furnishes no evidence of it, and Lactantius died about A.D. 325. As to its contents, Judge Waite only says that “It contained references to the Sybilline writings; also to the fire in Jordan at the time of the baptism of Jesus.” There is no good reason to suppose that it was extant when Justin wrote; and most certainly, it was never received by the churches generally. Eusebius does not seem to have known anything of it, unless to reject it as spurious. He says (Book III., c. 25): “Among the spurious, must be numbered both the books called ‘The Acts of Paul,’ and that called ‘Pastor,’ and ‘The Revelation of Peter.’”
Eusebius also is equally pronounced against the production called the “Gospel according to Peter.” That this “Gospel” was referred to by Justin in the passage before considered (vide c. 4), is the fact to be proved. The first mention of it, was by Serapion[11], who became Bishop of Antioch A.D. 191, fifty years after Justin wrote. He found a few copies of it among his flock, which he replaced, substituting Mark’s Gospel for it, for the reason that he found in it “many things superadded to the sound faith of our Saviour; and some also attached, that are foreign to it.” This bishop seems to have had no knowledge of its existence till that time. It favored the Docetæ, from some of whom it had come into his parish. The pretence that Tertullian referred to it, and intended to assert that in his day the Gospel of Mark was understood to have this Gospel of Peter for its original, has nothing to rest upon but another perversion of Tertullian’s meaning. The passage relied upon is here given with such words in italics as must be supplied to warrant the use which has been attempted to be made of it: “The Gospel which Mark published is affirmed to be” what is known as “Peter’s” Gospel, “whose interpreter Mark was.” This forced construction, would make Mark the interpreter, not of Peter, but of the heretical work at some time known by some as Peter’s Gospel. Not Strauss himself, nor even the author of “The Supernatural,” so interpreted Tertullian. What Tertullian wrote was, that “The Gospel which Mark published is affirmed to be Peter’s; whose interpreter Mark was.” Marcion mutilated Luke’s Gospel, and Judge Waite says, “Tertullian called him a hound.” If any one in his day had perverted his language as to Mark’s Gospel, so as to make it endorse the work which Serapion (who was a cotemporary of Tertullian) suppressed as heretical, Tertullian would not have been likely to have used a less expressive word than that which he applied to Marcion. Tertullian simply meant, as Papias had written, and the church believed, that Mark was Peter’s interpreter, and in that sense Mark’s Gospel was Peter’s Gospel.
The next writer referred to for “Peter’s Gospel” is Origen, A.D. 230. Origen says: “There are some who say the brethren of Christ were the children of Joseph by a former wife, who lived with him before Mary; and they are induced to this opinion by some passages in that which is entitled (the italics are ours) ‘The Gospel of Peter, or the Book of James.’” When it is considered that Origen, in most explicit terms, declares that our four Gospels “are the only undisputed ones in the whole Church of God throughout the world,” and that of these, “the second is according to Mark, who composed it as Peter explained it to him, whom he also acknowledges as his son in his General Epistle,” the perversion of his language is apparent. Mr. Norton, whose opinion, it is conceded, “is entitled to great weight,” upon a careful examination of the subject, believes that this “Gospel” was not a history or biography of Christ’s ministry at all, but only a doctrinal[12] treatise. Not a single fragment of it has come down to us. There is no evidence from any quarter that it was generally received in the churches at any period; on the contrary, the evidence, so far as it goes, proves that it was not so received. It was the Gospel exclusively used by the Ebionites,[13] and neither Justin nor the majority of Christians in his time were Ebionites. Its very suppression by Serapion is conclusive; and there is nothing to impeach Eusebius’ judgment against it. There is no evidence that it was even in existence when Justin wrote, for the mere fact of its being found by Serapion forty or fifty years after is too remote. Hence, if Justin, in the paragraph before quoted in chapter four, by “him” meant Peter, instead of Christ (which we do not accept),[14] the Gospel of Mark, which in a sense was understood to be Peter’s, was the one intended; and the true construction of the words in question is of minor importance.
Judge Waite has succeeded as well as any one, in his attempt to find other writings than our Gospels, that will meet the necessities of the case. Professor Lipsius, one of the most eminent scholars in Germany, says,[15] “The attempt to prove that Justin Martyr and the Clementine Homilies had one extra-canonical authority common to them both, either in the Gospel to the Hebrews or in the Gospel of St. Peter, has altogether failed.” Of recent writers this side of the ocean, Dr. Ezra Abbot of Harvard College (who has already “a distinguished Continental reputation”), states,[16] after a thorough examination of the whole subject, as some of the results: “We have seen that there is no direct evidence of any weight that Justin used either the ‘Gospel according to the Hebrews’ (so far as this was distinguished from the Gospel according to Matthew) or the ‘Gospel according to Peter.’ That he should have taken either of these as the source of his quotations, or that either of these constituted the ‘Memoirs’ read generally at public worship in the Christian churches of his time, is in the highest degree improbable.”... “Still less can be said in behalf of the hypothesis that any other Apocryphal ‘Gospel’ of which we know anything, constituted the ‘Memoirs,’ which he cites, if they were one book, or was included among them, if they were several.”
Mr. Rowe’s[17] judgment is, that the facts referred to by Justin, but not recorded in the Gospels, stand to those which are recorded, in the proportion of only four, to one hundred and ninety-six. In other words, that all but four out of about two hundred references, appear in the Gospels. “It is marvellous,” he says, “when we consider the nearness of the time when Justin lived to our Lord’s ministry, that he should have preserved so few incidents respecting it which vary from those in our Gospels, rather than that those to which he has referred should present the slight variations they do; for it is an interval within which traditionary reminiscences must have possessed all their freshness.”