The Lost Scriptures – books that did not make it into the New Testament.

The Gospel According to the Hebrews

“I am come to do away with sacrfices, and if you cease not sacrificing, the wrath of God will not cease from you.”
(Epiphanius,  Panarion 30.16,4-5)

“Where will you have us prepare the passover?”
And him to answer to that: “Do I desire with desire at this Passover to eat flesh with you?” (Epiphanius, Panarion 30.22.4)

 “Matthew, who is also Levi, and from a tax collector came to be
an emissary first of all evangelists composed a Gospel of
Messiah in Judea in the Hebrew language and letters, for the
benefit of those of the circumcision who had believed, who
translated it into Greek is not sufficiently ascertained.
Furthermore, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the
library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently
collected.  I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this
volume in the Syrian city of Borea to copy it. In which is to be
remarked that, wherever the evangelist… makes use of the
testimonies of the Old Scripture, he does not follow the
authority of the seventy translators [the Greek Septuagint], but
that of the Hebrew.  To these belong the two “Out of Egypt have
I called my son” and “For he shall be called a Nazaraean.”

The Gospel According to the Hebrews does not exist as a complete work. What we do have are quotes from church Fathers like Clement, Origen, and Jerome, all church Fathers. These “giants” of the faith were all located in and around Alexandria, Egypt — therefore it is believed this gospel was written in Egypt around the second century. The name “Gospel According to the Hebrews” most likely was given to it by outsiders of the faith who lived in Egypt, not by those inside the faith. The gospel was most likely written in Greek and narrates different events in the life of Jesus – his baptism, his temptation experience, and his resurrection. But these accounts are alternative forms of these stories that appeared to have been passed down orally to the unknown author who wrote them down.

Some of the sayings in the book have Gnostic overtones, others have a strong Jewish flavor. Some of the accounts are truly unique – including the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to James, who had sworn at the last supper that he would not eat again until he should see Jesus raised from the dead.

The importance of this Gospel cannot be dismissed easily. Although it was not included in the canon, early church Fathers used it in their writings – and found it instructive in their exegetical arguments. In other words, they found some of the material important enough to include in their considerations alongside the use of the Canonical Scriptures. Although it is difficult enough to get to reading the canon (bible) each and every day, it wouldn’t hurt to read other “gospels” once in a while. Happy reading…..

Pastor Dave

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” ¹⁹He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. ²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. ²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, ²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” ²⁵Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. ²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” Luke 24

“Luke tells us that the travelers (previously unmet and otherwise unknown) were “talking and discussing” about the things that had happened. The Greek implies that they were not only talking; they were “examining evidence together.” This picks up a theme that has been prominent in Luke’s story ever since we met Mary talking with Gabriel: she was confused to have encountered an angel, but not so confused that she couldn’t debate the issue back and forth. And when Jesus stays behind in the Temple, talking with the teachers, he (just like his mother) asks and answers analytical questions. This is a story loaded with rational discourse. The disciples walking to Emmaus fit right in. But the most important aspect of this odd (yet familiar) scene, at least in this reading for me, is a small, utterly ordinary verb in the imperfect tense: hlpizomen (Luke 24:21). The NRSV translates this word as “we had hoped,” which is a perfectly good way to read this ordinary little verb.

The Greek imperfect tense suggests continuous action, perhaps because it took numerous attempts, or took a long time to complete, or was simply an old habit. To this is added a temporal augment (in this case, the lengthening of the initial vowel), which indicates that the action flows from the past. But is this action still going on? Or were the efforts, despite repeated attempts, finally abandoned? The tense doesn’t tell you, at least not so that the matter is fully settled. The storyteller helps make sense of this: they had been hoping that Jesus “was the one to redeem Israel,” but the events of the past days had brought an end to that habit of hoping.

For this, Jesus calls them “foolish and slow to believe.” Older commentators often pile on and blame them for imagining that the messiah would actually make a difference in the world, that the messiah, at a minimum, would be able to stand up against Rome, the representation of all that was wrong with the Jewish world in the 1^st century. In this, older commentators are wrong. That’s a little like blaming a baseball manager for imagining that a shortstop would field grounders and throw the ball to first base. It’s a little like blaming a bereaved family for being astonished to discover that a surgeon played mumbley-peg on a patient instead of performing a proper operation. You can extend these outrageous examples as far as you like, and it all comes down, in the end, to oddity. Shortstops field and throw. Surgeons excise tumors. And messiahs make a difference in the face of imperial violence. The walking disciples know that, and they are analyzing the situation carefully.

The scene, to be sure, ends with joy and excitement. It ends with them thrilled to discover that death and resurrection are deeply rooted in both Jewish Scripture and Jewish tradition, so that Jesus’ crucifixion actually fits into a pattern that can arguably be seen throughout God’s dealings with the Jewish people.” (workingpreacher website, Commentary on Luke 24:13-35, Richard Swanson, May 4, 2014)

Jesus has no time to debate issues with his disciples – so he says:

“Can I have a bite to eat?”

What – Really Jesus? You are hungry?  How else is he going to prove to his disciples that the post-resurrection body is both flesh and bone – and spirit?  How do we know? Because Jesus asked for a piece of broiled fish, and he eats it, right there, in front of them all. It is really Jesus – flesh and blood – bone and spirit – and now, they believe. How do we know they believed? Because you and I are sitting here 2000 years later still worshipping and talking about the resurrected Jesus. Do we have doubts? Of course we do. We are human. We are no different than those early disciples. We are no different than those followers of the Ecumenical Councils, trying to make sense of something so terrific and awesome that it is mind blowing. But truly, my friends, this is why we need to come to the table of communion and share in the meal of his body and blood often – because we have our doubts – and we have our trials – and we have our struggles – and we need Jesus to come to us often to remind us that everything written about him in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms has been fulfilled. And we need to come to church often so that the scriptures are opened to us – so that we can fulfill the mission Jesus has given us – to be witnesses of all of these things.

It is beyond our comprehension – we have our doubts – we sit in awe of this amazing story of death and resurrection – but that is why we continue to tell the story – so that Jesus puts away our doubts as we gather together as a community – and share a meal together.