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Authentic Matthew

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Template:Totallydisputed The Church Fathers wrote of an early version of Matthew called the Gospel of the Hebrews which Jerome says most people refer to as the Authentic Gospel of Matthew . (Jerome's Commentary on Matthew ch. 2). This is a lost gospel that has been at least partially preserved in the works of some of the Church Fathers.

One account of the life and teachings of Jesus perhaps dating from this time was written by a person named Matthew. According to the Church Fathers, he was the same person as the apostle Matthew, and his account was written in Aramaic (EH3.39.14-16).

Although probably circulated among Jewish followers of Jesus, this Authentic Hebrew Gospel of Matthew was little known among the churches founded by Paul of Tarsus, for even among Paul's literate followers few were fluent in Aramaic written in Hebrew script.

According to the Church Fathers, the Authentic Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of the Hebrews was authoritative and apostolic in nature. Papias quoted by Irenaeus tells us that the Apostle Matthew wrote it in "Hebrew letters."

Eusebius adds that the reason Matthew wrote his version was that he was about to leave the religious community he established, and therefore put together an account of the life of Jesus for the people he left behind.

Epiphanius confirms the aforementioned, and goes on to say that Matthew alone of the New Testament writers composed a gospel in Hebrew script.

St. Jerome is most helpful in understanding the origins of this Gospel. According to Jerome, the Gospel of the Hebrews was written in the Syriac language (Aramaic) and used Hebrew letters. Most people of Jerome’s day called it "The Authentic Gospel of Matthew", as they believed the Apostle of Jesus who was the tax collector composed it. The Aramaic original was preserved at the library in Caesarea, but copies existed in the Nazarene community in Beroea, Syria, as well as in the Ebionite community. The Nazarenes supposedly gave Jerome a copy that he translated into Greek.

Jerome believed this gospel was authoritative and wrote about it extensively, thus preserving much of the text.

Some believe that because of a growing demand for material on the life of Jesus, that a redactor(s) composed a more complete and orderly account of the life and ministry of Jesus than had previously been available. This new work was possibly based on the Authentic Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark and the Q document). This new canonical Matthean work may have been called the Gospel of Matthew because of its heavy reliance on Matthew's gospel.

Having the Authentic Gospel of Matthew and the canonical Matthean gospel both called the Gospel of Matthew may have caused confusion which has persisted to modern times. Yet most biblical scholars believe that Matthew did not write the canonical Matthean gospel, nor was it written in Hebrew, nor was it the first gospel to be written. This topic is subject to ongoing debate.

Finally some believe that there was more than one Hebrew Gospel but this goes against Epiphanius who writes that their was only one Hebrew Gospel (the one written by Matthew).

References

  • Burnett Hillman Streeter, The Four Gospels : A Study of Origins
  • P. Parker, The Gospel Before Mark
  • R. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah

Online translations of the Gospel of Matthew:

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