{"id":10412,"date":"2024-04-02T17:26:08","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T17:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=10412"},"modified":"2025-11-11T01:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:58:17","slug":"17-the-third-gospel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/elbespurling.com\/salvation\/?page_id=10412","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 17: The Third Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Chapter 17<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Third Gospel<\/mark><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The Gospel of Jesus Christ 3.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of the author of the third gospel copying sources<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most likely written sometime between 90 and 110 CE,1<\/a><\/sup>Note: Though traditionally scholars date Matthew closer to 75-85 CE, I have found no convincing evidence for this. All we can surmise is that it was written after the first and second gospels and before the expansion of the second gospel into what we know as Luke.<\/span> the third gospel\u2014also published anonymously, but later spuriously attributed to the disciple Matthew\u2014stands out in that it is the only gospel accepted into the New Testament that was written by a Jewish Christian rather than a Gentile.2<\/a><\/sup>Davies, W.D. & Allison, D.C. (1988). A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Vol. I: Introduction and Commentary on Matthew I\u2013VII. T&T Clark Ltd.<\/span> It is likely to have been the work of someone in or near Judah since the author is familiar with the area and corrects several of the first gospel\u2019s geographical mistakes.3<\/a><\/sup>Campbel, J.W. (2021). Cross Examined: Putting Christianity on Trial. Rowman & Littlefield.<\/span> It was noted in the previous chapter that the second gospel\u2019s author did his writing with a copy of the first gospel in front of him as he worked\u2014and, indeed, copied large swaths of it. In the same way, when the author of the third gospel sat down to write, he had copies of both the first gospel and second gospel in front of him.4<\/a><\/sup>Davidson, P. (2015.) How Editorial Fatigue Shows That Matthew and Luke Copied Mark. Is That in the Bible? https:\/\/isthatinthebible.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/10\/how-editorial-fatigue-shows-that-matthew-and-luke-copied-mark\/<\/a><\/span> He copied from them liberally, and took an even freer hand in moving stories and sayings around, and mixing elements of them together with his own new material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though we speak of these first three gospels as separate and distinct works, it must be remembered that their authors did not see them this way. At their time of writing, they could have had no idea that one day each of their revisions would be placed side-by-side in a collection of uniquely Christian scriptures. Each new author was motivated by what they perceived as deficiencies in what they inherited, and the opportunity to enshrine their own views. It can hardly be imagined that each successive revisionist encouraged his community to study both his new work alongside its predecessors, when clearly each wrote his work to replace <\/em>its predecessors. The notion of a \u201cGospel According to So-and-So<\/em>\u201d was not yet a thing. So it\u2019s more accurate and helpful to think of each of these successive works as editorial revisions of what was presented as the <\/em>gospel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the genealogy of Jesus as presented by the author of the third gospel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the time that this author was writing, the idea that Jesus had lived a historical life on Earth was gaining traction. As a Jewish Christian who accepted this notion, but was uncomfortable with various aspects of the Gentile presentation of the first two gospel revisions, this author created his own rewrite, better suited to his own religious community. His first departure from his predecessors comes in the very first paragraphs of his composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of young King David having decapitated the Goliath<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a style consciously aping the lists of \u201cbegats\u201d found in Genesis and other parts of the Hebrew scriptures,5<\/a><\/sup>Genesis 10<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> the author attributes to Jesus an earthly genealogy that demonstrates that he is a descendant of the legendary King David\u2014seen by many Jews as a required pedigree for the messiah. The list of ancestors is taken back farther than that\u2014all the way back to the mythical ancient patriarch Abraham.6<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 1:1-16<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> This genealogy is in no way historically plausible, positing a nearly 2,000 year time span consisting of a mere 42 generations. It is clearly more important to the author to achieve a symmetrical numerical balance with 14 generations between Abraham and David, 14 more from David to the Babylonian captivity, and 14 again from the captivity to Jesus.7<\/a><\/sup>Davidson, P. (2014). What\u2019s the Deal with Matthew\u2019s Genealogy? Is That in the Bible? https:\/\/isthatinthebible.wordpress.com\/2014\/07\/19\/whats-the-deal-with-matthews-genealogy\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jesus Given a Birth Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction on an angel convincing Joseph not to abandon his pregnant fianc\u00e9e<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is followed by the first-ever narrative of Jesus\u2019s birth. It\u2019s also the first-ever mention of the character Joseph, described as \u201ca righteous man\u201d and presented as the fianc\u00e9e of Mary. Before they marry and have sex for the first time, the virginal Mary is impregnated through the Holy Spirit\u2014though the exact mechanics of this act are left to the imagination. When Joseph learns Mary has become pregnant, he plans to break off their engagement. It takes the convincing of an angel to change his mind, and he is told Mary will give birth to a son to be named Jesus who will save his people from their sins.8<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 1:18-24<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ancient depiction of the Virgin Isis nursing Horus which Christian artists adapted to depict the Virgin Mary with Jesus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The author then points out that all these things happened to fulfill the prophecy\u2014entirely removed from its context in the book of Isaiah\u2014that \u201cthe virgin will conceive and give birth to a son who will be named Emmanuel.\u201d9<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 1:22<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> The author of the third gospel is significantly more obsessed than his predecessors with having events from Jesus\u2019s life \u201cfulfill\u201d the \u201cprophecies\u201d of the Hebrew bible. That they don\u2019t always line up perfectly does not seem to be a major concern. For instance, it is very obvious that the name Jesus (\u201csavior\u201d) is not the name Emmanuel (\u201cGod with us\u201d). It is worth noting that the author was using a popular Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures which famously contained a mistransaltion, using the Greek word \u201cvirgin\u201d where the Hebrew simply reads \u201cyoung woman\u201d\u2014and so a new doctrine of the virgin birth was born.10<\/a><\/sup>Cargill, R.R. (2021). How the Septuagint Made the Prophecy of the Virgin Birth Possible. University of Iowa. https:\/\/bam.sites.uiowa.edu\/articles\/septuagint-prophecy-virgin-birth<\/a><\/span> In ascribing a virgin birth to Jesus, however, the author put his messiah in the camp of other celebrated or worshiped mythical figures as Melchizedek, Zoroaster, Mithra, Krishna, Romulus and Remus, Attis, Horus, Dionysos, and Jason (of Argonauts fame).11<\/a><\/sup>Carrier, R. (2015). On the Historicity of Jesus. Sheffield Phoenix Press.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the Persian magi meeting with King Herod<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like the proper parents of a Jewish messiah, Mary and Joseph are portrayed as living in Bethlehem, and that is where Jesus is born\u2014presumably in a house since this gospel knows nothing of the famous manger story written later by another author. Curiously, this author presents a group of Zoroastrian priests12<\/a><\/sup>Roberts, P.W. (1995). Secret Lives of the Wise Men. New York Times. https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1995\/12\/25\/opinion\/secret-lives-of-the-wise-men.html<\/a><\/span>\u2014magi does not mean \u201ckings\u201d or \u201cwise men\u201d and their number are not specified\u2014arriving in Jerusalem at this time, asking where they can find a newborn King of the Jews. They are brought to King Herod13<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 2:1-3. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span>\u2014which thus dates the birth of Jesus in this story to sometime before Herod\u2019s death by illness in 4 BCE, more realistically before 6 BCE when he was healthy enough to govern from Jerusalem. The king\u2019s advisors inform him that it is prophesied that the messiah will be born in Bethlehem.14<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 2:4-6. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of the magi offering gifts to a Jewish woman\u2019s baby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Herod, inexplicably\u2014except for storytelling reasons\u2014sends the Persians off to find the child and report back. They successfully find the baby Jesus, give the newborn gifts of gold and spices, and are then instructed in a dream not to return to Herod. Predictably, Herod is furious about this. In another dream Joseph is instructed to flee with his family to Egypt to avoid the king\u2019s wrath. The rest of the parents in Bethlehem aren\u2019t given the angelic memo, however, and consequently every one of their children aged 2 or younger is mercilessly slaughtered.15<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 2:8-16. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of all the babies of Bethlehem being slaughtered<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While this sort of paranoid arbitrary violence was certainly not beyond a tyrant like Herod, such an act, if it had any historical basis, would surely have merited a write-up in the works of Flavius Josephus who covered the events of Herod\u2019s reign in great detail, and seemed to revel in describing the king\u2019s cruelty and vicious acts. In a hallmark of fictitious writing, the entire story is claimed by the author to fulfill two more out-of-context quotes from the Hebrew scriptures.16<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 2:17-18<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph living in Egypt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But the notion of a national savior figure who escapes a tyrant, flees to Egypt, and then is called back to Judah by God is an obvious string of references to Moses, the most revered human figure among the Jews\u2014especially so by the Essenes who would brook no insult against the Law giver. The parallel between Jesus and Moses is one the author will make several times throughout the third gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Restoration of the Baptism and Temptation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus returning from Egypt to settle in Nazareth in Galilee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whereas the second gospel rejected Nazareth as a hometown for Jesus, this author reinstates it, having Joseph, Mary, and Jesus settle down there after returning from Egypt, perhaps unable to resist the temptation to have this fulfill another prophecy\u2014that \u201che will be called a Nazarene.\u201d17<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 2:19-23<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> After the family\u2019s arrival in Galilee nothing at all is said of Jesus\u2019s youth or adolescence. The story skips all these formative years, jumping ahead to the point where the original gospel began: with Jesus coming to John the Baptist at the Jordan River. The author of the third gospel portrays John in a much more fiery fashion. When Pharisees and Sadducees approach him for baptism, he upbraids them, calling them sons of snakes, and repeatedly warning them in florid language that Judgment Day is extremely imminent, and that God will thrash them and throw them into the fires of hell.18<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 3:1-10<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Satan tempting Jesus to throw himself off of the highest point of the Temple of Jerusalem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The second gospel writer had also removed the original gospel\u2019s story of Jesus being led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil for 40 days and nights. But the third gospel\u2019s author doesn\u2019t just reinstate it, but greatly elaborates on it, actually describing just what these three temptations are. In each, Satan lays down a challenge before Jesus, and in each instance Jesus answers him with a quote from the Hebrew scriptures. In one temptation, Jesus is taken to the top of a tall mountain and shown all the kingdoms of the world. They can all be his, he\u2019s told, if only he will bow down and worship Satan.19<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 4:1-11<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> What is most notable about this scene is not Jesus\u2019s predictable refusal, but the very notion that all the kingdoms of the world are Satan\u2019s to give. Certainly nothing in the entire Hebrew Bible prepares one for that idea, but it\u2019s a notion we have seen in the letters of Paul and other early Christians who, under Zoroastrian influence, came to believe that God had\u2014for unclear reasons\u2014given over the entire Earth to Satan until the End Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Artist depiction of Herodias’s daughter with John the Baptist’s head<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Also reinstated from the first gospel is the tale of John the Baptist’s gruesome demise\u2014decapitated in prison, with his head brought on a platter to a young girl at the behest of her mother Herodias who had borne a grudge against him.20<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 14:1-11<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> Though based on a kernel of truth\u2014Flavius Josephus tells us in his writings that John the Baptist was indeed put in prison and executed by the ruler Antipas at the fortress\/palace Macherus, he says nothing of beheading, a young girl, a platter, or any of the unlikely details of the gospel story. Instead, he makes clear that Antipas feared John’s great popularity among the masses, afraid that they will do anything he tells them. His preemtive strike againt the Baptist was exactly in keeping with the policy of all local rulers of this time, quashing any and all seeming messianic revolts before they could start.21<\/a><\/sup>Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Jesus’s encounter with Satan, the third gospel then proceeds along the lines of both its predecessors, with Jesus beginning his ministry of healing and exorcisms in Galilee.22<\/a><\/sup>Matthew 4:12-25<\/a>. The Bible. New International Version.<\/span> But before very long it diverges to present us with the longest speech Jesus, up to this point, has ever been portrayed as delivering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Sermon on the Mount<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Artist depiction of Jesus ascending a mountain to teach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though it is placed significantly earlier in the narrative than the second gospel\u2019s Sermon on the Plain, the author of the third gospel clearly intended this speech to be a revised replacement, weighing in at three times the original\u2019s length. Some of this additional text is simply copied from other areas of the second gospel. A few lines, such as the famous \u201cBlessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth\u201d were copied from The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles<\/em>. That particular line, for whatever reasons, had been skipped over when the second gospel\u2019s author mined this same document for sayings to put in the mouth of Jesus. The remainder of the speech contains 23 other teachings that are original to this gospel. Among these are 7 short lines that fit the style of the blessings and woes found in previous Christian writings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n