Date of composition

• Mid- to late 100s.
• According to Irenaeus (d. c. 202), the Ebionites maintained a Jewish identity of Jesus (for example, denying the virgin birth of Jesus) and rejected Paul's teachings of the New Covenant.

Biography of Jesus?

• Yes.
• Irenaeus stated that the Ebionites shortened and altered the Gospel of Matthew to fit their theology.

Type of Apocrypha (heretical or in error (made up))

• Heretical.

Length

• All we have are seven quotes from Epiphanius (d. 403).

Summary

• See "Biography of Jesus?" above.

Noteworthy from the book

1. This Gospel suggests an adoptionist view of Jesus, that he was born a human but became the Christ at his baptism.
2. At his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, entered Jesus, meaning he became the Christ from that moment on. [The Four Gospels state that the dove lighted on Jesus but did not enter him.]
3. Christ was originally one of the archangels until he joined with the man Jesus to become "Jesus Christ."
4. Irenaeus includes an interesting small twist the Ebionites made when editing the Gospel of Matthew to fit their views. In the Gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist is described as eating locusts and honey. Irenaeus pointed out that the Ebionites changed "locusts and honey" into a cake dipped into honey. Why this minor alteration? Irenaeus does not include the reason, but the Ebionites were vegetarians and would have cringed at the idea of John the Baptist eating anything that had been alive. Therefore, they changed the reading to match their eating habits.