THE APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT.

The book bearing this title is a collection of writings, twenty-four in number, of various degrees of merit as respects their literary composition, and diversified also with regard to the rationality and instructiveness of their contents,—some of them containing morally preceptive passages, equal in strength and terseness to the best portions of the canonical Gospels and Epistles; while others are characterized by as much puerility as some of the books included in the regular Bible.

The names of these apocryphal writings are as follows: The Gospel of the Birth of Mary. The Protevangelion; or, An Historical Account of the Birth of Christ, and the perpetual Virgin Mary his Mother, by James the Lesser, Cousin and Brother of the Lord Jesus, chief Apostle and first Bishop of the Christians in Jerusalem. The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ. Thomas's Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus. The Epistles of Jesus Christ, and Abgarus, King of Edessa. The Gospel of Nicodemus, formerly called the Acts of Pontius Pilate. The Apostle's Creed. The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Seneca, with Seneca's to Paul. The Acts of Paul and Thecla. The First and Second Epistles of Clement to the Corinthians. The General Epistle of Barnabus. The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians. Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians. Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians. Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans. Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians.

Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnæans. Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp. The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians. The Shepherd of Hermas, in three parts; containing, The First Book of Hermas, which is called his Visions; The Second Book of Hermas, called his Commands; and, The Third Book of Hermas, which is called his Similitudes.

Have

How long have these books been in existence? we any evidence that they were written by the persons whose names are severally affixed to them? These questions instinctively arise, on a perusal of the apocryphal writings.

The editor of the English edition of the work which contains them, asserts that they were in existence during the first four centuries of the Christian Church; and this position is, with regard to some of them, substantiated by testimony drawn from sources of the highest respectability.

Of the "First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus," the editor aforesaid (evidently a man of considerable historical research) remarks: "It was received by the Gnostics, a sect of Christians in the second century; and several of its relations were credited in the following ages by other Christians, viz. Eusebius, Athanasius,* Epiphanius, Chrysostom, &c."

*Athanasius was one of the wire-pullers at the famous Council of Nice; which council decided, by vote, that Jesus was the very God, and condemned the doctrine of the Divine Unity as rank heresy; and for teaching said doctrine, Arius was shortly after banished, by the edict of Constantine, and in consonance with the decision of the council just mentioned.

It has been thought probable that the "Gospel of Nicodemus" was forged sometime during the third century. The learned Rev. Jeremiah Jones avers that "such pious frauds were very common among the Christians in the first three centuries;" and to him a forgery of this character seemed natural and probable.

This Gospel contains some of the same miraculous accounts which we find in our four canonical Gospels of Mathew, Mark, &c.; besides some others, about equally wonderful. It mentions several of his miraculous cures ; such as casting out devils; giving sight to the blind; healing a leper; stopping an issue of blood with which a woman had been afflicted twelve years; restoring a man who labored under a great infirmity, who had lingered near a mystic pool, waiting for an angel to come down and trouble the element; and turning water into wine, at a wedding, in Cana of Galilee. It also mentions Christ's Resurrection and Ascension.

To these relations it adds an account, that Joseph of Arimathea, who had begged the body of Jesus, after he was crucified, and laid it in his own tomb, was seized by certain Jews, and imprisoned in "a chamber where there was no window," the door of which was then locked and sealed. But, although a guard was stationed near, he was released from the place, without their knowledge; and when they went to bring him forth, they "were astonished, because they found the same seal upon the lock of the chamber," but "could not find Joseph."*

* Nicodemus, ix. 12–14; x. 1.

Subsequently, those who had caused him to be confined went to Arimathea, and saw him there; and when they questioned him, he thus explained the manner of his escape:

"Ye did indeed put me under confinement on the day of preparation, till the morning. But while I was standing at prayer in the middle of the night, the house was surrounded with four angels; and I saw Jesus as the brightness of the sun, and fell down upon the earth for fear. But Jesus laying hold on my hand, lifted me up from the ground, and the dew was then sprinkled upon me; but he, wiping my face, kissed me and said unto me, Fear not, Joseph; look upon me, for it is I. Then I looked upon him, and said, Rabboni Elias! He answered me, I am not Elias, but Jesus of Nazareth, whose body thou didst bury. I said to him, Shew me the tomb in which I laid thee.

Then Jesus, taking me

by the hand, led me unto the place where I laid him, and shewed me the linen clothes and napkin which I put round his head. Then I knew that it was Jesus, and worshipped him, and said, Blessed be he who cometh in the name of the Lord. by the hand, led me to Arimathæa, to my own house, and said to me, Peace be to thee; but go not out of thy house till the fortieth day: but I must go to my disciples."*

Jesus again taking me

This narrative is no more difficult to believe than the account which John gives of Jesus having twice appear

* Nicodemus, xi. 19—25.

ed suddenly in a room, while the door was shut.* The apocryphal story is as plausible as that related in the

canon.

In the same book, the "Gospel of Nicodemus," it is recorded that when Jesus arose from the dead, others also were brought to life again, and having left their graves, went into Jerusalem; where they were seen and recognized by their former acquaintances. The first part of the extended account given wears a resemblance of the passage in Matthew, occurring in the midst of his narrative of Christ's crucifixion, in which it is stated that "the graves were opened; and many bodies of saints which slept, arose, and came out of the graves AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." Several statements of this seemingly identical occurrence are detailed in Nicodemus' Gospel, which are entirely omitted by Matthew. On account of its interest, as a wildly graphic narration, I present a somewhat extended extract:

"Then Joseph, rising up, said to Annas and Caiphas, Ye may be justly under a great surprise, that you have been told, that Jesus is alive, and gone up to heaven. It is indeed a thing really surprising, that he should not only himself arise from the dead, but also raise others from their graves, who have been seen by many in Jerusalem. And now hear me a little: We all knew the blessed Simeon the high priest, who took Jesus, when an infant, in his arms in the temple. This same Simeon

* John, xx. 19, 26. † Matt. xxvii. 52, 53.