Ca 61 CE

The Jewish Christian Gospel of the Hebrews (not the Letter) is written about this time in Palestine while Paul and Peter are evangelizing in Rome according to Irenaeus. It is the only gospel written in Hebraic script but in the Aramaic language and probably in Edessa or Syrian Antioch by Matthew who is called Levi in Luke and who plays a major role in the Dialogue of the Savior, the allegorical Joseph and Asenath, the First Apocalypse of James, and even shows up at the end of the fragmentary Gospel of Peter in a probable Resurrection scene. It was used widely in the early church and by groups like the Ebionites descending from the followers of James, the Nazarenes who adhered to the Jewish Sabbath and Law into the fourth century. This must have been the gospel written in Hebrew that Pantaenus found being used in India when he visited. It was almost as long as the canonical Matthew and the ancients claim it was the original Matthew but only fragments have been pieced together. Other early and similar gospels have been mentioned but it is not known if they are different or variant. One key difference is that there are at least three versions of the Baptism of Jesus which differ from the Roman Gospels. The Gospel of the Hebrews has the Adoptionist theology of: “You are my beloved Son. This day have I begotten thee.” It was the first major Jewish Christian Gospel that was probably responding both to the liberalizing Pauline mission on the one hand and responding to the champions of Helen, the Queen of Adiabene (who was ‘Mary Magdalene’) about whom the allegorical ‘Joseph and Asenath’ had just been published by down-playing her role.