Nazarenes & Ebionites

The earliest followers of Joshua ben Joseph (Jesus) were called Nazarenes.  Later they were called Ebionites by their detractors.  Early in their history the Nazarenes were considered to be a sect of Judaism.

By the middle of the second century the Nazarenes/Ebionites were being condemned by Roman Christianity as heretics.  They were often labeled as Judaizers because they insisted on observing the “law of Moses.”

Early on two distinct groups emerged among the Nazarenes.  According to St. Justin [Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chapter XLVII]; One group observed the Mosaic Law for themselves, but did not require it of others (gentiles).  The other group however held that the Mosaic Law should be kept by all.

Their major heresy, however, was their denial of the divinity of Messiah.  According to Eusebius [Hist. Eccl. III, xxvii]:

They considered him [Jesus] a plain and common man, who was justified only because of his superior virtue, and who was the fruit of the intercourse of a man with Mary.  In their opinion the observance of the ceremonial law was altogether necessary, on the ground that they could not be saved by faith in Christ alone and by a corresponding life.

By the end of the second century when Sunday observance became more accepted, another group of Ebionites emerged who observed both Sunday and the seventh day Sabbath.  This group also accepted the virgin birth, but they did not accept the “divinity” of Joshua ben Joseph. Of them Eusebius says [ibid.]: 

Nevertheless, inasmuch as they refused to acknowledge that he pre-existed, being God, Word, and Wisdom, they turned aside into the impiety of the former, especially when they, like them, endeavored to observe strictly the bodily worship of the law.

The belief in the divinity of Joshua ben Joseph [Jesus] was accepted only by the non-Jewish believers and was universally rejected by the earlier Jewish believers. 

It was a natural thing for the gentiles to think that the messianic title "son of God" (which also referred to Israel) meant that Joshua ben Joseph was literally born of a union between God and his mother.  In their own culture they had several examples of such demi-gods (e.g. Hercules & Mithra).  In the first century Mithraism was very popular among Roman soldiers.  The Persian demi-god, Mithra, was said to have been born of a virgin on the twenty-fifth day of December.  Later the title "son of God" would be interpreted to mean "God the son."

The Ebionites used an earlier version of the Gospel of Matthew and according to scholars: “It was not identical with the canonical text of Matthew since it did not have any genealogy or birth story.”

[See the related article: Was Jesus "God" or the "son of God"?
& The Son of God in Scripture]

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