passion traditions reinterpreted view that D’s reading should be taken as the original one in Luke’s Last
Supper or that theGospel of the Ebioniteswas one of Luke’s sources.^21 Nev-
ertheless, the Ebionite connections cast light on the theological motives
behind the shortened Lukan text. The scribe who changed Luke’s text here
and in some other places (see above) was, at least partly, influenced by
Ebionite ideas. As such, the shorter reading also approximates the word-
ing of the institution of the Eucharist as it must have stood in theGospel
of the Ebionites.
Further examples of communal meals that differ from the synoptic-
Pauline type can be found in theDidache.Didache– describes a
meal where there first comes a cup, just like in Luke’s shortened text,^22
and there is no reference at all to Jesus’ blood. Instead, the prayers
accompanying the meal express the anticipation of the kingdom of God
where the church will be gathered from all over the world. The charac-
ter of the meal described in theDidachediffers so markedly from the
synoptic-Pauline type that it is sometimes assumed that it only deals with
the Agape-meal, but this is an unnecessary attempt to harmonize the
Didache’spractice with the synoptic-Pauline type of Eucharistic meals.
Bernd Kollmann has argued convincingly against this kind of harmo-
nization.^23
...The Dating of the Shorter Reading
and theGospel of the EbionitesIt is clear that theGospel of the Ebionites, in the form that Epiphanius
knew it, was composed after the synoptic gospels. It is usually dated to
thefirsthalfofthesecondcentury^24 and the place of origin may have been
Syria or the regions east of the Jordan where the Ebionites were located
by Eusebius and Epiphanius (Eusebius,Onom. ed. Lagarde [],
p. ,–;Hist. eccl. ..; Epiphanius,Pan. ..–; ..–).
The Ebionites Christology was similar to the Christology of Cerinthus who separated
Christ and Jesus). The critical attitude towards the sacrificial cult agrees with using water
in the Eucharist, but it may also be rooted in the theology of the Hellenists in the early
Jerusalem church—if the Ebionites’ history can be traced back to them. See Chapters .
and ...(^21) In contrast to Edwards .
(^22) Although it seems clear that Luke’s shortened text has not directly served any
liturgical purposes, the shortening would be more understandable if the copyist was
familiar with Eucharistic practices where the cup preceded the bread.
(^23) Kollman , –.
(^24) Klijn , ; Vielhauer & Strecker (^2) ( (^1) ), .