All three synoptic gospels have a version of the instruction to take nothing, but go out and heal. But there are some interesting variations in these passages (note: translations from the RSV). For example, is payment justified and should only worthy households be entered? And of course, there is the increased foaming at the mouth in historically successive gospels - as I pointed out in my last post.
(As a reminder: the historic sequence of the canonical gospels is Mark some time between 67 & 73 CE, Matthew and Luke between 85 & 90 CE, John between 90 & 100 CE. The Gospel of Thomas could be as early as 60 CE or as late as 90 CE. And the authentic letters of Paul predate all these gospels, being written over a period from 48-62 CE. For summaries on such stuff see: ReligiousTolerance.org’s page on the gospels)
In bold are some variations of interest.
Mk 6.7-11: “And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, ‘Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them.’”
MT 10.5-16: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. As you enter the house, salute it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomor'rah than for that town. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Lk 10.3-12: “I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”
This instruction is in Thomas, but it has a very different cast:
Thomas 14: “Jesus said to them, ‘If you fast, you will give rise to sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and walk about in the districts, if they receive you, eat what they will set before you, and heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which issues from your mouth - it is that which will defile you.”
Fascinating! The disciples are warned against all these standard spiritual practices - fasting, praying and giving alms – and then told to worry, instead, about what they say.
On another note, the saying that ends Thomas is in Mark and Matthew, but in the canonical gospels it is put in such a different context that it implies something different.
In Mark, the saying follows a diatribe against Pharisees that begins when they challenge Jesus. (Mk: 7.5) “And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?’… (7.14-15) And he called the people to him again, and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him.’”
The treatment of this is very similar in Mathew. The passage opens as the Pharisees challenge Jesus (Mt 15.2) “’Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat...’ Eventually Jesus answers with the saying so that it becomes a judgment against them. (15:11) ‘Hear and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’”
Oh those Pharisees - shamefully worried about what they eat when they should be worried about what they say.
Yet in Thomas, the same saying is an instruction to the disciples to beware of defiling themselves with their words.
For your own gospel comparison, there are print books with similar passages side-by-side, or look at The Five Gospels Parallels site.
No comments:
Post a Comment