7.6–7 coming? . . . [Do you not see] There is an obvious break in the text at this point. According to a marginal note added by the copyist, the break already existed in the document from which he was copying. The words in brackets were supplied by an editor.
9 So then, having already planned everything in his mind together with his child, he permitted us, during the former time, to be carried away by undisciplined impulses as we desired, led astray by pleasures and lusts, not at all because he took delight in our sins, but because he was patient; not because he approved of that former season of unrighteousness, but because he was creating the present season of righteousness, in order that we who in the former time were convicted by our own deeds as unworthy of life might now by the goodness of God be made worthy, and, having clearly demonstrated our inability to enter the kingdom of God on our own, might be enabled to do so by God’s power. 2 But when our unrighteousness was fulfilled, and it had been made perfectly clear that its wages—punishment and death—were to be expected, then the season arrived during which God had decided to reveal at last his goodness and power (oh, the surpassing kindness and love of God!). He did not hate us, or reject us, or bear a grudge against us; instead he was patient and forbearing; in his mercy he took upon himself our sins; he himself gave up his own Son as a ransom for us, the holy one for the lawless, the guiltless for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. 3 For what else but his righteousness could have covered our sins? 4 In whom was it possible for us, the lawless and ungodly, to be justified, except in the Son of God alone? 5 O the sweet exchange, O the incomprehensible work of God, O the unexpected blessings, that the sinfulness of many should be hidden in one righteous person, while the righteousness of one should justify many sinners! 6 Having demonstrated, therefore, in the former time the powerlessness of our nature to obtain life, and having now revealed the Savior’s power to save even the powerless, he willed that for both these reasons we should believe in his goodness and regard him as nurse, father, teacher, counselor, healer, mind, light, honor, glory, strength, and life, and not be anxious about food and clothing.
9.2 the just for the unjust Cf. 1 Pet. 3:18. 9.6 and not be . . . clothing Some editors omit this phrase, regarding it as a later insertion based on Matt. 6:25, 28, 31.
A Call to Imitate God
10 If this faith is what you too long for, then first of all you must acquire full knowledge of the Father. 2 For God loved humanity, for whose sake he made the world, to whom he subjected everything on earth, to whom he gave reason, to whom he gave mind; them alone he permitted to look up to heaven, them he created in his own image, to them he sent his one and only Son, to them he promised the kingdom in heaven, which he will give to those who have loved him. 3 And when you have acquired this knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled, or how will you love the one who so loved you first? 4 By loving him you will be an imitator of his goodness. And do not be surprised that a person can become an imitator of God; one can, if God is willing. 5 For happiness is not a matter of lording it over one’s neighbors, or desiring to have more than weaker people, or possessing wealth and using force against one’s inferiors. No one is able to imitate God in these matters; on the contrary, these things are alien to his greatness. 6 But one who takes up a neighbor’s burden, one who wishes to benefit someone who is worse off in something in which one is oneself better off, one who provides to those in need things that one has received from God, and thus becomes a god to those who receive them—this one is an imitator of God. 7 Then you will see that though your lot is on earth, God lives in heaven, then you will begin to declare the mysteries of God, then you will both love and admire those who are punished because they refuse to deny God, then you will condemn the deceit and the error of the world, when you realize what is the true life in heaven, when you despise the apparent death here on earth, when you fear the real death, which is reserved for those who will be condemned to the eternal fire that will punish to the very end those delivered to it. 8 Then you will admire those who for righteousness’ sake endure the transitory fire, and you will consider them blessed, when you comprehend that other fire. . . .
A Homily on the Word
11 I am not talking about strange things, nor am I engaged in irrational speculation, but having been a disciple of apostles, I am now becoming a teacher of the Gentiles. To those who are becoming disciples of the truth I try to minister in a worthy manner the teachings that have been handed down. 2 Indeed, does anyone who has been rightly taught and has come to love the Word not seek to learn exactly the things openly made known by the Word to disciples? To them the Word appeared and revealed these things, speaking quite plainly as he did so; though not understood by unbelievers, he explained them to disciples who, being regarded as faithful by him, learned the mysteries of the Father. 3 This is why he sent the Word, namely, so that he might appear to the world; though dishonored by the chosen people, he was preached by apostles and believed in by Gentiles. 4 This is the one who was from the beginning, who appeared as new yet proved to be old, and is always young as he is born in the hearts of saints. 5 This is the Eternal One, who today is accounted a Son, through whom the church is enriched and grace is unfolded and multiplied among the saints. This grace gives understanding, reveals mysteries, announces seasons, rejoices over the faithful, is given to those who seek—those, that is, who do not break the pledges of faith or transgress the boundaries set by the fathers. 6 Then the reverence of the law is praised in song, and the grace of the prophets is recognized, and the faith of the gospels is established, and the tradition of the apostles is preserved, and the joy of the church exults. 7 If you do not grieve this grace, you will understand what the Word has to say, through whomever he chooses, whenever he wishes. 8 For we are simply sharing with you whatever we have been prompted to speak with such difficulty by the will of the commanding Word, being motivated as well by a love for the things that have been revealed to us.
10.1 then . . . acquire Based on an editor’s conjecture. If the manuscript reading (and if you first acquire) is retained, then here there would apparently be another gap in the text. 10.2 look up to heaven An editor’s emendation; the manuscript reads look up to him. 10.7 lives Or possibly rules. 10.8 other fire . . . The text breaks off here, as a marginal note in the manuscript indicates. The missing portion, however, was probably not very long, inasmuch as the author has essentially answered the questions raised in the opening lines of the epistle. See the introduction.
12 When you have read these truths and listened attentively to them, you will know what God bestows on those who love him as they should, who become a paradise of delight, raising up in themselves a flourishing tree bearing all kinds of fruit, who are adorned with various fruits. 2 For in this garden a tree of knowledge and a tree of life have been planted. But it is not the tree of knowledge that kills; on the contrary, disobedience kills. 3 For it is not without significance that the scriptures record that God in the beginning planted a tree of knowledge and a tree of life in the midst of Paradise, thereby revealing that life is through knowledge. Because our first parents did not use it purely, they were left naked by the deceit of the serpent. 4 For there is neither life without knowledge nor sound knowledge without true life; therefore each tree stands planted near the other. 5 Discerning the significance of this, the apostle blamed knowledge exercised apart from the truth of the commandment that leads to life and said, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 6 For anyone who claims to know anything without the true knowledge that is confirmed by life knows nothing; not loving life, that person is deceived by the serpent. But the one who reverently has gained knowledge and seeks life plants in hope, anticipating fruit. 7 Let your heart be knowledge, and your life the true teaching, fully comprehended. 8 If this is the tree you cultivate, and whose fruit you pick, then you will always be harvesting the things that God desires, things that the serpent cannot touch and deceit cannot infect. No
r is Eve corrupted; instead, a virgin is trusted. 9 Furthermore, salvation is made known, and apostles are instructed, and the Passover of the Lord goes forward, and the congregations are gathered together, and all things are arranged in order, and the Word rejoices as he teaches the saints, the Word through whom the Father is glorified. To him be glory forever. Amen.
11.6 joy An editor’s emendation; the manuscript reads grace. 12.1 read . . . listened In antiquity it was apparently the custom to read aloud, even when alone; cf. Acts 8:30; 2 Macc. 15:39. • raising up . . . adorned Or a flourishing tree bearing all kinds of fruit, growing up in themselves and adorned (Lightfoot). 12.3 left naked Or perhaps stripped of it.
12.5 knowledge puffs . . . builds up 1 Cor. 8:1. 12.7 teaching Or reason or word. 12.8 a virgin is trusted Or she is believed on as a virgin. 12.9 instructed Or given understanding, or perhaps interpreted. • congregations . . . order Both text and meaning are uncertain. The manuscript reads candles (Gk keroi) are gathered together and is arranged in order. The problem is that the second verb is singular and does not agree with the plural subject, candles. Some translators and editors simply change the singular verb ending (-etai) to plural (-ontai), are arranged. Others make the same change to the verb and also change the subject to seasons (kairoi). Goodspeed and Lake make these same two changes but give a different sense to the last phrase in the sentence: instead of arranged in order, they translate meta kosmou as harmonized with the world. The translation given above reflects Lightfoot’s adoption of two suggestions by Bunsen: (1) keroi is changed to kleroi (which Lightfoot renders by congregations), and (2) rather than changing the second verb to plural, a second subject is supplied (panta, all things) that is grammatically suitable for the verb as it is found in the manuscript.
Fragments of Papias
Introduction
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, who is probably best known as the author of the five-volume work titled Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord, appears to have been well respected and widely quoted during the early centuries of the church. Yet today only scattered fragments of his work survive, and then only as quotations embedded in later writings. Furthermore, next to nothing is known about this man who by all appearances was one of the leading figures of the postapostolic era.
It is not known when Papias was born or when he died. Irenaeus reports (see fragment 14) that Papias knew the apostle John[1] and was a contemporary of Polycarp of Smyrna, whose dates (ca. AD 70 to 155–160)[2] provide a general indication of when Papias lived. Circumstantial evidence (such as his name and his rhetorical style) suggests that he was a native of the area where he served as bishop. He probably published his magnum opus within a decade or so of AD 130.
Papias provides some of the very earliest testimony about the early church’s stance on the millennium and the authorship of Matthew, Mark, John, and Revelation. For this reason a great deal of interest and attention has been focused on what he has to say. But many of his statements (e.g., that Matthew “composed” the “oracles” in the “Hebrew language”) are more baffling than helpful and have sparked a great deal of discussion of their meaning and significance, neither of which is obvious or clear.[3]
For all the confusion and uncertainty he engenders, Papias nevertheless clearly and forcibly reminds us that (1) the written gospels represent only a fraction of the material concerning the life and sayings of Jesus in circulation in the last half of the first and first half of the second centuries (cf. John 20:30; 21:25); (2) even after gospels were written, oral traditions continued to circulate and to influence the written text; and (3) oral tradition was often more highly valued than written materials in a cultural setting that relied upon and trusted memory far more than is customary today. These points, rather than his comments about authorship, may in fact be Papias’s most valuable contribution toward a reconstruction of the early history of the transmission and reception of gospel narratives.[4]
Fragments of Papias
The various collections of fragments that have been published differ with respect to size, numbering and sequence, and principles of selection. The Funk-Bihlmeyer edition,[5] for example, limits itself strictly to quotations from and references to Papias’s lost work, whereas Lightfoot’s more inclusive collection also includes extant reports about his life and theological opinions. To his collection this edition adds some fragments (nos. 21–26) that have subsequently come to light. Thus the following collection of fragments contains virtually everything by or about Papias that has survived and that identifies him by name.[6]
Fragment 4 is unique to Lightfoot’s collection and calls for special comment. Lightfoot included the story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (= John 7:53–8:11, a later addition to the Gospel)[7] among the items attributed to Papias. He did so on the strength of the similarity of the wording in fragment 3 (a “woman accused of many sins”) and the unusual form of the story as found in certain manuscripts of the New Testament, especially Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, the earliest (fifth century) New Testament manuscript to contain the account.
It is unlikely, however, that Papias knew the story in precisely this form, inasmuch as it now appears that at least two independent stories about Jesus and a sinful woman circulated among Christians in the first two centuries of the church, so that the traditional form found in many New Testament manuscripts may well represent a conflation of two independent shorter, earlier versions of the incident.[8] One form, apparently found in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, was also known to Didymus the Blind, a late fourth-century Alexandrian biblical scholar, who provides the following account:
So we have in certain gospels: A woman, it says, was condemned by the Jews on account of a sin and was being sent to be stoned to the place where that customarily happened. The savior, it says, seeing her, and perceiving that they were ready to stone her, said to those who were going to assault her with stones, “Whoever has not sinned, let him take up a stone and throw it. If anyone is aware in himself that he has not sinned, let him take up a stone and smite her.” And no one dared. Since they understood themselves, and knew that they were themselves liable in certain matters, they did not dare to strike her down.[9]
Notice the most distinctive elements: (1) the woman was already condemned; (2) Jesus is the one who takes the initiative to intervene; and (3) there is no conversation between Jesus and the woman.
Another form is paraphrased in Didascalia Apostolorum, a Greek document written in Syria, probably near the beginning of the third century.[10] In the course of encouraging bishops to receive repentant sinners back into the congregation, the author writes:
But if you do not receive the one who repents, because you are without mercy, you shall sin against the Lord God. For you do not obey our Saviour and our God, to do as even He did with her who had sinned, whom the elders placed before Him, leaving the judgment in His hands, and departed. But he, the searcher of hearts, asked her and said to her: “Have the elders condemned you, my daughter?” She says to him: “No, Lord.” And he said to her: “Go, neither do I condemn you.” (8.2.24)[11]
Again note the distinctive elements: (1) “elders” bring the woman to Jesus; (2) she had not yet been condemned; and (3) Jesus speaks only to the woman.[12]
Which of these forms of the story did Papias know? According to Eusebius (see fragment 3), Papias relates an account about a “woman accused of many sins before the Lord.” That is, the woman was brought to Jesus but was not yet condemned. This suggests that Papias knew the Didascalia form of the story. In fragment 23, however, Papias is credited with a story in which an uncondemned woman is led to Jesus (corroborating Eusebius), but in which Jesus also converses with the Jewish leaders. This combination of features (trial scene, conversation with Jewish leaders) occurs only in the traditional form of the story. Thus the evidence is mixed. With regard to fragment 23 it may be that the author simply assumed that Papias knew the same (and probably only) form of the story that he himself knew, namely the trad
itional one.[13] In this case his testimony would be of no value. In short, it seems more likely that Papias knew the Didascalia form of the story, but it is not possible to be certain.
In view of this uncertainty regarding which of the various forms of the story Papias knew (or, according to fragment 26, wrote!) it seems best to view fragment 4 as the traditional form of the story, and not necessarily the form known to Papias. The translation of the story given below follows the text of Codex Bezae, inasmuch as it preserves the earliest extant text of the traditional form and agrees with Papias in mentioning a woman caught in “sin” rather than adultery. Within this story, however, the elements that are parallel to the Didascalia form that Papias may have known have been placed in italics, and the elements that appear to be derived from the form known to Didymus and the Gospel according to the Hebrews have been placed inside brackets.
The Apostolic Fathers in English Page 38