to Matthew, Mark
& Luke
8.
Mustard & Leaven
Matt 13:31-35 // Mark 4:30-34
// Luke 13:18-20
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The
MUSTARD |
The
LEAVEN |
Thomas
20 |
Thomas
96 |
1 |
The disciples said to
Jesus: |
1 |
Jesus
[said]: |
|
"Tell us
what
the kingdom of heaven |
|
"The
kingdom of the Father |
|
is
like?" |
|
|
2 |
He said to them: |
|
|
|
"It
is like a mustard seed. |
|
is like a woman.* |
3 |
[It]
is
the smallest of all seeds. |
2 |
She
took a
little leaven,* |
4 |
But |
|
[hid] it
in dough, |
|
when it falls upon
prepared soil, |
|
and |
|
it produces
a large
plant |
|
made
it into large loaves of bread. |
|
and becomes a shelter |
|
|
|
for
the
birds of the air. |
3 |
Whoever
has ears should hear. |
|
|
|
|
* Note:
order differs from the synoptics. In Matthew and Luke the analogy is primarily
to the "leaven"
which
"a woman took..."
Missing
Link
The gospel of
Thomas has parallels to both synoptic parables. But unlike the canonical
gospels the analogies of the mustard and the leaven are not
paired as they were in the synoptic sayings source [Q]. Is their
separation the result of secondary editing by the composer of this
sayings collection? Or does it indicate that Thomas drew these parables from
oral tradition in which they were not linked rather than from a
canonical text? If the latter, then Thomas is evidence of the mechanics
of orality rather than scribal plagiarism. |
Inexact Likenesses
While
both parables in Thomas are similar enough to their synoptic
counterparts to reveal some kind of kinship, neither is close enough to
prove parentage.
Thomas’ parable of the mustard shares more common wording with
synoptic versions. But its features do not
consistently favor one gospel model more than another.
- Like Mark and Luke (but unlike Matthew) it is
introduced by a question. Yet unlike
any synoptic version, the question is posed by the disciples rather
than Jesus.
- Like Matthew (but unlike Mark and Luke) the analogy is to the
kingdom “of heaven” (rather than “of God”).
- Like Matthew and Mark (but unlike Luke) the mustard is
characterized as “the smallest of all seeds.”
- But unlike any synoptic gospel Thomas does not envision
a human sower. Rather than being sown the seed “falls” on its own into
the “prepared soil.” Thus the analogy is to an accident of nature
rather than a deliberate product of agriculture.
- Like Mark (but unlike Matthew and Luke) the germinated mustard
“plant” is characterized as “large.” Yet it is not described
as a “shrub” (as in Mark and Matthew) much less a “tree” (as in
Matthew and Luke). Thomas’ characterization of mustard --- an annual
herb rather than a perennial with a woody stalk -- is
actually more accurate than any of the synoptics’ choice of nouns.
- While Thomas’ mustard plant provides (temporary) “shelter” for
“birds of the air,” unlike all synoptic authors he does not
describe these aerial vagabonds as “camping” in its shade, much
less “nesting” in its branches.
Thus, since
-
Thomas’ performance of the parable of the mustard seed does not
follow any synoptic model close enough to identify a particular
canonical gospel as his script and
-
his description of the mustard is closer to observation of nature than any of the synoptics,
it is simpler to conclude that he was recording from an oral tradition that
was not only independent of but ostensibly older than any canonical
narrative.
|
Inverted Metaphor
Not only is
Thomas’ version of the parable of the leaven separated from that of the
mustard by more than 75 pericopes, its wording resembles the synoptic
parallels even less. While Matthew & Luke give near verbatim
performances, Thomas’ rendition is better characterized as a variation
on a familiar theme. By calling the kingdom “of the Father” it invokes a
more domestic setting than either Matthew’s “of Heaven” or Luke’s “of
God.” But its most striking divergence is that it draws an analogy
between the paternal realm and a woman who took leaven rather
than the leaven which was taken. Unlike the synoptic authors, Thomas
does not specify the amount of flour in which the “little leaven” was
buried. Instead of focusing attention on the organic activity of the
hidden leaven itself, Thomas’ telling stresses the baker’s productivity
in making “large loaves of bread.” Thus, it is evident that this version
of the parable of the leaven is at best a distant cousin of the synoptic
parallels and was not derived directly from any canonical text.
|
If the divergence of the Thomasine versions of
these parables from the parallels preserved by synoptic authors is
witness to the vagaries and fluidity of early oral Christian
tradition, then it becomes all the more evident that the closely worded
pairing of the mustard and the leaven in Matthew and Luke indicates
their dependence on the same written source.
|
Color
Code |
Red |
Five
texts use same wording. |
Purple |
Four texts
use same wording. |
Blue |
Three
texts use same wording. |
Teal |
Two
texts use same wording. |
Black |
Words unique
to a particular gospel. |
<the> |
RSV wording revised to reflect Greek. |
[it] |
Word
in RSV but not Greek text. |
|
No
parallel passage in this gospel. |
last revised
01 March 2023
|