In “Thomas and the Beloved Disciple,” Dunderberg argues that the disciple Thomas in the so-named gospel is not literarily related to the Beloved Disciple of John. Rather, both reflect the use of authorial fiction to gain authority for the text. Whereas late second century writers attached the names of disciples or early apostles to the gospels to give them authority, John and Thomas reflect a more primitive tradition of placing a key figure, even the author, into the narrative itself.70 Nevertheless, Dunderberg sees Thomas and John working in different ways and reflecting “a more broadly attested phenomenon in early Christianity.”
Apart from Dunderberg’s studies, what distinguishes research into the relationship between Thomas and John from Thomas-synoptic research is the broad and general recognition that the two texts/traditions are somehow related. For the most part, there is also recognition that this relationship is not simply one of direct literary influence. This latter point should again make us hesitate before making general claims concerning specific sayings of Jesus. Nevertheless, the aforementioned studies provide a number of possibilities for understanding the relationship or lack of relationship between the texts, and should be kept in mind when undertaking a saying-by-saying analysis of sayings of Jesus found in both Thomas and John.
Thomas and the Pauline Tradition
There has been relatively little discussion of connections between the Gospel of Thomas or a Thomasine tradition and the epistolary corpus of the New Testament. This is due in part to the fact that Thomas is a collection of sayings of Jesus and the bulk of its similarities to the New Testament canon are to the gospels, in part to the lack of consensus on the history and development of the Gospel of Thomas, and in part to the larger historical problem of assessing connections between gospel traditions and the Pauline tradition. The first problem should not deter scholarship. The second problem is, of course, an on-going discussion, but perhaps can be dealt with by a study of similarities between Thomas and the New Testament letters. It is the third issue that ought to be addressed here since it is relevant to a discussion of Thomasine and epistolary traditions. Therefore, the following survey of literature on possible connections between the Gospel of Thomas and the Pauline tradition is prefaced by the review of a more basic and ongoing discussion concerning Paul’s knowledge and use of sayings of Jesus.
Biblical scholarship is divided on how much acquaintance Paul had with traditions of sayings of Jesus.71 Several problems contribute to this disagreement. For one, Paul shows little interest in the earthly Jesus outside of his death, burial, and resurrection. For another, Paul never cites sayings of Jesus by name; only occasionally does he cite sayings as words of “the Lord.” These problems have not stopped many from searching for allusions to sayings of Jesus throughout the Pauline corpus. D. M. Stanley and John Pairman Brown are two good examples of this.72 Works like theirs have largely been rejected because of the extent and lack of defensibility of their claims.
Perhaps more important, where and how Paul uses different sayings of Jesus in the letters is not often discussed, as though the rhetorical context makes little difference. By “where and how” I am not referring to the common observation that apparent allusions are found grouped in isolated passages such as Romans 12–14, 1 Thessalonians 4–5, or 1 Corinthians 1–4. More specifically, I am referring to the type of epistolary material in which the supposed sayings are embedded. The exceptions—some have observed that possible sayings are never found in sections where Paul is expounding upon central theological issues, but are found rather in sections of “ethical paraenesis”—are usually stated in general terms, and still leave us with the question of why Paul almost never attributes sayings tradition material to Jesus.73 However, observing the context in which the material is used may help to explain how Paul is using it and why he does not cite Jesus, or even “the Lord,” when adapting material from sayings collections.
In three cases, there is little debate about Paul’s use of Jesus’ teaching. Paul cites traditions of Jesus’ teaching in 1 Cor 7:10–11 (divorce and remarriage), 9:14 (evangelists earning a living), and 11:23–25 (the Last/Lord’s Supper).74 In a fourth case, 1 Thess 4:15 (order of eschatological ascension), it appears that Paul is citing a saying of Jesus. In each of these cases, Paul uses teachings of Jesus as authoritative teaching within the rhetorical structure of his arguments and exhortations. To be more explicit, Paul is addressing particular problems in the Corinthian community in 1 Corinthians 5–7; 8–10; and 11:17–34. Sayings parallels (1 Cor 7:10–11; 9:14; 11:23–25) are embedded within the extended arguments of these larger passages. The citations in 1 Corinthians function as appeals to authority usually do within rhetorical arguments (though Paul, to make a point about humility and other-centeredness, rejects for the commonweal the implications of the chreia in 1 Cor 9:14). First Thess 4:15 is also embedded in a discussion about the eschaton, though the context is less argumentative in structure and tone. In fact, Paul has already established his own authority at length in 1 Thessalonians 1–3.
Disagreement becomes prominent when one looks beyond these four citations for further uses of a sayings tradition. Possible scattered allusions can be found throughout Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, and disputed Pauline letters like Colossians. More credence is gained, however, when attention is focused on clusters of potential sayings within specific sections of Paul.75
In Romans 12–14, alongside of the abbreviated recapitulations of teachings also found in 1 Corinthians 12 (Rom 12:3–8) and 1 Cor 6:12–11:1 (Rom 14:1—15:6), Paul compiles a number of wisdom admonitions and prohibitions to exhort his readers—some of these admonitions are very close to teachings of Jesus in the Q Sermon and Mark 12.76 A close comparison of verbal similarities between Pauline and synoptic texts would undercut any claims to proof that Paul has used sayings of Jesus here. The similarities between individual exhortations and known sayings of Jesus usually extend as far as common theme and common form, but with only a few lexical parallels. More important than looking for lexical parallels, however, is observing the generic context in which these “allusions” are found. In Romans 12–14, Paul is clearly using a collection (or collections) of sayings, not for the purpose of defending his ministry, disputing with snobbish Gentile converts in Rome, or addressing particular ethical problems that he has heard about, but for the purpose of general exhortation; and so he appears to have the freedom to expand and adapt his source(s). Since the nature of the material in Rom 12:9–21 especially is not rhetorical argumentation, but rather a string of general wisdom admonitions and prohibitions, there is no need to cite the source of the admonitions in order to establish authority.77 If the readers/hearers have accepted Paul’s claims to authority in the letter thus far, they will certainly accept these general exhortations without need of higher authority. This would also be the case for 1 Thess 5:12–22, where we find two possible sayings of Jesus, 1 Thess 5:12 (cf. Rom 12:18) and 1 Thess 5:15 (cf. Rom 12:17), embedded in a string of general exhortations that close out the letter.
In 1 Corinthians 1–4, a different situation prevails. Here Paul is at odds with opponents who seem to be preaching a message laden with eloquence, power, and a focus on words of divine wisdom. Observing that sayings collections like Q have a strong sapiential overtone, some scholars have tried to uncover parallels to Q in Paul’s rhetoric against his opponents.78
Christopher Tuckett