Saying 78 - The Goal Of Coming Out To The Countryside

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (78) Jesus said: Why did you come out into the field? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in soft raiment? [Look, your] kings and your great men, these are the ones who wear soft clothing, and they [will] not be able to know the truth.

LAYTON (78) Jesus said, "Why have you (plur.) come out into the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a person dressed in fine apparel [like your] governors and your members of court, who wear fine apparel and cannot recognize truth?"

DORESSE 82 [78]. Jesus says: "Why did you go out into the country-side? <Was it> to see a reed shaken [by] the wind, and to see a m[an with soft] garments clothing him? [But they are in the dwelling-places of] kings and your great ones, those whom [soft garments] clothe, and they do not know the truth!"

 

Funk's Parallels

GThom 46
Jesus said, "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that the persons eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will know the kingdom, and will become greater than John."

Luke 7:24-30
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Matt 11:7-15
And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 

Scholarly Quotes

F. F. Bruce writes:

"In the canonical tradition similar words are spoken with reference to John the Baptist (Luke 7.24 f.; Matthew 11.7 f.). Here the reference to John is lost (see Saying 46) and the saying serves to point to a contrast between being well-to-do and knowing the truth."

(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 143)

Gerd Ludemann writes:

"This verse addresses the readers and calls for asceticism. Only those who do not wear soft clothing will recognize the truth."

(Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 629)

R. McL. Wilson writes:

"Kings and MEGISTANES are mentioned together in Revelation vi. 15, one of the three passages only in the New Testament where the latter word is used. The variation in the position of the verb 'to see,' which in the Synoptic parallels is included in the question, is easily explained; commentators have often noted that the Greek text here can be punctuated in two different ways. This brings us to a point which may be of some significance. The Bohairic and Sahidic versions, both in Matthew and in Luke, agree against Thomas in placing the stop after the verb, which shows that at this point at least they and Thomas present independent translations. Such a variation, however, is possible only on the basis of a written ancient document in which, as was usual in ancient manuscripts, there were no marks of punctuation; if the words were spoken the division of the sentences would be made clear. We have thus two different interpretations of the same Greek text. It may be that the ambiguitiy can be traced still further back, but this is a question to be decided by specialists in another field. If the ambiguity exists only in the Greek, Thomas in this saying must have drawn either on our Gospels or on a parallel Greek text. In the latter case we may have an extract from the Gospel according to the Hebrews, but this document is something of an unknown quantity."

(Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 63-64)

 

Visitor Comments

 

Comfort promotes wilful ignorance.
- Rodney

We are called to the wilderness to rid ourselves of worldly distractions. Then we can begin the arduous process of examining, training, and purifying our own mind.
- Zooie

Jesus himself wore some fancy theads. According to, I think Matthew, the Romans cast lots for his garment that was woven to fit without seams making it something special to be prized.
- T Moran