Expositions of Sayings of the Lord (partially lost early Church pentalogy; c. 100 AD)

Depiction of the author, Papias, from the fifteenth century Nuremberg Chronicles.

Status: Partially Lost

Expositions of Sayings of the Lord (Greek title: Logion Kyriakon Exegesis) was a five volume long set of writings written by Papias of Hierapolis around 100 AD. Papias's writings, which survive in fragments preserved by other writers, are notable for providing the earliest known claim for who wrote some of the biblically canonical Gospels.

Background

Scholarly census generally places the author, Papias, as having been born around 60 AD, with most placing the writing of Expositions of Sayings of the Lord around 100 AD or shortly thereafter. What is know about Papias's life is that he served as the Bishop of Hierapolis and seemed to have developed an interest in tracking down and talking to people who had known Jesus. Possibly as a result of this he may have met the John the Apostle, the last living of the twelve apostles, though there is some dispute about this. According to the late second century writer, Irenaeus, Papias had been a companion of another notable church father, Polycarp.

Association with the Apostle John

One particular point of contention surrounding Papias's background is rather or not he knew John the Apostle or not. The identification comes from Irenaeus, who was ordained by Polycarp who was himself a hearer of John the Apostle. Some dispute this associated however. Noted skeptic Dr. Bart Ehrman has argued that Papias's own writing indicate an unfamiliarity with all the apostles. Many skeptics defer to Eusebius, who wrote a couple centuries later, who indicated there were two Johns- suggesting Irenaeus may have been confused.

Content Overview and Availability

As the title might indicate part of Papias's writings included commentary on the life and teachings of Jesus, however he also went beyond this and included other narratives stories from the first century church.

While no longer available in it's entirely fragments of the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord survive through quotations most from the late second century writer Irenaeus and the fourth century writer Eusebius.

Gosepl Authorship

Expositions of Sayings of the Lord are notable as being the oldest known source for the authorship of some of the canonical Gospels

• Gospel of Mark

In Fragment six of the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord, which was preserved by Eusebius, Papias wrote,

"And the presbyter said this. Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord's sayings. Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took special care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements".

Many have taken this to mean Peter's companion Mark, who was retelling what Peter told him, was the author of what is today known as the Gospel of Mark and it soon became the rationale of the church. Not everyone is convinced of this however, Dr. Ehrman argued that, at two hours long to read, it is too short to be a complete recollection from Peter, he also pointed out where Peter is portrayed as 'aloof' to argue against it being a recollection of things from Peter's point of view. Based on these things he argues Papias was mistaken, or referring to another Gospel entirely. Despite these concerns most Christians view Papias's reference to the Gospel of Mark as authoritative, noting his extensive research, alleged personal relationship with one of Jesus's twelve disciples, and the deference of the early Church to his identifications without raising any objections.

• Gospel of Matthew

Also in Fragment six of the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord, Papias wrote,

"Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew language, and each one interpreted them as best he could".

Many have taken this as assigning authorship of the Gospel of Matthew to the apostle Matthew. Not all are convinced however, some think that 'the oracles [of the lord]' refers to a separate saying Gospel and not a full narrative. Though Christians near universally see this as an authoritative reference to the authorship of the contemporary Gospel of Matthew.

Death of Judas

Another noteworthy part of the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord is it's description of the death of Judas Iscariot. In Fragment three, he wrote,

"Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out".

His retelling of events seems to coincide with Judas's death in Acts 1:18. According to the fourth century writer, Apollinaris of Laodicea, Papias had previously survived the hanging attempted mentioned in Matthew 27:5. Many Christians see this as harmonizing the two accounts.

Individuals from the New Testament mentioned

the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord is also notable for having mentioned several people mentioned in the New Testament, given that Papias was likely writing less than a century after Jesus's time some of these references are the oldest surviving non-biblical references these individuals have.

Fragment 1

• The Apostle Andrew
• The Apostle Peter
• The Apostle Philip
• The Apostle Thomas
• The Apostle James (Papias doesn't specify which one he is referring to)
• The Apostle John
• The Apostle Matthew

Fragment 3

• Judas Iscariot.

Fragment 4

• The apostle John.

Fragment 6

• Peter
• Mark the Evangelist
• Jesus (referred to just as Christ)
• The Apostle Matthew

Fragment 10

• Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Mary of Clopas
• Cleopas
• Alphaeus
• James the Less
• Salome
• Zebedee
• The Apostle John
• James the Great
• Mary Magdalene
• John the Baptist

Contemporary Criticism

In the fourth century Eusebius, who quoted the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord extensively, criticized Papais's writings arguing that Papias often seemed to misread mystical signs and even described Papias as a man, "of very little intelligence".

External Links

Some of the surviving fragments of the Expositions of Sayings of the Lord can be viewed here.