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In Matthew the other invited guests kill the king's slaves, and he sends armies against their city. In the Gospel of Thomas a private host sends one slave, the guests only make excuses, and merchants are shut out of his Father's places.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 22:7
New Testament
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. 9 So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
Gospel of Thomas 1:64
Nag Hammadi
63 Jesus said, “There was a rich man who had much money. He said, ‘I will use my money to sow and reap and to plant and to fill my storehouses with fruit so that I will lack nothing.’ These were the things he was thinking in his heart, and that night he died. Whoever has ears should hear.” 64 Jesus said, “A man had guests, and when he prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. He went to the first and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said, ‘I have a claim against merchants; they are coming to me this evening. I must go and give orders. I ask to be excused from the dinner.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a house and I am required for a day. I will not have time.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘My friend is getting married, and I am organizing the banquet. I cannot come. I ask to be excused.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a farm; I am going to collect the rent. I will not be able to come. I ask to be excused.’ The servant returned and said to his master, ‘Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his servant, ‘Go out on the highways; bring those whom you meet, so that they may dine.’ Merchants and traders will not enter the places of my Father.” 65 He said, “A good man owned a vineyard and leased it to some farmers to work it and he might receive its fruit from them. He sent his servant so that the farmers might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, and almost killed him, and the servant returned and told his master. His master said, ‘Perhaps they did not recognize him.’ He sent another servant. The farmers beat that one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, ‘Perhaps they will show respect to my son.’ The farmers knew that he was the heir of the vineyard. They seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears should hear.”
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Notes and References
“... There are a number of breaks in the narrative’s surface. After the negative reaction of the guests has been introduced in v. 5 with “one ... another” [...], the collective “the rest” [...] is out of place. The reaction of these “rest” is remarkable. While the invited guests of v. 5 pay no attention to the invitation and go about their business, “the rest” seize the slaves who bring them the invitation and kill them. There is another break in v. 7. Here the king finds the time to send out his armies and to conquer the city (not previously mentioned) of those murderers, while the oxen and fatted animals have already been slaughtered and everything is ready (v. 4) and will again be ready (v. 8). [...] Comparing the variants can help in probing back into the history of the tradition. Alongside Luke 14:16-24 and Matt 22:2-10 there is a third variant in Gos. Thom. 64 that demonstrates a number of contacts with Luke 14:16-24. It reports in detail the excuses of the four guests addressed by the host’s slave—guests who were kept from coming by worldly, mostly financial, affairs. [...] The point of the parable is: “Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father.” In other words, people of the world do not heed the call of Gnosis. [...] That does not mean, however, that this version can have no old features, especially since it appears not to have been influenced a great deal by the two Synoptic versions. [...] In all probability the original parable spoke of the banquet of a private individual (Luke, Gospel of Thomas) who sends out a single slave to invite the guests (Luke, Gospel of Thomas). When the meal is ready, (Luke, Matthew, Gospel of Thomas) he sends him again to summon the guests who have already been invited. ...”
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