Texts in Conversation
The Gospel of Philip uses Luke's Samaritan to explain love as something that heals others. Wine and oil become an image of love's fragrance and its power to cover sins, connecting the injured man's recovery with forgiveness rather than bodily care alone.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Luke 10:34
New Testament
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. 34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring olive oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’
Gospel of Philip 11:13
Nag Hammadi
Love [never says it owns] anything, yet [everything] is owned by it. It does not [say “That is mine,”] or, “This is mine,” but instead, [“Everything that is mine] is yours.” Spiritual love is wine as well as fragrance. All who anoint themselves with it [derive good from] it. Those who stand near them also derive good, as do those anointed ones who are standing there. If those who are anointed with ointment leave them and go away, those who are not anointed, who only stand near them, they return to being stuck in their stench. The Samaritan gave nothing to the injured man but wine and oil. It was nothing other than the ointment, and it cured the injuries, because “love covers a multitude of sins.”
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Notes and References
“... First, there is sympathetic absorption of canonical Gospel mater- ial. The Gospel presupposes the familiar narrative outline of Jesus’ earthly career. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan.11 He is a teacher and miracle-worker: Philip includes reference to the parable of the good Samaritan, for example, and has a miracle in which Jesus makes seventy-two colors all white.12 There is reference to the last supper, as well as to the crucifixion, when Jesus departs.13 Additionally, the name “Jesus” is commonly used, along with “Lord,” “son of man,” and “Son.” ...”
Gathercole, Simon
"Afterword: Reading Gospels with the Gospel of Philip" in Pierce, Madison N.; Byers, Andrew J.; Gathercole, Simon (ed.) Gospel Reading and Reception in Early Christian Literature
(p. 237) Cambridge University Press, 2022
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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