Texts in Conversation
In Matthew 22, Jesus ends the parable of the wedding banquet saying that many are called but few are chosen, language used in 4 Ezra saying that many have been created but only a few will be saved. Both use remnant language based on the Hebrew prophets.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 22:14
New Testament
11 But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. 13 Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
4 Ezra 8:3
2 Esdras
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 He answered me, “The Most High has made this world for many, but the world to come for few. 2 Now I will tell you a parable, Ezra. Just as when you ask the earth, it will say to you that it gives very much clay from which earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold comes from. Even so is the course of the present world. 3 Many have been created, but few will be saved.” 4 I answered, “Drink your fill of understanding then, O my soul, and let my heart devour wisdom. 5 For you have come here apart from your will, and depart against your will, for you have only been given a short time to live.
Date: 70–132 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... There are few references to Jesus traditions in the Epistle of Barnabas. Given this letter’s concentration on the interpretation of OT passages, this is not surprising (see Old Testament in Apostolic Fathers). In Barnabas 4:14 a terse saying, “many are called but few chosen,” is introduced by a phrase that points to use of a written document: “it is written.” This may well be a reference to Matthew 22:14 in its written form, but since there is a similar proverbial saying in 4 Ezra 8:3, the question cannot be readily answered. In Barnabas 5:9 the writer states that Jesus “came not to call the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:17 and parallels). There is no indication in the context that this is a Jesus tradition. Perhaps readers of Barnabas were so familiar with this saying that they would have recognized it immediately as a saying of Jesus. Or perhaps the writer knows many Jesus traditions and quotes one here instinctively, without any awareness that it is a saying of Jesus ..."
Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 759.
* 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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