Texts in Conversation
In Luke, Jesus tells his disciples to keep their lamps burning and be ready, since the Son of Man comes at an unexpected hour. The last chapter of the Didache, an early church manual, begins with the same call to keep lamps lit and stay ready.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Didache 16:1
Early Christian
1 Protect your life, keep your lamps burning, and always be ready. You do not know when the Lord will come. 2 Frequently gather together and seek what benefits your souls. The entirety of your faith won't be of value unless you're found perfect at the end. 3 In the last days, false prophets and corruptors will increase, the faithful will be led astray, and love will turn into hate.
Luke 12:35
New Testament
35 “Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; 36 be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them! 38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
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Notes and References
“... More difficult to assess is the possible parallel between Did. 16. 1a and Luke 12. 35. Some have seen this as clear evidence of the Didache’s dependence on Luke. Others have disagreed, arguing variously that Luke 12. 35 may be Q material, so that the Didache here is dependent on Q rather than Luke, that the language and imagery is stereotypical (cf. 1 Pet. 1. 13; Eph. 6. 14), that the verbal agreement between the Didache and Luke is not close enough to imply direct dependence, or that the Didache nowhere else shows knowledge of Luke’s gospel and hence is unlikely to do so here. Others again have been agnostic. It must be said that none of the arguments against dependence on Luke is fully convincing. ...”
Gregory, Andrew F.
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(p. 111) Oxford University Press, 2005
* 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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