Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

Clement of Rome

1 Clement

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

About this book

A Call to Be Humble

Chapter 13

1 Let us therefore be humble, brothers and sisters, laying aside all arrogance and conceit and foolishness and anger, and let us do what is written. For the Holy Spirit says, “Let the wise man not boast in his wisdom, nor the strong in his strength, nor the rich in his riches; but let the one who boasts boast in the Lord,⁠ so that he may seek Him out and do justice and righteousness most of all remembering the words of the Lord Jesus which He spoke, teaching forbearance and patience.” 2 for this is how He spoke: “Have mercy, so that you may receive mercy; forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you do, so it will be done to you. As you give, so it will be given to you. As you judge, so you will be judged. As you show kindness, so kindness will be shown to you. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you.”⁠ 3 Let us strengthen ourselves with this commandment and these precepts, so that we may walk in obedience to His holy words, in humility. 4 For the holy word says, “On whom shall I look, except on the one who is gentle and quiet and fears My oracles?”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Luke 6:38 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 13:2

New Testament · Early Christian

Share:

Summary

In 1 Clement, the author quotes sayings of Jesus that are similar to Luke 6 but do not follow any written gospel exactly, likely because Clement learned the teachings of Jesus by word of mouth and not from a book.

Passages

Luke 6:38

New Testament
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 13:2

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
2 for this is how He spoke: “Have mercy, so that you may receive mercy; forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you do, so it will be done to you. As you give, so it will be given to you. As you judge, so you will be judged. As you show kindness, so kindness will be shown to you. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you.” 3 Let us strengthen ourselves with this commandment and these precepts, so that we may walk in obedience to His holy words, in humility. 4 For the holy word says, “On whom shall I look, except on the one who is gentle and quiet and fears My oracles?”
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... In the two places where 1 Clement (ca. AD 96) cites words of Jesus, they very probably are drawn from oral tradition, as the parallel structure seems to indicate, rather than from the Gospels. Both passages use an introductory formula that points in the same direction: “most of all remembering [memnēmenoi] the words of the Lord Jesus which he spoke, teaching gentleness and patience” (1 Clem. 13:1); “remember [mnēsthēte] the words of our Lord Jesus” (1 Clem. 46:7). [...] What is important to note in these second-century references to oral tradition is that oral tradition overlapped the written Gospels and did not come to an immediate end with the appearance of the written documents. ...”
Donald A. Hagner, The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012), 109.
“... The first example is 1 Clem. 13. This passage opens with an appeal to its hearers to be humble, to do what is written in Scripture, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus which he spoke when teaching about gentleness and patience. It is these words that are quoted at 1 Clem. 13. 2. As Carlyle observes, ‘the phenomena of the passage are very complex’. Most, but not all, of the passage has parallels of differing degrees of similarity to sayings known also from synoptic double tradition found in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain, but similar material is found also in other (later) patristic texts. Thus the material may depend on Matthew and Luke (and perhaps also on Mark), either directly or indirectly, or on some of the sources and/or traditions on which the evangelists drew. ...”
Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, eds., The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 131.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Luke 6:38 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 13:2

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library