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In 1 Clement, the author argues for resurrection from a sower going out to sow, possibly an echo of the parable Jesus tells in Mark 4, but gives the image the meaning Paul gives it, where a buried seed that decays and rises again stands for the dead.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Mark 4:3
New Testament
3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6 When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, it withered. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked it, and it did not produce grain. 8 But other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.”
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 24:5
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
1 Let us understand, dearly beloved, how the Master continually shows to us the resurrection that shall be hereafter; of which He made the Lord Jesus Christ the firstfruit, when He raised Him from the dead. 2 Let us behold, dearly beloved, the resurrection which happens at its proper season. 3 Day and night show to us the resurrection. The night falls asleep, and day arises; the day departs, and night comes on. 4 Let us mark the fruits, how and in what manner the sowing takes place. 5 The sower goes forth and casts into the earth each of the seeds; and these falling into the earth dry and bare decay: then out of their decay the mightiness of the Master’s providence raises them up, and from being one they increase manifold and bear fruit.
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Notes and References
“... The third example comes at 1 Clem. 24. 5. Here Clement makes the statement that ‘the sower went out’ (ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων) in the context of a discussion of the resurrection of the body. He appears to draw on 1 Corinthians 15 as the wider context of his discussion, and uses these words to refer to the way in which God the sower brings human lives into existence. The words are parallel to the phraseology of Jesus’ parable of the sower, found in all three synoptic gospels, but they do not carry the same meaning as the phrase carries in that context. Therefore it is unclear whether Clement echoes that parable at all, either consciously or unconsciously. [...] Nevertheless, it is of interest to note the way in which Clement appears to conflate traditions associated with Jesus and with Paul. ...”
Gregory, Andrew F.
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(pp. 137-138) 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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