Parable of the assassin
Encyclopedia
The Parable of the Assassin (also known as the Parable of the Killer), is a parable
attributed to Jesus
. However, it appears in none of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament
but only in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas
. According to the Gospel of Thomas
98 Jesus said:
gave the parable of the assassin a "pink" rating, indicating
that it is in their opinion probably, but not certainly, an authentic saying of Jesus. They were influenced by parallels with the parables of the warring king and of the tower builder found in the Gospel of Luke
(see Counting the cost
), and by the "scandalous nature of the image." According to Robert Funk, "[a]ttributing a parable to Jesus not attested in the canonical gospels and known only for a few years was an act of courage that demanded careful deliberation". This decision by the Seminar has been criticized for inconsistency, since the parallel parable of the warring king in Luke was not given a pink rating. The authenticity of this parable has been attacked on the grounds that Jesus would not use a parable that glorifies murder
, and because of its use of the phrase "the kingdom of the father" which is not found in the canonical gospels.
.
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
attributed to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. However, it appears in none of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
but only in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
. According to the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
98 Jesus said:
- "The kingdom of the father is like a certain man who wanted to kill a powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and stuck it into the wall in order to find out whether his hand could carry through. Then he slew the powerful man."
Authenticity
The scholars of the Jesus SeminarJesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 critical scholars and laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute....
gave the parable of the assassin a "pink" rating, indicating
that it is in their opinion probably, but not certainly, an authentic saying of Jesus. They were influenced by parallels with the parables of the warring king and of the tower builder found in the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
(see Counting the cost
Counting the cost
Counting the cost is a name often given to a pair of parables told by Jesus in the New Testament, and found in Luke . The name comes from the phrase "count the cost" which occurs in the King James Version of the passage, as well as some other versions....
), and by the "scandalous nature of the image." According to Robert Funk, "[a]ttributing a parable to Jesus not attested in the canonical gospels and known only for a few years was an act of courage that demanded careful deliberation". This decision by the Seminar has been criticized for inconsistency, since the parallel parable of the warring king in Luke was not given a pink rating. The authenticity of this parable has been attacked on the grounds that Jesus would not use a parable that glorifies murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, and because of its use of the phrase "the kingdom of the father" which is not found in the canonical gospels.
Meaning
Like the Lucan parables of the warring king and the tower, this parable seems to concern "estimating the cost of an act or the capability to perform it successfully." In Mark 7:21–23, Jesus explains the idea of evil being rehearsed before taking place. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man." According to some of the fellows of the Jesus Seminar, "the story line of the parable originally had to do with Davidic reversal, as in David and Goliath: the little guy bests the big guy by taking the precautions a prudent person would take before encountering the village bully". A similar message can been found in the parable of the strong manParable of the strong man
The Parable of the strong man is a parable told by Jesus in the New Testament, found in Matthew , Mark , and Luke...
.