Literature. — Dale, Evangel. Revival, 104 ; EzpT iii. [1892] 46C, viii. [1896] 85 ; F. W. Robertson, Serm. ii. 94.
J. E. M'OUAT.
SAYINGS (UNWRITTEN).— Certain sayings ascribed to Christ, though recorded by early writers, are not found written in the Gospels, and therefore are known as the Agrapha, or Un- written Sayings of Our Lord. They are not as numerous as might, perhaps, have been anticipated, in view of the recorded facts of Christ's ministry, and the comparative brevity of the actual reports of His discourses. Tiie active ministry seems to have lasted for nearly three years. The records convey tlie impression of preachings and teachings, continued from day to day, with only rare intervals of rej^ose. The audiences were frequently very large ; they came from all quarters ; the interest was widespread and intense. The words of tiiis Galiljean Kabbi, who attracted some and provoked the wrath of others, but could not be disregarded by any, did not die in their utterance. It was an age wlien the memory was much cultivated. Christ's hearers would be ready to retain, and repeat at home, and amongst their friends, what- ever liad impressed them most in the new doctrines. It was a literary age also. Before the Third Gospel was written, many had already composed histories of Christ (Lk V). The Fourth Evangelist states that he made a selection from available materials ( Jn 2030- 31 2125).
There must once have been a large amount of Agrapha — of teachings and sayings which have not reached us in the pages of Holy Writ. While these were for the most part current in Palestine only, a few would spread farther, through the visits of Hellenists, and even Greeks (Jn 12-"), to Judaea. But the work of converting the world was reserved for the preaching of Christ's Apostles ; and tlie converts' knowledge of Christianity was derived from the traditions whicli were delivered by the Apostles, and which were subsequently superseded by tlie texts of the written Gospels. Meanwhile, the Hebrew Church of Palestine, which alone possessed first-hand knowledge of Christ's teachings, faded and ultimately perished with the scattering of tlie Hebrew race. In these historical conditions we find the reasons why so little of tlie teaching of the Master has survived beyond the
actual contents of the four canonical records. The entire collection of Agrapha, gathered from all sources, is not large. When what is apocrj^phal, or certainly spurious, has been eliminated, the residuum is found to be small in amount, and not very valuable.
The extra-canonical Sayings are preserved in some MSS of the Gospels, and in those religious romances known as the Apocryphal Gospels, also in the Commentaries of the Fathers ; but there are, besides, a few sayings which are Agrapha in that they are not included in the written Gospels, but yet possess high attestation as being parts of the text of Acts and 1 Cor. They stand, or fall, with the estimate held of the authenticity of those books. In Ac 20^'' St. Paul quotes the words of the Lord ; ' how he said. It is more blessed to give than to receive.^ This is a specimen of the traditions (2 Th 2^5) which were delivered by the first preachers of Christianity to their converts. In 1 Co IP^ St. Paul adds a phrase not found in the Evangelists' accounts of the Institution, ' This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me ' ; but v.^^ may be interpreted to intimate that the Ajjostle had en- joyed a special revelation ('I have received of the Lord '), independently of any tradition of the words heard by the Twelve. The report of our Lord's last commands to His Apostles (Ac l"*"^), though in part a repetition of texts in the Gospels, is distinct in some expressions, and v.^ has no parallel in the Evangelists. This verse is repeated by St. Peter inAclP".
The sayings preserved in some MSS of the Gospels are of the nature of textual variations for the most part. A few are absolutely inadmissible on textual grounds ; others are accepted only by certain critics. Those which are not universally admitted may yet be authentic traditions, though extra- canonical : relics of the many sayings which were not recorded by the Evangelists. The test of these, and of others which are handed down by the Fathers, is by comparison with the sentiments which are recognized as elements in the character of Christ's teaching. The very ancient MS at Cambridge known as Codex Bezce, which exhibits many remarkable variations from the usual text of the Gospels, has between Mt 20-^ and ^^ the following :
' But ye, seek ye from little to increase, and from greater to be less ; but also when, having been invited, ye enter in to sup, not to go and sit down in the prominent places, lest a more honourable than thou should come in, and he that invited to the supper should come forward and say to thee, " Withdraw still lower " ; and thou shouldest be put to shame. But if thou shouldest go and sit down in the inferior place, and one inferior to thee should come in, he that invited to the supper will say to thee, "Draw together still higher" ; and this shall be to thee profitable.'