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Scholarly Quotes

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “The fire is that which Jesus came to cast on the earth (Sayings 9 and 16); it is a symbol of the kingdom and therefore of the Father. We find something rather like this saying in the letter of Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans (4, 2). ‘Why have I given myself up to death, to fire, to sword, to wild beasts? But near sword is near god, with wild beasts is with God.’ Perhaps Ignatius alludes to this saying; on the other hand, this saying may be based on the words of Ignatius.” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 180)

F. F. Bruce writes: “The fire is a symbol of the ‘kingdom of the Father’ (cf. Sayings 10, 16). We may recall that, according to Justin Martyr and others, a fire was kindled on Jordan when Jesus was baptized. [Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 88.3: ‘When Jesus went down into the water a fire was kindled in the Jordan.’ Cf. the ‘light’ which shone on the same occasion acording to the Gospel of the Ebionites (p. 107).” (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 144)

Joachim Jeremias writes: “To be near Jesus is dangerous. It offers no prospect of earthly happiness, but involves the fire of tribulation and the test of suffering. But it must indeed be borne in upon every one who, yielding to fear, turns away from the call of Jesus, that he excludes himself from the Kingdom of God. Only through fire may the Kingdom be attained.” (The Parables of Jesus, p. 196)

Funk and Hoover write: “This saying is also known from later writers such as Origen . . . However, the aphorism is thought by many scholars to approximate the proverb of Aesop: ‘Whoever is near to Zeus is near the thunderbolt.’ To approach the divine is to risk danger. Some of the Fellows were attracted by teh short, aphoristic nature of the saying and its reference to the Father’s domain. On the other hand, assigning popular sayings to Jesusis a common practice of the early Christian community. Further, Jesus speaks here of himself in rather exalted terms, as though he were equal to God. This aspect suggested to the Fellows an early Christian origin.” (The Five Gospels, pp. 517-518)