Parable of the empty jar

The parable of the empty jar, also known as the parable of the woman with a jar is a parable attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas. [http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html G. Thomas 97]

Authenticity

The scholars of the Jesus Seminar gave the Parable of the Empty Jar a "pink" rating, indicating that it is in their opinion probably an authentic saying of Jesus. [cite book |last=Funk |first=Robert Walter |title=The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? the Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus|url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN006063040X&id=SRI-c0Pf3soC&pg=RA1-PA525&lpg=RA1-PA525&ots=vP-Cua1Hs4&dq=the+five+gospels+assassin&sig=W2mFRxjQ1lJr8mwUocTUoXoi6Ss#PRA1-PA552,M1|edition=first HarperCollins paperback edition|year=1997 |publisher=HarperCollins |location= |isbn=006063040X |pages=552 ] The scholars of the Seminar noted parallels with the parable of the leaven, which immediately precedes the parable of the empty jar in the Gospel of Thomas and the parable of the mustard seed: in all three the kingdom starts with something "unnoticed or unexpected or modest".

Interpretation

This parable has been given a wide variety of interpretations. It may be a warning against letting the "Kingdom", which according to "Thomas 3" is "inside of you and outside of you" [ [http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation) - The Nag Hammadi Library ] ] slip away like the lost flour [cite book
last=Hultgren
first=Arland J.
title=The Parables of Jesus: a commentary
year=2002
publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
isbn=080286077X
edition=
location=Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K.
url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN080286077X&id=P2UvmRVLF18C&pg=PA431&lpg=PA431&ots=gN1G47i4_m&dq=parable+jar+thomas&sig=1dp-gpAhtlv2NMGT12Ucz2SdogE#PPA443,M1
pages=443] : it may also be a simple warning against self-confidence. [Citation
contribution = Apocryphal gospels
editor-last = Bromiley
editor-first = Geoffrey W
title = International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
volume = 1
pages = 186
publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
place = Grand Rapids, Michigan
year = 1994
contribution-url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0802837816&id=-J6rtnfjHQoC&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=parable+jar+thomas&sig=vjoU2wUEtmKtIO3Qyt7NQ86Z13k#PPA186,M1
isbn=0802837816.] The emptiness of the jar may represent an empty life: "people who live their lives in the world [...] carry jars they think are full, but discover, even after much activity, that they are empty". [cite book
last=Valantasis
first=Richard
title=The Gospel of Thomas
year=1997
publisher=Routledge
isbn=0415116228
edition=
location=London and New York
url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0415116228&id=VLnYm7oKUmkC&pg=RA2-PA214&lpg=RA2-PA214&dq=parable+jar+thomas&sig=IZ9Zw9sE2Z-dCa2tt3rDSjk2Rdw#PRA2-PA178,M1
pages=178] Another interpretation is that the parable refers to "the imperceptible coming of the Kingdom". [cite book
last=Jones
first=Peter Rhea
title=Studying the Parables of Jesus
year=1997
publisher=Smyth & HelwysPublishing, Inc.
isbn=1573121673
edition=
location=Macon, GA
url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1573121673&id=tNQdaOREo6sC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&ots=QS68fitH3P&dq=parable+jar+thomas&sig=69jVRj0u4uYCjaNvrkt0PRp8fOQ#PPA34,M1
pages=34] One commentator recasts the emptiness of the jar in a positive light by highlighting the contrast of the image of the empty jar with the expected ending of the woman finding a full jar: such a "happy ending" would be "fairy tale religiosity" whereas "emptiness in the world is what is critical to eventual spiritual fullness". [cite book
last=Amundsen
first=Christian
title=Insights/Secret Teachings of Jesus: The Gospel of Thomas
year=1999
publisher=Sunstar Publishing Ltd.
isbn=1887472576
edition=
location=
url=http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1573121673&id=tNQdaOREo6sC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&ots=QS68fitH3P&dq=parable+jar+thomas&sig=69jVRj0u4uYCjaNvrkt0PRp8fOQ#PPA34,M1
pages=230]

References