Could Paul Have Heard Jesus’ Parables From Apostles Like Peter, James, Or Luke?
Q: I was teaching a Sunday school lesson on 1 Thessalonians 3. Paul was concerned about the Thessalonians’ faith staying strong. I made the statement that Paul may have heard or talked to one of the disciples about the parable of the sower/soils/seeds. My question is: I know Paul died before the gospels were written, but maybe could Paul have heard some ideas from encounters with Luke or the other disciples like Peter or even James? I do not want to be accused of adding something to the Bible. Is it okay to use inference in some situations like this? Paul never talks about conversations with Luke or Peter any of his theological teachings.
A: First of all, I believe that the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – were probably written before Paul’s death. Paul died somewhere around 64-65 A.D. I believe that the Synoptic Gospels would have been written before that. It’s likely that the Gospel of John was written after Paul’s death, but again, we don’t know for sure. But I would argue that those Gospels were written probably earlier than a lot of people think they were.
So yes, it’s valid to make the inference that somebody told Paul about the parable of the sower and the seeds. You could also call it the parable of the soils, because the soil is different in each aspect of the parable, not the different seeds that are sown. It’s all one seed that’s sown, but the soils are different from place to place and from person to person.
God bless you for your work in teaching your Sunday school class. Keep with that, brother. I’m happy to hear you’re doing that. But let me say this, as you teach your Sunday school class, it’s absolutely fine for you to present this as an inference. I would even go so far to say that it’s likely that Paul heard of the parable of the sower through one of the disciples, or through Luke or somebody else who had heard it. I would go so far in my own teaching to say that it’s likely. I don’t know that I ever have said that, but I would say it’s very likely, although we can’t assign it to be certain. Secondly, even if the Gospels weren’t written yet, Christians freely and happily shared the stories of what Jesus taught and did. It’s not a crazy thought. If you were Paul and saw very little of the ministry of Jesus in person, but you met people who had personally seen and heard a lot of the ministry of Jesus, you would absolutely say, “Tell me everything! I want to hear it all. Tell me the stories. I need to hear them.”
So, no, you’re not stepping out on a limb at all to say that it’s likely that Paul heard of the parable of the sower/soils from someone who had heard it firsthand from Jesus.