Greek · Second Epistle of Clement · An Ancient Christian Homily
The oldest surviving complete Christian sermon, transmitted with 1 Clement and ascribed to Clement by later tradition. It calls hearers to repentance and self-control in view of judgment.
Datingdisputed
Not by the author of 1 Clement; it is a sermon, not a letter. Usually dated c. 120-160 on the basis of its theology and its citation of gospel sayings; proposals run from c. 95 to 170. Place is disputed (Corinth, Rome, Alexandria).Books it uses
2.4 introduces 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners' (Matt 9:13 / Mark 2:17) as 'another Scripture'. Gregory & Tuckett see post-redactional Matthean and Lukan material, perhaps through a harmony, hence 'probable' not 'certain'.
8.5 'the Lord saith in the Gospel' then Luke 16:10; other sayings show Lukan redaction. Oxford graded it D, suspecting an apocryphal intermediary (its note to p. 123).
11.6 'faithful is He that promised' (Heb 10:23).
Quotations
And another Scripture saith, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
2 Clem. 2.4Quotation
ANF vol. 7 (1886), ed. A. C. Coxe (Didache/2 Clement with notes by M. B. Riddle) · Source (opens in a new tab)
A saying of Jesus introduced as 'another Scripture' right after Isa 54:1: the earliest clear instance (c. 140s?) of a Gospel text called scripture, comparable to 2 Pet 3:16's use of 'scriptures' for Paul.
Matthew 9:13 BSB
13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:17 BSB
17On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
For the Lord saith in the Gospel, “If ye have not kept that which was small, who will commit to you the great? For I say unto you, that he that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.
2 Clem. 8.5Quotation
ANF vol. 7 (1886), ed. A. C. Coxe (Didache/2 Clement with notes by M. B. Riddle) · Source (opens in a new tab)
Cited 'in the Gospel'; the first clause has no exact canonical parallel, the second matches Luke 16:10.
Luke 16:10–12 BSB
10Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?
And the Books and the Apostles plainly declare that the Church is not of the present, but from the beginning.
2 Clem. 14.2Names the book
ANF vol. 7 (1886), ed. A. C. Coxe (Didache/2 Clement with notes by M. B. Riddle) · Source (opens in a new tab)
'The Books' (OT) and 'the Apostles' side by side as authorities: an early two-part scriptural authority formula.