Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 89/1 (2013) 49-71. doi: 10.2143/ETL.89.1.2985322 © 2013 by Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses. All rights reserved. Prayer to Jesus in the Canonical and in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles Boris PASCHKE Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven (ETF) Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) INTRODUCTION The five major Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (AAA), i.e., those of Andrew (AA), John (AJ), Paul (APaul), Peter (APeter), and Thomas (ATh)1, stem from the second and third centuries C.E.2 and contain about one-hundred prayers, i.e., second-person addresses to God3. With regard to the invocationes of these prayers, Hugh A.G. Houghton states, “Most prayers are addressed directly to Jesus”4. In contrast to the AAA, the canonical New Testament hardly contains prayers to Jesus. Such prayers are only found in Acts 7,59-60 (kúrie ˆIjsoÕ)5; Rev 22,20 (ˆAmßn, ∂rxou kúrie ˆIjsoÕ); and perhaps 1 Cor 16,22 (maranatha)6. 1. Unless indicated otherwise, the following text editions of these writings are used: Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, ed. R.A. LIPSIUS – M. BONNET, 2 vols, Reprint, Hildesheim, Georg Olms, 1990; Acta Iohannis: Praefatio – Textus, ed. É. JUNOD – J.-D. KAESTLI (CChr.SA, 1), Turnhout, Brepols, 1983; Acta Andreae: Textus, ed. J.-M. PRIEUR (CChr.SA, 6), Turnhout, Brepols, 1989. Unless indicated otherwise, english translations of the AAA come from The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation, ed. J.K. ELLIOTT, Oxford, Clarendon, 1993. 2. Cf. ELLIOTT (ed.), Apocryphal New Testament (n. 1), p. 229; H.-J. KLAUCK, The Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction, Waco, TX, Baylor University Press, 2008, p. 3; É. COTHENET, Découvrir les Apocryphes chrétiens: Art et religion populaire, Paris, Desclée de Brouwer, 2009, pp. 18-19. 3. H.A.G. HOUGHTON, The Discourse of Prayer in the Major Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, in Apocrypha 15 (2004) 171-200, p. 173. 4. HOUGHTON, Discourse (n. 3), p. 177; cf. p. 197; cf. A. HAMMAN, La prière, vol. 2 (BT), Tournai, Desclée, 1963, pp. 178, 196, 225; K. BAUS, Das Gebet der Märtyrer, in TTZ 62 (1953) 19-32, p. 32. 5. Unless otherwise indicated, New Testament citations in Greek and English are taken from the 27th edition of the Novum Testamentum Graece (ed. B. ALAND – K. ALAND et al.) Stuttgart, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993 and the New Revised Standard Version, respectively. 6. I.e., if the ambiguous maranatha formula is understood as an imperative; further, references to prayers to Christ might be found in John 14,14 (if me is original) and 2 Cor 12,8 (if kúriov refers to Jesus Christ). 996409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd6409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd 4949 228/06/138/06/13 110:290:29 50 B. PASCHKE The parallels between the New Testament prayers to Jesus and the prayers to Jesus found in the AAA have not been sufficiently studied. Even though the Jesus epiclesis in ATh 49 (“Jesus, … come [êlqé] and commune with us”) is parallel to Rev 22,20 (and possibly to 1 Cor 16,22) scholars have not pointed out, let alone investigated, this parallelism7. Likewise, the parallels between Stephen’s prayer to Jesus in Acts 7,59-60 and the prayers to Jesus in the AAA have not been mentioned, let alone studied. In view of this latter desideratum, the present article studies the paral- lels between prayer to Jesus in Acts 7,59-60 and in the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. First, Acts 7,59-60 will be investigated. Second, the par- allels between Acts 7,59-60 and the prayers to Jesus in the AAA will be highlighted. Third, in comparison with alternative literary backgrounds, it will be asked to what extent Acts 7,59-60 qualifies as the literary back- ground of the prayers to Jesus in the AAA. I. STEPHEN’S PRAYER TO CHRIST IN ACTS 7,59-60 In Acts 7,59, Stephen prays to the “Lord Jesus” (kúrie ˆIjsoÕ). The prayer request “[R]eceive my spirit” (dézai tò pneÕmá mou) is reminis- cent of Jesus’s prayer “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (páter, eîv xe⁄ráv sou paratíqemai tò pneÕmá mou) in Luke 23,46 which is derived from Ps 31,5 (Ps 31,6 LXX). While the requests of Ste- phen’s prayer and that of Jesus are quite similar, the addressees of the prayers differ from each other: Jesus prays to the Father (páter), while Stephen prays to the Lord Jesus (kúrie ˆIjsoÕ). Several commentators understand Acts 7,59 in terms of Jesus replacing the Father8. Stephen’s second prayer request “[D]o not hold this sin against them [m® stßsjÇv aûto⁄v taútjn t®n ämartían]” (Acts 7,60) is reminiscent of Luke 23,34a: “Father, forgive them [páter, ãfev aûto⁄v]”. However, this prayer of the crucified Jesus was “probably not a part of the original Gos- pel of Luke” and “had been incorporated by unknown copyists relatively early in the transmission of the Third Gospel”9. 7. Cf., e.g., A.F.J. KLIJN, The Acts of Thomas: Introduction, Text, and Commentary, 2nd rev. version (NT.S, 108), Leiden, Brill, 2003, p. 124: in the interpretation of ATh 49, Rev 22,20 and 1 Cor 16,22 are not mentioned. 8. Cf. E. HAENCHEN, Die Apostelgeschichte (KEK), Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 51965, p. 244; I.H. MARSHALL, The Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction and Commentary (TNTC), Leicester – Grand Rapids, MI, Inter-Varsity – Eerdmans, 1980, p. 150; R.I. PERVO, Acts: A Commentary (Hermeneia), Minneapolis, MN, Fortress, 2009, pp. 198-199; D.G. PETERSON, The Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Com- mentary), Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 2009, p. 269. 9. B.M. METZGER, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Stuttgart, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 21994, p. 154. 996409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd6409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd 5050 228/06/138/06/13 110:290:29 PRAYER TO JESUS 51 With regard to the identity of the addressee of Stephen’s prayer in Acts 7,60 (i.e., kúrie), commentators are divided: according to the majority of scholars, Jesus is addressed. The main argument for this interpretation is the preceding verse where the kúriov is identified as Jesus10. A minority of scholars considers God the Father the addressee11. Rudolf Pesch argues, “[D]a die Bitte der – freilich textkritisch nicht gesicherten – Bitte Jesu (Lk 23,34a) entspricht, dürfte jedoch eher an eine Anrufung Gottes selbst als des ‘Herrn’ zu denken sein”12. However, for the following two rea- sons this argument is not convincing: first, as Pesch himself admits, it is not sure that Jesus’s prayer páter, ãfev aûto⁄v (Luke 23,34a) is part of the original text. Second, if Luke 23,34a belongs to the Gospel of Luke, nothing speaks against the idea that a prayer that Jesus addresses to the Father serves as example for a prayer that Stephen addresses to Jesus. Acts 7,59 even speaks in favor of such a modification because this verse changes a prayer that the Lukan Jesus addresses to the páter (Luke 23,46) into a prayer that Stephen addresses to the kúriov ˆIjsoÕv. It is thus more probable that kúriov in Acts 7,60 refers to Jesus who is addressed in the preceding verse13. Somewhat related to the issue just discussed is the question whether Acts 7,59-60 narrates one or two prayers of Stephen. It is consequent – but not compulsory – that Pesch, who reckons with two different prayer addressees concludes that Acts 7,59-60 contains two prayers of Stephen14. However, also scholars who see only Jesus addressed in Acts 7,59-60 detect two prayers in these verses15. Other scholars consider the words of Stephen in Acts 7,59-60 not two prayers but one prayer with two parts16. Because kúriov in Acts 7,59-60 probably designates Jesus in both cases, it is reasonable to conclude that Stephen addresses Jesus with a prayer that consists of two requests. 10. Cf. G. SCHNEIDER, Die Apostelgeschichte, vol. 1 (HTK), Freiburg, Herder, 1980, p. 478 n. 54; L.T. JOHNSON, The Acts of the Apostles (Sacra Pagina, 5), Collegeville, MN, Liturgical Press, 1992, p. 141; PETERSON, Acts (n. 8) p. 269. 11. Cf., e.g., O. BAUERNFEIND, Die Apostelgeschichte (THK, 5), Leipzig, A. Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1939, p. 120; PERVO, Acts (n. 8) p. 199. 12. R. PESCH, Die Apostelgeschichte, vol. 1 (EKK, V/1), Zürich – Neukirchen-Vluyn, Benziger – Neukirchener, 1986, p. 265. 13. Cf. J.D.G. DUNN, The Acts of the Apostles (Epworth Commentaries), Peterborough, Epworth, 1996, p. 101; A. HAMMAN, La prière, vol. 1 (BT), Tournai, Desclée & Co., 1959, p. 185; V. MIHOC, Prayer to Jesus in the New Testament, in H. KLEIN – V. MIHOC – K.-W. NIEBUHR (eds.), Das Gebet im Neuen Testament: Vierte europäische orthodox-westliche Exegetenkonferenz in Sâmbata de Sus 4.-8. August 2007 (WUNT, 249), Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2009, 165-183, p. 179. 14. PESCH, Apostelgeschichte, vol. 1 (n. 12), pp. 264-265. 15. Cf. DUNN, Acts (n. 13), p. 101; HAMMAN, La prière, vol. 1 (n. 13), p. 184; D. MAR- GUERAT, Les Actes des apôtres (1–12) (CNT, 5a), Genève, Labor et Fides, 2007, p. 277. 16. Cf. J. CALVIN, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles, vol. 1, Reprint, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 1957, p. 318; C.K. BARRETT, A Critical and Exegetical Commen- tary on the Acts of the Apostles, vol. 1 (ICC), London, T&T Clark, 1994, p. 387. 996409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd6409_ETL_2013/1_04_Paschke.indd 5151 228/06/138/06/13 110:290:29 52 B. PASCHKE II. PARALLELS BETWEEN ACTS 7,59-60 AND THE PRAYERS TO JESUS IN THE AAA 1.