Saying 12: James the Just
Asked who will lead them after he goes, Jesus sends the disciples to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.
Commentary
A remarkable historical fossil. James, the brother of Jesus, led the Jerusalem community until his death around 62 CE, and this saying appears to preserve a claim to his authority — set, in the very next saying, alongside a claim for Thomas that outranks it.
Parallels
Galatians 1:19; Acts 15
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 74 Saying 74: Many Around the Well Lord, there are many gathered around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well.
- Saying 16 Saying 16: Not Peace but Division People think I have come to bring peace; I have come to bring divisions — fire, sword, war. Five in a house…
- Saying 13 Saying 13: Compare Me to Something Peter says Jesus is like a righteous messenger, Matthew like a wise philosopher; Thomas says his mouth cannot say what Jesus is…
- Saying 21 Saying 21: Children in a Field Not Theirs Mary asks what the disciples are like; they are like children living in a field that is not theirs, who give it…
- Saying 58 Saying 58: Blessed Is the One Who Has Toiled Blessed is the person who has worked hard and found life.
- Saying 40 Saying 40: The Vine Planted Apart A grapevine has been planted away from the Father; it has no strength, and it will be pulled up by the root…