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 like, and is taken aside and told three things he will not repeat.
Commentary
Thomas’s answer to Caesarea Philippi, and a pointed one: Peter and Matthew — the patrons of two canonical gospels — both get it wrong, and only Thomas receives the secret. The three unrepeatable words are never disclosed to the reader either.
Parallels
Mark 8:27–30; Matthew 16:13–20
Sayings on the same themes
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- Saying 53 Saying 53: Is Circumcision Useful? If circumcision were useful, fathers would produce sons already circumcised; the true circumcision, in spirit, is what profits.
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