Saying 46: Greater Than John the Baptist
From Adam to John the Baptist no one born of women is so far above John that his eyes should not be lowered; yet whichever of you becomes a child will know the kingdom and be greater than John.
Commentary
The canonical version says the least in the kingdom is greater than John. Thomas substitutes becoming a child — the state of undividedness from sayings 4, 21 and 22 — as the qualification.
Parallels
Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 38 Saying 38: You Will Seek Me and Not Find Me You have often wanted to hear these words from me and had no one else to hear them from; there will be…
- Prologue Prologue: The Hidden Sayings These are the hidden sayings that the living Jesus spoke and that Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.
- Saying 20 Saying 20: The Mustard Seed The kingdom is like a mustard seed: the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on worked ground it puts out…
- Saying 99 Saying 99: My True Brothers and Mother Told that his brothers and mother are outside, Jesus says that those here who do the will of his Father are his…
- Saying 6 Saying 6: On Fasting, Prayer and Almsgiving The disciples ask how to fast, pray, give alms and eat; the answer is to stop lying and to stop doing what…
- Saying 47 Saying 47: Two Horses, Two Masters, New Wine No one rides two horses or draws two bows; no servant serves two masters. Nobody drinks old wine and immediately wants new;…