Saying 52: Twenty-Four Prophets
The disciples say twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel and all of them spoke about him; he replies that they have ignored the living one in front of them and talked about the dead.
Commentary
Twenty-four is the number of books in the Hebrew Bible as traditionally counted. The saying does not deny scripture so much as declare it beside the point next to a living presence.
Parallels
John 5:39–40
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 105 Saying 105: Whoever Knows the Father and the Mother Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a prostitute.
- Saying 44 Saying 44: Blasphemy Against the Spirit Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the Son will be forgiven; whoever blasphemes against the Holy…
- Saying 71 Saying 71: I Will Destroy This House I will tear down this house, and no one will be able to build it again.
- Saying 78 Saying 78: Why Did You Go Out to the Countryside? Why did you come out to the country — to see a reed shaken by the wind, or a man in soft…
- 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 89 Saying 89: Washing the Outside of the Cup Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that whoever made the inside also made the outside?