Saying 97: The Jar of Meal
The kingdom is like a woman carrying a jar of meal. The handle broke on the road and the meal spilled out behind her; she noticed nothing, and found the jar empty when she got home.
Commentary
Found nowhere else, and unlike any canonical kingdom parable. The kingdom is compared to an unnoticed loss — a reading that fits Thomas’s claim that the kingdom is already spread out and unseen (saying 113).
Parallels
This saying has no close parallel in the canonical gospels. Roughly half of the Gospel of Thomas is material of this kind, found nowhere else in the early Christian record.
Sayings on the same themes
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- Saying 107 Saying 107: The Largest Sheep A shepherd with a hundred sheep lost the largest one. He left the ninety-nine and searched until he found it, and then…
- Saying 35 Saying 35: Binding the Strong Man You cannot get into a strong man's house and take it by force without tying his hands first; then you can loot…
- Saying 9 Saying 9: The Sower A sower scatters seed: some falls on the road, some on rock, some among thorns, and some on good soil that bears…
- Saying 65 Saying 65: The Wicked Tenants A man leased his vineyard to farmers. He sent a servant for the produce and they beat him; he sent another and…
- Saying 75 Saying 75: Only the Solitary Enter Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber.