Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 89 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next

You can view this web page along with Grondin's Coptic/English Interlinear in frames.
Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Funk's Parallels
Luke 11:39-41, Matt
23:25-26.

BLATZ LAYTON DORESSE

(89) Jesus said: Why do you
wash the outside of the cup?
Do you not understand that
he who made the inside is
also he who made the
outside?
(89) Jesus said, "Why are
you (plur.) washing the
inside of the cup? Don't you
think that the one who made
the inside is the very same
one who made the outside?"
93 [89]. Jesus says: "Why
do you wash the outside of
the cup, and do not think
that he who made the inside
made the outside also?"

Visitor Comments Scholarly Quotes

This quote by Jesus is saying
that too many people worry
about their outward
appearances and never worry
about the inside. The creator
created us all inside and out
and "all" of us should be
cleaned.
- justlooking
Concentrating solely on
pleasing other people
achieves nothing.
Concentration on internal
change automatically
produces external change.
- Rodney
We create the world by
means of our beliefs, so
don´t try to change the
world, change your beliefs
about it.
- Dark Soul
When you spread the word
of being a Christian don't
just show them how to be a
Christian on the outside but
also on the inside.
Marvin Meyer writes: "Note also the Babylonian Talmud, Berakoth 51a, with its
provisions for rinsing the inside and washing the outside of a cup; also Kelim 25.1-9,
with its discussion of laws concerning the inner and outer sides of various vessels."
(The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 102)
Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "This saying, directed against
ritual observances, is based on Luke 11:39-40. The reversal of inside and outside in
the second half of the saying is also found in some early manuscripts of Luke, and in
patristic quotations." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 184)
R. McL. Wilson writes: "The parallel here is Luke xi. 39-40, which itself has often
given rise to perplexity. It can be punctuated as a question, 'Did not he who made the
outside make the inside also?,' in which case the meaning may probably be summed
up in the words of verse 42: this ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other
undone. The merely external and ritual observances are worthless without purity of
heart. It is also possible, although perhaps less probable, that we should punctuate as
a statement: 'He who sets the outside right does not set the inside right'; but this
seems flat and tautologous. More important is the fact that some of our authorities in
Luke reverse the order of 'inside' and 'outside,' exactly as in Thomas. This raises
questions of textual criticism, which will be considered later. Quispel has suggested
that Luke, as presented by the majority of our manuscripts, has preserved one half of
an original parallelism, Thomas and the remaining manuscripts the other; and he adds
the further suggestion that this logion may be from the Gospel of the Hebrews, and
may be the text underlying logion 22, which, as already noted, has been identified as
from the Gospel of the Egyptians. The suggestion has much to commend it, but if it
is correct Luke must have adapted the saying for his own purposes; the relation of
Luke to Matthew here, and to their common source, has been variously interpreted.
On the other hand it may be doubted if the parallelism is really authentic and not the
result of a playing with words by a later hand. The textual variant might be merely
- Dave accidental; the one fact which gives it a claim to further consideration is that it occurs
89
not in Thomas only but in other sources." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 83-
84)
Helmut Koester writes: "This is the first of the two sayings which Thomas shares
with the synoptic speech against the Pharisees. However, it can be understood as a
Alias: community rule rather than a polemical saying. There is no reference to the
Pharisees; the accusation that those who practice such purification 'are full of
extortion and wickedness' is missing, as is the slanderous 'You fools!' That Gos.
Thom. 89 reverses the order 'outside/inside' in the second part of the saying is of no
consequence because there is no polemical intent." (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 92)
Funk and Hoover write: "This saying was voted pink in its Thomas form, while the Q
version preserved by Matt (23:25-26) and Luke (11:39-41) was designated gray.
Matthew and Luke have turned the original aphorism into a mixed metaphor about
cup and self: the outside of the cup concerns ritual purity, the inside of the self is full
Post the Note of greed and evil. In Thomas, however, the aphorism is recorded without context or
moralizing conclusion. The outside and inside are made equal, because they are both
made by the same creator. The aphorism thus appears to have been a criticism of the
Discuss it now at AMC
ritual washing of vessles such as cups. In this form, it could well have come from
forums!
Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 520)
Gerd Ludemann writes: "The logion has a parallel in Matt. 23.25-26/Luke 11.39-41
(=Q). But it seems original by comparison with the Synoptic parallels, as it
emphasizes one notion (and does not, like Matthew/Luke, include the inside of the
person as well as the outside of the cup). Because the one who created the outside of
the cup and what is inside is the same, washing the inside and the outside are made
equal. Hence the following conclusion suggests itself: if the inside is not washed, the
outside does not need to be washed either." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 634)
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Early Christian Writings Gospel of Thomas Saying 89 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next