Saying 13 — Thomas's Secret Knowledge
Thomas Saying 13's narrative of Thomas receiving three secret words from Jesus — and his refusal to share them — exemplifies the esoteric transmission structure of Gnostic teaching.
Gospel of Thomas Saying 13: 'Jesus said to his disciples: Compare me to something and tell me what I am like. Simon Peter said to him: You are like a righteous angel. Matthew said to him: You are like a wise philosopher. Thomas said to him: Master, my mouth is entirely incapable of saying what you are like. Jesus said: I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. And he took him and withdrew and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say to you? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up rocks and stone me; a fire will come out of the rocks and burn you up.' Thomas's recognition that Jesus defies all categories — neither angel nor philosopher — represents the highest Gnostic understanding. The three secret words are never revealed — their content is less important than the structure: Gnosis cannot be fully communicated in words but must be directly transmitted.
My mouth is entirely incapable of saying what you are like... If I tell you one of the things he told me, you will pick up rocks and stone me.
Scholar Gregory Riley (Resurrection Reconsidered) argues that Thomas Saying 13 represents the document's core hermeneutical claim: genuine understanding of Jesus (Gnosis) cannot be communicated in conventional religious language — Peter's 'righteous angel' and Matthew's 'philosopher' are both partial and miss the point.
Nag Hammadi Library