This chapter offers a rich tapestry of extrabiblical traditions about Jesus Christ—apocryphal sayings, artistic impressions of His person, and testimonies to His influence beyond the New Testament record. These materials, though not canonical, reflect the deep yearning of the early church to preserve every echo of the Savior’s voice and every glimpse of His presence.
I. The Apocryphal Sayings of our Lord
The canonical Gospels, divinely inspired and firmly rooted in apostolic witness, contain all that is essential for faith and life. Nevertheless, the closing words of John’s Gospel (John 20:30; 21:25) leave open the possibility of additional deeds and sayings of Jesus that were not inscribed in sacred writ. These apocryphal utterances, though few and often fragmentary, offer glimpses—sometimes radiant, sometimes obscure—into the memory of the early Christian imagination. While lacking the authority of Scripture, they bear witness to the spiritual atmosphere of the nascent church, its reverence for Christ, and its desire to transmit every syllable He might have spoken.
These sayings have been gathered by an array of scholars and antiquarians over the centuries: Fabricius in his Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti (Vol. I, pp. 321–335); Grabe’s Spicilegium SS. Patrum (ed. alt. I, pp. 12ff, 326); Koerner’s treatise De sermonibus Christi ἀγράφοις (Lipsiae, 1776); Routh in Reliquiae Sacrae (Vol. I, pp. 9–12); and notably Rud. Hofmann in Das Leben Jesu nach den Apokryphen (Leipzig, 1851, §75, pp. 317–334). Subsequent contributions by Bunsen (Analecta Ante-Nicaena, Vol. I), Anger (Synopsis Evangeliorum, 1852), Westcott (Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, Appendix C), Plumptre (in Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, Vol. I, p. xxxiii), J.T. Dodd (Sayings Ascribed to our Lord by the Fathers, 1874), and E.B. Nicholson (The Gospel According to the Hebrews, London, 1879, pp. 143–162), provide invaluable context and interpretation. We rely especially on the collations of Hofmann, Westcott, Plumptre, and Nicholson.
(1) “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
This radiant saying, recorded by the Apostle Paul in Acts 20:35, stands alone among the Lord’s sayings preserved outside the canonical Gospels as unquestionably authentic. It harmonizes seamlessly with the teachings of Jesus found in Luke 6:30–31 and finds echoes in early patristic literature, notably Clement of Rome (Ad Corinthios, c. 2), who states, “ἤδιον διδόντες ἢ λαμβάνοντες” (“more gladly giving than receiving”). Its sublime simplicity shines with divine moral clarity: a distilled gospel ethic of self-giving love. Whereas similar sentiments in pagan philosophy—those of Aristotle, Seneca, and Epicurus, as relayed by Plutarch (see Wetstein on Acts 20:35)—exude an aristocratic aloofness, the Christian version breathes humility and mercy. Its enduring resonance perhaps inspired Shakespeare’s Portia in The Merchant of Venice:
“The quality of mercy is not strained,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blessed;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes…”
In this poetic elaboration, we hear a reverberation of the beatitude uttered by the risen Lord.
(2) “If thou knowest what thou doest, thou art blessed; but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed and a transgressor of the Law.”
This poignant and paradoxical saying, preserved in Codex Bezae as an expansion of Luke 6:4, depicts Jesus observing a man laboring on the Sabbath. He responds not with condemnation but with an incisive ethical maxim—distinguishing between conscious intent and ignorant transgression. As Plumptre notes, the saying magnifies the moral responsibility of knowledge. Its language recalls Pauline expressions such as “παραβάτης τοῦ νόμου” (Romans 2:25) and aligns with the severity of Galatians 3:10 regarding curse and law. Hofmann similarly affirms its depth and likely authenticity.
(3) “Seek to increase from little, and not from greater to be less.”
Appearing as an interpolation in Codex D at Matthew 20:28, this saying exhorts the hearer to pursue humble growth. The syntax may suggest either a descriptive or imperative force. Nicholson, relying on the Curetonian Syriac, reads “not” explicitly, whereas most Greek manuscripts omit it. Juvencus integrates the line poetically in his Latin gospel epic (Historia Evangelica), reinforcing the theme of exaltation through humility, akin to Luke 14:11.
(4) “Be ye trustworthy money-changers.”
This oft-cited apophthegm likens disciples to tested bankers (τραπεζῖται δόκιμοι), adept at distinguishing true from false currency—here symbolic of doctrinal and spiritual discernment. Clement, Origen, Eusebius, and others commend it, and Delitzsch interprets the saying as a call to prioritize divine truth over earthly gain. Renan, with monastic bias, reads it as an appeal to renounce riches. Yet its closest parallel may be 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
(5) “Let us resist all iniquity, and hold it in abhorrence.”
Attributed in some manuscripts to the Son of God in the Epistle of Barnabas (c. 4), this saying more likely represents ethical exhortation than a direct quotation. Codex Sinaiticus clarifies the original as “ὡς πρέπει υἱοῖς Θεοῦ” (“as is fitting for the sons of God”). It reflects themes echoed in Psalm 119:163 and 2 Timothy 2:19. Its moral resonance remains firmly Christian, though not an ipsissima verba of Christ.
(6) “They who wish to see me, and to lay hold on my kingdom, must receive me with affliction and suffering.”
Barnabas (c. 7) introduces this as Christ’s own saying, whether as a quotation or a paraphrase is debated. It aligns strongly with canonical teachings in Matthew 16:24 and Acts 14:22: the kingdom is entered through suffering. This maxim carries the authentic tone of discipleship.
(7) “He that wonders shall reign, and he that reigns shall be made to rest.”
Quoted by Clement of Alexandria from the Gospel of the Hebrews, this mystical saying equates wonder with sovereignty and contemplative rest. Plumptre draws an analogy to Plato’s philosophy, noting that wonder is both the beginning and consummation of wisdom.
(8) “Look with wonder at the things that are before thee.”
A continuation of the previous theme, this second saying from Clement’s citation of the Gospel of the Hebrews encourages reverent attention to the present. It suggests a spirituality rooted in mindfulness and awe.
(9) “I came to abolish sacrifices, and unless ye cease from sacrificing, the wrath [of God] will not cease from you.”
From the Gospel of the Ebionites and cited by Epiphanius, this saying provocatively asserts Jesus’s rejection of temple sacrifice. It coheres with Hosea 6:6 and Jesus’s own appeal in Matthew 9:13: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” Radical in tone, it reflects a strand of early Jewish-Christian polemic.
(10) “Ask great things, and the small shall be added to you: ask heavenly, and earthly things shall be added.”
Cited by Clement and Origen, and echoed by Ambrose, this exhortation mirrors Matthew 6:33. Its construction suggests a call to spiritual ambition—pursue the highest, and the lesser will follow.
(11) “In the things wherein I find you, in them will I judge you.”
A sobering maxim cited by Justin Martyr and Clement, this saying stresses that divine judgment is rendered on the basis of one’s present moral state. It resonates with the eschatological immediacy of Ezekiel and reinforces human responsibility.
(12) “He who is near me is near the fire; he who is far from me is far from the kingdom.”
Origen and Didymus preserve this image of purifying nearness. To draw close to Christ is to risk refinement. It echoes Luke 12:49: “I came to cast fire upon the earth.”
(13) “If ye kept not that which is little, who will give you that which is great?”
Found in the Pseudo-Clementine Homily 8 and mirrored in Luke 16:10, this saying affirms that trustworthiness in small duties is the prerequisite for greater spiritual responsibility.
(14) “Keep the flesh pure, and the seal without stain.”
Following the previous maxim, this phrase likely refers to baptism (“seal”) and bodily sanctity. Lightfoot interprets it in light of Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30—preserve both spirit and body in preparation for eternal life.
(15) “When the two shall be one… then shall the kingdom come.”
A Gnostic-flavored saying from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, quoted by Clement and others. It combines mystical dualisms—male and female, inner and outer—with a vision of eschatological unity. While alien to the synoptic Gospels, it illustrates early Christian esotericism.
(16) “For those that are infirm was I infirm…”
Origen attributes this compassionate saying to Jesus, paralleling Matthew 25:35–36 and Paul’s adaptive ministry in 1 Corinthians 9. It portrays Christ as empathetic to human frailty.
(17) “Never be ye joyful, except when ye have seen your brother in love.”
Quoted by Jerome from the Hebrew Gospel, this exhortation extols fraternal love as the true occasion for Christian joy.
(18) “Take hold, handle me, and see that I am not a bodiless spirit.”
From Ignatius and Jerome, this saying counters docetism by asserting the corporeality of the risen Christ. It echoes Luke 24:39 and John 20:27.
(19) “Good must come, but woe to him through whom evil comes.”
From the Clementine Homilies (xii. 29), this saying parallels Matthew 18:7. It articulates a moral theology where divine necessity and human agency meet.
(20) “My mystery is for me, and for the sons of my house.”
Repeated by Clement, the Clementine Homilies, and Alexander of Alexandria, this cryptic utterance recalls Mark 4:11 and Isaiah 24:16. It emphasizes the hiddenness of divine wisdom.
(21) “If you do not make your low things high and your crooked things straight…”
From the Acta Philippi, this apocryphal command invokes Isaiah 40:4 and symbolizes repentance and spiritual rectitude.
(22) “Very excellent are those whom my Father… hath given to me.”
Cited by Eusebius from the Hebrew Gospel, this logion harmonizes with John 17 and underscores divine election and Christ’s delight in His disciples.
(23) The Millennial Vision of Papias
Quoted by Irenaeus from Papias, this extravagant portrayal of paradise features vines with 10,000 shoots and grapes producing oceans of wine. While Westcott considers it based on a real saying, it likely stems from apocalyptic imagination, akin to 2 Baruch 29. It reflects early Christian hope of eschatological abundance.
Other Witnesses
Islamic tradition also records a saying attributed to Jesus: “He who longs to be rich is like a man who drinks sea-water; the more he drinks the more thirsty he becomes, until he perishes.” Preserved in the Koranic corpus and noted by Hofmann, it conveys a warning against avarice consistent with the Nazarene ethos.
II. Personal Appearance of Jesus
The sacred authors of the Gospels, with deliberate reticence and spiritual sensitivity, offer not a single physical description of the Lord Jesus. Neither the Evangelists nor the apostolic eyewitnesses—not even John, the beloved disciple who leaned on His breast—record His stature, voice, or visage. This silence is not accidental but providential. Christ, as the Savior of all humanity, transcends the limiting features of race or aesthetic type. The universal and eternal Word was made flesh, but not for the sake of being iconized in physical lineament. St. Paul articulates this mystery when he writes: “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16). Likewise, Peter affirms, “Whom having not seen, ye love” (1 Peter 1:8).
This theological restraint has protected Christian devotion from idolatrous fixation on externals. And yet, the human heart has always yearned for a face to contemplate. Artists, mystics, and poets through the centuries have sought to render the visage of the fairest among the children of men. In the absence of canonical description, the earliest Christian art in the catacombs was symbolic: Christ as the Lamb, the Good Shepherd, the Fish—the latter drawn from the acrostic Ἰησοῦς Χριστός Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior).
Under persecution, the early church viewed depictions of the incarnate Lord with suspicion—partly to avoid scandal among Jews and idolatrous misapprehension among Gentiles. But once the church emerged triumphant after Constantine, iconography flourished. The earlier prophetic imagination of Isaiah 53 (“he hath no form nor comeliness”) gave way to the Song of Songs and Psalm 45: “Thou art fairer than the children of men.”
Even among ante-Nicene writers, such as Clement of Alexandria, a distinction emerges between Christ’s first advent in humility and His glorified return. Though veiled in lowliness, His countenance radiated a transcendent beauty. Jerome remarks, “A flame of fire and starry brightness flashed from his eye, and the majesty of the Godhead shone in his face.”
Legendary Descriptions
A letter attributed to Publius Lentulus, a supposed Roman official, though apocryphal and no earlier than the fourth century, deeply shaped the medieval imagination. It reads:
“There appeared in these days a man of noble presence, whose face inspires both love and awe. His hair is the color of ripe chestnut, parted in the center and flowing in curls below the ears. His forehead is smooth and serene; his face without blemish, tinted with a delicate red. His beard is of the same hue, forked and full. His eyes are blue and penetrating, flashing with light. He rebukes with majesty, exhorts with gentleness, never seen to laugh but oft to weep. He is tall, straight in posture, and his hands are graceful. His voice is grave, and his manner composed. In beauty, he surpasses all the sons of men.”
III. The Testimony of Josephus on John the Baptist
Among the extra-canonical references to figures of the New Testament, the testimony of Flavius Josephus stands as a particularly important confirmation of the Gospel narrative. Found in Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chapter 5, §2, the passage concerning John the Baptist is widely accepted by scholars as genuine. Josephus, writing as a Jewish historian under Roman patronage, records that John was a righteous man (ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα), calling his fellow countrymen to virtue, justice, and piety, and urging them toward a baptism of purification. He distinguishes this washing not as a mere ritual, but as an outward sign, valid only when the soul had first been cleansed by righteousness.
“Herod slew him, who was a good man… and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue… and so to come to baptism… Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod.”
IV. The Testimony of Mara to Christ, A.D. 74
Discovered only in the mid-nineteenth century, the letter of Mara bar Serapion offers a remarkable reflection on Christ from the pen of a non-Christian philosopher writing around A.D. 74. This Syriac letter, written from prison to his son Serapion, laments the persecution of sages by tyrants and offers a triad of examples: Socrates, Pythagoras, and “the wise King of the Jews.”
“What benefit did the Jews gain from executing their wise King? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. Socrates did not die because of Plato; nor Pythagoras because of the statue of Hera; nor the wise King because of the new laws he enacted.”
Though Mara was likely not a Christian, his philosophical admiration for the teachings and legacy of Jesus demonstrates that even those outside the faith perceived His enduring greatness.
