Gal. 3:26-28: "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ." Through faith in Jesus Mary is made male, or equivelant to the other males He was speaking to.
- Rebecca

TSee also the treatment of Antti Marjanen on logion 114 in his book "The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Sources."
- Esa

I think this speaks to the inequality of the times. Women were always regarded as second class citizens, and inferior. Therefore, they'd always have the mindset of inferiority, and even servitude. So I think in the statement didnt mean that he would change women anatomically into men, but instead he meant to change their minds, or her mentality so that she would stop carrying about like such "women" and would instead think more like men, and so she should then be treated accordingly, be regarded as an equal.
- AnyMe

Females are in this text still inferior to males, who should be regarded as a role model. No doubt this is a fairly good representation of past and present ideas on women. However, this saying might also represent some tendencies in the early christian movement to give women at least a chance to participate and be saved too. Not quite the "opportunity" we would consider nowadays, but it's a welcome counterargument against the general male-chauvinistic writings of that time (like Paul).
- Bruno

Here is the culmination of several verses about the dualities (esp. 22, 50). In her trans????ed state Mary will be both male and female-a living spirit-now part of the kingdom of heaven where there are no dualities. Jesus is again trying to shock us into awareness of that other dimension.
- iver

Maybe we should invent new words for this being that is comprised of both a woman and a man, and stop using the word man when referring to it. Then there would be no misunderstandings, and there would be no reason for one sex to be implied as inferior to other.
- jeja

We know from the image that God give both man and woman that woman is equal with man. It is our sin that made man and woman unequal according to Gen 3:3. That is why Jesus told Peter that he will make woman a man, because in heaven, men are the same as women; people live in spirit, not in body.
- laijon

Perhaps in the culture only men were worthy of great things such that (male = worthy person) or (worthy person = male). To understand better, re-read the verse replacing "male" with "worthy."
- John

This saying could also be interpreted as: If it is the men that inhibit women from finding their true spiritual self, they should stand up and become men!(claim their right as an equal)! For the woman, as well as Jesus apparently, is the one that is not blind to the non-existence of sexual differences. And the one that sees should lead the blind.
- ajee

When a woman becomes spiritual in Christ she is made alive. Compare to Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
- kevlynn

A similar theme exists in the gospel of Matthew, where the metaphor of Lady Wisdom (Hochmah/Sophia) is used to describe Jesus as Wisdom. Thus the female figure is absorbed into the male and disappears. C.f. Paul's "in Chist there is no longer male and female" (Gal. 3:28). The issue in Thomas is not one of gender superiority or of women being as men, but a matter of being of the same spirit in Wisdom/Hochmah/Sophia.
- wal4theo

When we do a Hermanutical study on the contex of what is being said one tends to find that with out wemon there are no men. Christ asks us to love and treat one another with respect. There is no mention anywhere that says except woman. When studing ????ure you cannot take things out of contex and not all things are relavent to now. I find in study of this gosple that Jesus is saying woman turn from your old ways such as gossips, and become a new creature as any one must do when they seek the arms of Christ. Male and female do not matter the heart is what matters.
- Sipher

I would rewrite it this way: "Simon Peter said, 'Mary should leave us since she, like most women, is personally interested in bringing more people into this world.' To this Jesus replied, 'It's easier for males to renounce parenthood than for females; I'll talk with her, and see if she can become more male-like in that respect.'"
- PigEye

If the Gospel of Thomas is taken as an allegorical reference to the elements of human consciousness and the practice that must be undertaken to accomplish the goal of becoming Christ's twin (awakening), then Mary represents the undisciplined, diffuse, luminous, imaginal feminine aspect of consciousness. Through disciplined practice (guided) Mary is condensed into the bright concentrated seed or Christ child. This process is alluded to in the Woman and the Dragon of Revelation.
- elyon1234@yahoo.com

Perhaps, in addition to the question of equality, it was also a reference to a type of Adam Kadom, the asexual man. Jewish mystics belive that man was origonaly one being (human) and then was divided into two (male/female), perhaps this is a refernce to the restoration of both men and women into that state?
- Knight

It's certainly a mistake to interpret this saying via modern gender issues. The metaphor is actually a Platonic paradigm, also found in Plotinus and elsewhere in which the material and Psychic is called 'female' and the noetic, the Divine Mind, called 'male'. To enter into the Noetic realm is to become one of the Pneumatikoi, the Spirituals, in the Heavenly state.
- Hermeros

You've all missed the point. Jesus is saying that if his disciples require that that women not be included--poof (maker of miracles) I'll make them into men to satisfy you. Jesus more than once resorted to "enlightened sarcasm," knowing the impossibility of convincing others who are so thoroughly entrenched in false thinking.
- erblackiv

If Jesus speaks of other dualities that we believe exist, such as the outside as different from the inside, so too could this be a dichotomy of our beliefs that men and women are entirely different simply because the outer is different. Are men and women not the same inside or spiritually, do they not seek the same things from life? Perhaps on this day Jesus was tired of talking to people who had no ears? Once you have become one he said, so in this time in history the thought that a male might have a female characteristic would be unheard of, or that a female could feel equal to a male. Yet we all know in this time that we're all supposed to get in touch with our female/male sides. Sexuality might be a characteristic that only exists on this plane. When we become enlightened, perhaps we have less need for this earthy pleasure. Celibacy is a well-known practice that can lead to enlightenment.
- daisy

I think it's curious that Jesus uses the phrase, "resembling YOU males," essentially omitting himself from the comparison between Mary and the male disciples. That is, he wasn't identifying himself with the males in the debate.
- NwCmr

This is easily seen when viewed from the vantagepoint of Taoism. I read much reaction on the left side to the use of man and woman, but these are spiritual traits, yin-yang, and are quite evident to me beyond the prejudice. Masculine and Feminine are two very distinct traits. I can see two distinctly different approaches to life in each, and I can see how they interrelate and strengthen one another, but I can also see how they can hold each other down. This passage refers in part to the interrelation touched upon with 'where one or two are gathered'. There must be a union of spirit, as one. The feminine side would leave us susceptible to worldly things (not to be insulting, just generalizing), and the masculine side would leave us more single-minded of purpose in all things. Male, in the Bible, is clearly stated as spiritual head of guidance and authority. This is not men. This is masculinity, IMO. It is not a physical gender issue at all, and Truth with a capital T is never limited to an era. If Jesus is perfection and timeless (infinite), he was not confined within such misunderstandings of the world, but understood a greater totality. "Set aside concerns with presentation and status and attention to minor details. Do all things with the single purpose with which you were meant to live." Perhaps, as a sign of the times, we are less aware now that feminine is not gender. Perhaps the words male and female offered a much greater picture before the onslaught of 'politically correct'. Perhaps.
- Foomanchu

Peter is still seeing the world in terms of fragmentary opposites, defined by words and names. In this case, Peter's focus is on gender. But, when one understands that perceived opposites, whether male and female or self and other are really only different manifestations of the One, and words are only tools that we use to desscribe those seemingly separate manifestations, then it matters not whether a female becomes male or a male becomes female. Both are One. When the two become One, a person enters the Kingdom.
- nothing

As I recall, in ancient Jewish tradition only males were baptised. If Mary were baptised by Jesus, she would become "male" and henceforth be eligible to enter the kingdom.
- DrLou