Due in part to the prominence of the word ⋯γαπάω in the New Testament, readers of that book have often believed that the early Christians as a group considered ⋯γαπάω to refer to a superior form of love than that represented by the Greek word φιλέω. One of the primary reasons for this conviction is the way in which the apostle Paul uses ⋯γάπη and ⋯γαπάω to such an extent in his epistles. In fact, Paul's usage of the ⋯γαπάω word family is so consistent that with one exception the word φιλέω is entirely absent from his vocabulary. Likewise, in the Septuagint the occurrences of ⋯γαπάω outnumber those of φιλέω by a ratio of 266 to a mere fifteen.1

Professor Helmut Koester has offered this incisive criticism and insightful characterization of research on the sayings traditions of the Gospel of Thomas:

What is most puzzling about the composition of sayings in this wisdom book is the arrangement and order of the sayings. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason for the odd sequence in which the sayings occur in the Gospel of Thomas…. several attempts have been made to find the author's compositional principle, none of them convincing.

The theme of this special issue is “Jesus’ Sayings in the Life of the Early Church.” I wish to expand the theme slightly to “Jesus’ Sayings and Deeds in the Life and Appeal of the Early Church.” I add the word “deeds” because the two concepts of words and deeds are intimately linked in the classical tradition and the culture in which Christianity arose. I have added the word “appeal” because this article will present a chain of events indicating how the words and deeds of Jesus, as emulated by Christians, strongly appealed to the Greco-Roman world.