Astronomers propose an experiment that may close the last major loophole of Bell's inequality -- a 50-year-old theorem that, if violated by experiments, would mean that our universe is based not on the textbook laws of classical physics, but on the less-tangible probabilities of quantum mechanics. Such a quantum view would allow for seemingly counterintuitive phenomena such as entanglement, in which the measurement of one particle instantly affects another, even if those entangled particles are at opposite ends of the universe. Among other things, entanglement -- a quantum feature Albert Einstein skeptically referred to as "spooky action at a distance" -- seems to suggest that entangled particles can affect each other instantly, faster than the speed of light.

Sure.

Gospel of Thomas Saying 1

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(1) And he said: He who shall find the interpretation of these words shall not taste of death.

LAYTON

(1) And he said, "Whoever finds the meaning of these sayings will not taste death."

DORESSE

[1.] And he said: "Whoever penetrates the meaning of these words will not taste death!"

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

And he said: ["Whoever penetrates the mea]ning of these words will not taste [death!"]

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(1) And he said, "[Whoever finds the interpretation] of these sayings will not experience [death]."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 1, GThom 111, John 8:48-59.

Visitor Comments

These sayings are fasinating! Some are difficult to understand, but if you are truly interested in the words of Jesus, then I believe we may have found them.
- Emily Jackson

It seems that this opening statement says it all. If these are the accurate, and only historical, sayings of Jesus then the mode in which we percieve them is lost to history. Because it stands to reason that if Jesus only taught for a few years before he was killed, then it is unlikly that those around him understood the subtlety of his awareness, hence the current state of christendom. However one might defer to an investigation of the Buddha Dharma in which to gain access and the ability to decode this text.
- Whoda Buddha

Funk and Hoover note to the right that "he" could refer either to Jesus or to the writer of the gospel. The ambiguity dissolves if Jesus was the writer. The rather subtle literary suggestion is that Jesus was the writer. He was, in fact, an excellent writer, which I hope students of this gospel will soon appreciate.
- Simon Magus

The statement is made with the authority of a Knower, not a mere scribe. Jesus is saying that to truly understand what he is showing will shatter the illusion of separation and death.
- A Brother

Death is not to be taken literally, but simply a typical gnostic way of showing spiritual stagnation or degradation. Appealing as it may appear, this verse does not promise immortality.
- pilgrim

Understanding the biblical interpretation of Jesus' words supports the notion of subtlety in his choise of language. The dynamic nature of his simplistic teachings is thus implicit. Why then, do so many scholars and sheep take his words at face face value and not consider that there is more in his teaching than is presented in his words. It is important then, to consider what Brother and Pilgrim have to say. "Death" is not to be considered the physical separation of bady and soul, but the spiritual deterioration. Therefore, those who discover the interpretation of this passage will not find themselves lacking in spirituality. Jesus' words, if considered in this light, gives power to the individual. If that is so, then the structure of The Church then begins to decay. it is no wonder why the Vatican has branded this gospel as heretical. We have been shown that we do not need an interpreter, so cut out the middle-man.
- taurus

Hoo do we ever need a middle man. The best scholars are hard pressed to properly interpret this stuff, and the amateurs don't stand a chance. To suppose that the sayings of Jesus evolved from mystical to pragmatic is pretty far fetched; the synoptic gospels generally portray a Jesus who is practical to perfection. These "heretical" gospels depict an esoteric mystic who would have found it pretty difficult to gather a following in the real world; i.e., these are the words of an invented Jesus, not the real one--not entirely without value for studying the history of the teachings of Jesus, but definitely of inferior quality to that of the canonized gospels, which were selected by much better thinkers than the gnostics.
- BW

Jesus is saying that the word must not be taken at face value, but that the inner meaning must be found through implied deep questioning, and that those who find the inner meaning will not taste death. There is no mention of a middle man.
- devaram

I disagree with BW. The gospels are straight forward and easy to understand--no middle man needed. They are no more enigmatic than the words of Frost or Keller, and in fact much easier to decipher than most modern poets. By your line of thinking, we must assume the gospels were meant for only those who were highly educated, but in fact the gospels were intended for the relatively uneducated masses, as evidenced by their simplistic linguistics.
- intheknow

Jesus did not mean that you or I would not suffer physical death. He meant that through study and practice (meditation, fasting, prayer) you can discover your spiritual essence. Further searching, study, and practice would lead to discovery of joining with that spiritual essence. The discovery and learning how to join with that essence means that you and I do not suffer spiritual death, but are aware of how our spiritual essence continues on past physical death.
- AG

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer quotes Sirach 39:1-3 as a parallel: "But one who devotes one's soul and studies the law of the Most High will seek out the wisdom of all the ancients and will be concerned with prophecies. That person will keep in mind the discourse of reputable men and will go into the subtleties of parables. That person will seek out the hidden things of proverbs and will be occupied with the enigmas of parables." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 68)

F. F. Bruce writes: "This confirms the impression made by the preamble, that the deeper interpretation of the sayings, not their surface meaning, pointed the way of salvation to initiates. The saying is quite similar to John 8.51, where Jesus says, 'If any one keeps my word, he will never see death' - a statement which is taken up and repeated by his interlocutors in the form: 'If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death' (verse 52). But 'keep my word' means basically 'obey my commandment', not 'find its interpretation' - the intention of the Fourth Gospel is essentially ethical, whereas that in the Gospel of Thomas is mainly intellectual." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 113)

Funk and Hoover write: "It is not altogether clear that this saying should be considered a saying of Jesus. The pronoun 'he' could refer either to Jesus or the ostensible compiler of the sayings, Didymos Judas Thomas. At any rate, it refers to the collection of sayings comprising this gospel, and this gospel could not have been known to Jesus. Furthermore, the final line ('not taste death') is a recurring theme in Thomas (18:3; 19:4; 85:2; 111:2) and therefore probably reflects the editorial interest of the compiler." (The Five Gospels, p. 471)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 2

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(2) Jesus said: He who seeks, let him not cease seeking until he finds; and when he finds he will be troubled, and when he is troubled he will be amazed, and he will reign over the All.

LAYTON

(2) Jesus said, "Let one who seeks not stop seeking until that person finds; and upon finding, the person will be disturbed; and being disturbed, will be astounded; and will reign over the entirety."

DORESSE

1 [2]. Jesus says: "Let him who seeks cease not to seek until he finds: when he finds he will be astonished; and when he is astonished he will wonder, and will reign over the universe!"

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

[Jesus says:] "Let him who see[ks] cease not [to seek until he] finds: when he finds, [he will wonder; and when he wond]ers, he will reign, and [reigning, he will have r]est!"

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(2) [Jesus said], "Let him who seeks continue [seeking until] he finds. When he finds, [he will be amazed. And] when he becomes [amazed], he will rule. And [once he has ruled], he will [attain rest]."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 2, GThom 92:1, GThom 94, Luke 11:9-13, Matt 7:7-11, Matt 21:18-22, John 14:12-14, John 15:16-17, John 16:20-28, Mark 11:20-25, GHeb 4a, GHeb 4b, DialSav 9-12, DialSav 20, DialSav 79-80.

Visitor Comments

When you speak (pray) to God~Ultimate Reality, never cease to listen for the answer coming back. You are all capable of hearing (or otherwise realizing) this answer upon truly listening. You will be amazed at what you are told. Eventually when you learn your true place in the scheme of things you will have a degree of control over your reality by virtue of understanding its true nature. This will enable you to follow your planned path of life in a more peaceful and accepting manner. You will have learned that life is verily a dream and God is the dreamer, dreaming you.
- active-mystic

One who strives for the best above all else will one day learn that all he has strived for has in the end rotted away. When he realizes this he is disgusted that he hasn't spend more time with his family or had more fun. Then he is astounded that he can still do all these things. So he does. The moral of the story is, love and be loved in return, lay your heart out on the line for a gamble. When you can learn to do this then life will be happy.
- puzzled, but clearer

When you seek and find the child within, you will be most profoundly disturbed by the horror of your upbringing. You will marvel at the beauty of your innate self and, in time you will become lord and servant of yourself.
- Rodney

I have noticed that quite a few of the interpretations of these sayings which seem to make sense include a reference to the Gospel of Thomas itself. Applying this idea to this saying, I get: Let one who seeks the meaning of the Gospel of Thomas not stop seeking until one finds. When one finds, one will be disturbed. When one is disturbed, one will marvel, and will reign over all.
- Ruthie

The minds of men have been temporarily lost from God (the "fall"), but when we seek to rejoin from that which we think we separated from (the Mind of God)Jesus tells us to persevere, and that by doing so we will come to see that the world that we thought was real isn't (an initially disturbing, troubling event for us), but as we reunite with God we will be truely amazed, and being One once again with All That Is we will "rule" All That Is.
- A Brother

Continue in your quest until you find. When you find [succeed] you will be changed [reborn] and see everything differently. A technical injunction
- Thief37

There is an old saying in science that "The more I know, the more I learn I don't know." The Gospel writer is telling us that Jesus understood eternity in this way. Seek an answer, don't give up; you will find one. However, when you do, you will be astonished to learn that the answer you seek is not an end in and of itself; it only leads you to ten more questions; seek those answers; for each answer there is ten more questions and on and on and on. Eventually, you will get it--there is no end to questions, to life, to God. To know this truly inspires wonder.
- Crimson731

Rhizoid is correct. Also as you seek to destroy the ego, realizations of how the world is and how many people are blind to truth will be "disturbed" then as you further seek you understand the nature of duality then you reign.
- bravenewmind

Never stop seeking because you will find the answers, but the answers will trouble you because they will show you the illusions under which you have conducted your life in the past. Once the veil lifts off your eyes you will begin to see the wonder of the universe and be angry that so many things had been hidden from us by individuals in the past who destroyed the keys. But the messages still resound loudly to anyone who wishes to listen. And then you will reign over the world because the world is an illusion.
- daisy

When the seeker has at last attained unto a better understanding of God, he will be troubled. What he finds in God will not be what he had been expecting, what he had been taught to look for. By seeking for God on his own he found the truth, and from that truth comes power, and, at least according to the Greek texts, to spiritual peace.
- Kevin

Answer: Jesus meant that you must be persistent in your meditation, fasting, and prayer. You then stumble into experiences that are beyond explanation with words. Jesus does not speak to the higher states of consciousness that present themselves with such diligent persistent work. Jesus speaks to the astounded surprises, etched with question and disbelief. How continued persistence study and practice brings eventual communion with your spiritual essence. Continued work leads to your discovering spiritual essence is inside you, outside you, and all around you. That you are spiritually connected with everything. The end portion of this statement of "Reign over everything, universe" was a misunderstanding that Jesus had of achieving the Unity consciousness with his inner spiritual essence. Without a teacher to point out that unity consciousness was not being god and that he was still a physical being experiencing this astounding state. He misunderstood this state. Everyone back then was expecting the messiah and this unity consciousness under these Jewish expectations would certainly bewilder and confuse Jesus as to who he really was.
- AG

When you understand the truth about why you experience your own existence, you become astonished because you realize that death is not absolute. At the same time you become disturbed because the truth also threatens the preconceptions of your ego. When you transcend these preconceptions, liberation of the spirit occurs.
- Rhizoid

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer quotes two parallel passages in the Book of Thomas the Contender (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 68-69). The first: "[Fortunate is] the wise person who has [sought truth, and] when it has been found, has rested upon it for ever, and has not been afraid of those who wish to trouble the wise person." (Book of Thomas 140,41 - 141,2) The second: "Watch and pray. . . . And when you pray, you will find rest. . . . For when you leave the pains and the passions of the body, you will receive rest from the Good One, and you will rule with the king, you united with him and he united with you, from now on, for ever and ever." (Book of Thomas 145,8-16)

A somewhat similar statement is found from Clement of Alexandria: "Being baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated we become sons; being made sons, we are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal." (Instructor, 1.6.26.1)

Funk and Hoover write: "Thom 2:2-4 is a gnostic expansion: the gnostic quest leads to being disturbed, which causes one to marvel, and that ends in reigning. The Greek fragment of this same verse adds a fifth stage: the reign of the gnostic results in 'rest,' which is the gnostic catchword for salvation. Gnostic insight into the 'real world,' as opposed to the world of appearances, is what brings all this about. The term 'rest' is employed in the book of Revelation, on the other hand, for future salvation: those who die in the Lord 'may rest from their labors' (Rev 14:13)." (The Five Gospels, p. 471)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "'Rest' is mentioned not in the Coptic text but in the Greek fragment; but 'rest' or 'repose' occurs in Sayings 51, 52, 60, 61, 86, and 90. It is found in the Gospel of the Hebrews (Clement of Alexandria, Strom., 2, 45, 5; 5, 96, 3), from which this saying is taken; presumably the author of Thomas changed the saying in order to lay emphasis on the idea of becoming a king. Compare 2 Timothy 2:11-12: 'Trustworthy is the saying, "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we have endured, we shall reign with him.' The difference, once more, is between the action of the Christian and the knowing of the Gnostic." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 120)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The restoration of the Greek text in Oxy P 654, of which only the first half of each line is extant, is relatively secure due to its citation by Clement of Alexandria (Fitzmyer, 1974:372-373; Hofius: 27; Marcovich: 56). In form it is a quadruple-stich saying climactically word-linked from one stich to the next: seeks/finds//finds/astounded//astounded/reign//reigned/rest (see Hennecke and Schneemelcher: 1.164)." (In Fragments, pp. 99-100)

J. D. Crossan writes: "On the other hand, the version in Gos. Thom. 2 breaks both the form and content of that Greek version: seeks/finds//finds/troubled//troubled/astonished// -- / reign. The result is that the Coptic version climaxes with "rule" while the Greek text climaxes with "rest" (see Bammel, 1969). It is fairly certain that the Greek version is more original, but it is difficult to explain the Coptic deviation since 'rest' is one of Thomas's major themes (Vielhauer, 1964:297). The best explanation is probably some form of misreading of his Greek original by the Coptic translator (see Marcovich: 57; or Menard, 1975:79)." (In Fragments, p

Yeah, but you still have to consider...

Gospel of Thomas Saying 3

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(3) Jesus said: If those who lead you say to you: See, the kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heaven will go before you; if they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish will go before you. But the kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.

LAYTON

(3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you (plur.) say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in heaven,' then the birds of heaven will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. But the kingdom is inside of you. And it is outside of you. "When you become acquainted with yourselves, then you will be recognized. And you will understand that it is you who are children of the living father. But if you do not become acquainted with yourselves, then you are in poverty, and it is you who are the poverty."

DORESSE

2 [3]. Jesus says: "If those who seek to attract you say to you: 'See, the Kingdom is in heaven!' then the birds of heaven will be there before you. If they say to you: 'It is in the sea!' then the fish will be there before you. But the kingdom is within you and it is outside of you!" 3 [3]. "When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will know that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you will be in a state of poverty, and it is you <you will be> the poverty!"

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

Je[sus] says: ["If those] who seek to attract you [say to you: 'See,] the Kingdom [is] in hea[ven, then] the birds of hea[ven will be there before you. If they say: 'It] is under the earth!' [then] the fishes of the sea [will be there be]fore you. And the Kingd[om of heaven] is within you! [He who? . . .] knows this will find [. . .] [When] you know yourselves, [then you will know that] it is you who are [the sons] of the [living] Father. [But if you do not] know yourselves, then [. . .] and it is you <who will be> the poverty!"

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(3) Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 3, GThom 113, GThom 51, Luke 17:20-21, Luke 17:22-25, Matt 24:23-38, Mark 13:21-23, DialSav 16, DialSav 30.

Visitor Comments

There are other interesting parallels. See Deut. 30:11-14 and Romans 10:6-8.
- Steve Allison

"When you know yourself then you will be known" suggests that the grammatically based distinction between subject and object vanishes when we enter the Kingdom. It suggests that our proclivity to make distinctions with our intellect obscures the unity of existence. Although this proclivity allows us to create "the world" (but only in our imagination), it also makes us miserable in it. It also leads us to do some very stupid things. There are no conceptual distinctions in the Kingdom of God. There is only life.
- Simon Magus

Simply put, this saying conveys the fact that God did not give us religion. We must find our own way.
- John Feth

Poverty is not knowing your self, for even then the birds and the fish proceed you.
- Ardele

The first two sentences suggest that Jesus is saying that many, if not all, of the leaders of Christians do not know what they are talking about when they talk about where sincere Christians are going and where true Christianity is going, which is to the kingdom.
- Steve Caper

Only if we could reach deep within ourselves God is in us. The daily evidence of God in us can be seen around us. Where is God? He does not sit in heaven or hell. He is omnipotent...just being and just here. That's a consolation. And my personal favourite verse.
- pilgrim

Poverty is a technical term ---poverty of egoism is the target. Then you will know yourself. Knowing yourself entails overcoming your lower nature [cf nafs], one becomes impoverished of its contaminants so to say
- Thief37

"When you know yourself then you will be known"....is synonymous with "know thyself." Once we start to know ourselves then we may realize God's existense is within as it is outside of ourselves, hence finding our value among all other beings in this world. Here lies the link between Christianity and all religions of the world. Another point worth mentioning is that about "being known"; to truly know yourself will make you known to others as this is the most difficult spiritual task known to man, and other seekers will wish to know how you got there...see what happend to Jesus! For further reading check what Buddha has to say on self knowledge, and even spiritualists such as Gurdjieff or Ouspenski.
- Owl

Jesus is saying the kingdom is within us. Anything outside of that realization has no value.
- King

This verse expresses what I deduced about a decade ago--that the Kingdom is not a physical place or a location so much as a state of mind. The way to get there is to live a good life, not to travel. It also has implications about churches--why would one piece of land be considered holy when the Kingdom itself, the Holy of Holies, is inside us?
- Dinwar

as Buddha said, know thyself and know ten thousand things, which is his way of saying you will know the source. In Buddhism the source is named nothing, which in it contains everything and the infinite.
- bravenewmind

God dwells in each of us. When we mutually acknowledge His presence, we take a step individually and as collectively toward peace, brotherhood, and equality.
- arbykay

Scholarly Quotes

Funk and Hoover point out a similar text in Baruch 3:29-30: "Has anyone climbed up to heaven and found wisdom? Has anyone returned with her from the clouds? Has anyone crossed the sea and discovered her? Has anyone purchased her with gold coin?" (The Five Gospels, p. 472)

Marvin Meyer quotes a similar expression from the Manichaean Psalm Book 160,20-21: "Heaven's kingdom, look, it is inside us, look, it is outside us. If we believe in it, we shall live in it for ever." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 69)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The Greek version of Thomas says that the kingdom is within; the Coptic adds that it is also outside, perhaps because the Naassenes spoke of the kingdom as 'hidden and manifest at the same time.' According to Saying 111, the kingdom 'is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.' It should be noted that Thomas does not speak of 'the kingdom of God.' Indeed, 'God' is mentioned only in Saying 97, where he is evidently subordinated to Jesus ('gods' occurs in Saying 31). Wherever the synoptic parallels speak of God, Thomas deletes the word or substitutes 'heaven' or 'the Father' or 'my Father.' Like other Gnostics, he prefers not to use the ordinary term 'God'; he may be reserving it for use as the name of an inferior power." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 121)

J. D. Crossan writes: "most likely, the correct restoration for the fragmented line 15 of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654 is 'king[dom of God],' the same phrase that appears in lines 7-8 of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1. Both those expressions from the Greek fragments of the Gospel of Thomas met with, according to Harold Attridge, 'deliberate deletion' in their respective Coptic translations at Gospel of Thomas 3 and 27" (The Historical Jesus, p. 284).

Stevan Davies writes: "When people actualize their inherent ability to perceive through primordial light, they perceive the world to be the kingdom of God (Gos. Thom. 3, 113)." (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The Kingdom of God is no longer an eschatological reality. It has become a present, 'spiritual' phenomenon. It is 'spread out upon the earth and men do not see it' (113/111). It is not in the heaven or in the sea (3/2; cf. Rom. 10:6-7) but 'within you and outside you.' The inwardness of the Kingdom is derived, in Gnostic exegesis, from Luke 17:21; the outwardness probably refers to its heavenly or incomprehensible nature. In any event, it is not future, but present." (Gnosticism & Early Christianity, p. 187)

Funk and Hoover write: "This phrase ['know yourselves'] is a secular proverb often attributed to Socrates. It is used here to refer to the self as an entity that has descended from God - a central gnostic concept. 'Children of the living Father' (v. 4) is also a gnostic phrase (compare Thomas 49-50), which refers to people who, by virtue of their special knowledge, are able to reascend to the heavenly domain of their Father. Parallels in more orthodox Christian texts indicate that followers of Jesus are also called 'children.' The use of the term 'poverty' for life outside true knowledge (v. 5) is typical of gnostic writings." (The Five Gospels, pp. 472-473)

Bruce Chilton writes: "In fact, the closest analogy in the Synoptic Gospels to the rhetoric of the argument in Thomas 3 is attributed not to Jesus but to his Sadducean opponents (Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40). They set up a hypothetical question of a woman who marries a man, who then dies childless. Following the practice commanded in Deut. 23:5-6, his brother marries her to continue the deceased's name, but then he dies childless as well, as do his five remaining brothers. The point of this complicated scenario is to ridicule the idea of the resurrection of the dead by asking whose wife the woman will be in the resurrection. As in Thomas 3, the syllogism is designed to provoke mockery of the position that is attacked, and it depends on the prior acceptance of what it is reasonable to say and of how logic should be used. In short, both the Sadducees' argument and the argument of the 'living Jesus' commend themselves to schoolmen and seem as far from the ethos of Jesus himself as the concern for what the leaders of churches might say. Those who would attribute the form of Thomas 3 to Jesus reveal only their own uncritical attachment to a source that is fashionable in certain circles simply because it is not canonical." (Pure Kingdom, p. 72)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 4

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(4) Jesus said: The man aged in days will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about the place of life, and he shall live; for there are many first who shall be last, and they will become a single one.

LAYTON

(4) Jesus said, "A person advanced in days will not hesitate to question a little child seven days old about the place of life. And that person will live. For many that are first will be last, and they will become one."

DORESSE

4 [4]. Jesus says: "Let the old man heavy with days hesitate not to ask the little child of seven days about the Place of Life, and he will live! For it will be seen that many of the first will be last, and they will become a <single thing!">

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

[Jesus says:] "The ma[n heavy with da]ys will not hesitate to ask the little [child of seven da]ys about the Place of [Life! For you will] see that many of the fi[rst] will be [last, and] the last first, and [that they will] be [a <single thing!">]

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(4) [Jesus said], "The [man old in days] will not hesitate to ask [a small child seven days old] about the place [of life, and] he will [live]. For many who are [first] will become [last, and] the last will be first, and [they will become one and the same]."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 4, Luke 10:21-22, Luke 13:30, Matt 11:25-30, Matt 19:27-30, Matt 20:16, Mark 10:27-31, InThom 7:1-4.

Visitor Comments

There are some striking resemblances with the "Conversation with God" books by Neale Donald Walsche, especially about us becoming one.
- Joshua

To me, the most profound and important statement in Neale Walshe's books is "There is only One of us." We don't so much become one as we are already and always One and have forgotten.
- active-mystic

Why does a man full of life experience ask a new born babe who cannot even speak about the place of life? In this action, we see his humbleness, respect, and will of seeking life that is known through the Lord, who sees all of God's children as the same.
- laijon

Death as we perceive it as adults is the remembrance of the death of our innate selves when we found our parents were not the parents we expected them to be. Learn from the child and you will not taste death.
- Rodney

The infant knows life. But the infant does not know "place". The concept of place is a feature of the real world which the intellect of the infant has not yet created. Asking the infant about the place of life is as foolish and as wise as wondering "where" the life which you know and which is your birthright really "is" in "the real world". (Note: This saying is best and completely understood when within speaking distance of an infant.)
- Simon Magus

Once life is known, all are the same, of the same soul.
- Ardele

This passage means that the correlation between wisdom and knowledge about the truth of life does not depend on a person's age in years. Our chronological age is not concurrent with our soul's age. We are being told that if we are wise, we will find "what we are looking for" (whatever this thing is we all feel we are seeking) we will not find it in any one person of any one age. Some people live all their lives with dirty, greedy souls and never seem to get it. Some people were born knowing "it." You get into the club when you figure this out, there's no age limit, and some never make it. {Comparisons are better made to parallels of everyday life than to other texts.}
- Holly

No oneness with the divine can happen while we are continually self identifying and self determining...only when we surrender all that we are to the divine can we become one with that which is eternal...what human is more surrendered to what they are and what may come than a seven day old child that has no point of referance to for which self identification can be made, and to whom even basic sustenance must be provided in faith to the mother.
- Mustafa

The soul is eternal. Our life on Earth is but a mere speck of time. The old man, who has not enjoyed spiritual communion with God for such a long time, seeks communion through the baby who has only recently departed the bliss of the heavenly Father.
- Doubter

The aged man must realize that he is the babe - spiritually speaking. He must realize that he knows as much of the spiritual world as the babe knows of the physical world. This attitude of humility is one aspect of his salvation.
- bromikl

I believe that there may be an even deeper meaning here. Perhaps the term "single one" refers to the original Adam. Perhaps "single one" means exactly that, one individual unit. It could also be the reuniting of the spiritual enlightenment (Holy Ghost) that exists in all believer.
- Margaret

It is not a matter of who is first or last but of timing, of readiness or ripeness. The aged man in calendar years should seek that childlike element now encrusted by accretions if his quest is to succeed
- Thief37

For me this seems to have echoes of Eastern (perhaps Buddhist) ideas, particularly of the concept of the Bodhisattva. The old person has the realization that the child's experiences, however limited, are unique. By learning from the child the old person better prepares for the time in which 'he shall live; and there are many first who shall be last', that is, the time in which he will return to physical life to help along any souls traveling on a path toward oneness. Just a thought.
- Aspirant

The reason the man "aged in days" would ask the child about the "place of life" is that the child has just come from the source from which we all come, and to which we all return. "They will become a single one" when they realize the true unitive nature of our existence. We are One. The illusion of our separateness is due to our egocentric perpective. When you realize this, you will not taste death.
- James

The child has yet to learn the concepts of earthly life ... such as a denial of self in order to belong, respecting your elders as opposed to listening to your own heart; all the illusions our society demands we buy into in order to be safe, when in fact there is nothing to be safe from if you see. Hence, the child has not been brainwashed. Jesus said to be like the children. Children aren't afraid to say hello to strangers; we teach them this fear.
- daisy

In modern times, we issue birth certificates to memorialize that a child, understood to be its body, has come into existence on a specific date, at a specific place, has a specific earthly father, and has been given a proper name which differentiates it from all others. In the time of Jesus and in the Jewish culture, these tasks were the responsibility of the parents, and traditionally names were given on the eighth day. Jesus would have disagreed with birth certificates. He said, blessed are they that were before they came into being. He said that we should call no man "Father." He said our true "Father" was in Heaven. And he never referred to either himself or his "Father" by name. Naming is the first step in a very popular deception, taught by parents, which lead little ones to perceive that they are a separated self, defined by their body, and are independent of the eternal One. To see the wisdom of a child of seven days, you need to recognize the deception which begins on the eighth.
- nothing

Scholarly Quotes

Jack Finegan refers to a quote by Hippolytus from a Gospel according to Thomas used by the Naassenes: "He who seeks me will find me in children from seven years old; for there in the fourteenth age, having been hidden, I shall become manifest." (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 243)

Jack Finegan writes: "The saying ascribed by Hippolytus (Text 85 §282) to the Gospel according to Thomas, as used by the Naassenes, bears at least some similarity ot the present text, and this makes it probable that the work to which Hippolytus referred was the same as that with which we are dealing, although the Naassenes may have had their own revision of it. Likewise the Manicheans may have made use of the Gospel according to Thomas, which would account for Cyril's statements (§285) connecting it with them; but since the Gospel must now be dated well prior to Hippolytus (230) it could not have been written, as Cyril claimed, by a disciple of Mani, since the latter only began to preach in 242 (§115)." (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 246)

Marvin Meyer writes of the words "a little child seven days old" in the Gospel of Thomas: "This phrase probably indicates an uncircumcised child (a Jewish boy was to be circumcised on the eighth day), otherwise a child of the sabbath of the week of creation (compare Genesis 2:2-3)." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 70)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "This verse contains the Gnostic theme of the child as a revealer (cf. 22.1-2). In Gnostic texts Jesus appears as a little child (Acts of John 88), or Gnostic teachers claim to have seen a little newborn child which is identical with the divine Word (Valentinus)." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 592)

Jean Doresse writes: "Jesus, 'he who was not born of woman' (16), is also frequently called 'Jesus the Living'. Could it also perhaps be Jesus who is referred to under the appearance of 'the child of seven days' (4)?" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 344)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "If knowledge about the 'place of life' can be given to an old man by an infant, it is evident that the knowledge is not ordinary human wisdom but something derived from revelation. This saying is probably the Gnostic explanation of the words of Jesus in Mark 10:14-15: 'Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for of such is the kingdom of God; verily I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will not enter into it' (cf., Matthew 19:14; cf. also Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21). A little farther on in both Mark and Matthew we find the words which Thomas has added to the statement about the old man and the infant. 'Many who are first will be last' (Mark 10:31; Matthew 19:30; 20:16; and Luke 13:30). The Coptic version has omitted the words, found in the synoptic gospels and in the Greek Thomas, 'and the last, first.' These words are necessary in order to lead to the conclusion, 'And they will become a single one.' Those who have been last will become first and will be united in the unity which means transcending differences of age and of sex (cf., Sayings 10, 16, 24, 49, 50, 75, 103, 112). It means returning to the original unity of creation (if one can speak of creation in a Gnostic system)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 122-123)

F. F. Bruce writes: "The point of this saying is at least superficially similar to that of the canonical sayings about children, such as 'whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it' (Mark 10.15). After the words 'many that are first will be last', the Greek text (P. Oxy. 654.4) adds 'and the last, first' (cf. Mark 10.31, etc.); this has probably been omitted by accident from our Coptic text. The 'single one' at the end of the saying is the personality that has finally transcended differentiation of age and sex - the latter is an ideal which finds recurring expression in the Gospel of Thomas (cf. Sayings 11, 16, 23, 49, 75, 106, 114). The underlying thought is that Adam, as first created, was androgynous, before being divided into male and female (Genesis 2.21-23); the pristine arrangement will be restored in the life to come. [This belief is ascribed to the Naassenes by Hippolytus, Refutation v. 6.5; 7.14 f.]" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 114)

Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: "Evelyn White (p. 16) has a remark that is worth quoting here. 'The Saying - however we restore it - is a remarkable instance of that salient characteristic of the Oxyrhynchus collection as a whole - the mixture of elements at once parallel to and divergent from the Synoptics. For while the first part of the Saying has nothing exactly similar in the Synoptics, it nevertheless seems related to a clearly marked group of episodes in the Gospels. On the other hand the second part of the Saying corresponds exactly with the Synoptic version. . . . The Synoptics and the Saying are indeed so close that it is incredible that the two are independent, and the evidence . . . goes to show that it is the writer of the Sayings who is the borrower.'" (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, pp. 380-381)

Joseph A. Fitzmyer writes: "The heavily Gnostic character of many of the sayings in the Coptic Gospel has already led to the conclusion that the latter is most likely the Manichean version of which Cyril speaks. The deliberate change of ending in the fourth saying, which is paralleled in the Manichean Kephalaia, is certainly evidence in this direction, as H.-Ch. Puech has already pointed out." (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 418)

Funk and Hoover write: "Its affinity with other sayings in Thomas relate the status of a child to salvation. In Thom 22:2, Jesus says, 'These nursing babies are like those who enter the <Father's> domain.' The image of the baby or child appealed to the gnostic sensibility as an appropriate image for salvation. The quest for life is also a Thomean theme: 'Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life' (Thomas 58). The similarity of theme and language suggests that Thomas has revised the saying to his own perspectives." (The Five Gospels, p. 473)

J. D. Crossan writes: "Marcovich (60; see Schrage, 1964a:258) concludes that the Coptic translator or copyist has omitted 'and the last first' by simple oversight. This means that the two-stich aphorism was originally in Thomas, and in the Markan sequence and opening rather than in the Q formulation. It also means that the original chiastic two-stich aphorism was expanded by the addition of a third stich: 'and they will become one and the same' (Lambdin: 118) or, possibly better, 'and they shall become a single one' (Guillaumont, 1959:5; Wilson, 1973:511)." (In Fragments, pp. 45-46)

J. D. Crossan writes: "Klijn (271) has noted that 'three different words are used to render the word "single one"' in Thomas: (1) wa (11, 22, 106); (2) wa wot (4, 22, 23); (3) monachos (16, 49, 75). The meaning is the same, and that last (Greek) expression 'cannot have its usual meaning "monk" in this early text' (Till: 452 note 2). The meaning of this very important Thomistic theme has been summarized by Klijn (272) as follows: '(a) The word "single one" is equivalent to the elect and saved ones. (b) Originally man was a "single one," but he became "two." In order to be saved he has to become a "single one" again. This means that he has to return to his original state. (c) The original "single one" has become "two" by becoming male and female. This means that originally man was not male and female. As a result we may say that the Gospel of Thomas speaks about salvation as a return to the original state and that it rejects the division of man into male and female.' When Gos. Thom. 4 is compared with Gos. Thom. 22, one can conclude that 'becoming as a child, and entering the kingdom, and achieving a stte of asexuality are very nearly interchangeable terms' (Kee, 1963:313; see also Menard, 1975:83)." (In Fragments, p. 46)

Stevan Davies writes: "A person who has actualized the primordial light has become (is reborn as) an infant (saying 22) precisely seven days of age (saying 4), for he dwells in the seventh day of Genesis." (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Funk and Hoover write: "Becoming 'a single one' (v. 3) is a motif that appears elsewhere in Thomas. In Thom 22:5, male and female are turned into a single one; in Thomas 23, one and two become a single one; the two made into one become children of Adam in Thom 106:1. The last reference suggests the androgynous state before the creation of human beings, when male and female had not yet been differentiated. In gnostic theory, Adam and Eve were created by a lesser god, who bungled the job in making two sexes. These ideas are foreign to Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 473)

Marvin Meyer writes: "This theme (becoming one, the two becoming one) occurs in Gospel of Thomas sayings 4, 22, 23, 48, and 106, as well as elsewhere in ancient literature. It is often associated with the primordial union achieved in sexual intercourse (for the Hebrews, heterosexual intercourse; for the Greeks, homosexual or heterosexual intercourse) as the two joined together at the beginning become one again (compare Genesis 2:21-24; Plato, Symposium 192DE). By extension, this oneness can designate an integrated existence beyond all the divisive features of human life." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 70)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 5

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(5) Jesus said: Recognize what is before you, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you; for there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest.

LAYTON

(5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is before your (sing.) face and what is obscure to you (sing.) will become disclosed unto you. For there is nothing obscure that will not become shown forth."

DORESSE

5 [5]. Jesus says: "Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For nothing hidden will fail to be revealed!"

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

Jesus says: ["Know what is be]fore your face, and [what is hidden] from you will be revealed [to you. For there] is [nothing] hidden which [will] not be revealed, nor <anything> buried which [will not be raised up!"]

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(5) Jesus said, "[Recognize what is in] your (sg.) sight, and [that which is hidden] from you (sg.) will become plain [to you (sg.). For there is nothing] hidden which [will] not [become] manifest, nor buried that [will not be raised]."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 5, POxy 654 6:4, GThom 6:4, Luke 8:16-17, Luke 12:1-3, Matt 10:26-33, Mark 4:21-23, Oxyrhynchus Shroud.

Visitor Comments

Listen to what God is saying to you in a continuing dialogue which you have been failing to hear. You pray. God answers. Learn how to listen and see what is being offered to you.
- active-mystic

Know what the Gospel of Thomas is and its hidden meaning will become clear to you. The Gospel of Thomas did not remain buried forever, and its meaning will not be hidden forever. No secret remains a secret forever.
- Simon Magus

Be aware of your own and others' thoughts and you will become aware of the emotions which drive them. In doing so, the buried self is raised to consciousness.
- Rodney

When you know who you are, you will know all.
- Ardele

I believe this means that we were given intuition as a gift. Go with your instincts. Everything you need to know about anything has already been given to you in your heart and conscience. Go with your first impression, what your heart tells you--because it's right--the voice of god. Every fraud will be revealed sooner or later, but if you fall for the fraud you weren't listening to your instincts--you weren't listening to God.
- Holly

This reminds me of "Know the truth and the truth will make you free." It seems to me that the more truthful we become to ourselves, the aware we become of the truth of others, regardless of whether or not the are telling the truth. As we devote less mental energy towrd the task of lying to ourselves, that energy is redirected to our intuition.
- Margaret

If we can not understand what we know about God now, how will we be able to understand the things hidden from us.
- chad

To me Jesus is saying here that by experiencing the moment in the moment rather than entertaining fears about 'that which is hidden' one becomes aware of the hidden, that is, the ultimate reality.
- Aspirant

If we can grab hold of and live out the simple, basic truths that we know, the deeper ones will be revealed in time.
- John

To paraphrase these words in a current idiom, "It's all as plain as the nose on your face."
- Amy

There is much in front of you that you see, but there is more that you must look for, more perceptions that are within and without your immediate sight. If you are still within yourself, and can connect that which you can see, that which is hidden will be made manifest. There is nothing in the Universe(s) that you will not learn if you seek to know.
- StarChaser

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer quotes a parallel in a saying of Jesus from Manichaean Kephalaia LXV 163,26-29: "Understand what is in front of your face, and then what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 71)

Funk gives the citation from the Oxyrhynchus Shroud inscription: "Jesus says, 'Nothing has been buried that will not be raised.'" (New Gospel Parallels, v. 2., p. 107) Doresse gives the translation: "Jesus says: 'There is nothing buried which shall not be raised up.'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 356)

Fitzmyer gives the Greek of the inscription found on the shroud discovered in Behnesa, "legei Ihsous: ouk estin teqamme non ho ouk egerqhsetai." Joseph A. Fitzmyer says that the inscription "is dated palaeographically to the fifth or sixth century A.D." (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 383)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "But it seems hard to believe that this is the sense here, where - as in the rest of Thomas - there is no mention of resurrection. Perhaps one might regard the inscription as an orthodox, or semi-orthodox, revision of the saying in Thomas." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 125)

Jean Doresse writes: "In its Coptic edition, the work does contain Gnostic additions or corrections; but the work as a whole contains elements which are scarcely consonant with Gnosticism. There is, for example, the allusion to the resurrection of the body, in Saying 5 of the Greek edition - no doubt this is suppressed in the Coptic edition because it so blatantly scandalized the Gnostics who used the work." (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 348)

Funk and Hoover write of the saying "there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed" as follows: "The meaning assigned to the saying varies with the context in which it appears. In Mark 4:22 it refers to Mark's theory about the enigmatic character of the parables. In Luke 12:2 and Thom 6:5 it cautions against hypocrisy or speaking falsely. In Matt 10:26, which is the parallel to Luke 12:2, cited about from Q, it enjoins the disciples to preach boldly. Luke also records a version in 8:17, which he hsa taken from Mark; it ins context in Luke 8, it legitimizes the mission of the Christian movement." (The Five Gospels, pp. 475-476)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "Logion 5 calls for a somewhat fuller notice. Discussing a saying quoted by Clement of Alexandria from the Traditions of Matthias (QAUMASON TA MARONTA), Puech compares this logion in Thomas and remarks that it may perhaps derive from the Gospel of the Hebrews; in which case it would afford no proof of a Gnostic origin. More important is the point which emerges from a comparison with the Oxyrhynchus fragments: in POx 654, unfortunately fragmentary, the saying is slightly longer than in the Coptic. After the words just quoted, both continue 'For there is nothing hidden which will not be manifest,' but the Greek alone has a further line, completing a parallelism, 'and buried which . . .'. An inscription on a shroud, also found at Oxyrhynchus, reads 'Jesus says, There is nothing buried which will not be raised,' and on the basis of this Puech restores the text to include a reference to the resurrection. Other scholars had done the same before him, but without the support of the shround inscription. As a mere conjecture this restoration would have to be regarded as uncertain, but the shroud inscription, quite recently discovered, adds materially to its probability. Now the saying is quoted in the shorter (Coptic) form in the Manichean Kephalai, and Puech argues that the reference to the resurrection has been excised by a Gnostic editor in whose theology the doctrine of the resurrection had no place. If this be so, we should have here an instance of a gnosticizing redaction of an originally more orthodox document. Fitzmyer, following Bultmann and Jeremias, prefers to consider the longer version as a secondary expansion of the canonical saying, noting that the short version is the one found in our Gospels, but this is to raise a different question: which of the two forms represents the authentic words of Jesus. It is not entirely impossible that the short and canonical version is original, but has been expanded in POx 654, and that subsequently the reference to the resurrection has been removed by a Gnostic editor. Such an example may serve to indicate the complexity of the problems raised by the new document." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 28-29)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 6

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(6) His disciples asked him (and) said to him: Do you want us to fast? And how shall we pray (and) give alms? What diet should we observe? Jesus said: Do not lie, and what you abhor, do not do; for all things are manifest in the sight of heaven; for there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered which will remain without being uncovered.

LAYTON

(6) His disciples questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? And how shall we pray? Shall we give alms? And what kind of diet shall we follow?" Jesus said, "Do not lie, and do not do what you hate. For all things are disclosed before heaven. For there is nothing obscure that will not be shown forth, and there is nothing covered that will remain without being disclosed."

DORESSE

6 [6]. His disciples asked and said to him: "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray, how shall we give alms, what rules concerning eating shall we follow?" Jesus says: "Tell no lie, and whatever you hate, do not do: for all these things are manifest to the face of heaven; nothing hidden will fail to be revealed and nothing disguised will fail before long to be made public!"

Oxyrhynchus Greek Fragment Gospel of Thomas Greek Text

DORESSE - Oxyrhynchus

[His disciples] asked [and] say to him: "How shall we fa[st and how shall we pr]ay, and how [. . .], and what rules shall [we] follow [concerning eating"] Jesus says: [". . .] do not [. . .] of truth [. . .] hidden [. . ."]

ATTRIDGE - Oxyrhynchus

(6) [His disciples] questioned him [and said], "How [shall we] fast? [How shall we pray]? How [shall we give alms]? What [diet] shall [we] observe?" Jesus said, "[Do not tell lies, and] do not do what you [hate, for all things are plain in the sight] of truth. [For nothing] hidden [will not become manifest]."

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 6, GThom 14:1, POxy1 27, GThom 27, GThom 104, POxy654 5:2-3, GThom 5:2, Tob 4:15, Luke 11:1-4, Luke 6:31, Luke 8:16-17, Luke 12:1-3, Matt 6:2-4, Matt 6:5-15, Matt 6:16-18, Matt 7:12, Matt 10:26-33, Mark 4:21-22, Did 8:1-3, POxy1224 2, Did 1:1-2.

Visitor Comments

Questions about fasting relate to the body; Jesus points the way to the truth that those who worship God must do so in truth and in spirit.
- John

The specific questions were ignored as irrelevant, not the important thing to know. The thing to realize is that you are engaged in a continuing dialogue with God (and never not in the presence of God) in which every act of your life is in effect a prayer to God. In return, God is continually speaking to you, revealing all that you really need to know. Learn to see and hear this.
- active-mystic

From these words, we can see that the disciples are asking for methods, just as the Pharisees of that time who follow rules only for the sake of the rules, no heart, no love. Action that does not follow one's true heart is lying.
- laijon

I like that Jesus is stating things in a much more simple manner than many would like to believe he is here. The questions asked of him are very specific in nature, not unlike many of the same specific things people pray for or about. Saying 6 helps to remind the world that such things are constant and never ending. Praying for example does not end just because you say amen. Our life is a constant prayer, or a communication with God if you will. Meaning that, just because we aren't openly speaking with him, nothing about us is out of his realm. In a way I'd like to think that part of what Jesus has said here is that the specific things in life that we no doubt "worry" ourselves with, need not be so specific and complexing at all. The simple truth of it all is that everything eventually ends up where it started...the heaven that is in you and all around you.
- digger

If one follows a path dictated by others, you will be lying and doing what you hate. The "divine" is aware of you anyway.
- Rodney

Again we being told to do whatever our hearts tell us is right. Evil and sin come from not listening to or rebelling against that little voice of conscience that is our gift. Jesus was telling them, Hey do what you feel is right--trust yourself that you are doing good, and you will not be surprised that it's also what God wants for you. There are no rituals that can make you a good person, only good intended actions and thoughts.
- Holly

Whether this was transposed with 14 or not, the meaning is the same either way. Old rules and "laws" are meaningingless. As long as you are true to yourself and God, you will not do evil. If this verse is accurate, the way he utterly ignores their specific questions suggests a very broad rejection of ALL the meticulous old laws.
- Jay

It won't do you any good to lie, Heaven promises to expose you...So tell the truth and take your licks, better here than there. And you know all those things you say you hate, i.e. greed, injustice, liars, cheats and thieves, well you better make sure you are not any of those things because Heaven promises you judgment "by your own words" i.e. I've found to my regret that I'm guilty of gossiping, complaining and murmuring even though I am constantly stating how much I 'hate' these things. Heaven is just and by what measure I judged will I be judged. And all the praying and fasting and giving in the world won't prevent judgment.
- Deby

What of fasting? Prayer? Tzidakah? Diet? How shall we know what is right? Jesus said, "If you can perceive all of these things, the Universe and the Universal can perceive more and deeper than any can know, so don't lie, don't do what you know doesn't seem right. All that is hidden will be revealed before the Universe and the truth therein, and you will have to answer for it, like it or not."
- StarChaser

This verse seems to parallel the story where Jesus tells his disciples that all food is good to eat--the message is that evil comes from within, as does good.
- Dinwar

In this statement, Christ tells us the walk, and to get walking. Be careful that devotional activities don't hinder your work in the real world.
- Zooie

Scholarly Quotes

Funk and Hoover write: "The answers Jesus is represented as giving in 6:2-6 appear to be unrelated to the questions about fasting, praying, and giving posed by the disciples in v. 1. Jesus does answer these three questions directly in 14:1-3. The discrepancy between Thom 6:1 and 2-6 has led some scholars to speculate that the texts of Thomas 6 and 14 have somehow been confused." (The Five Gospels, p. 476)

Fitzmyer reconstructs the lines appended to saying six in the Greek fragment as follows: "[Ha]ppy is [he who does not do these things. For all] will be mani[fest before the Father who] is [in heaven.]" Fitzmyer writes: "Is this part of the same saying? If so, then we have a different ending in the Greek that is not found in the Coptic. J. Doresse (Thomas, p. 91) treats this as part of a distinct saying. He has in his favour the fact that makarios is preserved in the Coptic of the following saying. But it would then seem that we must either shorten our restoration of l. 39 and the beginning of l. 40 or suppose that the usual introduciton, 'Jesus says', has been omitted. Neither seems possible. Moreover, the letters that remain on the following lines do not seem to agree with any possible reconstruction of the Greek of the following Coptic saying. For an attempt to reconstruct it as a separate saying, see M. Marcovich, JTS 20 (1969) 66-7." (Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament, p. 387) Other scholars consider this part of P. Oxy. 654 simply to represent the saying concerning the lion who is fortunate to be eaten by man.

Gerd Ludemann writes: "The disciples' question is about fasting, prayer, almsgiving and the food laws. The first three also appear in the regulations about piety in Matt. 6.1-18 (cf. Tobit 12.8) and are discussed once again later (Thomas 14; cf. 104). In the present verse the question about food completes the sphere of the Jewish law." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 593)

Jean Doresse writes: "'nothing hidden will fail to be revealed' no doubt refers to hidden virtues such as those mentioned by Jesus: they are preferable to ostentatious practices of piety, and will one day be made public." (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 371)

Jack Finegan writes: "The reply of Jesus in Line 19, 'and what you hate, do not do,' is evidently derived from Tob 4:15, 'And what you hate, do not do to any one,' with omission of the words, 'to any one,' which reduces the saying from a form of the 'Golden Rule' to a self-centered saying." (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 247)

F. F. Bruce writes: "In this and other sayings (cf. Sayings 14, 27, 104) it is insisted that true fasting is abstinence from evil words and actions, not from indifferent things like food. The negative form of the golden rule, 'Do not [to others] what is hateful to yourselves', appears repeatedly in early Jewish ethics, e.g. Tobit 4.15 ('What you hate, do not to any one') and Hillel's words in TB Shabbath 31a ('What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow; this is the whole law; everything else is commentary')." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 115)

J. D. Crossan writes: "This somewhat truncated version of the rule's negative formulation ['do not do what you hate', compared to Mt 7:12, Lk 6:31, Did 1:2b] has the following context. 'His disciples questioned Him and said to Him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?" Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered.'" (In Fragments, p. 52)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The text is found not only in the Coptic translation of Thomas, but also among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri fragments of the Greek Thomas in Oxy P 654. The badly mutilated Greek text has been restored from the Coptic version as follows: [ha mis]eite me poiet[e] or '[what] you [ha]te do not do' (Hofius: 41; see also Fitzmyer, 1974:385; Marcovich: 65). The Coptic version is a close translation of that sequence: 'that which you hate, do not do' (with Wilson, 1973:511; rather than Guillaumont, 1959:5; or Lambdin: 118). Thus the sequence here is as in Tob. 4:15, ho miseis, medeni poieses, although the former is plural 'you' while this latter is singular 'you.' Those differences are dictated primarily by context. It is, of course, quite unlikely that Thomas is in any way quoting directly from Tobit (Menard, 1975:87). But his negative version says: What you hate (done to you) do not do (to others)." (In Fragments, pp. 52-53)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 7

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(7) Jesus said: Blessed is the lion which the man eats, and the lion will become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion eats, and the lion will become man.

LAYTON

(7) Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion that the human being will devour so that the lion becomes human. And cursed is the human being that the lion devours; and the lion will become human."

DORESSE

7 [7]. Jesus says: "Blessed is the lion which a man eats so that the lion becomes a man. But cursed is the man whom a lion eats so that the man becomes a lion!"

Funk's Parallels

POxy654 7.

Visitor Comments

The sense of 7 becomes clear from H.M.Jackson, The Lion Becomes Man, SBL:DS 81, 1985. There ia also a quotation of 7b in Didymus of Alexandria.
- Dieter L�hrmann

You are what you eat!
- Nutinliket

The wicked world or the prince of this world is the lion. The man is oneself. The man has his own choice to choose whether win over the world just as Jesus showed us as example, but if the man kneel down to serve this world (lion), then this man become a lion, which is the same as this world.
- laijon

Animals are closer to God than humans(therefore blessed)because they have no egos (free-will) or minds to interfere with that relationship. They respond as created. But at some point in the future when the spiritual dimension prevails, animals and humans (dualities) will be one.
- iver

Not all knowledge is benificial. It depends on the type of knowledge (Lion-power, passionate, art / Human-rational/science) and how the knowledge is used (again lion/human goals).
- DAS

Blessed is the Godless world, which Jesus will consume. For in being consumed by Jesus the Godless world will become humanized. Cursed is Judas, which the Godless world will consume. And the Godless world will become humanized.
- Simon Magus

Can something be good and bad at the same time - it depends on your vantage point - very oriental as is much of Thomas as I believe was the outlook that the Christ offered.
- Tao

If you conquer your inner evil thoughts and deeds (eating the lion) then you'll become a better person--a person of God. If you give in to the evil ways then it will comsume you and you will be evil.
- Holly

"Lion" means "instinct" in this saying, and you know that our primary instinct is the fear. So the lion who eats the man is the man who has been defeated by his own fears. Man must to dominate (eat) that fear and use it wisely for his own benefit and that fear will be part of him, it will help him in the future. Don�t be eaten by your fears.
- Dark Soul

As far as the comment of animals being blessed it seems almost a negative viewpoint of animals is taken here. Where humans are more than animals and that we are above them, almost in a reincarnation viewpoint where humans are above animals in the path to nirvana or heaven. This is also seen in some of the other sayings as well.
- wondering

I agree with holly about eating the lion. It seems to me when you look at what the lion must have represented to someone then, it would likely represent aggression or fear or both. So, it could be said "You are holy when you consume your aggression/fear, but not holy when you are consumed by your aggression/fear".
- Christopher

Just who the hell eats lions anyway? This saying ain't about food! And who gets eaten by lions? Let's say... Ignatuis of Antioch? Maybe this saying is a commentary on the value (or non value) of martyrdom. Ignatius speaks in his letter to the Romans about wanting the lions to eat him so that he can become a sacrifice like Christ did, ensuring his passage to heaven. But this saying takes the value away from such thinking. If a lion eats you as in 7B, then the lion becomes human. And what happens to you? According to this saying you are cursed. What a put down for Iggy.

On the other hand there is that odd language in the gospel of John where Jesus talks about his disciples eating him and drinking his blood. If Jesus were the lion in 7a then eating him would make him become a part of you. So for salvation's sake, it is much better to eat the Lion then being eaten by just any old lion. Therefore prying open a lion's mouth and jumping inside like Ignatius did is of no value for becoming one with Christ.
- sophias_child@hotmail.com

Perhaps the Lion is mind and the human is the soul or that which (we hope) makes us more than human. For the soul to devour (or dominate) the mind is blessed. For the reverse to happen is cursed. But either way it is the soul that will in the end endure.
- Jamey

Whatever the lion is - passion, power, kingship, domination - it is better to assimilate this into human consciousness rather than be driven by it. However, either way, the two (lion and man) become one. There is a compassionate and nonjudgmental wisdom in this that sounds like Jesus to me.
- Arizona

Conquer your ego (the lion or animal instincts) through feeding the real you (the Soul or Spirit). Feeding the Soul is done by meditation. If you indulge your animal passions then they will dominate your Soul (Consciousness)and you will have to reincarnate to try again.
- Condor

A thought came to mind. Believing the lion to be passions (good and evil passions) blessed is a righteous passion and a man eats (feeds) and that man becomes the passion. Cursed is the man who allows his passions or desires to consume him for he is now driven by them. The soul's struggle between selfishness and righteousness.
- losttraveler

This is most likely a clue about the falsehood of death. Death is but an illusion perceived by humanity, and when we die we must realize that we live on in whatever we are "consumed" by. We have the same matter inside of us that existed from the dawn of the universe, we are the continuation of all creation that has never ended. Just as we are the continuation of all that lived before us that we have "consumed" into us, we will be continued in all others that "consume" us. The curse mentioned seems to be humorous, as it states that we are to perceive our unfortunate death, but yet we continue, unbeknownst to our illusioned selves, in the lion!
- One

There are things that can be beneficial to us if consumed in wise amounts and directed toward that purpose. However, when we become fascinated by them for their own sake, we become gluttons to the world and enslaved by general lusts...consumed by the lion and fallen into degradation.
- Spirit Song

I believe the lion may be a symbol of evil things or the evil in the world and if your faith is weak that evil can devour you and then you become the evil.
- Meg

Scholarly Quotes

F. F. Bruce writes: "The point of this seems to be that a lion, if eaten by a man, is ennobled by rising in the scale of being, whereas a man, if eaten by a lion, is degraded to a lower status than was originally his and may even risk missing the goal of immortality. It is not that we become what we eat but that what we eat becomes part of us (as in Walter de la Mare's poem 'Little Miss T-'). Whether, in addition, there is any special symbolism in the lion, as in 1 Peter 5.8 ('Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour'), is exceedingly difficult to determine." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 115)

Funk and Hoover write: "This saying is obscure. In antiquity the lion was known to be powerful and ferocious. Hunting lions was the sport of kings. The lion was often the symbol of royalty. The winged lion figures in apocalyptic visions, sometimes as the consort of God, at other times as a symbol of evil. In Rev 4:7, the four figures that surround the throne are the lion, the young bull, the human figure, and the eagle. These images were later adopted as symbols of the four canonical evangelists; the winged lion specifically became the symbol for the Gospel of Mark." (The Five Gospels, p. 477)

Funk and Hoover continue: "The lion was also used to symbolize human passions. Consuming the lion or being eaten by the lion may therefore have had to do with the relation to one's passions. Understood this way, the saying embodies an ascetic motif. At any rate, Jesus, who was reputed to be a glutton and a drunkard, probably did not coin this saying." (The Five Gospels, p. 477)

Marvin Meyer writes: "This riddle-like saying remains somewhat obscure. In ancient literature the lion could symbolize what is passionate and bestial. Hence this saying could suggest that although a human being may consume what is bestial or be consumed by it, there is hope for the human being - and the lion. In gnostic literature the ruler of this world (Yaldabaoth in the Secret Book of John) is sometimes said to look like a lion. This saying may ultimately be based upon statements in Plato, for instance his comparison (in Republic 588E-589B) of the soul to a being of three parts: a many-headed beast, a lion, and a human being. Plato recommends that the human part of the soul (that is, reason) tame and nourish the leonine part (that is, the passion of the heart)." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 71-72)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "Verse 1 is about the humanization of bestial forces in human beings, v. 2 about human beings lapsing into a bestial nature. Because of the parallelism, I have emended the text in v. 2b, 'and the lion will become man', to the text above ['and the man will become lion']. The logion fits well with the ascetic-Gnostic circles which are interested in taming or humanization of bestial passions. They are often concerned with taming bestial natures, of which that of the lion is the strongest." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 593)

Jean Doresse writes: "No doubt the lion here represents human passions, or more precisely, the lying spirit of evil. This is suggested by a passage from a Coptic Manichaean Psalm (CCLVII): 'This lion which is within me, which defiles me at every moment, I have strangled it and cast it out of my soul. . . .'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 371)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "This saying, as Doresse notes (page 134), is extremely obscure. From other sayings in Thomas we may infer that the lion can be eaten only if it is killed and becomes a corpse (60), and that knowing the world is equivalent to finding a corpse (57) - the world is not worthy of those who find such a corpse. The Gnostic who has eaten what is dead has made it living (Saying 10). Therefore, by eating the dead lion, which may be the hostile world (cf., 1 Peter 5:8: 'Your adversary the devil, like a raging lion . . .'), you can overcome the world by assimilating it to yourself. If the true inner man is consumed by the lion, and the lion becomes the man, the world has overcome the Gnostic (cf., Clement, Excerpta ex Theodoto, 84)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 126)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 8

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(8) And he said: Man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea; he drew it up from the sea full of small fish; among them he found a large good fish, the wise fisherman; he threw all the small fish into the sea, he chose the large fish without difficulty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

LAYTON

(8) And he said, "What human beings resemble is an intelligent fisherman who, having cast his net into the sea, pulled the net up out of the sea full of little fish. The intelligent fisherman, upon finding among them a fine large fish, threw all the little fish back into the sea, choosing without any effort the big fish. Whoever has ears to hear should listen!"

DORESSE

8 [8]. Then he says: "A man is like a skilled fisherman who cast his net into the sea. He brought it up out of the sea full of little fishes, and among them the skilled fisherman found one that was big and excellent. He threw all the little fishes back into the sea; without hesitating he chose the big fish. He who was ears to hear, let him hear!"

Funk's Parallels

GThom 21:5, GThom 24:2, GThom 63:2, GThom 65:2, GThom 96:2, Luke 8:8, Luke 14:35b, Matt 13:47-50, Matt 11:15, Matt 13:9, Matt 13:43, Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23, Aesop Fable 4, Philoxenas Homilies I.9, Rev 2:7a, Rev 2:11a, Rev 2:17a, Rev 3:6, Rev 3:13, Rev 3:22, Rev 13:9.

Visitor Comments

The world sea is full of small truths (fish, viewpoints) about God (Ultimate Reality). When you catch (are gifted with, discover) a larger more comprehensive truth which allows you to see into the nature of the smaller truths as being part of the larger truth, abandon the small truths in favor of the encompassing greater truth.
- active-mystic

Mankind are the fish, many in quantity, only God will sift through the "catch" to find the deserving to bring to heaven.
- St. Mark

A Gospel according to Jesus would be a fine large fish indeed!
- Simon Magus

Perhaps the "small" fish are the fortunate ones and the "big" fish will wind up on the dinner plate.
- Taoito

The possibillities of this saying as an allegory are interesting, but it is also worth noting that Jesus was never above giving pragmatic as well as spiritual advice, and this parable could also be interpreted as a way to preserve the stock of fish, a very valuable resource.
- Ed

Note that the text is very explicit about the fisherman being a wise fisherman. So only the truly wise will have no trouble in descerning the truth among everything else, because only they know how to. Because a fisherman is chosen you might also want to think about the possibility that he became wise through fishing (experience).
- ajee

Our gifts in life are many, when the soul is found, keep it only.
- Ardele

If one knows what one is looking for then it shall be found easily.
- Wils

If we keep the reincarnation motif as told in 'Conversations With God' it makes a lot of sense to say that we (people) are the fish. On a practical level, we all have thoughts, ideas, and theories swimming around in our minds. It makes a lot of sense to throw back the little ones and let them grow.
- bromikl

Discernment, selectivity, are good. Learn how to know what is correct for you, an ability that has to be taught
- Thief37

Why would the fisherman keep the little fish? One day they will be big.
- david pasquinelli

To me this seems to say that man, endowed with the (easily abused) power to harvest his livelihood from nature also would be wise to treat that source of life with respect: by replacing the smaller fish, he encourages them to grow to full size, perhaps reproduce (surely a fish's sacred goal in life), and hopefully return to the net later - as larger fish.
- Aspirant

In fishing, cast forth your net and see what you catch. You will certainly catch many small fish, but in catching one (or two) large fish, you have all you need for a time and allow the small fish to grow to a size where they can provide for you in the future. (Speak to the masses, draw them in, but only those who are mature enough will understand and can be brought in to develop the understanding necessary for the faith to grow, and they can then nurture the smaller "fish" to the point where they can learn and understand.)
- StarChaser

This seems to go along with the "I will make you fishers of men" statement in the Bible. To be efficient in converting people to the truth, one should concentrate not only on who is receptive but who can make an impact and influence others below them. It's like the spiritual trickle down effect.
- booknapper

I think we're all correct but here's my take on the parable. You, myself, man in general casts nets out all the time. Sometimes we cast nets for love, jobs, and knowledge. Look at what NASA just did. That's a net for seeking knowledge. As we all know when we seek or cast a net out sometimes you don't get quite what you're looking for, i.e. you get little fish. But when you do find what you're looking for then, ahh, the big fish that sustains.
- losttraveler

The big fish is fully grown, able to coprehend the truths, to accept and understand the abstract, the smallers ones are set free in order to develop and and better their abilities. When they are prepared and able to accept the truth, they meet the wise fisherman.
- small fish

The cited commentaries ignore the acronym ICTHUS. Christ the big fish preferable to all other doctrines.
- RESPONDEO

It seems interesting to me that some see the fisherman as man and some as God...why can't it be both? Is Jesus here telling us something of the nature of the higher reality in relation to humanity?
- Willows

Scholarly Quotes

Funk cites Aesop as follows: "A fisherman drew in the net which he had cast a short time before and, as luck would have it, it was full of all kinds of delectable fish. But the little ones fled to the bottom of the net and slipped out through its many meshes, whereas the big ones were caught and lay stretched out in the boat. / It's one way to be insured and out of trouble, to be small; but you will seldom see a man who enjoys great reputation and has the luck to evade all risks. (Perry, 1965: 9-10)" (New Gospel Parallels, v. 2, p. 110)

Funk refers to Philoxenas as follows: "Then one will see the fisherman cast his net into the sea of the world and fill it with fish, small and great. . . . At that time he will draw his net and bring it up to the shore of the sea, as he set it, and he will choose the good fish and will put them in his vessels, . . . and he will throw away the wicked ones into utter darkness, where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (IDB Supplement: 903a)" (New Gospel Parallels, v. 2, p. 110)

Ron Cameron refers to Herodotus, History 1.141: "Once, he [Cyrus] said, there was a flute-player who saw fishes in the sea and played upon his flute, thinking that so they would come out on to the land. Being disappointed of his hope, he took a net and gathered in and drew out a great multitude of the fishes; and seeing them leaping, 'You had best,' said he, 'cease from your dancing now; you would not come out and dance then, when I played to you.'" ("Parable and Interpretation in the Gospel of Thomas," Forum 2.2 [1986], p. 29)

Ron Cameron quotes a parallel in Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 6.11.95.3: "the kingdom of heaven is like a person who cast a net into the sea and, from the multitude of fish that were caught, chose the better." ("Parable and Interpretation in the Gospel of Thomas," Forum 2.2 [1986], p. 28)

John Dart writes: "One scholar, Claus-Hunno Hunzinger, says 'the Man' [in Guillaumont's translation] can be understood as a gnosticizing substitute for 'the kingdom of heaven.'" (The Laughing Savior, pp. 94-95)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "'Man' is a keyword link to 'man' in 7.1, 2. Instead of 'man', originally 'kingdom of the Father/God' probably stood in v. 1." (Jesus After 200 Years, p. 594)

Ron Cameron writes: "The opening words of The Fishnet ('the person [P.RWME] is like a wise fisherman') are striking, for the making of a comparison to a person is generally assumed to be anamolous in the parables of the Jesus tradition. It is the overwhelming consensus of scholarship that the reference to 'the person' in Thomas has supplanted the original, more familiar reference to 'the kingdom.' This is particularly the judgment of those who consider this 'person' a gnosticizing substitution for that 'kingdom.' Accordingly, 'the person' (frequently translated 'the man') who is said to be compared to a 'wise fisherman' in GThom 8.1 has been variously identified as (1) the 'Son of Man,' (2) the gnostic 'Primal Man' (ANQRWPOS), (3) the individual Gnostic, or (4) the gnostic Redeemer." ("Parable and Interpretation in the Gospel of Thomas," Forum 2.2 [1986])

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "Thomas contains a parable about a 'wise fisherman' who threw away all the little fish he caught and kept only a large and good one (Saying 8/7); this may be contrasted with the parable of the Dragnet in Matthew 13:47-50, where good and bad fish are kept together until the end of the age." (Gnosticism & Early Christianity, pp. 188-189)

F. F. Bruce writes: "This, the first of many parables in the Gospel of Thomas, bears a superficial resemblance to the parable of the dragnet in Matthew 13.47-50,, but its point is closer to that of the parables of the treasure concealed in a field (Saying 109) and the pearl of great price (Saying 76), to gain which a man sells all that he has (Matthew 13.44-46). In this context the big fish is either the true Gnostic, whom Christ chooses above all others, or the true knowledge for which the Gnostic abandons everything else." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 115-116)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "We should expect to read that 'the kingdom' is like a fisherman (cf., Sayings 20, 76, 93-95, 104, 106); but for Thomas, true, inner man is equivalent to the kingdom. Moreover, Thomas sharply modifies the meaning of the parable in Matthew 13:47-48, on which he relies for some details. There the kingdom is like the net which brings in fish of all sorts, good and bad alike (a very un-Gnostic notion!). Thomas tells of the 'experienced' fisherman who can select the best one of his catch (compare the 'sheep' of Saying 104). The parable ends with the admonition, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear'; Matthew uses a similar admonition twice in the chapter in which he tells the parable of the dragnet (13:9, 43). Like Matthew, Thomas wants to show that there is a hidden meaning in the parable (see Sayings 22, 25, 64, 66, 93). The maning is that only Gnostics are selected by Jesus or the Father, or that Gnostics select Christ." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 126-127)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "By printing the opening words in the form 'The Man is like a wise fisherman,' the official translation inevitably suggests an association with the Gnostic Anthropos, in which case the parable would refer to the election of the Gnostic. He is the large and good fish which is selected while all the rest are thrown back into the sea. It is also possible, however, to interpret this story as a parable of the Gnostic, the fish in this case being gnosis and the parable constructed on the model of the synoptic parables of the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure, both of which also occur in Thomas, to teach that the Kingdom of God (or in Thomas gnosis) is of such supreme value as to be worth any sacrifice." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 40-41)

Helmut Koester writes: "One may wonder whether Thomas refers to the synoptic parable of Matt. 13:47-48 at all. There is an almost exact parallel to SAying 8 in the poetic version of the Aesopic fables by Babrius, who, in the first century A.D., dedicated his work to the son of King Alexander, whose tutor he was." (Trajectories through Early Christianity, p. 176)

Joachim Jeremias writes: "The catch varies. When the fisherman throws his casting-net into the shallow water by the bank, weighted with lead round the edge, it falls into the water like a bell. The net often remains empty several times running. A modern observer counted twenty to twenty-five fish in one catch. In the parable, when the fisherman drew his net to shore he found a great number of small fish in it, but among them one fine large fish. Although he might have hesitated about keeping a few of the small fish in his bag, yet in his joy over the CALLICQUS [Thus Clem. Alex., Strom., I, 16.3 with reference to our parable.] he cast aside all such hesitations and threw all the small fish back into the lake. Thus it is when a man is overwhelmed with joy over the glad Good News; all else becomes valueless compared with this surpassing value." (The Parables of Jesus, p. 201)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 9

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(9) Jesus said: Look, the sower went out, he filled his hand (and) cast (the seed). Some fell upon the road; the birds came, they gathered them. Others fell upon the rock, and struck no root in the ground, nor did they produce any ears. And others fell on the thorns; they choked the seed and the worm ate them. And others fell on the good earth, and it produced good fruit; it yielded sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure.

LAYTON

(9) Jesus said, "Listen, a sower came forth, took a handful, and cast. Now, some fell upon the path, and the birds came and picked them out. Others fell upon rock, and they did not take root in the soil, and did not send up ears. And others fell upon the thorns, and they choked the seed; and the grubs devoured them. And others fell upon good soil, and it sent up good crops and yielded sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure.

DORESSE

9 [9]. Jesus says: "See, the sower went out. He filled his hand and scattered <the seed.> Some fell on the path: birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rocky ground: they found no means of taking root in the soil and did not send up ears of corn. Others fell among thorns; <these> stifled the grain, and the worm ate the <seed.> Others fell on good soil, and this <portion> produced an excellent crop: it gave as much as sixty-fold, and <even> a hundred and twenty-fold!"

Funk's Parallels

Luke 8:4-8, Luke 8:11-15, Matt 13:3-9, Matt 13:18-23, Mark 4:2-9, Mark 4:13-20, InThom 12:1-2, ApJas 8:1-2, 1 Clem 24:5.

Visitor Comments

Compare with Qur'an, 57:20-21.
- dustonthepath

It is unclear in the scholarly quotes how this is being taken. It appears perhaps that it is being taken that the sown seed are souls who prosper or not dependent on where they are sown. I believe the sown seed refers to the words of wisdom spoken by Jesus (or others) which can either be heeded and understood producing good fruit, ignored on stony soil, lost among the weeds of competing thoughts or perverted into something else entirely.
- active-mystic

If this is to be interpreted at all and not just basic agriculture, I'd say: keep an open mind, concentrate on what you're doing, do not dismiss new things and you will see, you will learn and find, thus becoming aware of being the living father�s child.
- thinking aloud

It seems to me that the use of 60-fold and 120-fold in Thomas is good evidence that at least some of Thomas is not derived from the synoptic Gospels, but is a separate tradition branching off at least prior to Mark. The original parable was probably spoken in Aramaic, which I believe used the Babylonian base-60 number system. In this system, the progression 30, 60, 120 would have been natural whereas 30, 60, 100 would not. The use of 100 in the synoptic gospels was probably a mistranslation from the time of Mark.
- Daniel

I think the most likely interpretation of this is a caution to the missionaries that not everyone will be converted, and not to get dispirited by the failures as not everyone is "good earth." [This is the interpretation of Mark 4:13-20. - PK]
- Ed

Corn is a Meso-American grain. The Doresse "ears of corn" translation is inappropriate.
- jconner149

Not everybody recognises a true teacher. This either/or situation is poetically expressed by gradations for the audience. Nevertheless, it is still 100% either/or.
- Thief37

The birds will gather, the rock will stand, the thorns will choke, and the worm will eat. If the seed is God's word, it will fall unto unwanton ears, some will hear what others will use, many will understand if they nurture and cultivate the word.
- Taurus

The soil is the composite mind/heart/heaven, which is like a garden. The sower is the myriad of influences, especially the ego. The seed is the seed of virtue, or the means by which virtue is inculcated. These teachings are among those seeds, and due to their oblique nature cannot all take root in all minds. In some minds too many conflicting desires and ideas reside, thus many seeds are choked out and consumed by the worm of desire which lives at the root of our preferences. The well-worn road corresponds to the conditioned element of the mind which has hardened such that nothing can take root. Considering the individual as a myriad of selves and a composite of influences is essential to this interpretation.
- slur

Cast forth the "seed" (teaching and understanding of the Lord). Some will be taken by the birds and beasts (consumed by the worries of the world), some will fall on rock and produce not (minds of rock, "Stupid mind like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set"), some will fall among thorns and were choked off and the worms ate them (the mind was fertile, but too fertile, and there were too many things pulling at the potential, and the "worms," false teachers, consumed them). Some seeds fell on good earth, were watered and cared for, and grew to produce more seed (believers to spread the faith).
- StarChaser

The seeds are of mankind. In the absence of self-knowledge, there is no everlasting life. The road, the rock, and the thorn, each in its own way, prevent spiritual realization. The represent Spiritual Ignorance, intolerance and hate. The canon collectively seems to miss the point in leaving out the original fates: Consumption by birds, starvation from lack of root and corruption by the worm.
- Dennis H. Sheehan

The author Thomas is creating a comparison between a handful of seeds and mankind. The sower in the parable seems to represent God, the one who creates life, and like a gardener or farmer he places seeds on to the earth. The earth in this parable is represented by four distinct elements, the road, rock, thorns and soil. These four elements together represent the different conditions of the world, as well as different conditions that mankind faces. To elaborate an example can be provided, the thorns, which are prickly and choke can represent a harsh, poor existence and so on. It seems that in this metaphor Thomas has an elitist view when it comes to idea of mankind and those who are true believers. The seeds, which represent mankind, cannot really become fruitful and live unless they are placed in the right conditions. This is obviously not in their power. And so, it is a small group of people who can truly recognize the true message of Jesus, and it is these few people like the seeds who can truly, grow, develop and mature. It is these few who have been lucky enough to be in the right conditions. Thomas is portraying a view that those who are truly illuminated or understand the message are so because of fate, and so they cannot really help being that way. This view creates a barrier between those chosen persons, i.e. the seeds that fell on the good soil, and all the other seeds, which represent the rest of mankind, which will not make it. This elitist view is evident in other sayings in the Gospel of Thomas.
- student

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer writes: "In each occurrence of the parable in the New Testament, the author has added an allegorical interpretation of the parable and placed it on the lips of Jesus (Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15). Stories similar to the parable are known from Jewish and Greek literature. Thus Sirach 6:19 says, 'Come to her (that is, Wisdom) like one who plows and sows, and wait for her good crops. For in her work you will toil a little, and soon you will eat of her produce.' In his Oratorical Instruction 5.11.24, Quintilian writes, 'For instance, if you would say that the mind needs to be cultivated, you would use a comparison to the soil, which if neglected produces thorns and brambles but if cultivated produces a crop. . . .'" (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 72-73)

F. F. Bruce writes: "This is another version of the parable of the sower (or the parable of the four soils), recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels (Mark 4.3-8; Matthew 13.3-8; Luke 8.5-8). The worm that attacked the seed sown among thorns is peculiar to this version. The 'rock' instead of 'rocky ground' is distinctively Lukan; the statement that the seed sown there 'sent forth no ears up to heaven' has been recognised as a Naassene thought. [Hippolytus (Refutation v.8.29) reproduces the Naassene interpretation of the parable.] The statement that the first lot of seed fell 'on' (not 'by') the road probably reflects the sense of the Aramaic preposition used by Jesus in telling the parable (the preposition may be rendered 'on' or 'by' according to the context)." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 116)

Joachim Jeremias writes: "Here, as additions to the synoptic form of the parable, we have the antithesis '(did not strike root in the earth and sent up no ears to heaven)', the mention of the worm and the increase in number, 120." (The Parables of Jesus, p. 28)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "Thomas adds a few details. The sower 'filled his hand' before he cast the seed; this looks like no more than an attempt to indicate the fullness or completeness of the sowing (of souls or spirits). But when we read that the seed which fell on 'the rock' (so only Luke) not only had no root but also 'put forth no ear up to heaven' we are confronting a combination of this parable with the Naassene doctrine of the heavenward ascent of the good seed. The seed which fell upon thorns was not only choked but also eaten by the worm - presumably the worm of Gehenna (cf., Mark 9:48), though Thomas does not say so, since, like other Gnostics, he doubtless holds that hell is on earth. The good fruit, unlike the bad, is brought forth 'up to heaven,' sometimes sixty-fold, sometimes one-hundred-twenty-fold. Thomas feels free to give these figures since Matthew has one hundred, sixty, and thirty; Mark has thirty-sixty-one hundred; and Luke has simply one hundred. His figure is more logical; one hundred twenty is twice as much as sixty." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 127-128)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "In particular he [Quispel] claims as evidence [for primitivity] the reading 'on the road,' for which he has found parallels in Justin Martyr and in the Clementine literature. Moreover, Clement of Rome quotes the opening words in this form rather than that of our Gospels. Bartsch, however, argues that the chance is a corection of the synoptic version, and regards the differences in Thomas as the result of condensation in the paraenetic tradition. Luke's version indeed is an intermediate stage between those of Mark and of Thomas. The correction is certainly very natural, and scholars have long recognized that the synoptic 'by the wayside' goes back to a misunderstanding of the Aramaic; but this does not necessarily preclude the possibility that two Greek versions were current. The question should probably be left open, since the evidence is scarcely decisive either way. Grant and Freedman see here only a few additions to the canonical parable, and quote the Naassene exegesis; the form in which the Naassenes cited the parable was apparently not exactly that of Thomas, but 'based on a mixture of Matthew and Luke.' In this connection it is interesting to see what the Gnostics, or others like them, could make of an apparently innocuous parable: Puech quotes in another connection, and Doresse adduces at this point in his commentary, an interpretation given by the Priscillianists, to the effect that this was not a good sower, or he would not have been so careless; in fact, he was the God of this world, sowing souls into bodies. The passage is quoted by Orosius (c. A.D. 414) from the Memoria Apostolorum, a work of uncertain date, and it is not clear how far back this interpretation can be traced. We cannot say that this was how Thomas understood the parable, but such an exegesis is certainly in the Gnostic tradition." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 98-99)

Funk and Hoover write: "Thomas has preserved what the Fellows take to be the form of the parable that is closest to the original. The seed is first sown on three kinds of ground that fail to produce: the road, the rocky ground, and among the thorns. When sown on good soil, the seed produces yields at two different levels: sixty and one hundred twenty. Originally, the yields were probably thirty, sixty, one hundred, as Mark records them, although the doubling of sixty to one hundred twenty may have been original. The structure probably consisted of two sets of threes: three failures, three successes." (The Five Gospels, p. 478)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "The comparison between the versions of Mark and Thomas indicates that there is a far-reaching agreement, with two exceptions: first, the conclusion differs in that Mark speaks of fruit thirtyfold and sixtyfold and one hundredfold, while Thomas speaks of sixty and one hundred and twenty measures. Secondly, in mentioning the rocky ground on which the seed fell Mark additionally writes that the rising sun contributed to the withering (Mark 4.6), whereas Thomas is silent about this. On the whole we must regard the version of Thomas as older than that of Mark, because it is simpler." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 28)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 10

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(10) Jesus said: I have cast a fire upon the world, and see, I watch over it until it is ablaze.

LAYTON

(10) Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am watching over it until it blazes."

DORESSE

10 [10]. Jesus says: "I have cast a fire onto the world, and see, I watch over it until it blazes up!"

Funk's Parallels

GThom 16, Luke 12:49-53, Matt 10:34-39.

Visitor Comments

This refers to the resurrection. The cucifixion is the spark, and the resurrection allowed him to ensure the spark became a blaze to engulf the world (with the message).
- Alayo Pinion

Jesus came to reveal revolutionary concepts of who we are in relation to God and our place in Reality. He watched over the results until he saw that there were sufficient true hearers of his message that its continuance could be assured into the future.
- active-mystic

active-mystic, I concur. Jesus vouldn't be referring to his crucifixion, as he clearly wasn�t aware of it happening ("why did you abandon me" on the cross).
- thinking aloud

This has connection to saying 3. When one begins to look inside oneself honestly, a fire is kindled that burns away our fabricated view of self revealing our true nature. This fire is like a sword, cutting away our attachments to things we identify with.
- Khorov

I have cast a gospel upon the world, and see, I watch over it until it blazes. Note that there are two clever literary devices here: (1) "and see, I watch over it" suggests identity between the reader (who sees) and Jesus (who watches over the gospel as the reader does); (2) the last "it" is ambiguous, as it could refer either to the gospel or the world. The ambiguity is intentional. There are two valid interpretations-the gospel will come ablaze with meaning when it is recognized that Jesus wrote it and what he wrote. It will burn the fingers of the worldly, and it will blaze with the glory of God to those who love Jesus. But also, equally true, is that it will set the world ablaze when this is recognized. Jesus was a great literary genius. He was also a very efficient writer.
- Simon Magus

Farmers often set fire to their fields as a means of cleansing prior to planting. It is scary sometimes but because the farmer is watching we need not be alarmed everything is under control the fire need not cause fear but should be seen as part of greater cycle of planting (life).
- Taoito

Has anyone ever noticed that conflicts about religion, Truth, and God are often the most intense?
- bromikl

The fruit of the tree of knowledge is the awareness of our differences. It is attachment to our differences that drove humans from the garden of Eden. The way back is guarded by the flaming sword that cuts those attachments. The two forces of antiquity were strife and love. Love,the golden rule from which all else flows, brings us closer to knowing our unity of spirit, which is seen when we burn away our attachments.
- BigJim

The perennial message is presented anew & afresh to each generation [audience]. A true teacher watches over his projection [monitors]
- Thief37

It is also posible that this is a litterary reference by the author to Prometheus who brought fire into the world and was chained to rock for his trouble.
- Rylon

The fire represents Yeshua's word and he is watching over it until it is spread across the world (blazes), so that all may know the truth.
- Eliyah

Jesus may have been saying that he has cast the world ablaze by sending the word of God and now he is going to watch it spread all over.
- Meg

Scholarly Quotes

R. McL. Wilson writes: "Logion 10 has a parallel in Luke xii. 49, but with a change of emphasis. The canonical version looks to the future: 'I came to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!' In Thomas the fire has been kindled: 'I have cast fire upon the world, and behold, I guard it until it is ablaze.' This raises an interesting problem in relation to the common source of Matthew and Luke, since Matthew (x. 34) records a saying, 'I came not to cast peace, but a sword.' As already observed, something like this appears in logion 16, but in the saying in Thomas 'division' and 'fire' are paralleled in Luke, 'sword' in Matthew. The question is whether in Thomas we have a conflation of the two synoptic versions, or a form of the saying derived from an independent tradition." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 110-111)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "A similar saying in Luke 12:49 is clearly eschatological. 'I came to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish that it were already kindled.' Thomas changes future to past and present. The fire has been ignited, and Jesus keeps the world until it burns up; to be near the fire is to be near Jesus and the kingdom (Saying 82)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 128)

Marvin Meyer writes: "The gnostic document Pistis Sophia 141 has Jesus utter a nearly identical saying. Jesus, who is called Aberamentho, says, 'For this reason I said to you, "I have come to throw fire upon the earth," that is, I have come to cleanse the sins of the whole world with fire.' See also Gospel of Thomas saying 15." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 73)

Funk and Hoover write: "Both the context and the form of the saying in Thomas distinguish it from the Lukan version ('I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already ablaze!'). In Luke, the saying is part of a cluster probably already formed in Q, and reflects the early Christian community's mythologized view of Jesus as one who came into the world for its redemption. In Thomas, the saying appears as a single aphorism, not part of a cluster, and with none of the Christianizing language of the Lukan version. The saying in Thomas is thus probably not dependent on Q or Luke, but represents an independent tradition." (The Five Gospels, pp. 478-479)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "The logion is similar to Luke 12.49, but can hardly have come from there (cf. by contrast the adoption and interpretation of Luke 12.49 in the Gnostic writing Pistis Sophia IV 141: it means the cleansing of the sins of the whole world by fire). The key to its understanding is 'world' (Luke: earth), a word which appears sixteen times alone in the Gospel of Thomas and in it has a predominantly negative sense (cf. Logion 56). In Logion 82 'fire' is connected with the nearness of Jesus. So the meaning seems to be that Jesus' presence will set on fire the world, understood in negative terms." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 595)

That's one way to look at it...

Gospel of Thomas Saying 11

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(11) Jesus said: This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away; and those who are dead are not alive, and those who are living will not die. In the days when you ate of what is dead, you made of it what is living. When you come to be light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you have become two, what will you do?

LAYTON

(11) Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. And the dead (elements) are not alive, and the living (elements) will not die. In the days when you (plur.) used to ingest dead (elements), you made them alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day that you were one, you made two. And when you are two, what will you do?"

DORESSE

11 [11]. Jesus says: "This heaven will pass away, and the hevaen which is above it will pass: but those who are dead will not live, and those who live will not die!" 12 [11]. "Today you eat dead things and make them into something living: <but> when you will be in Light, what will you do then? For then you will become two instead of one; and when you become two, what will you do then?"

Funk's Parallels

GThom 111:1, Ps 102:25-27, Isa 34:4, Luke 16:16-17, Luke 21:32-33, Matt 5:18, Matt 24:34-35, Mark 13:30-31, DialSav 56-57, Hippolytus Refutatio 5.8.32, Heb 1:10-12, Rev 6:12-14.

Visitor Comments

All of reality as you believe it to be is illusion and will pass. Even the illuison of birth and death will be realized as such. You pass through periods of incarnation. Then you return to the spirit world of light. God (One) chose to become (create) two and thus the ten thousand things of illusion. We are all on a mission of understanding and exploring of the nature of the 10,000 things in order to return to the One. Part of the understanding to be achieved is to realize that the One has never ceased to be the One.
- active-mystic

The marvel of this moment will pass into history and die, as will the contemplator of the marvel of this moment. What the intellect creates is dead, and what lives cannot die. During the days that you ate what is dead you made it come alive. When truth is manifest, what will you do? On the day of enlightenment you become an enlightened person. But one cannot be two.
- Simon Magus

1. This appears to be advice as to how, once enlightened, to remain so. It is not easy to still the intellect. It requires determination to do so. Once stilled, the intellect returns and we are again confused as our apprehension of truth is impaired and unity vanishes. It takes practice to bring the intellect to heel.
- Simon Magus

2. Note that there appears to be a literary flaw in the above interpretation because of the disconnect between "Sentence A", which is "During the days that you ate what is dead, you made it come alive" and "Sentence B", which is "When truth is manifest, what will you do?" Note that the most obvious interpretation of "A" is the sacrament of communion. But this is a real-world event which is accessible to historians. This is inconsistent with the spirituality of the rest of the interpretation. But there is a way out of all difficulties. We can read "A" and "B" together as what I'll call "C": During the days when you were traditional Christians, before you knew that this is my gospel, you knew in your heart that there was a deeper spiritual meaning to what you were doing in the sacrament of communion. I, Jesus, now give you that meaning, for which you are now prepared. All truth is now made manifest. A spiritual interpretation of "C" (but applied to the future) is: Henceforth you will understand the meaning of the dead sayings in the Gospel of Thomas, as they come alive to you. In brief, Jesus is recommending to traditional Christians that they henceforth celebrate true communion by studying and trying to understand his gospel.
- Simon Magus

3. Note finally that the interpretation of "C" above again raises the question of how Jesus could have spoken of the Gospel of Thomas. It is clear, I think, that he is "requiring" Christians to believe that he wrote the Gospel of Thomas, not by shaking the finger of authority at them, but by making it impossible for them, or for anybody else who studies the matter, to believe that he didn't write it! Absolutely mind-boggling! Move over, Nicene Creed. The Master has arrived!
- Simon Magus

On the Path one's world view is continually replaced by new ones. When, as a child one learns the dead ways of one's parents, one makes the "dead" alive. When faced with the knowledge of one's innate self, what will one do? As an infant one is one but becomes divided against onesself in trying to please ones parents. As a grownup divided against onesself, what will you do?
- Rodney

There are seven nafs. The two lowest [the commanding nafs] will pass away. If the student has overcome them instead of being ruled by them, he will "live" --- otherwise he dies. BTW, this technical process is the source of the twisted reincarnation notion. You are indeed "reborn" before you [physically] die
- Thief37

This is the Edenic Arcane. Death is the Fruit of the Tree of Life. Eating this fruit is eating what is dead. This is how we brought death to life, and life to death. Those who do not eat this fruit either stay dead (ignorantly happy) or stay alive (knowingly happy). When we were one (Adam) we become two (Adam & Eve), and now we must understand that we must become one before this Heaven (physical body, because Heaven is within), and the one above it (Soul) die (in the Second Death).
- Arrogant

This gospel talks about you becoming two, I believe this is when your body and soul separate and then you are one and your body dies then you go to another heaven where you no longer need to eat what is dead anymore.
- Meg

The enlightened cannot die as they know they are the universe and the universe is one (god). The cycle of life, organic life being eating to fuel organic life, life being one, with the universe which too is alive (god). Coming to the light what will "you" do, you being the false ego; when the enlightened comes into being, where does "you" go (the imaginary you)? "You" can neither go to the light nor escape death. When you were one, the coming into human form, birth, whole and integral but then conditioned in society to and the ego develops (my thoughts, my memories, my desires and wants, seperation from the whole) what will you do when you are two? The confusion and conflict of a divided human, the efforts of "you" (ego) being futile to attain wholeness, will being the enemy of enlightment.
- spacebaby

On the day you were one you became two. This reminds me of how pure in spirit a newborn child is (we are one); then, once we are taught the worldly ways (eat of the dead), we become divided in our obligations to our spiritual life and our material life (we are two). We have to then turn (or abandon) our "dead" ways back into living for purely for our spirit.
- scott

Scholarly Quotes

Jean Doresse writes: "The first part of this paragraph is quoted and commented on by the Philosophumena (V, 8, 31). According to this work, the Naassenes explained it as follows: 'If you have eaten dead things and made them living things, what then will you do when you eat living things? These living things are rational beings, intelligences, men - pearls which the great Being without form has cast into the work of here below!'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 371)

Marvin Meyer writes: "The two heavens will pass away. Presumably the third heaven (the realm of God; compare 2 Corinthians 12:2-4) will not. On the heavens passing away, compare Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; Matthew 5:18 (Q); Luke 16:17 (Q)." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 73)

F. F. Bruce writes: "The first part of the saying reminds us of Matthew 24.35 (cf. Matthew 5.18; Luke 16.17): 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away' - but it is not a close parallel. As for eating dead things, this probably means that when the flesh of dead animals is eaten by human beings it becomes part of a living body (cf. Saying 7). [A similar Naassene saying is quoted by Hippolytus, Refutation v.8.32.] The eating of flesh was probably discouraged, as making it more difficult to attain the light of immortality; the views of a vegetarian Syrian sect called the Encratites may have influenced the tradition in this and some other regards. The words about being one and becoming two refer to the dividing of man into male and female (cf. Saying 4). If sex was to be transcended in the life to come, it was felt best that it should play no part in the present life (this may be a further Encratite trait)." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 117)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The third part of the saying describes the condition of the Gnostic believer. Those who were formerly divided have been united; they have worked together (Saying 59); they are at peace (49); they have become one (103). Unfortunately, it looks as if becoming 'two' were regarded as the believer's goal. Perhaps it would be best to hold that the present unity of the believers represents their goal, and - in spite of the parallelism of the saying - that the becoming 'two' is something they should avoid. Jesus is not a divider (Saying 72), except in the sense that he divides families into Gnostics and non-Gnostics (Saying 16)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 130)

Stevan Davies writes: "Those who achieve the excellence Thomas commends are people who live from the living one immortally (sayings 11, 111), while those who do not do so live from the dead and will die (sayings 7, 11, 60, 87)." (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Funk and Hoover write: "A number of themes in this complex led the Fellows to conclude that these sayings derive from a form of Christianity exhibiting mild gnostic tendencies. This appears to be the form of Christianity Thomas espoused. The speculative cosmology in 11:1 has parallels in other gnostic texts. The obscure statements regarding life and death in 11:2-3a seem typical of Thomas (Thom 4:1; 58; 101:3; 7; 60), as does the theme of light (11:3b; compare with 24:3; 50:1; 61:5; 83:1-2). 11:4 may refer to a common gnostic idea that humanity has fallen from an original, perfect state of undifferentiated unity (22:4-7). All these considerations suggest that the Thomas tradition is the origin of this complex rather than Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 479)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 12

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(12) The disciples said to Jesus: We know that you will depart from us; who is it who will be great over us? Jesus said to them: Wherever you have come, you will go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.

LAYTON

(12) The disciples said to Jesus, "We are aware that you will depart from us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to him, "No matter where you come it is to James the Just that you shall go, for whose sake heaven and earth have come to exist."

DORESSE

13 [12]. The disciples say to Jesus, "We know that Thou wilt leave us: who will <then> be the great<est> over us?" Jesus says to them: "Wherever you go, you will turn to James the Just, for whose sake heaven as well as earth was produced."

Funk's Parallels

Luke 9:46-48, Luke 22:24-27, Matt 18:1-4, Mark 9:33-35.

Visitor Comments

I would agree with Jack Kilmon that this probably represents a part of the earliest recension of Thomas (40 CE or thereabouts). It reflects the way the church was organized during the earliest Nazarene movement, the Judaic proto Christians (although this name would not be used in Jerusalem).
- John Moon

Not necessarily a saying with a meaning fixed in only one time. Rather a statement that we should always be turning to a man of ultimate just nature who in facts resides within each of us. And that heaven and earth were in fact created for the sake of each of us individually. (There is only One of Us!)
- active-mystic

The last phrase is the mystery here because our we become conscious by use of the paralax view of polarity and then literalize the poles. We see "existence" as being and not being; we see being as "heaven" and "earth". What Jesus the Nazarene Essene is saying here is that James is the highest in the levels of awareness and at that level the mind is at one with "I am that I am" and thus it appears from that perspective that heaven and earth have come into existence for that one's sake. The term "for who's sake" does not mean James ordered heaven and earth at the Universal take-out counter; it means, as with Buddha's birth phrase "I alone am the world honored one." James has rached the level of enlightenment that he appreciates that the birth of consciousness in the individual is co-equivalent with the creation of heaven and earth.
- Gregory Wonderwheel

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer refers to the quote of Hegesippus on James the Just in Ecclesiastical History 2.23.4-7 and quotes from Secret James 16:5-11 on his authority: "So, not wishing to give them offense, I sent each one of them to a different place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I might acquire a share with the beloved ones who will appear." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 74)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The answer which Jesus gives is again related to the conversation in the Gospel of John, where Jesus tells the disciples that he is going away to prepare a 'place' for them (John 14:2-3). In Thomas, however, the 'place' is apparently earthly rather than heavenly; it is a place in which they are to go to James the Just, 'for whose sake the heaven and the earth came into existence.' This exaltation of James is characteristic of Jewish-Christian and Naassene tradition . . . it may be derived from the Gospel of the Hebrews. Doresse suggests (page 140) that James may here be regarded as a supernatural power, but there is nothing in Thomas which could favor such an interpretation." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 131)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "The logion recalls the disciples' conversations about status which we know from Mark 9.33-34. To be precise, the saying regulates the succession to Jesus (cf. the Paraclete in John 14.16, 26; 15.26; 16.7 and Peter as the follower of Jesus in John 21.15-17). James is not only given the predicate 'righteous' (cf. Acts 7.52), but is also assigned a role in creation. All these sayings came into being in Jewish-Christian circles where James later became 'the pope of Ebionite fantasy' (H. J. Schoeps)." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 596)

F. F. Bruce writes: "This saying originated in a Jewish-Christian setting where James the Just, Jesus' brother, was regarded as the natural leader of Jesus's disciples after Jesus's departure. James was actually leader of the Jerusalem church for fifteen to twenty years, until his death in A.D. 62; his memory was revered and enhanced by legendary embellishments. Here a high estimate is placed on his person: in Jewish thought the world was created for the sake of the Torah, [Assumption of Moses 1.2; Genesis Rabbah 1.25.] although in one rabbinical utterance 'every single person is obliged to say: "The world was created for my sake."' [TB Sanhedrin 37b]" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, pp. 117-118)

Robert Price writes: "So to be called the Pillars indicated quite an exalted status. We can see the same sort of godlike veneration reflected in Thomas, saying 12 . . . 'Wherever you come from' refers to the obligation of missionary apostles to check in with a report to James in Jerusalem, another measure of his importance." (Deconstructing Jesus, p. 53)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 13 Previous - Gospel of Thomas Home - Next This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings. Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text BLATZ (13) Jesus said to his disciples: Compare me, tell me whom 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 wholly incapable of saying whom you are like. Jesus said: I am not your master, for you have drunk, and have become drunk from the bubbling spring which I have caused to gush forth (?). And he took him, withdrew, (and) spoke to him three words. Now when Thomas came (back) to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say to you? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones (and) throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones (and) burn you up. LAYTON (13) Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I resemble." Simon Peter said to him, "A just angel is what you resemble." Matthew said to him, "An intelligent philosopher is what you resemble." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth utterly will not let me say what you resemble." Jesus said, "I am not your (sing.) teacher, for you have drunk and become intoxicated from the bubbling wellspring that I have personally measured out. And he took him, withdrew, and said three sayings to him. Now, when Thomas came to his companions they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I say to you (plur.) one of the sayings that he said to me, you will take stones and stone me, and fire will come out of the stones and burn you up." DORESSE 14 [13]. Jesus says to his disciples: "Compare me, and tell me whom I am like." Simon Peter says to him: "Thou art like a just angel!" Matthew says to him: "Thou art like a wise man and a philosopher!" Thomas says to him: "Master, my tongue cannot find words to say whom thou art like." Jesus says: "I am no longer thy master; for thou hast drunk, thou art inebriated from the bubbling spring which is mine and which I sent forth." Then he took him aside; he said three words to him. And when Thomas came back to his companions, they asked him: "What did Jesus say to thee?" And Thomas answered them: "If I tell you one of the words he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me, and fire will come out of the stones and consume you!" Funk's Parallels GThom 28, Luke 9:18-22, Luke 21:34-36, Matt 16:13-20, John 4:13-15, John 7:38, Mark 8:27-30. Visitor Comments Compare this to the descriptions of the acknowledging of the enlightenment of Zen students by the Master. They are received into the brotherhood of equals. They too now speak in ways which are not comprehensible to the as yet unenlightened (and which might be resented by former fellow students). They also now know the secret words of a revolutionary understanding of Reality. Thomas is being acknowledged as having caught on to Jesus message. - active-mystic All Christologies are false. Spiritual truth is ineffable. One speaks to the ignorant in the terms with which they are familiar, precept upon precept and line by line. But they are scandalized at the first word of truth. - Simon Magus It's easy to see that Jesus spoke three words in Hebrew to Thomas, in English this is the meaning of these words: "I am who I am." - Dark Soul The teacher is of God, who has no attributes being above them as the creator of all attributes. He cannot therefore be resembled to anything. Thomas had learnt this. He was now ready for secret [confidential or private] wisdom to be imparted. But that wisdom would, and always will be, misinterpreted by those who have not developed thus far. It is an issue of readiness - Thief37 Jesus told Thomas that he, along with everyone and everything comprise God and therefore he was the son of God and a part of God. Thomas is making some fun out of this while relating it to the other disciples. Thomas does not believe what Jesus told him and he knows the other disciples will turn against him because they will think he is lying to them. - iag 3 words: I AM ALL - newbie I too noticed the similarity of this saying to the Zen master who asked his three disciples how they would teach after he was gone. He said one was his skin, one his muscle, and one his marrow. The Essenes had several levels of esoteric teaching and this story clearly shows Jesus the Nazorean Essene testing his disciples if they are ready for the next level of teaching. Thomas passes and receives the three sayings which, being esoteric, would get him stoned for blasphamy. The last phrase is also quite Zen. A Samurai asked Hakuin is there really heaven and hell. Hakuin insulted the Samurai who drew his sword whereupon Hakuin said "Thus opens the gate of Hell." Thomas here is saying if the disciples did succumb to throwing rocks, either in envy or in righteousness of the law, that they would be opening up hell for themselves and they would burn in it. - Gregory Wonderwheel Jesus asked, Describe your thoughts about me. Simon Peter spoke of a righteous (just) angel. Matthew spoke of a wise philosopher. Thomas said, "there are no words or concepts that my mouth can frame." Jesus said that they were drunk on the joy, truth and honor of being his students. He took Thomas aside and spoke three "words/sayings" (concepts beyond the teachings that the disciples understood) to him. On being asked about the private communication with their teacher, Thomas replied, "a single one of them would make you want to stone me, but the desire to do so would burn you to the core." Thomas understood somethings that none of the others could conceive, and knowing this, he could not see his righteous brethren hurt by revealing the depth of these concepts, that Jesus was no more or less than any of them, that he had learned that God had given his Word to all the World and anyone could learn their place as the Child of God if the mind and heart were open enough. Any of these concepts would seem blasphemy to those of simpler minds, who were already swimming with the greatness of Jesus' teaching. - StarChaser Has it ever occured to anyone that the three words or sayings spoken to Thomas are the things that Jesus then told the disciples in saying 14? It would have been heresy if Thomas had said such things to pious Jews like Peter and Matthew, and their outrage would have been like stones bursting into flames. But Jesus can speak them and they must listen even if they don't understand. - Griffin Jesus, the Master, has accepted Thomas as his Chela (disciple) because he clearly understood what Jesus represented. The others didn't. The Master provides a personal mantra at intiation, here three words...but I suspect more words. The words are personal, absolutely, and have the power of Jesus (Master, Guru) behind them. The words are for the personal growth of the Chela, and not for the others. They are the key to his further enlightenment, and the connection to the Holy Ghost. - Petrus All things imply their negation. This is not that. The One has no negations. It is All. Can you describe what All is like? Neither could Thomas. - nothing Scholarly Quotes Marvin Meyer writes: "These three sayings or words are unknown, but presumably they are powerful and provocative sayings, since stoning (mentioned by Thomas) was the Jewish punishment for blasphemy. Worth noting are the following examples of three words or sayings: Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 5.8.4, cites the three words Kaulakau, Saulasau, Zeesar, derived from the Hebrew of Isaiah 28:10, 13; Pistis Sophia 136 mentions Yao Yao Yao, the Greek version (with three letters, given three times) of the ineffable name of God; the Gospel of Bartholomew and the Secret Book of John provide statements of identification with the father, the mother (or the holy spirit), and the son. Acts of Thomas 47 and Manichaean Kephalaia I 5,26-34 also refer to the three sayings or words but do not disclose precisely what they were." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 74-75) Robert Price writes: "In Thomas' version (saying 13), the false estimates of Jesus are even more interesting. Jesus spurns the opinion of those self-styled believers who consider him 'a wise philosopher.' Bingo! A wandering Cynic. (Thomas also has Jesus reject the idea, widely held by many early Christians, that he was an angel in human form.)" (Deconstructing Jesus, p. 51) Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "the Old Testament and its eschatology have been eliminated; Jesus is no Messiah but 'like a righteous angel,' 'like a wise philosopher,' or simply incomparable." (Gnosticism & Early Christianity, p. 186) R. McL. Wilson writes: "As Grant and Freedman note, the idea is similar to that of John xv. 15, while the reference to 'bubbling spring' also recalls Johannine texts. It may be, however, that we have also some connection here with the Philonic idea of a 'sober intoxication.' Thereafter Jesus takes Thomas aside and speaks to him three words. When the other disciples ask what Jesus said, Thomas replies, 'If I tell you one of the words which He said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.' It may be significant that while there are several references in the New Testament to stoning or casting stones it is only John who speaks of taking up stones to throw (viii. 59, x. 31). About the three words we can only speculate, but they were evidently blasphemous to Jewish ears. Puech suggests that they were the names 'Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,' Grant and Freedman the three secret words of the Naassenes (Hippol., Ref. 5.8.5). The whole passage is at any rate a substitute for the canonical narrative of Peter's confession, designed to give to Thomas the pre-eminence." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 111-112) F. F. Bruce writes: "This conversation begins like that at Caesarea Philippi, recorded in all three Synoptic Gospels, where Jesus asks his disciples 'Who do men say that I am?' and then: 'But who do you say that I am?' (Mark 8.27-29). But the answers given here are quite different from what we find in the canonical tradition, which is consistent with the historical circumstances of Jesus's ministry. Here the answers are attempts to depict Jesus as the Gnostic Revealer. Those who have imbibed the gnosis which he imparts (the 'bubbling spring' which he has spread abroad) are not his servants but his friends, [Cf. John 15.14] and therefore 'Master' is an unsuitable title for them to give him. As for the three words spoken secretly to Thomas, conveying Jesus's hidden identity, they are probably the three secret words on which, according to the Naassenes, the existence of the world depended: Kaulakau, Saulasau, Zeesar. [Hippolytus, Refutation v.8.4. Kaulakau, they said, was Adamas, primal man, 'the being who is on high' . . . Saulasau, mortal man here below; Zeesar, the Jordan which flows upward.] (In fact, these three words are corruptions of the Hebrew phrases in Isaiah 28.10, 13, translated 'Line upon line, precept upon precept, there a little' - but their origin was probably forgotten.) The followers of the Gnostic Basilides are said to have taught that Jesus descended 'in the name of Kaulakau'. [Irenaeus, Heresies i.24.6.] The fire that would come out of the stones is perhaps the fire of Saying 10. There is in any case ample attestation of the belief that the untimely divulging of a holy mystery can be as destructive as fire." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, pp. 118-119) Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "In the synoptics, various erroneous interpretations precede the correct one. Jesus is John the Baptist, or Elijah, Jeremiah, or some other prophet risen again. So in Thomas, Simon Peter wrongly compares Jesus with an angel (a belief widespread in early Jewish Christianity) and Matthew wrongly compares him with a wise philosopher. Thomas rightly says that to compare Jesus with anything is impossible; but as he does so, he addresses him as 'Master.' Thomas, like the man in Mark 10:17 (cf., Luke 18:18) who calls Jesus 'Good Master,' is rebuked because of the title he uses. Because he is a disciple of Jesus, he is not a slave but a friend, for Jesus has made known everything which he heard from his Father (John 15:15). The idea expressed in Thomas is quite similar to that found in John. Jesus is not Thomas's master because Thomas has drunk from the bubbling spring which Jesus has distributed. This thought too is Johannine in origin. 'The water which I will give him will become in him a spring of water bubbling up to eternal life' (John 4:14; cf., 7:37-38)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 132-133) J. P. Meier writes: "An intriguing point here is that in the one work of 'the school of St. Thomas' that clearly dates from the 2d century, namely, the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, Thomas is actually a peripheral figure who hardly belongs to the traditional material in the book. He is introduced as the author of the work in the clearly redactional opening sentence, but figures prominently in only one other logion, the lengthy saying 13, where Simon Peter and Matthew are also mentioned but Thomas is exalted as the possessor of the secret knowledge of Jesus' nature. This logion stands in tension with the rival logion just before it, saying 12, where James the Just (the brother of Jesus) is exalted as the leader of the disciples after Jesus departs. On this tension, see Gilles Quispel, '"The Gospel of Thomas" and the "Gospel of the Hebrews,"' NTS 12 (1965-66) 371-82, esp. 380. Hence the Gospel of Thomas, the earliest apocryphal and gnosticizing work that was put under the name of Thomas, does not present a tradition really rooted in that person and does not clearly inculcate the idea that Thomas is Jesus' twin brother." (A Marginal Jew, v. 3, pp. 255-256, n. 17)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 14

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(14) Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will put a sin to your charge; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your inner spirits. And if you go into any land and walk about in the regions, if they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you; but what comes out of your mouth, that is what will defile you.

LAYTON

(14) Jesus said to them, "If you (plur.) fast, you will acquire a sin, and if you pray you will be condemned, and if you give alms, it is evil that you will do unto your spirits. And when you go into any land and travel in the country places, when they receive you eat whatever they serve to you. Heal those among them who are sick. For, nothing that enters your mouth will defile you (plur.). Rather, it is precisely what comes out of your mouth that will defile you."

DORESSE

15 [14]. Jesus says to them: "When you fast, you will beget sin for yourselves; when you pray, you will be condemned; when you give alms, you will do evil to your souls! <But> when you enter any land and travel over the country, when you are welcomed eat what is put before you; those who are ill in those places, heal them. For what enters into your mouth will not defile you, but what comes out of your mouth, it is that which will defile you!"

Funk's Parallels

POxy 654 6:1, GThom 6:1, POxy1 27, GThom 27, GThom 104, Luke 11:1-4, Luke 9:1-6, Luke 10:1-12, Matt 6:2-4, Matt 6:5-15, Matt 6:16-18, Matt 10:5-15, Matt 15:10-20, Mark 6:7-13, Mark 7:14-23, Did 8:1-3, POxy 1224 2, 1 Cor 10:27, Acts 10:9-16, Acts 11:1-10.

Visitor Comments

The ego has the capacity to turn any form of piety or religious ritual into an idol. The ego never heals.
- dustonthepath

Religious practices and taboos are part of the meaningless illusion of the world. Remember that what you do to another you have done to yourself and God. Everything that you do is part of your ongoing prayer dialogue with God.
- active-mystic

Too often self-righteousness stems from charity.
- thinking aloud

The person who fasts does not truly fast. The person who prays is not sincere. The giver of alms is removed from the receiver. When you are received receive what is given. Help the afflicted, but do not speak. Do not kill truth.
- Simon Magus

1. Fasting is not taking that which you have (been given) and can be seen as a form of waste. If you have no food you cannot fast 2. Praying is asking for affirmations. Something which a true believer does not need. 3. Giving alms to someone in need suggest that the person is capable of doing more, or something else, to ease someone's suffering. . in my opinion: Always help the ones in need, ask nothing in return and be grateful for that what is given to you. I think this all refers to another part of the text that states that: in order to be able to see the big picture you should always be aware of that what is in front of you.
- ajee

This seems to be a direct answer to saying #6, and #6 seems to be questions that the disciples are asking because they know that by following the teachings of Jesus, they are no longer practicing Judaism. They are asking what their new 'religion' asks of them, what rules it may have, and this is the answer to that.
- gnosis

The essence of this passage is that one goes the wrong way by trying to do good things. Instead one should do what is natural and proper to one's nature and spirit, and true virtue will develop of its own accord. To eat what is set before you extends by analogy to the way in which one transacts with the world. One should not be averse to that which is. One should be willing to swallow whatever comes along and be fed by it.
- slur

We speak from the abundance of what is in our hearts. It isn't what we eat or abstain from eating or doing publicly that defiles us, but that which is in our hearts and proceeds from our mouths that defiles us.
- seeking

Be strong in the material world, but don't let it suck you in. Act like the noble spirit you are at all times.
- Zooie

Do, say, be what is right in the present. Do not limit yourself by restictions. Act for the common good, for the longtime consequences, not for immediate satisfaction and pleasure.
- Maitreya

Scholarly Quotes

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "Positive proof that he did so [copy from the canonical gospels] seems to be provided in Saying 14. . . . The statement about healing the sick has nothing to do with the context in Thomas; it is relevant only in Luke's collection of sayings. Therefore, Thomas copied it from Luke." (Gnosticism & Early Christianity, pp. 185-186)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "This develops the notion of v. 4 about eating all that is set before one, and gives a reason for it. The dependence on Luke 10.7-8 in v. 4 also decides positively the dependence of v. 5 on Mark 7.15. For the invitation to heal the sick does not fit in v. 4 at all, and is best explained by the use of Luke 10.9." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 597)

F. F. Bruce writes: "Fasting, prayer and almsgiving (cf. Saying 6) are three forms of piety mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6.1-18), but the instructions given here are quite different from those given there. Such pious activities, it appears, are superfluous and indeed harmful for the true Gnostic. (Similar sentiments about prayer and fasting are expressed in saying 104.) The second and third sentences in the saying are respectively parallel to Luke 10.8 f. and Matthew 15.11 (cf. Mark 7.15). The addition of the injunction 'eat what is set before you' of the words denying that food conveys defilement underlines the relevance of the injunction to the Gentile mission (cf. Acts 10.15; 1 Corinthians 10.27)." (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 119)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "This saying deals with subjects already brought up in Saying 5: fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and dietary observances. Here the statements ascribed to Jesus are more explicit than they were before. Fasting produces sin; prayer results in condemnation; almsgiving harms the spirit. Some ground for Thomas's notion is given in Mark 2:18-20 (Matthew 9:14-15; Luke 5:33-35), where Jesus says that the sons of the bridechamber cannot fast while he is with them. Since Thomas regards the kingdom as present rather than future, fasting (a fortiori, prayer, almsgiving, and dietary laws) is pointless and, indeed, sinful." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 134-135)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "As Grant has pointed out, the condemnation at the beginning of this saying takes up three phrases from the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. vi. 16 (fasting), 5 (prayer), and 2 (alms)] in the reverse order; and such reversal of the order is characteristic of Naassene usage. In the passage quoted the opening words are a general summary of the charge to the Seventy in Luke x. 1, followed by Luke x. 8-9 ('if they receive you . . .'). The final sentence has its parallel in Matthew xv. 11, but it may be added that Luke x. 2 is logion 73. In this case Grant and Freedman would appear to be correct in suggesting that the saying 'seems to prove that Thomas used our gospels.' The significant feature is the inclusion of Luke x. 9, the injunction to heal the sick, which is quite out of place in a saying concerned with dietary restrictions, but is easily explained from the Lucan context. There is, however, one point which they have overlooked: in the Gospels the specific injunction 'eat what they set before you' is peculiar to Luke, but Creed notes that there is 'striking resemblance in language' in the Lucan passage to 1 Corinthians x. 27, and that 'it is not unlikely that St. Paul's language is an echo of this injunction,' although the application is quite different. If Paul is quoting and adapting a saying of Jesus, this would point us back to the tradition underlying Luke." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 71-72)

Kurt Rudolph writes: "Even more trenchantly the Jewish laws mentioned in logion 14 are made out to be of no consequence, indeed as detrimental to salvation: Fasting gives rise to sin, praying to condemnation, the giving of alms to harming one's spirit; one should eat everything that is set before one. It is important to heal the sick, by which probably the ignorant are referred to. The saying concludes with a quotation from Mark's Gospel; later still Luke's as well as Matthew's Gospel are brought in on this question. Of sole importance is the 'fast as regards the world' because only that leads to the 'kingdom'. The 'great fast' is taken in this sense also by the Mandaeans: It is no external abstention from eating and drinking but a cessation from inquisitiveness, lies, hatred, jealousy, discord, murder, theft, adultery, the worship of images and idols." (Gnosis, p. 263)

Helmut Koester writes: "The basic difference between Thomas and Mark is that Mark states the second half in general terms ('what comes out of a human being'), while Thomas specifies 'what comes out of your mouth.' In this respect Thomas agrees with the form of this saying in Matt 15:11 ('but what comes out of the mouth defiles a human being'). This might argue for a dependence of Thomas upon Matthew. However, the Matthew/Thomas form of this saying is most likely original: the first half of the saying requires that the second half speaks about words which the mouth utters, not excrements (see Mark 7:19). Moreover, what the Gospel of Thomas quotes here is the one single saying from the entire pericope that can be considered as a traditional piece and that formed the basis of the original apophthegma - consisting of vss. 1-2, 5, and 15 - out of which the present complex text of Mark 7:1-23 has been developed." (Ancient Christian Gospels, pp. 111-112)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The Thomastic version is obviously closer to the Matthean-Lukan [Mt 23:25-26, Lk 11:39-40] than to the Markan [Mk 7:15] since it has the going into the mouth/coming out of the mouth dichotomy rather than the outside/inside distinction. It has been argued that this proves that 'the Gospel of Thomas here follows Matthew' and is dependent on him (McArthur 1960:286; see Schrage: 55; Menard, 1975:101). But this does not explain why the Synoptic texts are in the third person while the Thomistic version is in the second person (Sieber: 193)." (In Fragments, pp. 253-254)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The accusation concerning washing is made against Jesus in Q ( = Luke 11:38) and he replies, naturally, in the second person in Q/Luke 11:39-40 = Matt. 23:25-26, but this has become an accusation against Jesus' disciples in Mark 7:1-2, 5 to which the aphorism in 7:15 speaks in the third person. The general tendency of the tradition is to change an attack on Jesus into an attack on his disciples (Bultmann: 48). This development appears concerning washing as Q ( = Luke 11:38) reappears in Mark 7:1-2, 5, and also concerning eating as Gos. Thom. 4c reappears in Matt. 15:11 (17, 18). 'It seems more likely, therefore, that the second person, a defence of Jesus himself, is the original' (Sieber: 193)." (In Fragments, p. 254)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 15

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Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(15) Jesus said: When you see him who was not born of woman, fall down upon your faces and worship him; that one is your Father.

LAYTON

(15) Jesus said, "When you (plur.) see one who has not been born of woman, fall upon your faces and prostrate yourselves before that one: it is that one who is your father."

DORESSE

16 [15]. Jesus says: "When you see Him who has not been born of woman, bow down face to the earth and adore Him: He is your father!"

Funk's Parallels

Manichaean Psalm Book 121,25-33.

Visitor Comments

Compare with Qur'an, 17-61.
- dustonthepath

Gospel of Thomas Saying 16

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(16) Jesus said: Perhaps men think that I am come to cast peace upon the world; and they do not know that I am come to cast dissensions upon the earth, fire, sword, war. For there will be five who are in a house; three shall be against two and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father, and they shall stand as solitaries.

LAYTON

(16) Jesus said, "People probably think that it is peace that I have come to impose upon the world. And they do not recognize that it is divisions that I have come to impose upon the earth - fire, sword, battle. Indeed, there will be five in a house. There will be three over two and two over three, parent over child and child over parent. And they will stand at rest by being solitaries."

DORESSE

17 [16]. Jesus says: "Men indeed think I have come to bring peace to the world. But they do not know that I have come to bring the world discord, fire, sword, war. Indeed, if there are five <people> in a house, they will become three against two and two against three - father against son and son against father - and they will be lifted up, being solitaries."

Funk's Parallels

GThom 10, Mic 7:5-6, Luke 12:49-53, Matt 10:34-39, Mark 13:12.

Visitor Comments

Jesus' revolutionary message of our true nature and relationship to God is only slowly being realized and spread. The message will in fact create strife until it is recognized by a sufficient number who then realize their true nature and place in the world and Reality.
- active-mystic

active-mystic, you are reading your own opinions in this text. It is stated: "and they will be lifted up, being solitaries," meaning that there is an "ascending" as individuals.
- Puam

I think it means, however much the religious choose not to agree, that Jesus was saying: I'm not here for peace for everyone. I know that me being here means that people are going to kill one another. That's my purpose. It sounds awful but that's what it sounds like.
- Five_crowss

IMHO what Jesus is saying here is that he is not come to cast peace upon the world, but upon individuals. There is a dichotomy in the gospels between the peace in the individual which Jesus promises and the peace in the world which he knows (prophetically) he cannot bring.
- Ed

Reminds me of the buddha's declaration "seek thy own salvation with diligence." "They will stand at rest as solitaries," i.e., take care of your own relationship with god don't worry whether your brother has it right.
- pup

When one contacts one's repressed emotions, strife and dissension break out within one. One's various attitudes are at war among themselves and the grownup self is at war with the learned attitudes of the child.
- Rodney

To rebel is to Question. There is a dichotomy- between inner peace and outer struggle. Jesus can Help bring peace to individuals, but it is up to individuals to make peace with eace other. Einstein wrote, "Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved through understanding."
- Taurus

Mankind as a whole (one) had all been separated from God. He has come to separate us from that fallen state, not to give us peace with it. This carries us back to the question in saying 11 "But when you become two, what will you do?"
- seeking

In order that any Saint can take his disciples back to their spiritual home, He has to cut their attachments to all people, places, ideas and feelings of this earthly world. If there are any attachments remaining in your mind at the time of death, these will be the cause of another rebirth into this world. When all attachments have gone then each aspirant becomes solitary and is pure enough to rise to higher planes of consciousness and become one with the One.
- Condor

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin Meyer writes: "The theme of standing, or stability, is found in Gospel of Thomas sayings 16, 18, 23, 28, and 50. According to accounts concerning the famous gnostic teacher Simon the Magician, he referred to himself as the standing one. The Nag Hammadi tractate entitled Three Steles of Seth applies this epithet to the divine, and adds that God 'was first to stand' (119,17-18)." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 76)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "This saying is surprising when compared with the others which speak of peace and unity, for here Jesus plainly speaks of himself as a 'divider.' The two ideas can be reconciled, however, for peace and unity are characteristic of believers, Gnostic or Christian, while the division is that which comes into existence between them and outsiders. The saying is based on Luke 12:51-53 (Matthew 10:34); Luke 12:49 has already been paraphrased in Saying 9. 'Perhaps men think' is derived from Luke's question, 'Do you suppose . . . ?' 'I came to cast peace' comes from Matthew, while 'I came to case division' is composed by the author of Thomas as a parallel to the preceding line, and to Luke 12:49, from which he derives the mention of 'fire' ('sword' comes from Matthew). The next sentence is an almost exact quotation of Luke 12:52-53, though references to divisions among women are omitted because 'women are not worthy of life' (Saying 112). Those who 'stand' (and will not taste death, cf., Saying 18 and Commentary) are those who have broken their ties with earthly families and are 'single ones' (cf., Sayings 50 and 75). They must hate father, mother, brothers, and sisters (Sayings 56 and 98)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 136-137)

Helmut Koester writes: "Thomas's version of these sayings [10 and 16] lacks Luke 12:50, certainly an addition by the author of the Gospel. Also missing in the Gospel of Thomas is the pedantic, and certainly secondary, enlargement of the family relationships at the end of Luke 12:53. Instead of Luke's "division" (vs. 51), Gos. Thom. has 'fire, sword, and war,' probably an expansion of the original reading of Q, 'sword,' which is preserved in Matt 10:14." (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 94)

Funk and Hoover write: "The saying has been varied in the three sources: Luke appears to be the middle term between Matthew and Thomas. All three versions are 'I have come' sayings, which, in the judgment of most Fellows, is a Christian formulation: Jesus is represented as sent from God to fulfill a specific mission ('I have come to . . .'). The Fellows doubt that Jesu spoke of himself in this way, because they doubt that he thought of himself as having been assigned a messianic role. Further, part of this passage is based on Mic 7:5-6. Thomas has considerably revised this group of sayings from its Q form, which the Fellows took to be the more original. It is the form, not the content, of this complex that Fellows could not attribute to Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 482)

It's more

I wouldn't know, I've never read it...

Gospel of Thomas Saying 17

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(17) Jesus said: I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has not entered into the heart of man.

LAYTON

(17) Jesus said, "I shall give you (plur.) what eyes have not seen, what ears have not heard, what hands have not touched, what has not come upon the human heart."

DORESSE

18 [17]. Jesus says: "I will give you what eye has never seen, and what ear has never heard, and what hand has never touched, and what has never entered into the heart of man."

Funk's Parallels

Isa 64:4, Luke 10:23-24, Matt 13:16-17, 1 Cor 2:9, 1 Clem 34:8, 2 Clem 11:7, Turfan Fragment M 789, Acts of Peter 39, DialSav 57, The Prayer of the Apostle Paul 25-29.

Visitor Comments

He could have hardly been more clear in claiming that he was making revolutionary statements about God and Ultimate Reality.
- active-mystic

Jesus said: I will give you what no eye has seen (the gospel of Jesus, which your eye has not seen, although it is before you) and what no ear has heard (my special message to you, which you will hear when you know that this is my gospel) and what no hand has touched (the gospel of the founder of your religion, which your hand will touch when you know that this is my gospel) and what has not entered into the heart of man (me-Jesus-who is already in your heart, as you will understand when you know that this is my gospel and use this knowledge to find and enter the Kingdom of God).
- Simon Magus

Maybe the gift is only something like "meaning" or "direction". Because he is the only one able to provide this, it has not been seen, heard, touched or felt yet by man. This also would implicate that it is not something of an "object" but something found through him (if you choose to accept it).
- ajee

A technical injunction. He will give higher knowledge. This cannot be seen by eye, heard by ear, etc, an organ of higher perception has first to be created. It will not be preceived by the heart [or head, mind, intellect] of the unregenerate person. First learn how to learn!
- Thief37

What has not been seen by an eye? What has not an ear heard? What has not been touched by a hand? What is not in the heart of man? The true self, which may be experienced but not by the five senses of man and is not confounded to the cardiac muscle.
- Maitreya

Scholarly Quotes

Funk quotes Turfan Fragment M 789 as follows: "'I will give you what you have not seen with your eyes, nor heard with your ears, nor grasped with your hand.' (Hennecke 1:300)" (New Gospel Parallels, v. 2, p. 119)

Marvin Meyer writes: "This saying is also cited in 1 Corinthians 2:9, perhaps as a wisdom saying in use among the enthusiasts of Corinthians. Compare Isaiah 64:4. The saying occurs frequently in Jewish and Christian literature, and sometimes it is said to come from the Apocalypse of Elijah or the Secrets (or, apocrypha) of Elijah. At other times it is said to be a saying of Jesus. A variant of the saying is also found in Plutarch, How the Young Person Should Study Poetry 17E: 'And let these (words) of Empedocles be at hand: "Thus these things are not to be seen by men, nor heard, nor comprehended with the mind." . . .' The parallels have been collected by Michael E. Stone and John Strugnell, The Books of Elijah: Parts 1-2, pp. 41-73." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 76)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The apostle Paul quotes something very close to this saying, perhaps from a lost document, in 1 Corinthians 2:9: 'As it is written, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man, such things God has prepared for those who love him.' By the end of the second century these words were ascribed to Jesus, as in the Martyrdom of Peter (chapter 10) and the Acts of Peter with Simon (chapter 39). Thomas adds a unique reference to the sense of touch. The joys of the kingdom are completely unrelated to sense perception. (We should add that, like other Gnostics, he undoubtedly rejected the accounts in the gospels which speak of Jesus's risen body as tangible - Luke 24:39; John 20:27). His phrasing of this saying is the exact reverse of 1 John 1:1, which speaks of 'What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 137)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "As Jeremias observes, a considerable number of the Agrapha arise from the erroneous attribution to Jesus of sayings which actually belong to others. An example, indeed, occurs in the New Testament itself, since the words ascribed to John the Baptist in the Gospels (Matt. iii. 11 and par.) are in Acts (i. 5, xi. 16) attributed to Jesus. For logion 17 the New Testament parallel is 1 Corinthians ii. 9, where Paul introduces these words by the formula 'as it is written.' This has long presented a problem, since the saying is not an exact quotation of any Old Testament text (the nearest is Isa. lxiv. 3-4, but not in LXX). It is not, of course, impossible that Paul is quoting a saying of Jesus, but in that case we should have expected him to indicate the fact, as in other passages (e.g. 1 Cor. vii. 10, ix. 14, 1 Thess. iv. 15 ff.); moreover, the introductory formula suggests a written source, and would be quite unusual in a reference to tradition. On the whole, therefore, we should probably see in logion 17 a Pauline saying growing into a word of Jesus. As Puech and others have noted, the saying is attributed to Jesus also in the Acts of Peter (39). P. Prigent has drawn attention to a series of quotations of this text, some of them apparently independent of Paul, in various early Christian sources, and suggests that it may go back ultimately to the liturgy of the synagogue." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 102-103)

F. F. Bruce writes: "This saying has no parallel in the canonical Gospels, but it is very similar to the quotation in 1 Corinthians 2.9 which Paul introduces by 'as itis written' - a clause which normally indicates an Old Testament source. Here, however, we have no Old Testament quotation (the resemblance to Isaiah 64.4 is superficial); according to Origen and others it is a quotation from the Secrets (or Apocalypse) of Elijah. [Origen, Commentary on Matthew 27.9; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah 64.4; Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians 2.9.] Like the Gospel of Thomas, the second-century work called the Acts of Peter ascribes the saying to Jesus. [Acts of Peter 39.] In its present context it perhaps belongs to a Naassene formula of initiation. Whereas Paul quotes the words with reference to the hidden wisdom which his Corinthian converts are unable to grasp because of their spiritual immaturity and lack of brotherly love, here they are probably intende to recommend that kind of 'knowledge' on which the Corinthians, in Paul's judgment, concentrated too much. It has also been suggested that they were used by Gnostics as a counterblast to the anti-Gnostic claim in 1 John 1.1 to bear witness only to that 'which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands'. (The clause 'what hand never touched', unparalleled in 1 Corinthians 2.9, may echo 1 John 1.1.)" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 120-121)

John S. Kloppenborg, Marvin W. Meyer, Stephen J. Patterson, and Michael G. Steinhauser state: "In view of the fact that Paul in this letter is struggling against the kind of esotericism promoted by this saying, it is not likely that he has quoted it here simply because he liked it. Rather, he must have drawn it from the repertoire of his opponents, only to fill it with new content amenable to his version of the gospel. According to Paul, that which has been revealed is not the knowledge (GNWSIS) that has 'puffed up' the 'wise' in Corinth, but the crucifixion, the 'word of the cross' as Paul himself puts it (1:18). Paul in a sense co-opts the methods of his opponents in order to correct their message." (Q-Thomas Reader, p. 113)

Stevan Davies writes: "That which previously was unseen, unheard, untouched, unthought is now available, according to sayings 18 and 19, for it is the end that is the beginning. A person who takes his place in the beginning will know the end and not experience death; thus the beginning is a state of being that can be comprehended in the present. Heretofore hidden, the beginning now is revealed (sayings 5, 6, 108). Thomas's saying 17 refers to the kingdom of God in the physical world, a visible, audible, tangible, experienced reality (sayings 3, 51, 113). When Paul quotes a scripture paralleled in saying 17 (1 Cor 2:7-9), he too understands that what is now revealed has existed from the beginning: 'a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification.' Similarly, when 1 John 1:2 alludes to what evidently is saying 17, or Paul's scripture, what has happened in the present is associated with the beginning: 'That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life....'" (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 18

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(18) The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our end will be. Jesus said: Since you have discovered the beginning, why do you seek the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who shall stand at the beginning (in the beginning), and he shall know the end, and shall not taste death.

LAYTON

(18) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will come to pass." Jesus said, "Then have you laid bare the beginning, so that you are seeking the end? For the end will be where the beginning is. Blessed is the person who stands at rest in the beginning. And that person will be acquainted with the end and will not taste death."

DORESSE

19 [18]. The disciples say to Jesus: "Tell us what our end will be." Jesus says: "Have you then deciphered the beginning, that you ask about the end? For where the beginning is, there shall be the end. Blessed is the man who reaches the beginning; he will know the end, and will not taste death!"

Funk's Parallels

POxy 654 1, GThom 1, GThom 85.

Visitor Comments

Might not Jesus be referring to the revolutionary idea that we were created from the beginnig and continue to the end (Union with God) and that birth and death are illusions that do not really exist as ordinary people think of them?
- active-mystic

I think Jesus is refering to the nature of God being like a Mobius strip, no beginning and no end, only one-sided.
- new gus

Or perhaps He is referring to a circle, with neither beginning nor end. It also brings forth the phrase, "ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Perhaps there is no end and no beginning, just different states of being.
- seeker

�And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive at where we started And know the place for the first time.� - T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding in The Four Quartets
- San

Seek the beginning and not the end. For the beginning of life is the end of the dead world and of the worldly illusion of the death of the living.
- Simon Magus

Since we have always existed at least as idea in the mind of God, we shall always exist at least as the same.
- bibliosopher

At the beginning one knows one's innate self. Return to the beginning and one has arrived at one's end. There is no death.
- Rodney

At the end of our lives, we review it all back to the beginning. At the beginning of our lives, as our true spiritual selves, we know the end is death of the physical body, but that our spiritual self is eternal.
- Kay

Isn't this a paraphrase of Confucius? Confucius was asked about Death, And He replied "How do you ask about death, when you do not yet understand life?"
- FogMoose

When you have perceived [been taught] where you came from and why, then that knowledge entails knowing where you are going. And it means that you have polished your imperishable [higher] body. So you shall be [again] immortal and not die even though your planetary body of course dies
- Thief37

"You've got to learn how to die, before you want to be alive." -Wilco. Don't concern yourself with death, just accept it and live. Only then will you comprehend beginning and end, exist as one.
- Taurus

This seems to parallel Buddhist philosophy. You are already in Nirvana (the kingdom of god is inside and around you). The end as the beginning seems to denote the timeless nature of reality. The idea of self is illusory, if you know this, you will know you were never born and will never die. The End is truly the Beginning.
- Spiral

In the beginning, Adam had life everlasting. Jesus brought us back to that state. (Jesus is the last Adam, first of many brothers.)
- Random

The question is not what you become after death, the question is: What were you before you were born?
- Michael

There is no beginning or end, both past and future have already occured. When we accept that our end has already occured long before our beginning, then we shall not fear death, for the passing of time as we know it is an illusion
- David

The question that comes to my mind is this: Did the disciples ask the question "Tell us what our end will be" referring to their own personal end or to the fate of mankind? If they did indeed ask this question in regards to mankind then this saying could be looked at in a different perspective altogether. There are many mentions of the end of the earth and of heaven. And at that time a new kingdom will be established on earth. In essence an end and a new beginning. The quote "Blessed is the man who reaches the beginning; he will know the end, and will not taste death!" could be looked at like this. All who live through this great time of peril, and have chosen Jesus as their savior will come to see Christ establish the new kingdom on earth. These men have reached the beginning/end and will be given the gift of eternal life.
- Anonymous

Look, and it can't be seen. Listen, and it can't be heard. Reach, and it can't be grasped. Above, it isn't bright. Below, it isn't dark. Seamless, unnamable, it returns to the realm of nothing. Form that includes all forms, image without an image, subtle, beyond all conception. Approach it and there is no beginning; follow it and there is no end. You can't know it, but you can be it, at ease in your own life. Just realize where you come from: this is the essence of wisdom.
- Tao-te-Ching 2

In the relative, the beginning of a thing is known and the end of a thing is not known. To reach understanding of the unknown, start with the known. Know the beginning and you will know the end.
- TechnoMonk

There is neither an end nor a beginning. Therefore, if you know of the beginning, you know of the end. Time is irrelevant, and only exists in our minds. For Jesus, who reached ChristConsciousness, he was aware that time was an illusion, that beginning was the end, and vice versa. To attain a higher consciousness, we must also be aware of that.
- ButterflySkyy

What has started must end. I do not claim to know all things beginning or end, but knowing either is to know both. For they are one.
- Maitreya

Scholarly Quotes

F. F. Bruce writes: "This saying is reminiscent of 2 Esdras 7.30 ('the world shall be as it was at the first beginnings'), but perhaps it is to be understood in the sense of Revelation 22.13, where Jesus says: 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.'" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 121)

Marvin Meyer writes: "To return to the beginning is to attain the end; compare Gospel of Thomas saying 49. Also compare Manichaean Psalm Book 155,9-12: 'Holy ones, rejoice with me, for I have returned again to my beginning. I [have] received my clean garments, my robes that do not become old. I have rejoiced in their joy, I have been glad in their gladness, [I have rested] in their rest from everlasting to everlasting.' Secret Book of John II 9,5-8 makes a similar point: 'And he spoke, and glorified and praised the invisible spirit, saying, "Because of you everything has come into being, and everything will return to you."'" (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 77)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "The beginning and the end correspond (cf. Logion 4). Brought back to the beginning, the Gnostic will not taste death. The latter is meant in a metaphorical sense. The non-Gnostic does not live at all (cf. 11.2)." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 599)

Funk and Hoover write: "Thomas consistently opposes speculation about the end (compare Thomas 3; 51; and 113). The idea that one returns in the end to one's beginning has parallels in gnostic texts: the goal of the gnostic's existence is to escape the created world of evil and return to the state of primordial perfection that existed at the beginning. Aspects of this concept are also reflected in Thomas 49. The final phrase in 18:3 is particularly Thomean (compare Thom 1; 91:4; 85:2; 111:2). All these factors led the Fellows to designate the saying black." (The Five Gospels, p. 483)

Stevan Davies writes: "The light that is within people and outside of them exists now. As a result, those who search for the end are told that the end (i.e., the kingdom of God) is present already (Gos. Thom. 51, 113). When asked about the end, Jesus responds in terms of the beginning (Gos. Thom. 18); when asked about the kingdom to come, Jesus responds in terms of the kingdom which is already here (Gos. Thom. 113)." (http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 19

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(19) Jesus said: Blessed is he who was before he came into being. If you become disciples to me (and) listen to my words, these stones will minister to you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do not change, either in summer or in winter, and their leaves do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste of death.

LAYTON

(19) Jesus said, "Blessed is that which exsted before coming into being. If you exist as my disciples and listen to my sayings, these stones will minister unto you. Indeed, you have five trees in paradise, which do not move in summer or winter, and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever is acquainted with them will not taste death."

DORESSE

20 [19]. Jesus says: "Blessed is the man who existed before he came into being!" 21 [19]. "If you become my disciples and if you hear my words, these stones will serve you." 22 [19]. "For you have there, in Paradise, five trees which change not winter nor summer, whose leaves do not fall: whoever knows them will not taste death!"

Funk's Parallels

POxy 654 1, GThom 1, GThom 85.

Visitor Comments

Blessed is the one who realizes that they were in fact in existence before being incarnated in this life. That they existed from the beginnig as a part of God by God's Will, just as Jesus, our Elder Brother.
- active-mystic

I am also reminded of the passage about stones in Luke 19:40 where Jesus said "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"
- San

Blessed is one who came into eternal being before coming into personal being. If you become my disciples and listen for my words, these dead written sayings of my gospel will serve you. As they come alive they will lead you from a perceived existence in a dead world to eternal life.
- Simon Magus

The self comes into being by reintegrating the innate self and then coming into being.
- Rodney

In Islam we have the five pillars of Islam...
- Mustafa

Technical injunctions continued. Of the seven nafs, the lower two [the commanding and the accusing] are the usual stopping point for the unregenerate. But those who have successfully followed the advices of their teacher overcome the lower two, acquire the next five, and so all becomes possible for them and by them. They are imperishable. The pupil has now been reborn [before death of planetary body] and so now does not taste death for physical death is merely now a transition
- Thief37

Scholarly Quotes

Jean Doresse writes: "Cf. the Gospel of Philip (Coptic text of Codex X of Chenoboskion) where this formula also appears; and St Irenaeus, who quotes it under the form: 'Happy is He who was before becoming man.' And in the New Testament, John VIII, 58: 'Before Abraham was, I am.'" (The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics, p. 372)

F. F. Bruce writes: "The one who existed before he was born is Jesus himself, who 'came from the Father and entered into the world' (John 16.28). Saying 19a is quoted by other early Christian writers: Irenaeus and Lactantius quote it as a prophetic utterance of Jeremiah. [Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 43; Lactantius, Divine Institutions iv.8. The words may have occurred in an apocryphal work, no longer extant, ascribed to Jeremiah.]" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 121)

Marvin Meyer writes: "Perhaps compare John 8:58. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 4.8 writes, 'For we especially testify that he (that is, Christ) was born twice, first in the spirit and afterwords in the flesh. Whence it is thus said in Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." And also in the same work, "Fortunate is one who existed before being born," which happened to no one else except Christ.' Irenaeus, Proof of the Apostolic Preaching 43, offers the following: 'And again he says, "Fortunate is one who existed before becoming human."' Gospel of Thomas saying 19 may not be referring to Christ at all in this beatitude. Rather, the sense of the saying could be that anyone who existed before being born should be declared fortunate. Compare the saying of Jesus in the Nag Hammadi Gospel of Philip 64,10-12: 'Fortunate is the one who exists before coming into being. For one who exists has been and will be.'" (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 77)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The fourth-century apologist Lactantius treats the first sentence of this saying as a prophecy uttered by Jeremiah (Div. inst., 4, 8); in the Epideixis (43) of Irenaeus, however, it is ascribed to Jesus (cf., J. P. Smith, St. Irenaeus: Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, page 182, note 207). Like Jesus, who 'was' (John 1:1-2) before he 'became' incarnate (John 1:14), his disciples, who hear his words because they themselves are 'of God' (John 8:47), remain in him and have his words remaining in them; therefore whatever they ask will take place for them (John 15:8). Stones can become bread (Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:3), or fire can come out of stones (Saying 13). Thomas probably has in mind the creation of food out of stones (cf. also Matthew 7:9: 'What man of you, if his son asks him for bread - will he give him a stone?'), for he goes on to speak of the five never-failing trees in paradise. These trees, mentioned in Pistis Sophia (chapters 1 and elsewhere) and among the Manichees, are probably trees which give spiritual sustenance to the five spiritual senses. They are the trees of life like the single one mentioned in Revelation 22:2 (cf., the Gospel of Eve[?] in Epiphanius, Pan., 26, 5). They must be spiritual, since Thomas says that 'he who will understand them will not taste death.' To understand them is thus equivalent to 'keeping the word' of Jesus (John 8:52)." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 139)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "Grant and Freedman interpret the somewhat cryptic logion 19 by referring to Johannine texts, but while this is certainly illuminating for our understanding of the saying it is doubtful whether we have here genuine allusions or only a similarity of thought. The comparative absence of Johannine elements may indeed be significant, particularly in a Gnostic document. The associations of this saying are, however, with the later Gnostic and Manichaean literature rather than with our Gospels, although part of it was known to Irenaeus." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, p. 83)

Helmut Koester writes: "For the Gnostic understanding it is crucial to know that one's own origin lies before the beginning of earthly existence. John [8:58] consciously avoids this application of divine origin to all believers and restricts it to Jesus as the revealer." (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 118)

On p. 108 of The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark, MacDonald quotes this passage (Odyssey 7.114-21 [Fagles 132-40]):
"Here luxuriant trees are always in their prime,
pomegranates and pears, and apples growing red,
succulent figs and olives swelling sleek and dark.
And the yield of these trees will never flag or diw,
neither in winter nor in summer, a harvest all year round
for the West Wind always breathing through will bring
some fruits to the bud and others warm to ripeness --
pear mellowing ripe on pear, apple on apple,
cluster of grapes on cluster, fig crowding fig."

Marvin Meyer writes: "The five trees in paradise are mentioned frequently in gnostic texts, ordinarily without explanation or elaboration. In Manichaean Psalm Book 161,17-29, it is said that various features of life and faith are put together in groups of five. This section opens with the statement, 'For [five] are the trees that are in paradise [. . .] in summer and winter.' On the trees in paradise according to Genesis, see Genesis 2:9." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 77-78)

F. F. Bruce writes: "The reference to the stones in Saying 19b is reminiscent of the turning of stones into bread in the temptation narrative (Matthew 4.3; Luke 4.3). The five trees have the property of the unfailing 'tree of life' in Revelation 22.2; they are five in number perhaps because they are envisaged as spiritual counterparts to the five natural senses. [The Gnostic treatise Pistis Sophia makes repeated mention of the 'five trees' in the 'treasurey of the light'.]" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 122)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 20

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(20) The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a grain of mustard-seed, the smallest of all seeds; but when it falls on tilled ground, it puts forth a great branch and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven.

LAYTON

(20) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what the kingdom of heavens resembles." He said to them, "What it resembles is a grain of mustard seed. It is smaller than all other seeds, but if it falls upon plowed terrain it puts forth an enormous foliage and is a shade for birds of heaven."

DORESSE

23 [20]. The disciples say to Jesus: "Tell us what the Kingdom of heaven is like!" He says to them: "It is like a grain of mustard: it is smaller than all the <other> seeds, but when it falls on ploughed land it produces a big stalk and becomes a shelter for the birds of heaven."

Funk's Parallels

Ezek 17:22-24, Dan 4:20-22, Matt 13:31-42, Mark 4:30-32, DialSav 88-89.

Visitor Comments

"Kingdom of Heaven" related to a mustard seed refers to the revolutionary quality of the message being taught by Jesus. If it falls on prepared ground and is understood, it grows without bound.
- active-mystic

Guess that means that, contrary to typical Christian doctrine, Heaven is not an actual place you go to like a carnival or museum. It's a frame of mind, a sphere of consciousness, a sense of something, like compassion, which can be spread or ignored. Based on free will.
- Five_crowss

Plowing this field will prepare the soil. You already have the mustard seed, but you will never find it.
- Simon Magus

The seed is the kernel of one's innate self. Prepare the ground by becoming aware of one's repressed emotions and the innate self will flourish and shelter the lost fragments of onesself.
- Rodney

Let the record show, trivially I admit, that the mustard seed is not in fact the smallest of the seeds, but that the seed of the orchid is, botanically speaking, smaller.
- steviesteele

Isn't it interesting that the mustard seed cannot be contaminated, all mustard seeds are made perfect and cannot be cross breeded. So what does this insight bring to this parable? It may be the smallest of many other seeds, yet it is the purest. We are the seed in essence, and have the potential to create shade for the birds of heaven, our own brothers and sisters. May we all discover our inneer potential. Amen.
- Owl

The Kingdom of Heaven (which is in you, you are the Temple of God) is based on faith (mustard seed) worked in good ground (your knowledge of truth).
- Random

The Kingdom of "Heaven" is as a small seed of concept that associates itself with all the truths and proofs of the tilled and fertile mind. From the minim of its existence, it spreads throughout the world, and spreads its seeds to others, where, if their minds are open and fertile, the Kingdom of Heaven grows in them as well.
- StarChaser

The smallest of seed (the insignificant ones) falls on tilled ground (to till land you have to disrupt it, turn it over, upheaval, pain) but when they grow will become a mighty tree indeed. Being a true Christian involves some suffering or tilling in order to become who the Lord would want you to be.
- losttraveler

Scholarly Quotes

Joachim Jeremias writes: "The conclusion of the parable of the Mustard Seed in the Gospel of Thomas (20) runs as follows: '. . . it produces a large branch and becomes shelter (sceph) for the birds of heaven'. This is possible a free allusion to Dan. 4.9, 18; Ezek. 17.23; 31.6; 3.9, 18 Th., while in Matthew (13.32) and Luke (13.19) it is a free quotation from Dan. 3.18 Th. The unrealistic description of the mustard-seed as a tree, which only occurs in Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark or the Gospel of Thomas, is also derived from Dan. 3.17." (The Parables of Jesus, p. 31)

Joachim Jeremias writes: "In the Gospel of Thomas (20), too, a similar introduction to the parable of the Mustard Seed: 'The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like', is secondary by comparison with Mark 4.30, where Jesus himself puts the question, since such questions from the disciples are characteristic of the Gospel of Thomas." (The Parables of Jesus, p. 98)

Helmut Koester writes: "The emphasis upon the contrast of the small seed and the large plant is missing in the Q form of this parable (Luke 13:18-19), which differs from the Markan version also in other respects: it speaks of the 'garden' into which the seed is thrown, and it says that it becomes a 'tree' (dendron) and that 'the birds are nesting in its branches.' Mark and Thomas use the appropriate term 'vegetable' (laxanon), and they correctly describe birds as nesting under the branches. One could also argue that the contrast 'small seed / large plant' is a structural element of the original parable that is lost in Q/Luke's version. In any case, Thomas's parallels with Mark do not require the assumption of a literary dependence; what both have in common are original features of the parable." (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 109)

Funk and Hoover write: "The Fellows judged the version in Thomas to be the closest to the original. It was therefore given a red designation. The three synoptic versions have been accommodated to a greater or lesser degree to the apocalyptic tree theme and so were designated pink. This parable is a good example of how the original Jesus tradition, perhaps shocking in its modesty or poorly understood, is revised to accomodate living and powerful mythical images drawn from the Hebrew scriptures." (The Five Gospels, p. 485)

J. D. Crossan quotes Pliny's Natural History 19.170-171 as saying: "Mustard . . . with its pungent taste and fiery effect is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once."

J. D. Crossan comments: "There is, on other words, a distinction between the wild mustard and its domesticated counterpart, but even when one deliberately cultivates the latter for its medicinal or culinary properties, there is an ever-present danger that it will destroy the garden. And, apart from those domesticated types, such as brassica nigra or sinapis alba, there is, as Douglas Oakman emphasizes, the wild mustard, charlock, or sinapis arvensis, whose 'plants have from time immemorial been found as weeds in grain fields' (1986:124). The mustard plant, therefore, is, as domesticated in the garden, dangerous and, as wild in the grain fields, deadly. The point is not just that it starts small and ends big but that its bigness is not exactly a horticultural or agricultural desideratum." (The Historical Jesus, p. 278)

J. D. Crossan concludes: "The point, in other words, is not just that the mustard plant starts as a proverbially small seed and grows into a shrub of three or four feet, or even higher, it is that it tends to take over where it is not wanted, that it tends to get out of control, and that it tends to attract birds within cultivated areas where they are not particularly desired. And that, said Jesus, was what the Kingdom was like: not like the mighty cedar of Lebanon and not quite like a common weed, like a pungent shrub with dangerous takeover properties. Something you would want in only small and carefully controlled doses - if you could control it." (The Historical Jesus, pp. 279-279)

Gospel of Thomas Saying 21

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This Gospel of Thomas Commentary is part of the Gospel of Thomas page at Early Christian Writings.

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text Gospel of Thomas Coptic Text

BLATZ

(21) Mariham said to Jesus: Whom are your disciples like? He said: They are like little children who have settled in a field which does not belong to them. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Leave us our field. They are naked before them, in order to leave it to them and give them (back) their field. Therefore I say: If the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and will not let him dig through into his house of his kingdom to carry off his things. You, then, be watchful over against the world; gird your loins with great strength, that the robbers may find no way to come at you. For the advantage for which you look, they will find. May there be among you a man of understanding! When the fruit ripened, he came quickly, his sickle in hand, and reaped it. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

LAYTON

(21) Mary said to Jesus, "What do your disciples resemble?" He said, "What they resemble is children living in a plot of land that is not theirs. When the owners of the land come they will say, 'Surrender our land to us.' They, for their part, strip naked in their presence in order to give it back to them, and they give them their land. Thus I say that the owner of an estate, knowing that a bandit is coming, will keep watch before the bandit comes and not let the bandit break into the house of the estate and steal the possessions. You (plur.) , then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great power lest the brigands find a way to get to you; for the trouble that you expect will come. Let an experienced person dwell in your midst! When the crop had matured, that person came in haste, sickle in hand, and harvested it. Whoever has ears to hear should listen!"

DORESSE

24 [21]. Mary says to Jesus: "Who are your disciples like?" He says to her: "They are like little children who have made their way into a field that does not belong to them. When the owners of the field come, they will say: 'Get out of our field!' They <then> will give up the field to these <people> and let them have their field back again." 25 [21]. "That is why I tell you this: If the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will watch before he comes and will not allow him to force an entry into his royal house to carry off furniture. You, then, be on the watch against the world. Gird up your loins with great energy, so that the brigands do not find any way of reaching you; for they will find any place you fail to watch." 26 [21]. "Let there be among you <such> a prudent man: when the fruit arrived, quickly, sickle in hand, he went and harvested it. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Funk's Parallels

POxy 655 37, GThom 37, GThom 35, GThom 103, Joel 3:12, Luke 12:39-40, Luke 11:21-22, Matt 24:37-44, Matt 12:29, Mark 3:27, Mark 4:26-29, Rev 16:15, 1 Thess 5:2, 2 Pet 3:10, Rev 3:3.

Visitor Comments

Let it be read thus: Mary asked Jesus "Whom are your disciples like?" He said: "They are like children who find themselves in a field that is not theirs. The masters of the field only say 'Get out of our field!' Thus the children shed their clothing, and leave the field. Thus it is that my disciples shed their mortality, and go beyond the fields of life and death."
- Martin

Know what is yours and know what is of the world. You live and the world is a dead product of the intellect. The dead cannot touch the living.
- Simon Magus

The little children are the conscious mind. The owners are the innate self. The conscious mind divests itself of self-destructive learnt attitudes and returns to itself. The thief is the self-destructive attitude, against which we must guard.
- Rodney

Technical --- adhere to the teachings of your teacher, allow time to pass for ripeness to develop, guard yourself well for your acquired understanind may be stolen from you by the world, and when you are fully ripe, your teacher will know and will come quickly "sickle in hand" ready to harvest, to bring to you The Knowledge of all that you were, are, and can become. The becoming ready may take 30 years yet the transition which he alone can bring, at the right time, may be dispensed by him in 30 minutes. The exhortation of those who have ears to hear, let them hear, is always a code phrase indicating that this understanding can only be acquired by those ready to receive it.
- Thief37

The shedding of clothes represents the dying of their "old man" (before they were saved). They are obedient. The house is your heart. Guard it well, or else the thief (Satan) will come and steal knowledge and understanding from you. When you learn something (ripened fruit) be sure to harvest it and guard it, or else someone will steal it (Satan again), and you will lose it.
- Random

Let's remember the context and the many references to seeds, fields, and clothes. Jesus seems to be saying that the disciples are "wannabes". The truly enlightened own and work the fields and would be well-advised to arm themselves, harvest promptly, and deal with the troublemakers.
- Jonnylucid

Scholarly Quotes

Marvin quotes Hippolytus in Refutation of All Heresies 5.8.44 as a relevant passage: "For this, he says, is 'the gate of heaven,' and this is '<the> house of God,' where the good God dwells alone, into which no one will enter, he says, who is unclean, physical, or carnal, but it is reserved for the spiritual alone, where it is necessary for them, when they have come there, to cast off their clothing and all become bridegrooms, having been made male through the virgin spirit." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 78)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "Here Mariham (the Mariamme of the Naassenes - Hippolytus, Ref., 5, 7, 1 - also mentioned in Saying 112), asks a question and is told tha the disciples are 'like little children' (Matthew 18:3; cf., 1 Corinthians 14:20). The children live in an alien field, which must be the world, as in Matthew 13:38. 'Leave our field to us!' recalls the command of the farmer in Matthew 13:30: 'Leave both to grow up together until the harvest.' Moreover, in Matthew 24:40-42 there are mysterious references to 'two in a field,' to one's being left, and to the coming of a master. Whatever synoptic reminiscences there may be, these have been subordinated to the notion of being naked (see Saying 38). The true Gnostic wants to strip off the body (contrast 2 Corinthians 5:4: 'not to be stripped but to be clad upon') and leave the world." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 141)

Jack Finegan writes: "Here the little children who live in the field are presumably the disciples who live in the world. When they give back the field to its owners they 'take off their clothes before them' which, in the present context, must mean that they strip themselves of their bodies in death, an end, to the Gnostic, eminently desirable (cf. §§236, 357)." (Hidden Records of the Life of Jesus, p. 254)

Gerd Ludemann writes: "These verses are unique among the Jesus traditions and are hard to understand. If we begin with the evident recognition that the children symbolize the Gnostics, it is manifestly being said that they are staying in a strange field, namely the evil world, and that they are asking the owners for their own field. To this end, the exchange of fields, they bare themselves, which probably refers to baptism." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 601)

Funk and Hoover write: "The conclusion in v. 4 is a metaphor with several possible interpretations: (1) It may be an allusion to Christian baptism, which would reflect the concerns of the emerging Christian community. (2) It may refer to gnostic and other early Christian notions that upon death the soul sheds the body (clothing) and proceeds to the heavenly realm from whence it has come (compare Thomsa 29; 87; 112). (3) Or it may symbolize the return to a primordial state of sexual non-differentiation, to an androgynous state (compare Thomas 37). At all events, the parable in its present form reflects theological concerns that did not originate with Jesus." (The Five Gospels, p. 485)

Robert Price writes: "This passage in Thomas is in turn derived from a vague memory quotation of two canonical gospel texts. The first is the parable of the wicked tenants in Mark 12:1-9 ('A man planted a vineyard . . . and lent it out to tenants, and went away into another country. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard . . .'). The second is the parable of the unfaithful steward toward the end of the Markan Apocalypse, 13:34-37, which ends with the exhortation, 'Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house will come . . ., lest he comes suddenly and find you asleep.' Thomas' version makes the tenants into the disciples rather than the enemies of Jesus and bids them acknowledge the claim of the field's/vineyard's true owner (perhaps Satan or the Gnostic Demiurge). Likewise, the owner of the house has become, not the one whose coming is awaited, but rather the one who awaits the coming of another - a thief. Again, the allegorical counterparts have shifted roles. One awaits not God but the devil (cf. Mark 4:15)." (Deconstructing Jesus, pp. 131-132)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "From the same context in Luke (as in Saying 100) comes the counsel, 'Gird your loins!' Thomas explans that this means to gird yourself with 'a great power' (the power of the kingdom) so that no robber may come to you (Luke 12:33). You will be given what you need (Luke 12:22-32). An 'understanding man' is mentioned in Luke 12:42. Because of such parallels, it is hard to believe that Thomas is doing anything but creating a mosaic of sayings chiefly derived from Luke." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 142)

Joachim Jeremias writes: "But the application of the parable to the return of the Son of Man is strange; for if the subject of discourse is a nocturnal burglary, it refers to a disastrous and alarming event, whereas the Parousia, at least for the disciples of Jesus, is the great day of joy. In fact the christological application is missing from the Gospel of Thomas. Here the parable of the night-burglar has been preserved in two versions. The one contained in logion 21b resembles the Matthaean version, while the one which appears as logion 103 seems to be a very free repetition in the form of beatitude and exhibits some affinity with Luke 12.35 ff. Both versions agree in the fact that neither of them compares the breaking in of the burglar to the return of the Son of Man." (The Parables of Jesus, p. 49)

R. McL. Wilson writes: "On this Bartsch comments that not only is the text, and therefore the translation, at some points uncertain, the whole passage seems to resist a uniform interpretation. The Synoptic parallels are first Luke xii. 39, with a change of tense and the addition of 'of his kingdom'; then Mark iii. 27 (the specific reference to vessels (SKEUH) here and in Matthew xii. 29 has no parallel in Luke); the call to watchfulness, of course, can be readily paralleled from our Gospels, but the warning to beware of the world is not Synoptic. Bartsch thinks this, and the addition of 'with great strength' after Luke xii. 35 in the next line may be due to Gnostic influence; so also he explains the following words, which have no Synoptic parallel. Finally the reference to the sickle is an adaptation of Mark iv. 29; since this passage is peculiar to Mark this would seem to add the final proof that if Thomas used our Gospels he employed all three Synoptics, and not merely Matthew and Luke. Luke xii. 40, it may be added, is an exhortation to readiness, but has been replaced by words from another context (e.g. Matt. xxiv. 42) before xxi. 35 is used. If this is a mosaic based on our Gospels, the author has ranged very widely. Bartsch, however, sees in this logion and in logion 8 (the parable of the Fisherman) a version of the Synoptic parables which over against the tradition hitherto known is thoroughly independent." (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 73-74)

Helmut Koester writes: "The Q version has shortened the parable, leaving out the purpose of the coming of the thief, i.e., to steal the goods of the owner of the house. That Q's parable presupposed such a continuation of the parable and was not simply an expansion of the metaphor of the 'day of the Lord coming like the thief in the night' (1 Thess 5:2; Rev 3:3), is evident in the phrase 'to be dug into.' Thomas's version suggests that the parable was cut short in Q in order to add the reference to the coming of the Son of man." (Ancient Christian Gospels, p. 98)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The metaphor is clear enough and similar to that in Q/Matt. 24:43 = Luke 12:39. The awkward phrase, 'his house of his domain' (Lambdin: 120) or 'his house of his kingdom' (Guillaumont, 1959:14-15; Wilson, 1973:513) is probably a Coptic mistranslation for an original 'the house of his domain/kingdom' (Quecke; Menard, 1975:112)." (In Fragments, pp. 61-62)

J. D. Crossan writes: "The application is more difficult since its translation is not too certain (Bartsch, 1959-1960:260). It is clear, however, that it warns about the world rather than the parousia. And therein lies the difficulty: The image actually works better for the unexpected and momentary irruption of the end than for the expected and permanent onslaught of the world. Hence the concluding sentence's translation could be: 'for the diffculty which you expect will (surely) materialize' (Lambdin: 120) or 'because they will find the advantage which you expect' (Guillaumont, 1959:16-17) or 'since the advantage for which you look they will find' (Menard, 1975:60)." (In Fragments, p. 62)

Funk and Hoover write: "This saying [Sickle & harvest] is an allusion to Joel 3:13. In Mark 4:29 it is attached to the parable of the seed and harvest. Its appearance in two different contexts suggests that it circulated independently at one time. Both Mark and Thomas have given it an arbitrary location. The image is usually associated with the last judgment, which is what prompted some of the Fellows to vote black. However, it may also refer to the bountiful harvest that Jesus anticipates as a result of the providence of God who causes grain to grow (this is one way to read Mark's parable of the seed and harvest, 4:26-29). This possibility induced other Fellows to vote pink or gray." (The Five Gospels, p. 486)

It at least has some connection to Christianity unlike the nonsense you people are posting and claiming to be representative of Buddhism.

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