ON LOVE; PART XDXVIII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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The Gospel of Thomas

These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke. And Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.

(51) His disciples said to him: “When will the <resurrection> of the dead take place, and when will the new world come?” He said to them: “That (resurrection) which you are awaiting has (already) come, but you do not recognize it.”

(52) His disciples said to him: “Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and all (of them) have spoken through you.” He said to them: “You have pushed away the living (one) from yourselves, and you have begun to speak of those who are dead.“

(53) His disciples said to him: “Is circumcision beneficial, or not?” He said to them: “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them circumcized from their mother. But the true circumcision in the spirit has prevailed over everything.“

(54) Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to you.“

(55) Jesus says: “Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple of mine. And whoever does not hate his brothers and his sisters (and) will not take up his cross as I do, will not be worthy of me.“

(56) Jesus says: “Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse. And whoever has found (this) corpse, of him the world is not worthy.“

(57) Jesus says: “The kingdom of the Father is like a person who had (good) seed. His enemy came by night. He sowed darnel among the good seed. The person did not allow (the servants) to pull up the darnel. He said to them: ‘Lest you go to pull up the darnel (and then) pull up the wheat along with it.’ For on the day of the harvest, the darnel will be apparent and it will be pulled up (and) burned.“

In the last essay we discussed the fifty third saying from the Gospel of Thomas and while this IS the same as the like entry from the Gospel of Luke, there is little in either to help us to understand the intent of the Master in these words. In our understanding merely being poor does not entitle one to be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God and while some do understand this to be so, the greater reality is to those who become poor for the sake of the Kingdom, who do as the Master says and who follow His rule of discipleship that says: “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). There are many such references in the words of the Master, references that tell us that we should not be rich, that we should give ALL away, this IS however a difficult lesson for the average man in the world, hence the more generous ideas of doctrine regarding the Kingdom and discipleship. We of course see a dynamic and intimate relationship between these ideas of being His disciple and being accounted worthy of the Kingdom; both have criteria and both share in the most important one which IS to keep His words.

Now many choose to splice His words together in convenient ways or to separate His ideas in the same way but this is to no avail as the meanings Truly do not change and whether He is speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew frames it, the Kingdom of God, eternal Life, discipleship or of those accounted worthy of the resurrection or of Him Himself, He IS speaking about the same thing….there IS no difference except in the perspective of the hearer. Perhaps this IS the reason for the slight modification of these words in Matthew’s Gospel where we read this as: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:6); here the idea of being materially poor is taken away by the use of the idea of being poor in Spirit. We noted in the last essay how Funk and Hoover viewed this from Thomas’ Gospel as the materially poor as they say: “There is no question about Jesus’ consorting with the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted. He announced that God’s domain belonged to the poor, not because they were righteous, but because they were poor. This reverses a common view that God blesses the righteous with riches and curses the immoral with poverty.” (The Five Gospels, p. 504) and our comment on this is above, that this IS NOT the True reference to these ideas, it should not even be considered. John Gill gives us this on the version of this from Matthew’s Gospel; an equally odd  presentation from our perspective as he says:

Blessed are the poor in spirit; Not the poor in purse, or who are so with respect to things temporal: for though God has chosen and called many, who are in such a condition of life, yet not all; the kingdom of heaven cannot be said to belong to them all, or only; but such as are poor in a spiritual sense. All mankind are spiritually poor; they have nothing to eat that is fit and proper; nor any clothes to wear, but rags; nor are they able to purchase either; they have no money to buy with; they are in debt, owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay; and in such a condition, that they are not able to help themselves. The greater part of mankind are insensible of this their condition; but think themselves rich, and increased with goods: there are some who are sensible of it, who see their poverty and want, freely acknowledge it, bewail it, and mourn over it; are humbled for it, and are broken under a sense of it; entertain low and mean thoughts of themselves; seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have, or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God. Now these are the persons intended in this place; who are not only “poor”, but are poor “in spirit”; in their own spirits, in their own sense, apprehension, and judgment: and may even be called “beggars”, as the word may be rendered; for being sensible of their poverty, they place themselves at the door of mercy, and knock there; their language is, “God be merciful”; their posture is standing, watching, and waiting, at wisdom’s gates, and at the posts of her door; they are importunate, will have no denial, yet receive the least favour with thankfulness. Now these are pronounced “blessed”, for this reason, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; not only the Gospel, and the ministration of it, which belongs to them. “The poor have the Gospel preached”: it not only reaches their ears, but their hearts; it enters into them, is applied unto them, they receive and embrace it with the utmost joy and gladness; but eternal glory, this is prepared for them, and given to them; they are born heirs of it, have a right unto it, are making meet for it, and shall enjoy it. ⁸

Mr. Gill acknowledges that it IS NOT the poor in purse to whom the Master promises the Kingdom but at the same time he takes this idea down the road of doctrine as he sees that it is those who see their poverty and seek after the true riches, both of grace and glory; and frankly acknowledge, that all they have, or hope to have, is owing to the free grace of God. Mr. Gill sees this as being  pronounced “blessed” because they place themselves at the door of mercy, and knock there; their language is, “God be merciful”; their posture is standing, watching, and waiting, at wisdom’s gates, and at the posts of her door; they are importunate, will have no denial, yet receive the least favour with thankfulness. Here Mr. Gill does not see the spoken requirements for being accounted worthy of the Kingdom; he does not see the reality of doing and he does not understand the intent of the words of the Apostle James who tells us that we must be “doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

There is to be sure much confusion regarding this idea of being poor and Mr. Gill does catch a bit of the reality in his comments on this saying from the Gospel of Luke where the apostle tells us “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said , Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). Here Mr. Gill tells us blessed be ye poor; not only in the things of this world, having left all for Christ, but poor in Spirit, as in ( Matthew 5:3 ) , (See Gill on Matthew 5:3)⁸; referring the reader to the doctrinal ideas above. The bit of reality is that these are poor because of having left all for Christ; from our perspective this is the Truth of the whole saying and we should also note here the way that Luke frames this whole idea, that he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said; can we see the understanding here that as disciples, these have already forsaken ALL and have become poor from the vantage point of the man in the world? The Master has much to say about forsaking ALL and He has much to say about having riches and it IS likely in the combination of these ideas plus the reality of His words that we “take no thought” (Luke 12:22) that we can find our own Truths in these sayings and the True intent of the Master.

The next saying, the fifty fifth, is a cross between the same idea as presented in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke as we read the Master’s words from each:

• “Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple of mine. And whoever does not hate his brothers and his sisters (and) will not take up his cross as I do, will not be worthy of me” (Thomas 55).
• “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38).
• “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple…..So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27, 33).

Thomas version of this takes the idea of hate and of being His disciple as in Luke and uses the idea of worthy of Him as it is presented in Matthew. Both Matthew and Thomas lack that final verse regarding forsaking and which we also use in our understanding of the previous saying from Thomas’ Gospel. The commentary on this for the verse as Thomas records it include:

• Marvin Meyer quotes Manichaean Psalm Book 175:25-30 as saying: “I have left father and mother and brother and sister. I have come a stranger for the sake of your name. I have taken up my cross, and I have followed you. I have left the things of the body for the sake of the things of the spirit. I have disregarded the glory of the world for the sake of your glory that does not pass away.”
• Gerd Ludemann writes: “The logion is a mixed quotation made up of Matt. 10.37(-38) and Luke 14.26(-27). Thomas has woven the saying about taking up the cross (cf. Mark 8.34 parr.) into the parallelism.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 617).
• Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “This saying is a combination of Luke 14:26-27 (hating father and mother, brothers and sisters, carrying cross, becoming disciple) with Matthew 10:37-38 (being worthy of me). From Luke, Thomas omits mention of wife and children, perhaps because the Gnostic will have neither; he adds to carrying the cross ‘as I do’ (or ‘like me,’ Doresse, page 177), perhaps because as in John 19:17, Jesus bears his own cross (Simon of Cyrene carries it in the synoptic gospels).” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 163-164).
• J. P. Meier writes: “A mixed text resulting from the conflation of Matt 10:37-38 and Luke 14:26-27 is found in the Coptic Gos. Thom. saying 55: ‘Whoever will not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple to me; and whoever will not hate his brothers and his sisters and will not carry his cross as I have will not be worthy of me.’ Here we have a parade example of how the Gospel of Thomas melds various phrases from various Synoptic Gospels to create its own form of a Gospel saying. On the whole, the saying is closer to Luke than to Matthew. The phrases ‘will not hate’ [as opposed to Matthew’s ‘love’], ‘his father and his mother’ [with possessive pronouns, reflecting Luke’s heautou, which is not in Matthew], ‘brothers and sisters’ [Matthew has ‘son or daughter’], and ‘cannot become a disciple to me’ comes from Luke. Yet at the end of the saying we see a clear trace of the redactional tendency of Matthew or his M tradition: ‘will not be worthy of me.’ The key words mathetes (disciple), stauros (cross), and axios (worthy) appear in Greek in the Coptic text. The theme of imitating Jesus carrying his cross, which is implicit in the passages of the Synoptic Gospels, is made explicit by the addition in the Gospel of Thomas: ‘.. . carry his cross as I have.’ On the whole saying, see Fieger, Das Thomasevangelium, 165-67. A similar saying, with a similar conflation of Matt 10:37 and Luke 14:26 and a similar addition of ‘as I,’ is found in Gos. Thom. saying 101. The text, however, is fragmentary, and there is no mention of carrying one’s cross; see Fieger, ibid., 256-57. Fieger’s analysis of the parallels in Gos. Thom. to Mark 8:34-35 parr. shows that it is highly unlikely that Thomas’ versions of these sayings are independent of the Synoptics.” (A Marginal Jew, v. 3, pp. 105-106 n. 75).
• R. McL. Wilson writes: “The wording is certainly nearer to Luke, who alone speaks of ‘hate.’ The differences lie in the omission of any reference to wife and children, and in the substitution of ‘in My way’ (or ‘like Me’) for ‘and come after Me.’ Matthew and Luke evidently give variant translations of the same original saying, and it is therefore possible that what seems at first sight to be a conflation is, in fact, another rendering. If this be so, the substitution noted is not difficult to explain. Moreover, as Creed has observed, Luke has added ‘and his own soul’ from the sequel in his source. It is therefore possible that the references to wife and children do not derive from the source, but are due to the intensification of the Evangelists; it should be noted that they differ on this point. According to Bartsch the differences compel the assumption of a special tradition independent of the Synoptics, a statement the more remarkable in that he is critical of some of Quispel’s other examples.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, p. 57).

Here again the commentary is in relation to the comparisons to the synoptic gospels and the relevance of the thoughts to the Gnostic; there is no help here in understanding the ideas that are set forth by the Master in Thomas’ recollection. It is interesting to note the idea presented by J.P. Meier regarding the cross as we remember the ideas on this from the synoptics where this is seen by many as a reference to His crucifixion. Here in Thomas these translations do infer that Jesus is saying “take up his cross as I do” which is alternately rendered as Mr. Meier states saying “carry his cross as I have“. This is also seen as “like I do“, “like me” and from Lanbdin as “in my way“. The Lambdin rendering is the same as the Interlinear and can shed some light on the intent of the apostle as “in my way” IS NOT necessarily the same as “as I have“. Regardless of how one sees this rendering, the idea that the Master is inferring His own crucifixion is not warranted as the physical carrying of a cross IS NOT the Master’s intent from a any perspective that sees the reality of what He says. Mr. Gill paints this idea this way: And he that taketh not his cross; By the “cross”, which was a Roman punishment, whereby malefactors were put to death, are meant all sorts of afflictions, reproaches, persecutions, and death itself; and particularly the ill will, hatred, and persecution, of near relations and friends, which must be expected by such, who bear a faithful testimony for Christ. Every minister of Christ. In our view this puts far too much emphasis upon the prospect of doom, of all sorts of afflictions, reproaches, persecutions, and death itself ⁸.

What we should see here is more the idea of burden, that the disciple must be willing to take up the mantle of the Master, to follow in His instruction and His example in ALL thing….to keep His words. And, if in doing so some calamity should befall the disciple then this is but a part of the burden; the reality of this is that we do as He did. We should understand here that the idea of burden is only applicable to the view of this from the perspective of the man in the world; from the perspective of the Soul, there IS NO burden to this whatsoever. Vincent also misplaces the idea here of the cross as he says regarding this verse that: His cross (τὸν σταυρὸν αυτου); This was no Jewish proverb, crucifixion not being a Jewish punishment; so that Jesus uses the phrase anticipatively, in view of the death which he himself was to die. This was one of those sayings described in John 12:16, which the disciples understood not at the first, but the meaning of which was revealed in the light of later events. The figure itself was borrowed from the practice which compelled criminals to bear their own cross to the place of execution. His cross: his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs: “Every cross hath its inscription” – the name of him for whom it is shaped ⁴. 

Mr. Vincent does however help us to understand the idea of burden here in saying that for each man that it is: His cross: his own. All are not alike. There are different crosses for different disciples. The English proverb runs: “Every cross hath its inscription” – the name of him for whom it is shaped. So the same with each mans ideas of what is a burden that must be borne or overcome so that he may follow the Master and here perhaps we can see that ALL things worldly are a burden to the Soul as he seeks to express his Love and Power through his Life in form.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Values to Live By

A Love of Truth—essential
for a just, inclusive and progressive society;

A Sense of Justice—recognition
of the rights and needs, of all.

Spirit of Cooperation—based
on active goodwill and the principle of right human
relationships;

A Sense of Personal Responsibility—for
group, community and national affairs;

Serving the Common Good— through
the sacrifice of selfishness. Only what is good for all
is good for each one.

The world of the future depends on what each one of us chooses to do today.

From a previous essay and Quote of the Day we reprise these words:  It is interesting to note that the ideas of the Quote of the Day embody much of the Master’s teachings and can set the stage for the beginning of each man’s revelation and realization of the Light of the Soul; that is, that by the intentional practice of these ‘rules’ of conduct one can put himself in the position of a follower of the Master and an keeper of His word and this regardless if he has ever heard of the Christ or wants to be affiliated with any ideas Christian. By keeping these sound principals of Life in mind and practicing them a man can lift himself up above and beyond the world of men and into the world of the Good, the Beautiful and the True as it exists for those in whom the Christ Within, the God Within, is awakened. Ponder on this.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁸ Bible commentaries on BibleStudyTools.com
• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/