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Gospel of Thomas Commentary / KJV Combined
Welcome to the Gospel of Thomas Commentary, a unique exploration of the enigmatic sayings attributed to Jesus Christ. Here, we delve into the secret words recorded by Didymus Judas Thomas, offering insights and interpretations alongside their best references in the Bible. These profound utterances challenge conventional understanding, inviting seekers to unravel their hidden meanings. Each saying is a doorway to deeper spiritual understanding, prompting reflection on timeless truths. As we journey through these teachings, we invite you to join the conversation, adding your insights and interpretations.
Thomas's Sayings
And their best reference to the Bible.
These references / links to Thomas may not be final, more research is needed to understand their true interpretation, All underlined sayings link to +KJV+NIV+
Text: 503-269-4144 to add your reference, and comments.
These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and which Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.
(1) And he said: He who shall find the interpretation of these words shall not taste of death. (Reference) - (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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! (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(10) Jesus said: I have cast a fire upon the world, and see, I watch over it until it is ablaze. (Reference)
(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? (Reference) - (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference) - (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference) - (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(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. (Reference)
(22) Jesus saw some infants who were being suckled. He said to his disciples: These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom. They said to him: If we then become children, shall we enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you make the two one, and when you make the inside as the outside, and the outside as the inside, and the upper as the lower, and when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male is not male and the female not female, and when you make eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter [the kingdom]. (Reference)
(23) Jesus said: I shall choose you, one out of a thousand and two out of ten thousand, and they shall stand as a single one. (Reference)
(24) His disciples said: Teach us about the place where you are, for it is necessary for us to seek it. He said to them: He who has ears, let him hear! There is light within a man of light, and he lights the whole world. If he does not shine, there is darkness. (Reference)
(25) Jesus said: Love your brother as your soul; watch over him like the apple of your eye. (Reference)
(26) Jesus said: You see the mote which is in your brother's eye; but you do not see the beam which is in your own eye. When you cast out the beam from your own eye, then you will see (clearly) to cast out the mote from your brother's eye. (Reference)
(27) <Jesus> said: If you do not fast to the world, you will not find the kingdom; if you do not keep the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father. (Reference)
(28) Jesus said: I stood in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in the flesh. I found them all drunk; I found none of them thirsting, and my soul was afflicted for the sons of men; for they are blind in their heart, and they do not see that they came empty into the world, (and) empty they seek to leave the world again. But now they are drunk. When they have thrown off their wine, they will repent. (Reference)
(29) Jesus said: If the flesh came into existence because of the spirit, it is a marvel. But if the spirit (came into existence) because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I wonder at this, how this great wealth made its home in this poverty. (Reference)
(30) Jesus said: Where there are three gods, they are gods; where there are two or one, I am with him. (Reference)
(31) Jesus said: No prophet is accepted in his own village, no doctor heals those who know him. (Reference)
(32) Jesus said: A city that is built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden. (Reference) - (Reference)
(33) Jesus said: What you hear with your ear (and) with the other ear, proclaim it on your roof-tops. For no one lights a lamp to set it under a bushel, or to put it in a hidden place; but he sets it on the lamp-stand, that all who go in and come out may see its light. (Reference)
(34) Jesus said: If a blind man leads a blind man, they both fall into a pit. (Reference)
(35) Jesus said: It is not possible for anyone to go into the strong man's house (and) take it by force, unless he binds his hands; then will he plunder his house. (Reference)
(36) Jesus said: Be not anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you shall put on. (Reference)
(37) His disciples said: On what day will you be revealed to us, and on what day shall we see you? Jesus said: When you unclothe yourselves and are not ashamed, and take your garments and lay them beneath your feet like the little children (and) trample on them, then [you will see] the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid. (Reference) - (Reference)
(38) Jesus said: Many times have you desired to hear these words which I speak to you, and you have no other from whom to hear them. Days will come when you will seek me (and) you will not find me. (Reference)
(39) Jesus said: The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge (and) have hidden them. They did not go in, and those who wished to go in they did not allow. But you, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Reference)
(40) Jesus said: A vine has been planted outside of the Father; and since it is not established, it will be plucked out with its roots (and) will perish. (Reference)
(41) Jesus said: He who has in his hand, to him shall be given; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even the little that he has. (Reference)
(42) Jesus said: Become passers-by! (Reference)
(43) His disciples said to him: Who are you, that you say these things to us? <Jesus said to them:> From what I say to you, do you not know who I am? But you have become like the Jews; for they love the tree (and) hate its fruit, and they love the fruit (and) hate the tree. (Reference)
(44) Jesus said: He who blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and he who blasphemes against the Son will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven. (Reference)
(45) Jesus said: Grapes are not harvested from thorn-bushes, nor are figs gathered from hawthorns, [f]or they yield no fruit. [A good] man brings forth good from his treasure; a bad man brings forth evil things from his evil treasure, which is in his heart, and he says evil things, for out of the abundance of his heart he brings froth evil things. (Reference)
(46) Jesus said: From Adam to John the Baptist there is among the children of women none higher than John the Baptist, for his eyes were not destroyed (?). But I have said: Whoever among you becomes small will know the kingdom and will be higher than John. (Reference)
(47) Jesus said: It is not possible for a man to ride two horses or stretch two bows; and it is not possible for a servant to serve two masters, unless he honours the one and insults the other. No one drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not poured into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine poured into a new wineskin, lest it spoil. An old patch is not sewn on a new garment, for a rent would result. (Reference)
(48) Jesus said: If two make peace with one another in this one house, they will say to the mountain: Be removed, and it will be removed. (Reference)
(49) Jesus said: Blessed are the solitary and the elect, for you will find the kingdom, for you came forth from it, (and) you will return to it again. (Reference)
(50) Jesus said: If they say to you: Whence have you come?, say to them: We have come from the light, the place where the light came into being of itself. It [established itself], and it revealed itself in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?, say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign of your Father in you?, say to them: It is movement and rest. (Reference)
(51) His disciples said to him: On what day will the rest of the dead come into being, and on what day will the new world come? He said to them: What you await has come, but you do not know it. (Reference)
(52) His disciples said to him: Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and they all spoke of you. He said to them: You have abandoned the living one before your eyes, and spoken about the dead. (Reference)
(53) His disciples said to him: Is circumcision useful or not? He said to them: If it were useful, their father would beget him from their mothers (already) circumcised. But the true circumcision in the Spirit has proved useful in every way. (Reference)
(54) Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. (Reference)
(55) Jesus said: He who does not hate his father and his mother cannot be a disciple to me. And (he who does not) hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross like me, will not be worthy of me. (Reference)
(56) Jesus said: He who has known the world has found a corpse; and he who has found a corpse, the world is not worthy of him. (Reference)
(57) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had [good] seed. His enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not allow them to pull up the weeds. He said to them: Lest you go and pull up the weeds, (and) pull up the wheat with it. For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be manifest; they will be pulled up and burned. (Reference)
(58) Jesus said: Blessed is the man who has suffered; he has found life. (Reference)
(59) Jesus said: Look upon the Living One so long as you live, that you may not die and seek to see him, and be unable to see him. (Reference)
(60) <They saw> a Samaritan carrying a lamb, who was going to Judaea. He said to his disciples: (What will) this man (do) with the lamb? They said to him: Kill it and eat it. He said to them: While it is alive he will not eat it, but (only) when he kills it (and) it becomes a corpse. They said to him: Otherwise he cannot do it. He said to them: You also, seek a place for yourselves in rest, that you may not become a corpse and be eaten. (Reference)
(61) Jesus said: Two will rest upon a bed; one will die, the other live. Salome said: Who are you, man, whose son? You have mounted my bed and eaten from my table. Jesus said to her: I am he who comes forth from the one who is equal; I was given of the things of my Father. <Salome said:> I am your disciple. <Jesus said to her:> Therefore I say: If he is equal, he is full of light, but if he is divided, he will be full of darkness. (Reference)
(62) Jesus said: I speak my mysteries to those [who are worthy of my] mysteries. What your right hand does, let not your left hand know what it does. (Reference)
(63) Jesus said: There was a rich man who had many possessions. He said: I will use my possessions to sow and reap and plant, to fill my barns with fruit, that I may have need of nothing. Those were his thoughts in his heart; and in that night he died. He who has ears, let him hear. (Reference)
(64) Jesus said: A man had guests; and when he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servants to invite the guests. He went to the first, and said to him: My master invites you. He said: I have money with some merchants; they are coming to me this evening. I will go and give them my orders. I ask to be excused from the dinner. He went to another (and) said to him: My master invites you. He said to him: I have bought a house, and I am asked for a day. I shall not have time. He went to another (and) said to him: My master invites you. He said to him: My friend is about to be married, and I am to arrange the dinner. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused from dinner. He went to another, he said to him: My master invites you. He said to him: I have bought a farm; I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused. The servant came back (and) said to his master: Those whom you have invited to dinner have asked to be excused. The master said to his servant: Go out to the roads, bring those whom you find, that they may dine. Traders and merchants [shall] not [enter] the places of my Father. (Reference)
(65) He said: A good man had a vineyard; he leased it to tenants, that they might work in it (and) he receive the fruits from them. He sent his servant, that the tenants might give him the fruits of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, (and) all but killed him. The servant went away (and) told his master. His master said: Perhaps <they> did not know <him>. He sent another servant; the tenants beat the other also. Then the master sent his son. He said: Perhaps they will have respect for my son. Those tenants, since they knew that he was the heir of the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. He who has ears, let him hear. (Reference)
(66) Jesus said: Show me the stone which the builders rejected; it is the cornerstone. (Reference)
(67) Jesus said: He who knows the all, (but) fails (to know) himself, misses everything. (Reference)
(68) Jesus said: Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted, and they will find no place where you have been persecuted. (Reference)
(69) Jesus said: Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their heart; these are they who have known the Father in truth. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled. (Reference)
(70) Jesus said: If you have gained this within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have this in [you], what you do not have in you [will] kill you. (Reference)
(71) I will des[troy this] house, and none shall be able to build it [again]. (Reference)
(72) [A man said] to him: Speak to me brothers, that they may divide my father's possessions with me. He said to him: O man, who made me a divider? He turned to his disciples. He said to them, I am not a divider, am I? (Reference)
(73) Jesus said: The harvest is indeed great, but the labourers are few. But pray the Lord, that he send forth labourers into the harvest. (Reference)
(74) He said: Lord, there are many about the well, but no one in the well. (Reference)
(75) Jesus said: There are many standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber. (Reference)
(76) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had a load (of goods) and found a pearl. That merchant was wise. He sold the load and bought for himself the pearl alone. You also, seek after his treasure which does not fail (but) endures, where moth does not come near to devour nor worm to destroy. (Reference)
(77) Jesus said: I am the light that is above them all. I am the all; the all came forth from me, and the all attained to me. Cleave a (piece of) wood; I am there. Raise up a stone, and you will find me there. (Reference)
(78) Jesus said: Why did you come out into the field? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in soft raiment? [Look, your] kings and your great men, these are the ones who wear soft clothing, and they [will] not be able to know the truth. (Reference)
(79) A woman in the crowd said to him: Blessed is the womb which bore you, and the breasts which nourished you. He said to [her]: Blessed are those who have heard the word of the Father (and) have kept it in truth. For there will be days when you will say: Blessed is the womb which has not conceived, and the breasts which have not given suck. (Reference)
(80) Jesus said: He who has known the world has found the body; and he who has found the body, the world is not worthy of him. (Reference)
(81) Jesus said: He who has become rich, let him become king, and he who has power, let him renounce (it). (Reference)
(82) Jesus said: He who is near to me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom. (Reference)
(83) Jesus said: The images are revealed to man, and the light which is in them is hidden in the image of the light of the Father. He will reveal himself, and his image is hidden by his light. (Reference)
(84) Jesus said: When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you see your images which came into existence before you, which neither die nor are made manifest, how much will you bear? (Reference)
(85) Adam came into being out of a great power and a great wealth, and he was not worthy of you; for if he had been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] of death. (Reference)
(86) Jesus said: [The foxes have] the[ir holes] and the birds have [their] nest, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest. (Reference) - (Reference)
(87) Jesus said: Wretched is the body which depends on a body, and wretched is the soul which depends on these two. (Reference)
(88) Jesus said: The angels and the prophets will come to you, and they will give you what is yours. You also, give them what is in your hands, and say to yourselves: On what day will they come to take what is theirs? (Reference)
(89) Jesus said: Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that he who made the inside is also he who made the outside? (Reference)
(90) Jesus said: Come to me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is gentle, and you will find rest for yourselves. (Reference)
(91) They said to him: Tell us who you are, that we may believe in you. He said to them: You test the face of the sky and of the earth, and him who is before you you have not known, and you do not know (how) to test this moment. (Reference)
(92) Jesus said: Seek, and you will find; but the things you asked me in those days and I did not tell you then, now I desire to tell them, but you do not ask about them. (Reference)
(93) <Jesus said:> Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they cast it on the dung-heap. Do not cast the pearls to the swine, lest they make it [ . . . ]. (Reference)
(94) Jesus [said:] He who seeks will find, [and he who knocks], to him will be opened. (Reference)
(95) [Jesus said:] If you have money, (p. 49) do not lend at interest, but give [ . . . ] to him from whom you will not receive it back. (Reference)
(96) Jesus [said:] The kingdom of the Father is like a woman. She took a little leaven, [hid] it in dough, (and) made large loaves of it. He who has ears, let him hear. (Reference)
(97) Jesus said: The kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking [on a] distant road, the handle of the jar broke (and) the meal poured out behind her on the road. She was unaware, she had not noticed the misfortune. When she came to her house, she put the jar down (and) found it empty. (Reference)
(98) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a man who wanted to kill a powerful man. He drew the sword in his house and drove it into the wall, that he might know his hand would be strong (enough). Then he slew the powerful man. (Reference) - (Reference)
(99) The disciples said to him: Your brothers and your mother are standing outside. He said to them: Those here who do the will of my Father, these are my brothers and my mother; they are the ones who will enter into the kingdom of my Father. (Reference)
(100) They showed Jesus a gold piece and said to him: Caesar's men demand tribute from us. He said to them: What belongs to Caesar, give to Caesar; what belongs to God, give to God; and what is mine, give it to me. (Reference)
(101) <Jesus said:> He who does not hate his father and his mother like me cannot be a [disciple] to me. And he who does [not] love [his father] and his mother like me cannot be a [disciple] to me. For my mother [ . . . ], but [my] true [mother] gave me life. (Reference)
(102) Jesus said: Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog lying in the manger of the cattle; for he neither eats nor does he let the cattle eat. (Reference)
(103) Jesus said: Blessed is the man who knows [in which] part (of the night) the robbers are coming, that he may rise and gather his [ . . . ] and gird up his loins before they come in. (Reference)
(104) They said [to him]: Come, let us pray today and fast. Jesus said: What then is the sin that I have done, or in what have I been overcome? But when the bridegroom comes out from the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray. (Reference)
(105) Jesus said: He who knows father and mother will be called the son of a harlot. (Reference)
(106) Jesus said: When you make the two one, you will become sons of man, and when you say: Mountain, move away, it will move away. (Reference)
(107) Jesus said: The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep; one of them, the biggest, went astray; he left (the) ninety-nine (and) sought after the one until he found it. After he had laboured, he said to the sheep: I love you more than the ninety-nine. (Reference)
(108) Jesus said: He who drinks from my mouth will become like me, and I will become like him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him. (Reference)
(109) Jesus said: The kingdom is like a man who had in his field a [hidden] treasure, of which he knew nothing. And [after] he died he left it to his [son. The] son also did not know; he took the field and sold it. The man who bought it came (and) as he was ploughing [found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished. (Reference)
(110) Jesus said: He who has found the world (and) become rich, let him renounce the world. (Reference)
(111) Jesus said: The heavens will be rolled up and likewise the earth in your presence, and the living one, (come forth) from the Living One, will not see death or <fear>, because Jesus says: He who finds himself, of him the world is not worthy. (Reference)
(112) Jesus said: Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh. (Reference)
(113) His disciples said to him: On what day will the kingdom come? <Jesus said:> It will not come while people watch for it; they will not say: Look, here it is, or: Look, there it is; but the kingdom of the father is spread out over the earth, and men do not see it. (Reference)
(114) Simon Peter said to them: Let Mariham go out from among us, for women are not worthy of the life. Jesus said: Look, I will lead her that I may make her male, in order that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male will enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Reference)
"Osho writes in his commentaries: 'This is Simon Peter's mind, not Jesus'. And it is bound to be so: a disciple's mind, he is not yet enlightened, he can not see the indivisible, he can only see according to his mind."
The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings and teachings attributed to Jesus, which offers a unique perspective on his teachings and philosophy. Here are some additional insights and references to consider:
1. **Contextualizing the Gospel of Thomas** The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings and teachings that may have been written in the 1st or 2nd century CE. It is not a narrative gospel like the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), but rather a collection of individual teachings and wisdom sayings. This means that the context and interpretation of the sayings may be different from those in the other gospels.
2. **Relationship to the Bible** The Gospel of Thomas does not contain traditional narratives or stories about Jesus, but rather emphasizes his teachings and wisdom. This makes it an interesting companion to the other gospels, which provide a more comprehensive picture of Jesus' life and teachings.
3. **Esoteric themes** The Gospel of Thomas contains themes that are reminiscent of Gnostic and esoteric traditions, such as the importance of spiritual awakening, the struggle between good and evil, and the need for spiritual transformation. These themes may have been influential in shaping the development of Christian theology and spirituality.
4. **Parallels with other texts** The Gospel of Thomas shares similarities with other ancient texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Thomas the Contender, and the Apocalypse of Adam. These parallels can provide valuable insights into the historical and cultural context in which the Gospel of Thomas was written.
5. **Authenticity and transmission** The authenticity of the Gospel of Thomas has been debated among scholars, with some arguing that it is a later composition and others suggesting that it may have been written earlier. The transmission history of the text is also complex, with various versions and fragments having been discovered over the centuries.
6. **Influence on Christianity** Despite its relatively late discovery, the Gospel of Thomas has had significant influence on Christian theology and spirituality. Many Christian thinkers have drawn upon its teachings and themes to develop their own theological perspectives and spiritual practices.
7. **Cross-cultural relevance** The Gospel of Thomas contains teachings that are relevant to contemporary spirituality and philosophy, including themes such as inner transformation, self-discovery, and the importance of living in harmony with nature.
**Exploring the historical context in which the Gospel of Thomas was written**
* The Gospel of Thomas is typically dated to the 1st or 2nd century CE, but its exact composition date and authorship are still debated among scholars. Some argue that it may have been written as early as the 50s CE, while others propose a later date, around the 150s CE.
* The text may have been written in the context of early Christianity, possibly in Egypt or Syria, where Gnostic and other Christian movements were flourishing. The text's emphasis on spiritual awakening and the importance of inner transformation may reflect the concerns of these early Christian communities.
* The Gospel of Thomas may have been written in response to specific challenges or controversies within early Christianity. For example, its emphasis on the importance of spiritual understanding and the need for spiritual transformation may have been a response to the growing emphasis on institutional authority and doctrine within the early Christian church.
**Analyzing the parallels between the Gospel of Thomas and other ancient texts**
* The Gospel of Thomas shares many parallels with other ancient texts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Thomas the Contender, and the Apocalypse of Adam. These parallels can provide valuable insights into the historical and cultural context in which these texts were written.
* The Gospel of Thomas also contains similarities with other Christian texts, such as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, as well as with Jewish and Middle Eastern texts such as the Talmud and the Pseudepigrapha. These parallels can help to shed light on the development of Christian theology and spirituality.
* The text's use of apocalyptic imagery, its emphasis on spiritual transformation, and its focus on Jesus' teachings may reflect influences from other ancient texts, such as the Book of Revelation or the writings of Philo of Alexandria.
**Investigating the influence of Gnostic thought on Christian theology**
* The Gospel of Thomas is often associated with Gnostic thought, which emphasizes the importance of spiritual awakening and the struggle between good and evil. Gnostic teachings may have influenced Christian theology, particularly in terms of its emphasis on inner transformation and spiritual understanding.
* Gnostic ideas about the nature of God and the universe may have also influenced Christian theology, particularly in terms of its development of Trinitarian theology. For example, Gnostic ideas about the divine spark within human beings may have influenced Christian teachings about the divinity of Jesus.
* However, it is also important to note that Christian theologians have often rejected Gnostic ideas as heretical, emphasizing instead the authority of scripture and the importance of institutional authority.
**Examining the relationship between the Gospel of Thomas and other Christian scriptures**
* The Gospel of Thomas is often seen as a complement to other Christian scriptures, providing a unique perspective on Jesus' teachings and philosophy. However, its relationship to other Christian texts is complex and multifaceted.
* Some scholars argue that the Gospel of Thomas may have been influenced by other Christian texts, particularly in terms of its use of apocalyptic imagery and its emphasis on spiritual transformation. Others argue that it may have been written as a response to specific challenges or controversies within early Christianity.
* The Gospel of Thomas' emphasis on Jesus' teachings and wisdom may also provide a unique perspective on Christian theology, highlighting the importance of spiritual understanding and inner transformation.
**Discussing the potential relevance of the Gospel of Thomas to contemporary spirituality and philosophy**
* The Gospel of Thomas contains teachings that are relevant to contemporary spirituality and philosophy, including themes such as inner transformation, self-discovery, and the importance of living in harmony with nature.
* The text's emphasis on spiritual awakening and the need for spiritual transformation may be particularly relevant in today's world, where many people are seeking new ways to understand themselves and their place in the universe.
* The Gospel of Thomas' focus on Jesus' teachings and wisdom may also provide a unique perspective on contemporary spirituality, highlighting the importance of spiritual understanding and inner transformation.
* Furthermore, the text's use of apocalyptic imagery and its emphasis on spiritual struggle may be relevant to contemporary discussions about climate change, social justice, and personal transformation.
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