ON LOVE; PART XDXVI

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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.“

We completed our look at the fifty first saying from the Gospel of Thomas in the last essay; we settled upon the idea of repose as the proper rendering of the Coptic word that others render as rest and one (Patterson and Robinson shown above) has rendered as resurrection. In our view the idea of rest as it is normally understood is found within this idea of repose as is the meaning of rest from Matthew’s telling us these words from the Master: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). In His answer the Master is telling the disciples that this rest as found in coming to Him and in Thomas words the repose is that which the disciple is seeking and speaking of; here we should see that the fact of discipleship gives one that repose, that rest of coming to Him and the Christ Within. We should try to see that what they seem to believe that they are seeking is from the Jewish Tradition and NOT from the Truth of the Kingdom of God; hence, they do not recognize that they have already found it. Here we should also be able to see that it matters not what one may believe; that if one Truly becomes a disciple which is accomplished in keeping His words and living Life in that Light, that one will have found the Kingdom and this whether he may recognize it or not. Here we should understand that the idea of believing in or believing on the Master as we read in the gospels IS NOT required from the perspective of His personage but rather that one keeps His words and, as Vincent tells us, this believing IS to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life ⁴. In this we should see that His precepts are the Ways of God as addressed in the Truth of ALL world religions, not the various doctrines, the Truths. So then the disciple has found this repose as understood in the ideas of  peace, stillness, tranquility and harmony for the Soul which we understand as that freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth which IS the ‘reward’ that the disciple earns in accomplishing this goal ALL men and it is in this same Light that we should view the Truth of the concept of resurrection. This IS the deliverance “from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). To the disciples the Master simply says that “That (repose) which you (plur.) are waiting for has come, but for your part you do not recognize it” (Layton).

The next saying can be seen in as similar way as the disciples are asking about those things that they have learned as Jews in Israel, those things that they are taught of the traditions and the doctrine of the Jews which likely speak much about the prophets. By example, we can see in the New Testament the many times that the writers and the Master refer to the ideas and the words of the prophets as they are KNOWN to the Jews and that Jesus Himself, having occasion to read in the synagogue, read from the words of the Prophet Isaiah words about Himself; we read:

“And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:17-21).

This is the Master’s choice to read these particular words and this is most likely done for the effect as the Jews put much emphasis upon the writings of the prophets as they looked for their Messiah. It is a Jewish tradition in these days to rely upon the words of the prophets and, as we say above, there are many places where the apostles write about the words of prophets using the idea that their words might be fulfilled or were fulfilled by the Presence of the Lord. Here then in this fifty second saying we should see that the disciples are reflecting upon the prophets, numbering them at twenty four and saying that they either speak through, or speak by or, as we can see above, speak of the Master. As we note in the last post, none of this matters, it only matters that the disciples are reflecting upon the prophets and perhaps their words and that the Master’s reply can be seen in the same as we say here….’.it DOES NOT matter about the prophets, that they should not be focused upon them but upon the Master and the Truth of Life that He offers to them and to the world. Perhaps the Interlinear makes this the clearest as we read: “you(pl)-have-left he-who-lives in-your-(pl)-presence ( ), and you(pl)-spoke about-those-who-are-dead“. We should try to see that it IS NOT only the idea of the Prophets but as we see from the previous saying it is also the traditions of the Jews that they must forget and that this IS much the same lesson that they are given in our view of the Master’s words on the old wine in new bottles and the new cloth patch on the old garment. ALL of these ideas are intended to the same end, that they forget the ideas of the old and concentrate on the ideas of the new; ideas of Love and of Truth and of the new dispensation.

This next saying, the fifty third, can be seen in much the same light as the previous two and as an extension of the ideas that we see above with the wine and the garment. While Thomas version of these ideas is not quite so apparent as we see in the synoptic versions, we can see them in the forty seventh saying albeit from a bit of a different perspective as we discuss in In the Words of Jesus parts 818-820. Most do not see these ideas as we see them, that they are giving the Master’s words that are contrary to trying to append the new onto the substance of the old or the more converse trend that we find in Thomas of trying to use the old to modify the new. From our perspective of these sayings on the old wine in new bottles, or new wine in old bottles can only result in the Masters words that “new wine must be put into new bottles” (Mark 2:22). Here in the Master’s parabolic words we see the idea that the traditions of the Jews CAN NOT be mixed with the New Dispensation of the Christ, the old must be forgotten in favor of the new. We get the same idea from the saying on the patch for the garment as we read from Luke: “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old ; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent , and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old” (Luke 5:36); Here we see the reality of the idea of agreement; that there would be none. 

Thomas paints this in the opposite way saying that “An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because a tear will result“ (Thomas 47:5) which is to convey the same point in a different way; here we see that parts of the old traditions CAN NOT  be appended to the new. In the combination of the ideas from Thomas and from the synoptic gospels, both directions are covered and in regard to the wine the Master puts both together according to Thomas’ recollection: “And new wine is not put into old wineskins, so that they do not burst; nor is old wine put into (a) new wineskin, so that it does not spoil it” (Thomas 47:4). In ALL of these ideas the wine, the bottle, the patch and the garment are but the parabolic way of this teaching that this new and the old should not be mixed and we should take the same away from these ideas above on the traditional teaching of a repose, or of the resurrection as we see it understood by the Sadducee, and the talk about the prophets and perhaps their teachings and their relevance. Here the Master’s teaching is that they already have found the repose and the resurrection by their being disciples and keeping His word, and that they should not consider the ideas, the times. nor the traditions of the words of the prophets as the Living Christ IS with them and this is where their focus should be.

And we find the same idea presented here in this discussion about circumcision; the question is as the previous two and the answer is profound and unique and has much to say about the tradition and the ritual use of circumcision by the Jews. The various translations of this saying all say basically the same thing and again we will not post these here but will proceed with the rendering from above: “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“. Again we should see the nature of the question as that it sets for us the stage for the answer; not that these questions are not asked, they most likely are, but rather that without the question, the answer has less meaning for us. Let us look at the commentary on this saying:

• Marvin Meyer writes: “According to a Jewish tradition, a governor of Judea once commented to Rabbi Akiba, ‘If he (that is, God) takes such pleasure in circumcision, why then does not a child come circumcised from his mother’s womb?'” (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, pp. 90-91).
• Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: “Along with fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and dietary regulations, Thomas rejects circumcision, as most early Christians did. A singular argument perhaps from radical Hellenstic-Jewish sources, is advanced against it; it is unnatural (elsewhere Thomas does not appeal to the law of nature). What counts is true, spiritual circumcision (cf., Philippians 3:3).” (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 162-163).
• R. McL. Wilson writes: “Grant and Freedman plausibly suggest that the argument in the reply may be drawn from radical Hellenistic-Jewish sources. Perhaps more important is the point made by Bauer, that if no such an authoritative word as this had been known Paul would never have had to contend against the Judaisers. As Bauer observes, the saying was probably understood by the Gnostics on the basis of Colossians ii. 11, where the true circumcision is linked with the stripping off of the body of flesh. A circumcision ‘in Spirit not in letter’ is mentioned in Romans ii. 29, and the question here assigned to the disciples is asked by Paul himself in Romans iii. 1 – but with a very different answer. Other passages to which reference may be made include Romans ii. 25, 1 Corinthians vii. 19, and Galatians vi. 15. This saying accordingly would appear to reflect the conditions of a period later than the time of Jesus, if indeed it is not a Gnostic invention.” (Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 104-105).
• F. F. Bruce writes: “Literal circumcision is rejected, like literal fasting and other religious exercises (cf. Saying 6). What counts is the spiritual counterparts of these, the elements of true heart-religion. That spiritual circumcision was the important thing was emphasized even in Old Testament times (cf. Deuteronomy 10.16; Jeremiah 4.4); Paul speaks to the same effect in Romans 2.29; Philippians 3.3; Colossians 2.11.” (Jesus and Christian Origens Outside the New Testament, p. 134).
• Gerd Ludemann writes: “Like Paul (Rom. 2.25-29; 1 Cor 7.7-19; Gal. 6.5; Phil. 3.3), this verse understands circumcision in the metaphorical sense and thus provides further argument againts the benefits of cricumcision. The negative attitude to circumcision in the Gospel of Thomas corresponds to that towards fasting, almsgiving and dietary regulations (cf. 6; 14; 104), and also to the Old Testament, as it was documented in the analysis of the preceding logion, Logion 52.” (Jesus After 2000 Years, pp. 616-617).

These comments seem to take this simple idea from the Master into the epistles where it does not belong. Additionally, we should see these as Jesus’ words and not Thomas as some of these seem to portray. The question is simple and the Master’s answer is straightforward; the act of circumcision has no singular importance in the Life of the man in the world; if it did, men would be born circumcised much as they are born with every other thing that they need to live and function. From a spiritual perspective however the Master is alluding to the ideas of the prophets and the sages and without so saying, relegating this circumcision as it is tradition as He speaks of the others, the prophets and the resurrection in the previous sayings as well. Historically circumcision is communicated to Abraham as his part of his covenant with God and we should remember that this IS more than 2000 years before the Advent of the Christ among us. Abraham lived in an evermore superstitious and barbarous time than did Jesus and in the emotional state of living in those days this idea of covenant was the way that the spiritual realities could be somewhat understood. As time progresses however we begin to see a different reality in this ritual and tradition, that this circumcision was a sign of the Jew. Circumcision IS mentioned in the law as given to Moses but not in much emphasis as we read:

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed , and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled” (Leviticus 12:2-4),

This is the only reference to circumcision in the law; in that other book of the law the idea of circumcision takes on a different light as we read:

• “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.  For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward” (Deuteronomy 12:12-17).
• “And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deuteronomy 30:5-6).

The next reference to circumcision is in the Book of Joshua. As Joshua takes over the role of leader from Moses we find a different way for the Jews as they come into the ‘promised land’, the land of Canaan, where we find a story of war and conflict as the Jews take the land and allocate it to the tribes. Near the beginning of these conquests, just after the Jewish Nation miraculously crosses the river Jordan, we read this:

“And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over , that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins” (Joshua 5:1-3).

This is it, this is ALL the reference to circumcision in the days of Moses and then the Kings and it is here that we can see the reality that this IS NOT from our perspective what the Jewish doctrines make it out to be….it is the sign of the Jew and a tradition and the reality of circumcision is found in the words above from Deuteronomy and in the confirming words from the Prophet Jeremiah who lived more than 600 years before Christ:

• “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings” (Jeremiah 4:4).
• “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight , saith the LORD. Behold, the days come , saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart” (Jeremiah 9:23-26).

Can we see the idea of tradition in regard to this ritual of circumcision and can we see the parallels between this and the Christian ritual of baptism where, although there is no physical evidence of being baptized, it has become a sign that one is a Christian in the view of the church. In ALL this is the point of the Master’s answer to His disciples; this circumcision is but a tradition and if it were important it would be accomplished already at birth. Here then He continues to the Truth as we see in Deuteronomy and in the words of Jeremiah about the True circumcision; that of the heart.

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
• ¹⁴ The Gospel of Thomas; Translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson; http://gnosis.org/