Subject: esoteric gospel

This is one of the gnostic gospels.  It is the earliest known existing 
gospel -- from about 40 A.D. -- thirty years earlier than the others.  It 
gives a completely different picture of Jesus -- more as a mystic teacher. 
It has given a lot of Christians a lot of trouble.  It contains a lot of 
occult ideas.  Very Hindu-like.  Almost Neo-platonic.  Definitely worth 
reading...
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                       The Gospel Of Thomas
                   Taken From the Gnostic Texts
                  Out of the Nag Hammadi Codices
 
                     
Verse 1
     He said "Whoever finds the interpretation of these
sayings will not taste death."
 
Verse 2
     Jesus said, "Let one who seeks not stop seeking until one"
finds.  When one finds, one will be disturbed.  When one is
disturbed, one will be amazed, and will reign over all."
 
Verse 3
     Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Behold, the kingdom"
is in the sky,' then the birds in the sky will get there before
you.  If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will
get there before you.  "Rather, the kingdom is inside you and
outside you.  When you know yourselves, then will be known, and
will understand that you are children of the living Father.  But
if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty and embody
poverty. ""
 
Verse 4
     Jesus said, "The older person many days old will not hesitate"
to ask a little child seven days old about the realm of life, and
this person will live.  For many of the first will be last, and
will become a single one."
 
Verse 5
     Jesus said, "Know what is within your sight, and what is"
hidden from you will become clear to you.  For there is nothing
hidden that will not be revealed."
 
Verse 6
     His disciples asked him and said, "Do you want us to fast?
How shall we pray?  Shall we give to charity?  What food may we
eat?"  Jesus said, "Do not lie or do what you dislike, since all
things are clear before heaven.  For there is nothing hidden that
will not be revealed, and nothing covered that will not be
uncovered. ""
 
Verse 7
     "Blessed is the lion that the human eats,
       so that the lion becomes human.
      Cursed is the human that the lion eats,
       so that the lion becomes human."
 
Verse 8
     "A person is like a wise fisher who cast a net into the sea,
and drew it up from the sea full of little fish.  Among them the
wise fisher discovered a fine big fish.  So the fisher threw all
the little fish back into the sea, and with no hesitation kept the
big fish.  Whoever has ears to hear ought to listen."
 
Verse 9
     "Behold, the sower went out, took a handful of seeds, and
scattered them.  Some fell on the road, and the birds came and ate
them.  Others fell on rock, and they did not take root in the soil
or produce any heads of grain.  Others fell among thorns, and the
thorns choked the seeds and worms consumed them.  Still others
fell on good soil, and brought forth a good crop; it yielded sixty
per measure and one hundred twenty per measure."
 
Verse 10
     "I have thrown fire on the world and behold, I am guarding it
until it is ablaze."
 
Verse 11
     "This heaven will pass away,
       and the heaven above it will pass away.
      The dead are not alive,
       and the living will not die.
      During the days when you ate what is dead,
       you made it alive.
      When you become enlightened,
       what will you do?
      On the day when you were one,
       you became two.
      But when you become two,
       what will you do?"
 
Verse 12
     The disciples said to Jesus, "We know you will leave us.  Who
is going to be our leader then?"  Jesus said, "No matter where you
reside, you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and
earth came into being."
 
Verse 13
     Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me with someone, and
tell me whom I am like."  Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a
just angel."  Matthew said, "You are like a wise philosopher."
Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say
whom you are like."  Jesus said, "I am not your teacher.  You have
become intoxicated because you have drunk from the bubbling spring
that I have tended."  And he took Thomas and withdrew, and told
him three things.  When Thomas came back to his friends, they
asked him, "What did Jesus tell you?"  Thomas said to them, "If I
tell you even one of the things he told me, you will pick up rocks
and stone me.  Then fire will come forth from the rocks and devour
you. ""
 
Verse 14
     "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves,
      If you pray, you will be condemned.
      If you give to charity, you will harm your spirits.
When you go into any country and wander from place to place,
and the people receive you, eat what they serve you and heal
their sick.  For what goes into your mouth will not
contaminate you; rather what comes out of your mouth will
contaminate you."
 
Verse 15
     "When you see one who was not born of a woman, bow down and
worship.  That is your Father."
 
Verse 16
     "Perhaps people think that I have come to bring peace to the
world.  They do not know that I have come to bring conflict to the
earth: fire, sword, war.  For five people will be in a house:
      It will be three against two,
      and two against three,
      father against son,
      and son against father,
      and they will stand alone."
 
Verse 17
     "I shall give you
      what no eye has seen,
      what no ear has heard,
      what no hand has touched,
      and what has never arisen
      in a human mind."
 
Verse 18
     The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us about the end."
Jesus said, "Have you already discovered the beginning, that"
now you can seek after the end?  For where the beginning is, the
end will be.  Blessed is one who stands at the beginning: that one
will know the end, and will not taste death."
 
Verse 19
     "Blessed is one who came to life before coming to life.  If
you become my disciples and hearken to my sayings these stones
will serve you.  For there are five trees in Paradise for you.
They do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not
drop.  Whoever knows about them will not taste death."
 
Verse 20
     The disciples said, "Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is
like."  Jesus replied, "It is like a mustard seed, the tiniest of
all seeds.  But when it falls on prepared soil, it grows into a
large plant and shelters the birds of the sky."
 
Verse 21
     Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?"
Jesus said, "They are like children living in a field that is not"
theirs.  When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Give
our field back to us.'  The children will take off their clothes
in the presence of the owners, and thus give the field back and
return it to them.  For this reason I say: if the owner of a house
knows that a thief is coming, the owner will be on guard before
the thief arrives, and will not let the thief break into the house
of the estate and steal the possessions.  As for you, then, be on
guard against the world.  Gird yourselves and prepare for action,
so that the robbers will find no way to prevail against you, for
the trouble you expect will come.  Let there be among you a person
who understands.  When the crop ripened, a reaper came quickly
with sickle in hand and harvested it.  Whoever has ears to hear
ought to listen."
 
Verse 22
     Jesus saw some babies nursing.  he said to his disciples,
"The nursing babies are like those who enter the kingdom."   The
disciples said to him, "Then shall we enter the kingdom as
babies?"  Jesus said unto them:
     "When you make the two into one,
       when you make the inner like the outer
        and the upper like the inner,
       when you make male and female into a single one,
      so that the male will not be male
       and the female will not be female,
        when you make eyes replacing an eye,
       a hand replacing a hand,
      a foot replacing a foot,
       and an image replacing an image,
        then you shall enter the kingdom."
 
Verse 23
     "I shall choose you, one from a thousand, and two from ten
thousand, and these will stand as a single one."
 
Verse 24
     His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we
must seek it."
     he replied, "Whoever has ears ought to listen.  There is"
light within an enlightened person, and it shines on the whole
world.  If the light does not shine, it is dark."
 
Verse 25
     "Love your companion like your life, protect such a one like
the pupil of your eye."
 
Verse 26
     "You see the speck that is in your companion's eye, but you
do not see the beam that is in your own eye.  When you take the
beam out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to take
the speck out of your companion's eye."
 
Verse 27
     "If you do not fast from the world,
       you will not find the kingdom.
      If you do not keep the Sabbath a Sabbath,
       you will not see the Father."
 
Verse 28
     "I took my stand in the middle of the world,
       and in the flesh I appeared to people.
        I found them all drunk,
       and I did not find any of them thirsty.
      My soul ached for these human children,
       because they are blind of heart and do not see,
        that they came into the world empty,
       and they also seek to depart from the world empty.
      But now they are drunk.
       When they become sober, then they will repent."
 
Verse 29
     "If the flesh came into being because of the spirit, it is
amazing, but if spirit came into being because of the body, it is
even more amazing.  I am amazed, though, at how such great wealth
has settled into such poverty."
 
Verse 30
     "Where there are three deities, they are divine.  Where there
are two or one, I am present."
 
Verse 31
     "A prophet is not popular in his hometown; a doctor does not
heal family and friends."
 
Verse 32
     "A city founded and fortified upon a high hill can neither
fall nor be hidden."
 
Verse 33
     "Preach from your roofs what you will hear in your ear.  For
no one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket, nor does one
put it in a hidden corner.  Rather, one puts it on a stand so that
all who come and go will see its light."
 
Verse 34
     "If one blind person leads another blind person, both of them
will fall into a hole."
 
Verse 35
     "One cannot enter the house of a strong person and take it by
force without tying the owner's hands.  Then one can loot the
house. ""
 
Verse 36
     "Do not worry, from morning to evening and from evening to
morning about what you will wear."
 
Verse 37
     The disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when
will we see you?"  He said,
     "When you strip
        and are not embarrassed,
      and take your clothes
        and throw them down under your feet
      like little children
        and trample them,
      then you will see the Child of the Living One
        and not be afraid."
 
Verse 38
     "Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am
telling you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them.
There will be days you will seek me but will not find me."
 
Verse 39
     "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys to
knowledge and have hidden them.  They have not entered, nor have
they allowed those who want to enter to do so.  As for you, be as
clever as snakes and as innocent as doves."
 
Verse 40
     "A grapevine has been planted away from the Father.  Since it
is not healthy, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed."
 
Verse 41
     "Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and
whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the tiny bit that
person has."
 
Verse 42
     Jesus said, "Be wanderers."
 
Verse 43
     His disciples said to him, "Who are you to say these things
to us?"
     he replied, "You do not know who I am from what I say to you."
Instead you have become like the Jews: either they love the tree
but hate is fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree."
 
Verse 44
     "Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and
whoever blasphemes against the Child will be forgiven.  But
whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven,
either on earth or in heaven."
 
Verse 45
     "Grapes are not picked from thorn bushes, nor are figs
gathered from thistles, for such plants yield no fruit.  A good
person brings forth good from the storehouse, while a bad person
brings forth evil from the corrupt storehouse in the heart, and
says evil things.  For from the abundance of the heart this person
brings forth evil."
 
Verse 46
     "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no
one is so much greater than John the Baptist that one need not bow
the head before John.  Yet I have said that whoever among you
becomes like a child will know the kingdom, and will become
greater than John."
 
Verse 47
     "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows, and a
servant cannot serve two lords.  That would respect one and offend
the other.  No person drinks aged wine and immediately wants to
drink new wine.  New wine is not poured into aged wineskins, for
the skins may break, and aged wine is not poured into new
wineskins, for the wine may spoil.  An old patch isn't sewn onto a
new piece of clothing for there would be a rip."
 
Verse 48
     "If two make peace with each other in a single house, they
will say to the mountain, 'Move!' and it will move."
 
Verse 49
     "Blessed are those who are alone and chosen:
       you will find the kingdom.
     For you have come from it, and you will
       return there again."
 
Verse 50
     "If some say to you, 'Where have you come from?', say to
them.
     'We have come from the light,
      where the light came into being by itself,
      established itself,
      and appeared in an image of light.'"
"If they say unto you 'Are you the light?', say,
     'We are its children,
      and we are the chosen of the living Father.'"
"If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?',
tell them,
     'It is motion and rest.'"
 
Verse 51
     His disciples asked, "When will the final rest for the dead
take place, and when will the new world come?"  He said to them,
"What you look for has already come, but you do not know it."
 
Verse 52
     His disciples said, "Twenty-four prophets have spoken in
Israel, and they all spoke of you."  He said, "You have ignored
the Living One who is with you, and have spoken only of the dead."
 
Verse 53
     His disciples asked, "Is circumcision useful or not?"  Jesus
replied, "If it were useful, a father would produce children
already circumcised from their mother.  Rather, the true,
spiritual circumcision is useful in every respect."
 
Verse 54, 55
     "Blessed are the poor: yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and
whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and bear the cross as
I do, will not be worthy of me."
 
Verse 56
     "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass,
and whoever has discovered a carcass is worth more than the
world. ""
 
Verse 57
     "The kingdom if the Father is like a person who had good
seed.  An enemy came at night and sowed weeds among the good seed.
The farmer did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to
them, 'I fear that you will go to pull up the weeds but will pull
up the wheat along with them.'  For at harvesttime the weeds will
be conspicuous, and will be pulled up and burned."
 
Verse 58
     "Blessed is one who has suffered: that one has found life."
 
Verse 59
     "Look to the Living One as long as you live, that you may not
die and then try to see the Living One but be unable to see."
 
Verse 60
     They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb and going to Judea.  He
said to his disciples, "Why is he carrying the lamb around?"  They
said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it."  He said to
them, "He will not eat it while it is alive, but only after it has
been killed and has become a carcass."  They said, "It cannot
happen any other way."  He said, "So also with you: seek a place
of rest for yourselves, that you may not become a carcass and be
eaten. ""
 
Verse 61
     Jesus said, "Two will relax on a couch: one will die, one"
will live."  Salome said, "Who are you, sir?  You sat on my couch
and ate from my table as if you are somebody."  Jesus said to her,
"I am from the One who is whole; I was granted my Father's
estate."  Salome said, "I am your disciple."  Jesus said, "For
this reason I say: one who is whole will be filled with light, but
one who is fragmented will be filled with darkness."
 
Verse 62
     "I disclose my mysteries to those who are worthy of my
mysteries.  Do not let your left hand know what you right hand is
doing. ""
 
Verse 63
     "There was a rich farmer who had a great deal of money.  The
farmer said, 'I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap,
plant, and fill my storehouses with produce.  Then I shall have
everything.'  These were the plans, but that very night the farmer
died.  Whoever has ears ought to listen."
 
Verse 64
     "A certain person was entertaining guests.  When the dinner
was ready, the host sent a servant to invite the guests.  The
servant went to the first one and said, 'My lord invites you.'
The guest said, 'Some merchants owe me money, and they are coming
to me tonight.  I must go to give instructions to them.  Please
excuse me from dinner.'  The servant went to another guest and
said, 'My lord invites you.'  The guest said, 'I have bought a
house, and I have been called away for the day. I have no time.'
The servant went to another guest and said, 'My lord invites you.'
The guest said, 'My friend is to be married, and I must arrange
the dinner, so I shall not be able to come.  Please excuse me from
dinner.'  The servant went to yet another guest and said, 'My lord
invites you.'  The guest said, 'I have bought a farm, and I am
going to collect the rent, so I shall not be able to come.  Please
excuse me.'  The servant returned and said to the lord, 'Those
whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused.'  The lord
said to the servant, 'Go out on the streets, and bring back
whomever you find to eat my dinner.'  Business people and
merchants will not enter the realm of my Father."
 
Verse 65
     "There was a good person who owned a vineyard.  The owner
rented it to some farmers, that the farmers might work in it and
the owner might collect the profits from them.  The owner sent a
servant, that the farmers might turn over the profits from the
vineyard, but instead they seized, beat and almost killed the
servant.  So the servant returned and told the lord.  The lord
said, 'Perhaps the servant did not know them.'  The owner sent
another servant, and the farmers beat that one, too.  Then the
lord sent his child, and said, 'Perhaps they will show my child
some respect.'  But since the farmers knew that the child was heir
to the vineyard, they seized and killed the child.  Whoever has
ears ought to listen.
 
Verse 66
     "Show me the stone the builders rejected: that is the
cornerstone. ""
 
Verse 67
     "Whoever knows everything but lacks within lacks everything."
 
Verse 68
     "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted, and no
one will discover the place where you have been persecuted."
 
Verse 69
     "Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their hearts:
they truly know the Father.  Blessed are those who are hungry, for
the stomach of the famished will be filled."
 
Verse 70
     "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will
save you.  If you do not have that within you, what you do not
have within you will kill you."
 
Verse 71
     "I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able to
rebuild it."
 
Verse 72
     A person said to him, "Tell my relatives to divide my
Father's property with me."  Jesus said, "Sir, who made me a
divider?"  He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I am not
a divider, am I?"
 
Verse 73
     "The harvest is large but the workers are few, so beg the
Lord to send out workers to the harvest."  Someone said, "Lord,
many are around the well, but no one is in the well."  Jesus
replied, "Many are standing by the door, but those who are alone
will enter the wedding chamber."
 
Verse 74
     "The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had a
supply of merchandise, and then found a pearl.  Now the merchant
was smart: he sold the merchandise and bought that single pearl
for himself.  So also with you: seek after the treasure that is
unfailing, that is abiding, where no moth comes to consume, and no
worm destroys."
 
Verse 75
     "I am the light that is over all things.
     I am all:
        all came forth from me,
        and all attained to me.
     Split a piece of wood,
        and I am there.
     Pick up a stone,
        and you will find me there."
 
Verse 76
     "Why have you come out to the countryside?  To see grass
blown by the wind?  And to see a person dressed in rich clothing,
like your rulers and your aristocrats?  They are dressed in rich
clothing, but they cannot understand truth."
 
Verse 77
     A woman in the crowd said to him,
     "Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed
you."  He said to her, "Blessed are those who have heard the word
of the Father and have truly kept it.  For the time will come when
you will say, 'Blessed are the womb that has not conceived and the
breasts that have not produced milk.'"
 
Verse 78
     "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered the body,
and whoever has discovered the body is worth more than the world."
 
Verse 79
     "Let one who is wealthy reign, and let one who has power
renounce it."
 
Verse 80
     "Whoever is close to me is close to the fire, and whoever is
far from me is far from the kingdom."
 
Verse 81
     "Images are visible to people, but the light within is hidden
in the Father's image of light.  He will reveal himself, but his
image is hidden by his light."
 
Verse 82
     "When you see a likeness of yourself, you are happy.  But
when you see your images that came into being before you, and that
neither die nor become visible, how much you will be able to
tolerate!"
 
Verse 83
     "Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he was not
worthy of you.  For if he had been worthy, he would not have
tasted death."
 
Verse 84
     "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Child of
Humanity has no place to lay his head and rest."
 
Verse 85
     "Miserable is the body that depends on another body, and
miserable is the soul that depends on the two of them."
 
Verse 86
     "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give you
what is yours.  You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to
yourselves, 'When will they come and take what is theirs?'"
 
Verse 87
     "Why do you wash the outside of the cup?  Do you not
understand that the one who made the inside also made the
outside?"
 
Verse 88
     "Come to me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is gentle,
and you will find rest for yourselves."
 
Verse 89
     They said to him, "Tell us who you are so we can believe in
you.  Jesus said to them, "You study the face of the sky and the
earth, but you have not come to know the one who is before you,
and you do not know how to study this moment."
 
Verse 90
     "Seek and you will find.  In the past I did not answer all
you questions.   Now I am willing to answer them, but you no
longer ask."
 
Verse 91
     "Do not give what is holy to dogs, for they may drop it on a
manure pile.  Do not throw pearls to swine, for they may make them
worthless. ""
 
Verse 92
     "Whoever seeks will find, whoever knocks will be let in."
 
Verse 93
     "If you have money, do not lend it at interest.  Rather, give
it to someone who will not return it."
 
Verse 94
     "The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little
yeast, hid it in dough, and made large loaves of bread.  Whoever
has ears ought to listen."
 
Verse 95
     "The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who was carrying a
jar full of flour.  While she was walking on a road far from home,
the handle of the jar broke and the flour spilled behind her on
the road.  She did not know it: she had not noticed the problem.
When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered
that it was empty."
 
Verse 96
     "The kingdom of the Father is like someone who wanted to put
a powerful person to death.  He drew his sword at home and thrust
it into a wall to find out whether his hand would go through.
Then he killed the powerful one."
 
Verse 97
     The disciples said to him, "Your brothers and your mother are
standing outside."  Jesus said, "Those here who do the will of my
Father are my brothers and my mother.  They will enter the kingdom
of my Father."
 
Verse 98
     They showed a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's people
demand that we pay taxes."  Jesus said, "Give Caesar what is
Caesar's, give God what is God's, and give me what is mine."
 
Verse 99
     "Whoever does not hate father and mother as I do cannot be my
disciple, and whoever does not love father and mother as I do
cannot be my disciple.  For my true mother gave me life."
 
Verse 100
     "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in
the food trough of cows: the dog neither eats nor lets the cows
eat. ""
 
Verse 101
     "Blessed is the person who knows where the robbers will
enter.  Then the person may arise, bring the estate together, and
prepare for action before the robbers break in."
 
Verse 102
     They said to him, "Come, let us pray today, and fast."  Jesus
said, "What sin have I committed, or how have I failed?  Rather
when the bridegroom leaves the wedding chamber, then let people
fast and pray."
 
Verse 103
     "Whoever recognizes father and mother will be called the
child of a whore."
 
Verse 104
     "When you make the two into one, you will be come children of
humanity, and when you say, 'Mountain, move!' it will move."
 
Verse 105
     "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep.  One
of the, the biggest, wandered away.  The shepherd left the ninety-
nine and searched for that one until it was found.  After going to
such trouble, the shepherd said to the sheep, 'I love you more
than the ninety-nine.'"
 
Verse 106
     "Whoever drinks from my mouth will
       be like me,
      and I shall be that person,
      and what is hidden will be revealed to
       that one."
 
Verse 107
     "The kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden a
field, but did not know it.  At death the owner left the field to
his child.  The child did not know about the treasure either, but
took over the field and sold it.  The buyer went plowing and
discovered the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to
whomever he pleased."
 
Verse 108
     "Let one who finds the world, and becomes wealthy, renounce
the world."
 
Verse 109
     "The heavens and the earth will roll up in front of you, but
whoever is living on the Living One will not see death nor fear."
 
Verse 110
     "Whoever finds self is worth more than the world."
 
Verse 111
     "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul!  Woe to the soul
that depends on the flesh!"
 
Verse 112
     His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?"
Jesus said, "It will not come be looking for it.  Nor will it do"
to say, 'Behold over here!' or 'Behold, over there!'.  Rather, the
kingdom of the Father is spread out on the earth, but people do
not see it."
 
Verse 113
     Simon Peter chauvinistically said to them, "Let Mary leave
us, because women are not worthy of life."  Jesus replied,
"Behold, I shall guide her so as to make her male, that she too
may become a living spirit like you men.  For every woman (person
aligned with mother earth/physical) who makes herself male (person
aligned with heaven/spiritual) will enter the kingdom of heaven."