bart ehrman - lost scriptures.pdf

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Lost Scriptures:Books That Did Not

Make it into the New

Testament

Bart D. Ehrman

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS


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Lost

Scriptures


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This page intentionally left blank


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LOST

SCRIPTURES BOOKS THAT DID NOT MAKE IT

INTO THE NEW T ESTAMENT

BartD.Ehrman

12003


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1

Oxford NewYork

Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai

DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata

KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai

Nairobi SãoPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto

Copyright2003byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.

Published

by

Oxford

University

Press,

Inc.

198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork 10016

www.oup.com

Oxfordisaregisteredtrademark of OxfordUniversityPress

Allrightsreserved.Nopartof thispublicationmaybereproduced,

storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,

electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,

withoutthepriorpermissionof OxfordUniversityPress.

Libraryof CongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Lostscriptures:booksthatdidnotmakeitinto

the

New

Testament

/

[edited

by]

Bart

D.

Ehrman.

p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferences.

ISBN0-19-514182-2

1. Apocryphalbooks(NewTestament)

I. Ehrman,BartD.

BS2832.E372003 229'.9205209—dc21 2003045965

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

PrintedintheUnitedStatesof America

onacid-freepaper

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Contents

GeneralIntroduction 1

NON-CANONICALGOSPELS 7

TheGospelof theNazareans 9

TheGospelof theEbionites 12

TheGospelAccordingtotheHebrews 15

TheGospelAccordingtotheEgyptians 17

TheCopticGospelof Thomas 19

Papyrus

Egerton

2: The

Unknown

Gospel

29 TheGospelof Peter 31

TheGospelof Mary 35

TheGospelof Philip 38

TheGospelof Truth 45

TheGospelof theSavior 52

TheInfancyGospelof Thomas 57

TheProto-Gospelof James 63

TheEpistleof theApostles 73

The

Coptic

Apocalypse

of

Peter

78 TheSecondTreatiseof theGreatSeth 82

TheSecretGospelof Mark 87

NON-CANONICAL ACTSOF THE APOSTLES 91

TheActsof John 93

TheActsof Paul 109

The

Acts

of

Thecla

113

TheActsof Thomas 122

TheActsof Peter 135

NON-CANONICALEPISTLES ANDRELATEDWRITINGS 155

TheThirdLettertotheCorinthians 157

Correspondenceof PaulandSeneca 160

v


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vi CONTENTS

Paul’sLettertotheLaodiceans 165

TheLetterof 1Clement 167

TheLetterof 2Clement 185

The

“Letter

of

Peter

to

James”

and

its

“Reception”

191

TheHomiliesof Clement 195

Ptolemy’sLettertoFlora 201

TheTreatiseontheResurrection 207

TheDidache 211

TheLetterof Barnabas 219

ThePreachingof Peter 236

Pseudo-Titus 239

NON-CANONICAL APOCALYPSES ANDREVELATORY

TREATISES 249

TheShepherd of Hermas 251

TheApocalypseof Peter 280

TheApocalypseof Paul 288

TheSecretBook of John 297

On

the

Origin

of

the

World

307 TheFirstThoughtinThreeForms 316

TheHymnof thePearl 324

CANONICALLISTS 329

TheMuratorianCanon 331

TheCanonof Origenof Alexandria 334

The

Canon

of

Eusebius

337 TheCanonof Athanasiusof Alexandria 339

TheCanonof theThirdSynodof Carthage 341


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General

Introduction

Even

though

millions

of

people

world-wide

read

the

New

Testament—

whether from curiosity or religious devotion—very few ask what this

collection of books actually is or where it came from, how it came into

existence,whodecidedwhichbookstoinclude,onwhatgrounds,andwhen.

TheNewTestamentdidnotemergeasanestablishedandcompleteset

of books immediately after the death of Jesus. Many years passed before

Christians agreed concerning which books should comprise their sacred

scriptures,withdebatesoverthecontourof the“canon”(i.e.,thecollection

of sacredtexts)thatwerelong,hard,andsometimesharsh.Inpartthiswas

because

other

books

were

available,

also

written

by

Christians,

many

of their authors claiming to be the original apostles of Jesus,yetadvocating

pointsof viewquitedifferentfromthoselaterembodiedinthecanon.These

differences were not simply over such comparatively minor issues as

whether a person should be baptized as an infant or an adult, or whether

churches were to be run by a group of lay elders or by ordained priests,

bishops,andpope.Tobesure,suchissues,stillcontroversialamongChris

tianchurchestoday,wereatstakethenaswell.Butthealternativeformsof

Christianityintheearlycenturiesof thechurchwrestledovermuchlarger

doctrinal

questions,

many

of

them

unthinkable

in

most

modern

Christianchurches, such as how many gods there are (one? two? twelve? thirty?);

whetherthetrueGodcreatedtheworldorwhether,instead,itwascreated

byalower,inferiordeity;whetherJesuswasdivine,orhuman,orsomehow

both;whetherJesus’deathbroughtsalvation,orwasirrelevantforsalvation,

or whether he ever even died. Christians also debated the relationshipof

theirnewfaithtothereligionfromwhichitcame,Judaism.ShouldChris

tians continue to be Jews? Or if not already Jews, should they convert to

Judaism? What about the Jewish Scriptures? Are they to be part of the

Christian

Bible,

as

the

“Old

Testament”?

Or

are

they

the

Scriptures

of

a

differentreligion,inspiredperhapsbyadifferentGod?

SuchfundamentalissuesareforthemostpartunproblematictoChris

tians today, and their solutions,asa result,appearobvious:There isonly

oneGod;hecreatedtheworld;JesushisSonisbothhumananddivine;his

deathbroughtsalvationtotheworld,infulfillmentof thepromisesmadein

theOldTestament,whichwasalsoinspiredbytheonetrueGod.

One of the reasons these views now seem obvious, however, is that

onlyonesetof earlyChristianbeliefsemergedasvictoriousintheheated

1


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2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

disputesoverwhattobelieveandhowtolivethatwereragingintheearly

centuries of the Christian movement. These beliefs, and the group who

promoted them, came to be thought of as “orthodox” (literally meaning,

“the

right

belief

”),

and

alternative

views—such

as

the

view

that

there

are

twogods,or that the trueGoddidnotcreate theworld,or thatJesuswas

notactuallyhumanornotactuallydivine,etc.—cametobelabeled“heresy”

(�falsebelief)andwerethenruledoutof court.Moreover,thevictorsin

thestrugglestoestablishChristianorthodoxynotonlywontheirtheological

battles, they also rewrote the history of the conflict; later readers, then,

naturallyassumedthatthevictoriousviewshadbeenembracedbythevast

majorityof Christians from theverybeginning,all thewayback toJesus

and

his

closest

followers,

the

apostles.

Whatthenof theotherbooksthatclaimedtobewrittenbytheseapos

tles,theonesthatdidnotcometoformpartof theNewTestament?Forthe

mostparttheyweresuppressed,forgotten,ordestroyed—inonewayoran

other lost, except insofar as they were mentioned by those who opposed

them,whoquotedthempreciselyinordertoshowhowwrongtheywere.But

weshouldnotoverlook thecircumstancethatinsometimesandplacesthese

“other”writingswereinfactsacredbooks,readandreveredbydevoutpeo

plewhounderstoodthemselvestobeChristian.Suchpeoplebelievedthat

they

were

following

the

real

teachings

of

Jesus,

as

found

in

the

authoritativetextsthattheymaintainedwerewrittenbyJesus’ownapostles.

Historians today realize that it is over-simplified to say that these

alternative theologies are aberrations because they are not represented in

theNewTestament.FortheNewTestamentitself isthecollectionof books

thatemerged fromtheconflict,thegroupof booksadvocatedbythesideof

the disputes that eventually established itself asdominantandhanded the

booksdowntoposterityas“the”ChristianScriptures.

This triumph did not happen immediately after Jesus’death.Jesus is

usually

thought

to

have

died

around

30

ce.1

Christians

probably

began

toproducewritingsshortlyafterwards,althoughourearliestsurvivingwritings,

the lettersof Paul,werenotmade foranother twentyyearsor so (around

50–60ce).Soonthefloodgatesopened,however,andChristiansof varying

theologicalandecclesiasticalpersuasionwroteallkindsof books:Gospels

recordingthewords,deeds,andactivitiesof Jesus;accountsof themiracu

louslivesandteachingsof earlyChristianleaders(“actsof theapostles”),

personalletters(“epistles”)toandfromChristianleadersandcommunities;

prophetic revelations from God concerning how the world came to be or

how

it

was

going

to

end

(“revelations”

or

“apocalypses”),

and

so

on.

Some

of thesewritingsmaywellhavebeenproducedbytheoriginalapostlesof

Jesus. But already within thirty or fortyyearsbooksbegan to appear that

claimed to be written by apostles, which in fact were forgeries in their

names(see,e.g.,2Thess.2:2).

1I.e.,30of the“CommonEra,”whichisthesameastheolderdesignation,AD30.


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3GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Thepracticeof Christianforgeryhasalonganddistinguishedhistory.

We know of Gospels and other sacred books forged in the names of the

apostles down into the Middle Ages—and on, in fact, to the presentday.

Some

of

the

more

ancient

ones

have

been

discovered

only

in

recent

times

by trainedarchaeologistsorrummagingbedouin,includingGospelsalleg

edly written by Jesus’ close disciple Peter, his female companion Mary

Magdalene,andhistwinbrotherDidymusJudasThomas.

The debates over which texts actually were apostolic, and therefore

authoritative, lasted many years, decades, even centuries.Eventually—by

about the end of the third Christian century—the views of one group

emergedasvictorious.Thisgroupwasitself internallydiverse,butitagreed

on

major

issues

of

the

faith,

including

the

existence

of

one

God,

the

creator

of all,whowastheFatherof JesusChrist,whowasbothdivineandhuman,

whoalongwiththeFatherandtheHolySpirittogethermadeupthedivine

godhead.Thisgrouppromoteditsowncollectionof booksastheonlytrue

and authentic ones, and urged that some of these books were sacred au

thorities, the “New” Testament that was to be read alongside of and that

was at least as authoritative as the “Old” Testament taken over from the

Jews.

When was thisNew Testament finallycollectedandauthorized?The

first

instance

we

have

of

any

Christian

author

urging

that

our

current

twenty-sevenbooks,andonlythesetwenty-seven,shouldbeacceptedasScripture

occurred in theyear367ce, ina letterwrittenby thepowerfulbishopof

Alexandria (Egypt), Athanasius. Even then the matter was not finally re

solved, however, as different churches, even within the orthodox form of

Christianity, had different ideas—for example, about whether the Apoca

lypseof JohncouldbeacceptedasScripture(itfinallywas,of course),or

whethertheApocalypseof Petershouldbe(itwasnot);whethertheepistle

of Hebrewsshouldbe included (itwas)or theepistleof Barnabas(itwas

not);

and

so

on.

In

other

words,

the

debates

lasted

over

three

hundred

years.TheissuesIhavebeenaddressinginthepreviousparagraphsarehighly

involved,of course,andrequireagooddealof discussionandreflection.I

havedealtwiththematgreaterlengthinthebook writtenasacompanion

tothepresentcollectionof texts: Lost Christianities:The Battles for Scrip-

tureand theFaithsWe Never Knew (NewYork: Oxford UniversityPress,

2003). There I discuss the wide ranging diversity of the early Christian

movement of the first three centuries, the battles between “heresies” and

“orthodoxy,” the production of forged documents in the heatof the battle

by

all

sides,

the

question

of

how

some

of

these

books

came

to

be

included

inthecanonof Scripture,onwhatgrounds,andwhen.Thepresentvolume

isintendedtoprovideeasyandreadyaccesstothetextsdiscussedin Lost

Christianities—that is, revered texts that werenot included in the canon.

Manyof thesetextswereexcludedpreciselybecausetheywerethoughtto

embodyhereticalconcernsandperspectives.Otherswereacceptedas“or

thodox,”butwerenotdeemedworthyof acceptanceinthesacredcanonof

Scripture,foronereasonoranother.

I have called this collection of other sacred texts “Lost Scriptures,”


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4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

eventhoughthewritingsIhaveincludedhereareobviouslynolongerlost.

Butmostof themwere lost, forcenturies,until they turnedup inmodern

times in archaeological discoveries or in systematic searches through the

monasteries

and

libraries

of

the

Middle

East

and

Europe.

Some

of

them

are

known only in part, as fragmentsof once-entire textshaveappeared—for

example,afamousGospelallegedlywrittenbytheapostlePeter.Othersare

citedbyancientopponentsof heresyprecisely inorder toopposethem—

for example, Gospelsusedbydifferentgroupsof earlyJewishChristians.

Yetotherbookshaveturnedupintheirentirety—forexample,theGospel

allegedlywrittenbyJesus’twinbrotherJudasThomas.Andyetothershave

beenavailableforalongtimetoscholars,butarenotwidelyknownoutside

their

ranks—for

example,

the

account

of

the

miraculous

life

of

Paul’s

female

companionThecla.

Scholars have never devised an adequate term for these “Lost Scrip

tures.” Sometimes they are referred to as the Christian“Pseudepigrapha,”

basedonaGreek termwhichmeans“writtenunderafalsename.”Butsome

of the books are anonymous rather than pseudonymous.Moreover, in the

judgment of most New Testament scholars, even some of the books that

wereeventuallyincludedinthecanon(e.g.,2Peter)arepseudonymous.

And so, more often these texts are referred to as the early Christian

“Apocrypha,”

another

problematic

term,

in

that

it

technically

refers

to“hiddenbooks”(theliteralmeaningof “apocrypha”),hiddeneitherbecause

theycontainedsecretrevelationsorbecausetheysimplywerenotmeantfor

general consumption. A number of these books, however, do not fit that

designation, as they were written for general audiences. Still, so long as

everyone agrees that in the present context, the term “early Christian

apocrypha”maydesignatebooksthatweresometimesthoughttobescrip

turebutwhichwerenonethelessfinallyexcludedfromthecanon,thenthe

termcanstillserveausefulfunction.

The

present

collection

of

early

Christian

apocrypha

is

not

meant

to

beexhaustive,noristhistheonlyplaceonecanturnnowtofindsomeof these

texts.Mostothercollectionsof thelostScriptures,however,coveronlycer

tainkindsof documents(e.g.,non-canonicalGospels)2 ordocumentsdiscov

eredinonlyoneplace(e.g.,thecacheof “gnostic”writingsdiscoverednear

NagHammadiEgyptin1945).3 Ortheyincludeseveralof the“other”scrip

turaltextsonlyasapartof awidercollectionof earlyChristiandocuments.4

Themajorcollectionsthatcontainallof theseearlyChristianwritings—and

evenmore—arewrittenforscholarsandembodyscholarlyconcerns.5 The

2See,forexample,thehandycollectionbyRonCameron,TheOther Gospels(Philadelphia:WestminsterPress,1982)andmorerecentlybyRobertMiller,TheCompleteGospels: Annotated ScholarsVersion(Sonoma,CA:PolebridgePress,1994). 3E.g.,JamesRobinson,ed.The Nag Hammadi Libraryin English,4thed.(NewYork/Leiden:E.J.Brill,1996). 4Forexample,BartD.Ehrman, After the NewTestament: A Reader in EarlyChristianity(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1999).5Mostaccessibly,J.K.Elliott,The Apocryphal NewTestament: ACollectionof ApocryphalChristian Literaturein EnglishTranslation(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1993),andyetmorecomprehensively,WilhelmSchneemelcher,ed. NewTestament Apocrypha,2vols.,tr.R.McL.Wilson(Louisville,KY:

Westminster/JohnKnox,1991).


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5GENERAL INTRODUCTION

purposeof thepresentcollectionistoprovidethenon-scholarwitheasyac

cesstotheseancientChristiandocumentsthatweresometimesregardedas

sacredauthoritiesforChristianfaithandpractice.Ihaveorganizedthecol

lection

in

traditional

rubrics,

based

for

the

most

part

on

the

genres

that

even

tually came to comprise the New Testament:Gospels,Acts,Epistles,and

Apocalypses(includinginthefinaltwocategoriesrelatedkindsof writings).

I have also included several “canonical lists” from the early centuries of

Christianity—thatis,listsof booksthatwerethoughtbytheirauthorstobe

the canon. This final category shows how even within “orthodox” circles

therewasconsiderabledebateconcerningwhichbookstoinclude.

Altogetherthereareforty-sevendifferenttextshere,eachprovidedwith

a

concise

introduction.

Most

of

the

texts

are

given

in

their

entirety.

For

some of the very long ones, I have given sufficiently lengthy extracts to

provideasenseof whatthebookswerelike.Eachisinamodernandhighly

readableEnglishtranslation.Nineteenof thetranslationsaremyown.

InconclusionIwouldliketothank thosewhohavemadethisvolume

apossibility:mywife,SarahBeckwith,whoseinsatiablecuriosityandvast

knowledgemakeher,amongotherthings,anextraordinarydialoguepartner;

mygraduatestudentattheUniversityof NorthCarolinaatChapelHill,Carl

Cosaert,whosediligenceasaresearchassistantissans pareil;DarrylGless,

my

unusually

supportive

Senior

Associate

Dean,

and

the

entire

dean’s

officeatUNC-ChapelHill,whoprovidedmewithamuchneededacademicleave

frommy dutiesaschair in theDepartmentof ReligiousStudies,allowing

me to complete the project; and especially my editor Robert Miller,who

convincedmetoproducethebook andoncemorewentaboveandbeyond

thecallof editorialdutyinhelpingmebringittocompletion.


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NON-CANONICAL

GOSPELS


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8 NON-CANONICAL ACTSOF THE APOSTLES

Introduction

There

were

many

Gospels

available

to

early

Christians—not

just

the

Matthew,Mark,Luke,andJohnfamiliartoreadersof theNewTestamenttoday.

Even though most of these other Gospels have become lost from public

view,somewerehighly influentialwithinorthodoxcirclesthroughoutthe

Middle Ages. These would include, for example, the intriguing Infancy

Gospel of Thomas, which tells of the miraculous and often mischievous

deedsof Jesusasayoungboybetweentheagesof fiveandtwelve,andthe

so-called Proto-Gospelof James,which recordsevents leadingup to (and

including) Jesus’birth by recounting the miraculous birth, early life, and

betrothal

of

his

mother,

the

Virgin

Mary—an

account

highly

influential

onpictorialartinsubsequentcenturies.

Othersof theseGospelsplayedasignificantroleinonecommunityor

anotherinantiquity,butcametobelost—knowntousonlybynameuntil

modern times,whenuncoveredbyprofessionalarchaeologistslookingfor

themorbyaccident.Of these,somehavebeenuncoveredintheirentirety,

asisthecaseof theCopticGospelof Thomas,acollectionof 114sayings

of Jesus,someevidentlyrepresentingactualteachingsof thehistoricalJesus,

but others conveying “gnostic” understandings of Jesus’ message. Other

Gospels

have

been

recovered

only

in

fragments,

including

the

famousGospelallegedlywrittenbyPeter,Jesus’apostle,which,amongotherthings,

recordstheactualeventsof theresurrection,inwhichJesusisseenemerging

fromhistomb,tallasagiant.Yetothersareknownonlyastheyarebriefly

quoted by church fathers who cite them in order to malign their views,

including several Gospels used by various groups of Jewish Christians in

theearlycenturiesof thechurch.

I have included fifteen of our earliest non-canonical Gospels in the

collectionhere.Theyareof varyingtheologicalpersuasion:someappearto

be

perfectly

“orthodox”

in

their

views

(e.g.,

Egerton

Papyrus

2);

others

representaformof JewishChristianitythatlatercametobecondemnedas

heretical(e.g.,theGospelof theNazareans);yetothersappeartohavebeen

written by early Christian “Gnostics”1 (e.g., the Gospel of Philip). These

textsarenotcompletelyrepresentativeof thevariousformsof earlyChris

tian belief about Jesus’words,deeds, and activities;butsince theyderive

fromawiderangeof timeandplacefromwithinthefirstthreecenturiesof

early Christianity, they give some sense of the rich diversity of Christian

viewsfromthisearlyperiodof thechurch.

1Fortheviewsof Gnostics,seeEhrman, Lost Christianities,113–34.


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The

Gospel

of

the

Nazareans

Jewish

Christians

in

the

early

centuries

of

the

church

were

widely

thought

tohavepreferred theGospelof Matthewtoallothers,sinceitisMatthew

thatstresses the importanceof keeping theJewishLawdown toevery jot

andtittle(5:17–20)andthatemphasizes,morethananyother,theJewishness

of Jesus.1 According toanumberof ancientsources,onegroupof Jewish

Christians,sometimesknownastheNazareans,producedtheirownversion

of Matthew, translated into Aramaic, the language of Jesus and of Jews

livinginPalestine.2 Thisversionwouldhavebeenproducedsometimenear

the

end

of

the

first

century

or

the

beginning

of

the

second.

Eventually this “Gospel of the Nazareans” fell intodisfavorwith the

Christiancommunityatlarge,bothbecausefewChristiansinlatercenturies

couldreadAramaicandbecausetheGospel’sJewishemphaseswerecon

sideredsuspicious.Asaresult,theGospelcametobelost.Nowweknow

of itonlythroughquotationsof itstextbychurchfatherslikeJerome,and

byreferencestoitinthemarginsof severalGreek manuscriptsof theGospel

accordingtoMatthew.

These quotations reveal clearly the Jewish-Christian concerns of the

Gospel

and

show

that

the

Gospel

contained

stories

of

Jesus’

baptism,

publicministry,death,andresurrection.Itevidentlydidnotinclude,however,the

firsttwochaptersof Matthew’sGospel,whichrecordtheeventssurrounding

Jesus’miraculousbirth.ForaccordingtomanyJewishChristians,Jesuswas

not born of a virgin, but was a natural human being who was specially

chosentobethemessiahbecauseGodconsideredhimtobemorerighteous

thananyoneelse.

Todayscholarsdebatewhetherthechurchfatherswererightinthinking

that the Gospel of the Nazareans was an Aramaic version of Matthew; it

may

have

instead

been

an

original

composition,

in

Aramaic,

based

on

oral

traditions about Jesus that were in wide circulation and available both to

thisauthorandtheauthorof Matthew.

1SeeBartD.Ehrman,The NewTestament: A Historical Introductiontothe EarlyChristianWritings,

3rded.(NewYork:Oxford,2003),chap.7. 2SeeEhrman, Lost Christianities,99–103.

TranslationbyBartD.Ehrman,basedontheGreek,Latin,andSyriactextsinA.F.J.

Klijn, Jewish-ChristianGospelTradition(VCSupp17;Leiden:E.J.Brill,1992)47–115.

9


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10

1

NON-CANONICAL GOSPELS

Thefollowingarethefragmentsof theGospelquotedinoursurviving

sources.

ItiswritteninacertainGospelthat

is called “according to the He

brews”(if inanyeventanyoneisinclined

to accept it, not as an authority, but to

shedsomelightonthequestionwehave

posed) that another rich man asked [Je

sus],“Master,whatgoodthingmustIdo

to

have

life?”

He

replied

to

him,

“O

man,youshouldkeep the lawand theproph

ets.”Heresponded,“Ihavealreadydone

that.”Jesussaidtohim,“Go,sellallthat

you have and distribute the proceeds to

thepoor;thencome,followme.”

Buttherichmanbegantoscratchhis

head, for he was not pleased. And the

Lord said to him,“Howcan you say, ‘I

have

kept

the

law

and

the

prophets?’

Forit is written in the law, ‘You shall love

your neighbor as yourself.’ But look,

manyof yourbrothers,sonsof Abraham,

are clothed in excrement and dying of

hunger while your house is filled with

manygoodthings,notoneof whichgoes

forthtotheseothers.”Heturnedandsaid

tohisdiscipleSimon,sittingbesidehim,

“Simon,

son

of

Jonah,

it

is

easier

for

a

cameltopassthroughtheeyeof aneedle

thanforarichperson toenter theking

dom of heaven.” (Origen,Commentary

on Matthew,15,14)

[Cf.Matt.25:14–30]FortheGos2 pel that has come down to us inHebrew

letters

makes

the

threat

not

against the one who hid the (master’s)

moneybutagainsttheonewhoengaged

in riotous living. For [the master] had

threeslaves,onewhouseduphisfortune

with whores and flute-players, one who

invested the money and increased its

value,andonewhohidit.Thefirstwas

welcomed with open arms, the second

was

blamed,

and

only

the

third

was

locked up in prison. (Eusebius, Theo-

phania,4,22)

3 But[theLord]taughtaboutthereasonforthedivisionof thesoulsinthehouses,aswehavefoundsomewhere

intheGospelusedbytheJewsandwrit

ten in Hebrew, where he says “I will

choose

for

myself

those

who

are

good—

those given to me by my Father in

heaven.”(Eusebius,Theophania4,12)

4 In the Gospel that is called “according to the Hebrews,” for thewords, “bread to sustain our lives” I

found the word “mahar,” which means

“[bread] for tomorrow.” (Jerome,Com-

mentary

on

Matthew,

6,

11)

In the Gospel that the Nazareans5 andEbionitesuse,whichIrecentlytranslated fromHebrew intoGreek,and

whichmostpeopleconsidertheauthentic

versionof Matthew,themanwithawith

eredhand isdescribedasamason,who

sought for help in words like these: “I

was

a

mason

who

made

a

living

with

my

hands; I beseech you, Jesus, restore my

health so I do not have to beg for food

shamefully.” (Jerome, Commentary on

Matthew,12,13)

6 In the Gospel the Nazareans use,we find “son of Johoiada” insteadof “sonof Barachia.”(Jerome,Commen-

tary

on

Matthew

23,

35)

Thenameof thatone(i.e.,Barab7 bas)isinterpretedtomean“sonof their master” in the Gospel written ac

cording to the Hebrews. (Jerome,Com-

mentaryon Matthew27,16)

In the Gospel we have often re8 ferred to, we read that “the enormous

lintel

of

the

temple

was

broken

and


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11 THEGOSPEL OF THENAZAREANS

split apart.” (Jerome, Commentary on

Matthew27,51)

In

the

Gospel

according

to

the

He9

brews,whichwasactuallywritten

in the Chaldean or Syriac language but

withHebrewletters,whichtheNazareans

still use today and which is the Gospel

according to the Apostles, or, as most

believe,accordingtoMatthew—aGospel

that can also be found in the library of

Caesarea—the

following

story

is

found:

“Behold,themotherof theLordandhis

brothers were saying to him, ‘John the

Baptist isbaptizing for theremissionof

sins.Letusgoandbebaptizedbyhim.’

Butherepliedtothem,‘WhatsinhaveI

committedthatIshouldgotobebaptized

byhim?UnlesspossiblywhatI justsaid

was spoken in ignorance.’” (Jerome,

Against

the

Pelagians, 3,

2)

10 And in the same volume thefollowing is found: “[Jesus]said,‘If yourbrothersinsbyspeakinga

word against you, but then makes it up

to you, you should accept him seven

times a day.’HisdiscipleSimon said to

him, ‘Seven times in a day?’The Lord

responded,

‘Yes

indeed,

I

tell

you—evenup to seventy times seven! For even

among the prophets, after they were

anointed by the Holy Spirit, a word of

sin was found.’” (Jerome, Against the

Pelagians, 3, 2)

VariantReadingsNotedinNew

Testament

Manuscripts

11

• OnMatthew4:5.TheJewish

Gospel does not have, “into

the holy city,” but “in Jeru

salem.”(MS566)

• On Matthew 5:22. The words

“withoutcause”arenotpresentin

some copies, nor in the Jewish

Gospel.

(MS

1424)

• OnMatthew7:5.Inthisplacethe

JewishGospelreads:“Evenif you

arerestingonmybreastbutdonot

do

the

will

of

my

Father

in

heaven,

I will cast you away from my

breast.”(MS1424)

• On Matthew 10:16. The Jewish

Gospelsays,“morethanserpents.”

(MS1424)


Gospel reads, “plunders.” (MS

1424)


Gospelsays,“Igiveyou thanks.”

(MS1424)


Gospeldoesnotread,“Threedays

andthreenights.”(MS899)


Gospel says, “That which you

would

have

had

as

a

benefit

fromusisnowanoffering[totheTem

ple?].”(MS1424)

• OnMatthew16:2–3.Thepassages

markedwithanasterisk arenotset

forth in other copies, nor in the

JewishGospel.(MS1424)


Gospel says, “son of John.” (MS

566)

• On Matthew 18:22. After the

words “seventy times seven” the

Jewish Gospel reads: “For even

among the prophets, after they

wereanointedbytheHolySpirit,

a word of sin was found.” (MSS

566,899)


Gospel

says,

“And

he

made

a

denial, and swore, and cursed.”

(MSS4,273,899,1414)


Gospel says, “And he gave them

armedmentositoppositethecave,

to keep watch over it day and

night.”(MS1424)


20/350

The

Gospel

of

theEbionites

TheEbioniteswereagroupof JewishChristianslocatedindifferentregions

of theMediterraneanfromatleastthesecondtothefourthcenturies.1 What

distinguishedthisgroupof Christiansfrommanyotherswastheirattempt

to combine Jewish views and lifestyles with the belief that Jesus was the

messiah.Inparticular,theyweresaidtohaveemphasizedbelief inonlyone

God to such an extent that they denied, as a consequence, Jesus’ own

divinity.

At

the

same

time,

the

Ebionites

differed

from

non-Christian

Jews

inassertingthatJesuswasthesacrificeforthesinsof theworldandthatall

other sacrifices had therefore become meaningless. Among other things,

this belief led them to embrace a vegetarian diet, since most meat was

procured, in the ancient world, through the religious act of sacrificingan

animal.

Oneof thesacredbookstheseJewishChristiansappealedtoinsupport

of their views was known in antiquity as the Gospel of the Ebionites.

Regrettably,

the

book

as

whole

has

been

lost;

but

we

are

fortunate

to

have

somequotationsof it in thewritingsof anopponentof theEbionites,the

fourth-centuryheresy-hunter,Epiphaniusof Salamis.Thesequotationsgive

us a good idea of what the entire Gospel must have looked like. It was

written in Greek, and represented a kind of harmony of the Gospels of

Matthew,Mark,andLuke.Thiscanbeseenmostclearlyintheaccountof

thevoiceatJesus’baptism.Inthethreecanonicalaccounts,thevoicesays

slightlydifferentthings.Thesedifferencesareharmonized,however,inthe

Gospel according to the Ebionites, where the voice comes from heaven

three

times,

saying

something

slightly

different

on

each

occasion,

correspondingtothewordsfoundineachof thethreeearlierGospels.

Some of the Ebionites’ distinctive concerns are embodied in their

1SeeEhrman, Lost Christianities,chap.6.

TranslationbyBartD.EhrmanbasedontheGreek textfoundinEgbertSchlarband

DieterLührmann,Fragmenteapocryphgewordener Evangelieningriechischer und

lateinischer Sprache(Marburg:N.G.Elwert,2000)35–39.

12


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13 THEGOSPEL OF THEEBIONITES

Gospel.Thisisshown,forexample,inthereferencetothedietof Johnthe

Baptist,inwhichthecanonicalstatementthatheatelocusts(i.e.,meat)and

wild honeywasmodified by thechange of simplyone letter,so thatnow

the

Baptist,

in

anticipation

of

the

Ebionites

themselves,

maintains

a

vege

tariancuisine:hereheissaidtohaveeatenpancakesandwildhoney.

It is difficult to assign a date to this Gospel, but since it betrays a

knowledgeof Matthew,Mark,andLuke,andpresupposesathrivingcom

munityof JewishChristians, it isperhapsbest to locate itsometimeearly

in the second century. The following extracts are all that remain of the

Gospel, drawn from Epiphanius’s work, the Panarion (�The Medicine

Chest ),Book 30.

1 The beginning of the Gospel theyuse reads as follows: “And so inthe days of Herod, King of Judea, John

came baptizing a baptism of repentance

intheJordanRiver.Hewassaidtohave

come

from

the

tribe

of

Aaron,

the

priest,andwasthechildof ZachariasandEliz

abeth. And everyone went out to him.”

(Epiphanius,Panarion,30,13,6)

For by chopping off the genealo2 gies of Matthew they make theirGospelbeginasweindicatedbefore,with

thewords:“Andsointhedaysof Herod,

King

of

Judea,

when

Caiaphas

was

highpriest, a certain one named John came

baptizingabaptismof repentanceinthe

JordanRiver.”(Epiphanius,Panarion,30,

14,3)

3 And so John was baptizing, andPharisees came to him and werebaptized, as was all of Jerusalem. John

wore

a

garment

of

camel

hair

and

a

leatherbeltaroundhiswaist;andhisfood

was wild honey that tasted like manna,

like a cake cooked in oil. (Epiphanius,

Panarion,30,13,4–5)

Andafteragooddealmore,itsays:4 “When the people were baptized,Jesus also came and was baptized by

John.Whenhecameupoutof thewater,

theheavensopenedandhesawtheHoly

Spiritintheformof adove,descending

andenteringhim.Andavoicecamefrom

heaven,‘YouaremybelovedSon,inyou

I

am

well

pleased.’

Then

it

said,

‘TodayI have given you birth.’ Immediately a

great light enlightened the place. When

John saw this,” it says,“he said tohim,

‘Who are you Lord?’Yet again a voice

came from heaven to him, ‘This is my

beloved Son, with whom I am well

pleased.’ And then,” it says, “John fell

beforehimandsaid,‘Ibegyou,Lord—

you

baptize

me!’

But

Jesus

restrained

himbysaying,‘Letitbe,foritisfittingthat

allthingsbefulfilledinthisway.’”(Epi

phanius,Panarion,30,13,3–4)

5 In the Gospel that they call “according to Matthew”—which isnot at all complete, but is falsified and

mutilated—whichtheyrefertoastheHe

brew

Gospel,

the

following

is

found:

“Andsotherewasacertainmannamed

Jesus,whowasaboutthirtyyearsold.He

istheonewhochoseus.Whenhecame

to Capernaum he entered the house of

Simon,alsocalledPeter,andheopened

his mouth to say, ‘As I was passing by

the lake of Tiberias I chose John and

James,thesonsof Zebedee,andSimon,


22/350

14

Andrew, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,

andJudasIscariot;andIcalledyou,Mat

thew, while you were sitting at the tax

collector’s

booth,

and

you

followed

me.

I want you, therefore, to be the twelve

apostlesasawitnesstoIsrael.”(Epiphan

ius,Panarion,30,13,2–3)

Againtheydenythathewasaman,6 evenbasingtheirviewonthewordtheSaviorspokewhenitwasreportedto

him,

“See,

your

mother

and

brothers

are

standing outside.” “Who,” he asked, “is

mymotherandbrothers?”Stretchingout

hishandtohisdiscipleshesaid,“These

aremybrothersandmotherandsisters—

those who do the will of my Father.”

(Epiphanius,Panarion,30,14,5)

Theydonotallegethathewasborn

7

from

God

the

Father,

but

that

he


wascreatedasoneof thearchangels,yet

wasmadegreaterthanthey,sinceherules

over the angels and all things made by

the

Almighty.

And,

as

found

in

their

Gos

pel, they say that when he came he

taught,“Ihavecome todestroythesac

rifices. And if you do not stop making

sacrifice, God’s wrath will not stop af

flictingyou.”(Epiphanius,Panarion,30,

16,4–5)

They

have

changed

the

saying

and

8

abandoned its truesequence,asis

cleartoeveryonewhoconsidersthecom

binationof thewords.Fortheyhavethe

disciplessay,“Wheredoyouwantusto

makepreparationsforyoutoeatthePass

over lamb?” And they indicate that he

responded, “I have no desire to eat the

meat of this Passover lamb with you.”

(Epiphanius,

Panarion,

30,

22,

4)


23/350

The

Gospel

According

totheHebrews

The Gospel according to the Hebrews is quoted by a number of church

fathers connected with the city of Alexandria, Egypt—Clement, Origen,

DidymustheBlind,andJerome(whostudiedwithDidymusinAlexandria);

forthisreason,scholarsassumethatitwasused,andpossiblywritten,there,

probablyduring thefirsthalf of thesecondcentury.Regrettably,thebook

nolongersurvivesintact,butonlyinthescatteredreferencestoitinthese

other

authors’

writings.

Its

name

probably

derives

from

the

circumstance

thatitwasusedprincipallybyJewish-Christiansinthatlargeandthriving

metropolis—i.e.,itwascalledthisbyoutsidersof thatcommunity,notby

thosewhoactuallyusedit.

TheGospelaccordingtotheHebrewswaswritteninGreek andnarrated

importanteventsof Jesus’life, includinghisbaptism,temptation,andres

urrection.Itappears,however,thatthesestorieswerenotsimplytakenover

and modified from the Gospels that came to be included in the New

Testament.Theywereinsteadalternativeformsof thesetraditionsthathad

been

passed

along

orally

until

the

unknown

author

of

this

Gospel

heard

themandwrotethemdown.

The Jewish emphases of the Gospel are evident in a several of the

survivingquotations,suchasfragment5,whichpresupposestheimportance

of James,thebrotherof Jesus,theheadof theJewish-Christiancommunity

inJerusalemafterJesus’death.Yetsomeof thesayingsof theGospelhave

a Gnostic tone to them (see fragment 1, which is quite similar to Coptic

Gospelof Thomas2).1 Itmaybe,then,thatthisparticularJewish-Christian

community

was

more

sympathetic

than

others

to

the

prominent

Gnostic

teachers in Alexandria in the second century. In any event, the Gospel

evidentlycontainedanumberof Jesus’ethical teachings(fragments4and

7). And some of its accounts were highly legendary—including thepost

1OnGnosticism,seeEhrman, Lost Christianities,113–34.

TranslationbyBartD.Ehrman,basedontheGreek,Latin,andSyriactextsinA.F.J.

Klijin, Jewish-ChristianGospelTradition(VCSupp17;Leiden:E.J.Brill,1992)47–115.

15


24/350

16

1


resurrectionappearanceof JesustoJames,whohadswornattheLastSupper

(inastoryfoundinthisGospel,butnotcitedbyanyotherauthority)notto

eatuntilheshouldseeJesusraisedfromthedead(fragment5).

The

following

are

the

quotations

of

the

Gospel

that

survive

in

our

ancientsources.

AsitisalsowrittenintheGospel

according to the Hebrews, “The

one

who

is

amazed

will

rule,

and

the

one

who rules will find rest.” (Clement of

Alexandria, Miscellanies,2,9,45)

If anyone accepts the Gospel ac2 cording to the Hebrews, there theSavior himself says, “Just now my

mother,theHolySpirit,took mebyone

of my hairs and carried me up to the

great

mountain,

Tabor.”

(Origen,

Com-mentaryon John,2,12)

It may appear that Matthew is3 namedLeviintheGospelof Luke.But in fact that isnotso; it isMatthias,

the one who replaced Judas, who is the

sameasLevi,knownbytwonames.This

isfoundintheGospelaccordingtheHe

brews.

(Didymus

the

Blind,

Commentary

onthePsalms,184,9–10)

AswereadintheHebrewGospel,4 theLordsaidtohisdisciples:“Youshould never rejoice except when you

look uponyourbrotherinlove.”(Jerome,

Commentaryon Ephesians,5:4)

TheGospelthatiscalled“accord5

ingtotheHebrews,”whichIhave

recently translated into both Greek and

Latin, a Gospel that Origen frequently

used,recordsthefollowingaftertheSav-

ior’s resurrection: “But when the Lord

had given the linen cloth to the servant

of the priest, he went and appeared to

James.ForJameshadtakenavownotto

eatbreadfromthetimehedrank thecup

of

the

Lord

until

he

should

see

him

raised

fromamongthosewhosleep.”Andsoon

afterthisitsays,“TheLordsaid,‘Bring

atableandbread.’”Andimmediatelyit

continues, “He took the bread and

blessed it,broke it,gave it toJames the

Just, and said to him, ‘My brother, eat

yourbread.FortheSonof Manisrisen

fromamongthosewhosleep.’”(Jerome,

Illustrious

Men, 2)

ItisstatedintheGospelwrittenin6 Hebrew,whichtheNazareansread:“The entire fountain of the Holy Spirit

willdescendonhim.FortheLordisthe

Spirit, and where the Spirit of theLord

is, there is liberty.”Later in thatGospel

thatwehavementionedwefindthefol

lowing

written:

“It

came

to

pass

that

when theLordcameupfromthewater,

theentirefountainof theHolySpiritde

scendedandrestedonhim;anditsaidto

him,‘MySon,inalltheprophetsIhave

beenexpectingyoutocome,thatImight

restonyou.Foryouaremyrest,youare

my firstborn Son, who rules forever.’”

(Jerome,Commentaryon Isaiah11:1–3)

AndintheGospelaccordingtothe7 Hebrews,whichtheNazareansareaccustomedtoread,thefollowingisde

scribedasamongtheworstoffenses:that

someone should make the spirit of his

brother sad. (Jerome, Commentary on

Ezekiel,18:7)


25/350

The

Gospel

of

theEgyptians

TheGospelof theEgyptiansisanotherGospelthathasbeenlostsincethe

early centuries of Christianity. The only access we have to it is in the

quotations of an early church father, the late second-century Clement of

Alexandria,whoatonepointidentifiesoneof hisnon-canonicalquotations

of thewordsof Jesusashavingcomefromthisbook (fragment5).Mostof

Clement’squotationsof theGospelinvolveconversationsbetweenJesusand

a

woman

named

Salome,

mentioned

in

the

New

Testament

as

one

of

thewomenwhodiscoveredJesus’emptytomb(Mark 15:40;16:1).

EventuallySalomebecameaprominentfigureinsomecirclesof Chris

tianity,includingthosethatproducedthisGospelaccordingtotheEgyptians,

whereherquestionsandcommentsleadtoimportantsayingsof Jesus.These

sayings embody ascetic concerns, in which the desires of the flesh and

sexual activity are condemned as being opposed to the will of God. In

particular, the Gospelappearsoriginally to have condemned thepractices

of marriage and procreation. In a number of instances Clement himself

interprets

these

sayings;

it

is

sometimes

difficult

to

know,

however,

whetherClement’s interpretations represent the views of the Gospel’s anonymous

author,orareinsteadClement’sownattemptstomakesenseof theGospel

inlightof hisownviews.

Atleastoneof thesayingsstressesaGnosticnotionthattherevelation

of Godwillbecompletewhenpeopletrampleon the“shamefulgarment”

(� thehumanbody?)andall thingsarerestored to theirultimateunity—

includingmaleandfemale,whichwillnolongerbedifferentiatedbutmade

one (fragment 5). Similar notions can be found in the Coptic Gospel of

Thomas,

also

used

in

Egypt

(see

Gospel

of

Thomas

22,

37,

114).

SomescholarsmaintainthattheGospelwasnamed“accordingtothe

Egyptians”todifferentiateitfromanotherGospelusedinEgypt,theGospel

“accordingtotheHebrews”—thelatterinuseamongJewish-Christiansand

theformer,therefore,amongGentileChristians.Othersfinditmorelikely

TranslationbyBartD.EhrmanbasedontheGreek textfoundinEgbertSchlarband

DieterLührmann,Fragmenteapocryphgewordener Evangelieningriechischer und

lateinischer Sprache(Marburg:N.G.Elwert,2000)29–31.

17


26/350

18

2


thatthebook wasfirstgiven itsnamebythoselivingoutsideof Egypt,to

identifyitasabook incommonusethere.

Since the Gospel is well-known to Clement and, evidently, his com

munity,

it

may

have

been

composed

already

by

the

first

part

of

the

second

century.

When Salome asked, “How long1 will death prevail?” the Lord replied,

“For

as

long

as

you

women

bear

children.”Buthedidnotsaythisbecause

lifeisevilorcreationwicked;insteadhe

was teaching the natural succession of

things; for everything degenerates after

comingintobeing.(Clementof Alexan

dria, Miscellanies,3,45,3)

ThosewhoopposeGod’screation

because

of

self-control—which

at

leastsoundsgood—quotethewordsspo

kentoSalome,thefirstof whichwehave

alreadymentioned,found,Ithink,inthe

Gospel according to the Egyptians. For

they claim that the Savior himself said,

“Ihavecometodestroytheworksof the

female.”By“thefemale”hemeantdesire

and by “works” he meant birth and de

generation.

(Clement

of

Alexandria,

Mis-cellanies,3,63,1)

WhentheWordmadeareasonable3 disclosureconcerningtheconsummationof allthings,Salomeasked,“How

long will peoplecontinue to die?”Now

Scripture refers to people in two ways,

as

having

a

visible

part

and

the

soul,

that

is,thepartthatissavedandthepartthat

isnot.Andsiniscalledthedeathof the

soul. For this reason, the Lord replied

shrewdly, “For as long as women bear

children”—that is to say, for as long as

desirescontinuetobeactive.(Clementof

Alexandria, Miscellanies,3,64,1)

Whydothosewhoadheretoevery4

thingexceptthegospelruleof truth

not cite the following words spoken to

Salome?Forwhenshesaid,“ThenIhave

donewellnottobearchildren”(suppos

ingthatitwasnotsuitabletogivebirth),

theLordresponded,“Eateveryherb,but

not the one that is bitter.” (Clement of

Alexandria,

Miscellanies,

3,

66,

1–2)

5 ThisiswhyCassianindicatesthatwhen Salome asked when thethings she had asked about would be

come known, the Lord replied: “When

youtrampleontheshamefulgarmentand

when the twobecomeoneand themale

with the female is neither male nor fe

male.”

The

first

thing

to

note,

then,

is

that

we do not find this saying in the four

Gospels handed down to us, but in the

Gospel according to the Egyptians.

(Clementof Alexandria, Miscellanies, 3,

92,2–93,1)

And when the Savior said to Sa

6

lome,

“Death

will

last

as

long

as

womengivebirth,”hewasnotdenigrat

ingbirth—sinceitis,afterall,necessary

for the salvation of those who believe.

(Clement of Alexandria, Excerpts from

Theodotus67,2)


27/350

The

Coptic

Gospel

of Thomas

TheCopticGospelof Thomaswasoneof themostsensationalarchaeolog

ical discoveries of the twentieth century.1 The document was unknown

exceptbynamebefore1945,whenpeasantsdiggingforfertilizernearthe

village of Nag Hammadi, Egypt accidentally uncovered a jar containing

thirteenleather-boundmanuscriptsburiedsometimeinthelatefourthcen

tury.When themanuscriptscame to theattentionof scholarsof antiquity,

their

significance

was

almost

immediately

recognized:

they

contained

fifty-

two tractates, principally of “heretical” writings of Gnostic Christians.2

AlthoughoriginallycomposedinGreek,thewritingswereinCoptic(ancient

Egyptian) translation. Many of them had been previously known by title

only.Todaythesewritingsareknownasthe“NagHammadiLibrary.”3

None of the fifty-two tractates has attracted more attention than the

Gospelof Thomas.Forthisisacollectionof Jesus’sayingsthatclaimsto

have been written by Didymus Judas Thomas. According to some early

Christianlegends,ThomaswasJesus’twinbrother.

The

book

records

114

“secret

teachings”

of

Jesus.

It

includes

no

other

material: no miracles, no passion narrative, no stories of any kind.What

ultimately mattered for the author of Thomas was not Jesus’ death and

resurrection, which he does not narrate or discuss, but the mysterious

teachingsthathedelivered.Indeed,theGospelbeginsbystatingthatanyone

who learns the interpretation of these words will have eternal life (say

ing1).

Manyof thesayingswillsoundfamiliartoreadersalreadyconversant

with

the

Gospels

of

Matthew,

Mark,

and

Luke.

For

example,

here

one

finds,

in slightly different wording, the warning against the “blind leading the

1Forafulldiscussion,seeEhrman, Lost Christianities,44–66. 2Onwhatsuch“Gnostics”believed,

seeEhrman, Lost Christianities,122–25. 3Fulltranslationsof allthewritings,withincisiveintroductions,canbefoundinJamesRobinson,The Nag Hammadi Libraryin English,4threv.ed.

(Leiden:E.J.Brill,1996).

TranslationbyThomasO.LambdininJamesRobinson,The Nag Hammadi Libraryin

English,3rded.(Leiden:E.J.Brill,1988)126–38;usedwithpermission.

19


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20 NON-CANONICAL GOSPELS

blind” and the parables of the sower and of the mustard seed (sayings9,

20,34).Othersayings,however,arequitedifferentandappeartopresuppose

aGnosticpointof view,inwhichpeopleareunderstoodtobespiritswho

have

fallen

from

the

divine

realm

and

become

entrapped

in

matter

(i.e.,

in

theprisonsof theirmaterialbodies).Salvation,accordingtothisperspective,

comes to those who learn the truth of their plight and so are enabled to

escape this impoverished material existence by acquiring the knowledge

necessary forsalvation (e.g.,sayings11, 22, 29, 37, and 80).Jesus is the

onewhoconveysthisknowledge.

Some scholars have maintained that the sayings of Thomas may be

closertowhatJesusactuallytaughtthanwhatwefindintheNewTestament;

others,

however,

have

pointed

out

that

the

theology

implicit

in

the

more

Gnostic teachingscannotbe dated with confidenceprior to the beginning

of thesecondcentury.Thus,whilesomeof thesesayingsmaybequiteold—

may,infact,goback toJesushimself—thedocumentasawholeprobably

came to be written sometime after the New Testament Gospels(although

perhapsindependentlyof them),possiblyintheearlysecondcentury.

Thesearethesecretsayingswhichthe days old about the place of life, and he

living Jesus spoke and which Didymos will live. For many who are first will

JudasThomaswrotedown. become last, and they will become one

1Andhesaid,“Whoeverfindsthein- andthesame.”

terpretationof thesesayingswillnotex- 5Jesus said, “Recognize what is in

periencedeath.” your(sg.)sight,andthatwhichishidden

2Jesussaid,“Lethimwhoseekscon- fromyou(sg.)willbecomeplaintoyou

tinue seeking until he finds. When he (sg.).For there isnothinghiddenwhich

finds,

he

will

become

troubled.

When

he

will

not

become

manifest.”becomestroubled,hewillbeastonished, 6His disciples questioned him and

andhewillruleovertheall.” said to him, “Do you want us to fast?

3Jesus said, “If those who lead you Howshallwepray?Shallwegivealms?

say to you, ‘See, the kingdom is in the Whatdietshallweobserve?”

sky,’thenthebirdsof theskywillprecede Jesussaid,“Donottelllies,anddonot

you.If theysaytoyou,‘Itisinthesea,’ dowhatyouhate,forallthingsareplain

thenthefishwillprecedeyou.Rather,the inthesightof heaven.Fornothinghidden

kingdomisinsideof you,anditisoutside will not become manifest, and nothing

of

you.

When

you

come

to

know

your- covered

will

remain

without

being

selves,thenyouwillbecomeknown,and uncovered.”

youwillrealizethatitisyouwhoarethe 7Jesussaid,“Blessedisthelionwhich

sonsof thelivingfather.Butif youwill becomes man when consumed by man;

notknowyourselvesyoudwellinpoverty and cursed is the man whom the lion

anditisyouwhoarethatpoverty.” consumes,andthelionbecomesman.”

4Jesussaid,“Themanoldindayswill 8Andhesaid,“Themanislikeawise

not hesitate to ask a small child seven fisherman who cast his net into the sea


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21 THECOPTICGOSPEL OF THOMAS

anddrewitupfromtheseafullof small

fish. Among them the wise fisherman

foundafine large fish.He threwall the

small

fish

back

into

the

sea

and

chose

the

largefishwithoutdifficulty.Whoeverhas

earstohear,lethimhear.”

9Jesussaid,“Nowthesowerwentout,

took a handful (of seeds), and scattered

them. Some fell on the road; the birds

came and gathered them up. Others fell

onrock,didnottakerootinthesoil,and

did

not

produce

ears.

And

others

fell

on

thorns; they choked the seed(s) and

worms ate them. And others fell on the

good soil and it produced good fruit: it

bore sixty per measure and a hundred

andtwentypermeasure.”

10Jesussaid,“Ihavecastfireuponthe

world, and see, I amguarding ituntil it

blazes.”

11

Jesus

said,

“This

heaven

will

passaway,andtheoneaboveitwillpassaway.

Thedeadarenotalive,andthelivingwill

notdie.Inthedayswhenyouconsumed

whatisdead,youmade itwhatisalive.

When you come to dwell in the light,

whatwillyoudo?Onthedaywhenyou

wereoneyoubecametwo.Butwhenyou

becometwo,whatwillyoudo?”

12

The

disciples

said

to

Jesus,

“Weknowthatyouwilldepartfromus.Who

istobeourleader?”

Jesussaidtothem“Whereveryouare,

youaretogotoJamestherighteous,for

whose sake heaven and earth came into

being.”

13Jesus said to his disciples, “Com

paremetosomeoneandtellmewhomI

am

like.”

SimonPetersaidtohim,“Youarelike

arighteousangel.”

Matthewsaid tohim,“Youare likea

wisephilosopher.”

Thomas said to him, “Master, my

mouth is wholly incapable of saying

whomyouarelike.”

Jesussaid,“Iamnotyour(sg.)master.

Becauseyou(sg.)havedrunk,you(sg.)

have become intoxicated from the bub

bling

spring

which

I

have

measured

out.”

And he took him and withdrew and

toldhimthreethings.WhenThomasre

turned to his companions, they asked

him,“WhatdidJesussaytoyou?”

Thomassaidtothem,“If Itellyouone

of thethingswhichhetoldme,youwill

pick upstonesand throw thematme;a

fire

will

come

out

of

the

stones

and

burn

youup.”

14Jesussaidtothem,“If youfast,you

will give rise to sin for yourselves; and

if youpray,youwillbecondemned;and

if you give alms, you will do harm to

yourspirits.Whenyougointoanyland

and walk about in the districts, if they

receiveyou,eatwhattheywillsetbefore

you,

and

heal

the

sick

among

them.

Forwhatgoesintoyourmouthwillnotdefile

you, but that which issues from your

mouth—itisthatwhichwilldefileyou.”

15Jesussaid,“Whenyouseeonewho

wasnotborn of woman,prostrateyour

selves on your faces and worship him.

Thatoneisyourfather.”

16Jesus said, “Men think, perhaps,

that

it

is

peace

which

I

have

come

to

castupon the world. They do not know that

itisdissensionwhichIhavecometocast

upontheearth:fire,sword,andwar.For

there will be five in a house: three will

beagainsttwo,andtwoagainstthree,the

fatheragainsttheson,andthesonagainst

thefather.Andtheywillstandsolitary.”

17Jesus said, “I shall give you what

no

eye

has

seen

and

what

no

ear

has

heard

andwhatnohandhastouchedandwhat

hasneveroccurredtothehumanmind.”

18ThedisciplessaidtoJesus.“Tellus

howourendwillbe.”Jesussaid,“Have

youdiscovered,then,thebeginning,that

youlook fortheend?Forwherethebe

ginningis,therewilltheendbe.Blessed


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22

is he who will take his place in the be

ginning; he will know the end and will

notexperiencedeath.”

19Jesus

said,

“Blessed

is

he

who

came

intobeingbeforehecameintobeing.If

you become my disciples and listen to

my words, these stones will minister to

you. For there are five trees for you in

Paradisewhichremainundisturbedsum

merandwinterandwhoseleavesdonot

fall. Whoever becomes acquainted with

them

will

not

experience

death.”

20ThedisciplessaidtoJesus,“Tellus

whatthekingdomof heavenislike.”

Hesaid to them,“It islikeamustard

seed. It is the smallest of all seeds. But

when itfallson tilledsoil,itproducesa

great plant and becomes a shelter for

birdsof thesky.”

21Mary said to Jesus, “Whom are

your

disciples

like?”

He

said,

“They

arelikechildrenwho havesettled inafield

whichisnottheirs.Whentheownersof

thefieldcome,theywillsay,‘Letushave

back our field.’ They (will) undress in

their presence in order to let them have

back their field and to give it back to

them.Therefore Isay, if theownerof a

houseknowsthatthethief iscoming,he

will

begin

his

vigil

before

he

comes

andwillnotlethimdigthroughintohishouse

of his domain to carry away his goods.

You(pl.),then,beonyourguardagainst

the world. Arm yourselves with great

strength lest the robbers find a way to

cometoyou,forthedifficultywhichyou

expectwill(surely)materialize.Letthere

be among you a man of understanding.

When

the

grain

ripened,

he

came

quickly

withhissickleinhishandandreapedit.

Whoeverhasearstohearlethimhear.”

22Jesussawinfantsbeingsuckled.He

saidtohisdisciples,“Theseinfantsbeing

suckled are like those who enter the

kingdom.”

They said to him, “Shall we then, as

children,enterthekingdom?”


Jesus said to them, “When you make

the two one, and when you make the

inside like the outside and the outside

like

the

inside,

and

the

above

like

the

below,andwhenyoumakethemaleand

thefemaleoneandthesame,sothatthe

malenotbemalenorthefemalefemale;

and when you fashion eyes in place of

an eye, and a hand in place of a hand,

andafootinplaceof afoot,andalike

nessinplaceof alikeness;thenwillyou

enter

[the

kingdom].”

23Jesussaid,“Ishallchooseyou,one

out of a thousand, and two out of ten

thousand,andtheyshallstandasasingle

one.”

24Hisdisciplessaidtohim,“Showus

theplacewhereyouare,sinceit isnec

essaryforustoseek it.”

He said to them, “Whoever has ears,

let

him

hear.

There

is

light

within

a

manof light,andhelightsupthewholeworld.

If hedoesnotshine,heisdarkness.”

25Jesussaid,“Loveyour(sg.)brother

like your soul, guard him like the pupil

of youreye.”

26Jesussaid,“You(sg.)seethemote

inyourbrother’seye,butyoudonotsee

the beam in your own eye. When you

cast

the

beam

out

of

your

own

eye,

thenyouwillseeclearlytocastthemotefrom

yourbrother’seye.”

27Jesus said, “If you do not fast

as regards the world, you will not find

the kingdom. If you do not observe the

Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see

thefather.”

28Jesussaid,“I took myplaceinthe

midst

of

the

world,

and

I

appeared

to

theminflesh.Ifoundallof themintoxi

cated;Ifoundnoneof themthirsty.And

mysoulbecameafflictedforthesonsof

men, because they are blind in their

hearts and do not have sight; for empty

theycameintotheworld,andemptytoo

theyseek toleavetheworld.Butforthe

momenttheyareintoxicated.Whenthey


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shake off their wine, then they will

repent.”

29Jesus said, “If the flesh came into

being

because

of

spirit,

it

is

a

wonder.

Butif spiritcame intobeingbecauseof

thebody, it isawonderof wonders.In

deed, I am amazed at how this great

wealth has made its home in this

poverty.”

30Jesus said, “Where there are three

gods,theyaregods.Wheretherearetwo

or

one,

I

am

with

him.”

31Jesussaid,“Noprophetisaccepted

in his own village; no physician heals

thosewhoknowhim.”

32Jesussaid,“Acitybeingbuiltona

high mountain and fortified cannot fall,

norcanitbehidden.”

33Jesussaid,“Preachfromyour(pl.)

housetopsthatwhichyou(sg.)willhear

in

your

(sg.)

ear.

For

no

one

lights

a

lampand puts it under a bushel, nor does he

putitinahiddenplace,butratherhesets

it on a lampstand so that everyone who

entersandleaveswillseeitslight.”

34Jesussaid,“If a blind man leadsa

blindman,theywillbothfallintoapit.”

35Jesus said, “It is not possible for

anyonetoenterthehouseof astrongman

and

take

it

by

force

unless

he

binds

hishands; thenhe will (beable to) ransack

hishouse.”

36Jesus said, “Do not be concerned

from morning until evening and from

evening until morning about what you

willwear.”

37Hisdisciplessaid,“Whenwillyou

becomerevealedtousandwhenshallwe

see

you?”

Jesussaid,“Whenyoudisrobewithout

being ashamed and take up your gar

ments and place them under your feet

likelittlechildrenandtreadonthem,then

[willyousee] thesonof the livingone,

andyouwillnotbeafraid.”

38Jesus said, “Many times have you

desired to hear these wordswhich I am

sayingtoyou,andyouhavenooneelse

to hear them from. There will be days

whenyouwill look formeandwillnot

find

me.”

39Jesus said, “The pharisees and the

scribeshavetakenthekeysof knowledge

(gnosis) and hidden them. They them

selves have not entered, nor have they

allowedtoenterthosewhowishto.You,

however, be as wise as serpents and as

innocentasdoves.”

40

Jesus

said,

“A

grapevine

has

been

planted outside of the father, but being

unsound,itwillbepulledupbyitsroots

anddestroyed.”

41Jesus said, “Whoever has some

thinginhishandwillreceivemore,and

whoeverhasnothingwillbedeprivedof

eventhelittlehehas.”

42Jesussaid,“Becomepassers-by.”

43

His

disciples

said

to

him,

“Who

areyou, thatyoushouldsay these thingsto

us?”

Jesus said to them, “You do not

realizewhoIamfromwhatIsaytoyou,

but you have become like the Jews, for

they (either) love the tree and hate its

fruit(or)lovethefruitandhatethetree.”

44Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes

against

the

father

will

be

forgiven,

andwhoeverblasphemesagainstthesonwill

be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes

againsttheholyspiritwillnotbeforgiven

eitheronearthorinheaven.”

45Jesus said, “Grapes are not har

vestedfromthorns,norarefigsgathered

from thistles, for they do not produce

fruit.Agoodmanbringsforthgoodfrom

his

storehouse;

an

evil

man

brings

forth

evil things from his evil storehouse,

whichisinhisheart,andsaysevilthings.

Foroutof theabundanceof thehearthe

bringsforthevilthings.”

46Jesus said, “Among those born of

women,fromAdamuntilJohntheBap

tist, there is no one so superior to John

the Baptist that his eyes should not be


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24

lowered (before him). Yet I have said,

whicheveroneof youcomestobeachild

willbeacquaintedwiththekingdomand

will

become

superior

to

John.”

47Jesus said, “It is impossible for a

man to mount two horses or to stretch

two bows. And it is impossible for a

servant toserve twomasters;otherwise,

hewillhonortheoneandtreattheother

contemptuously.Nomandrinksoldwine

and immediately desires to drink new

wine.

And

new

wine

is

not

put

into

old

wineskins,lesttheyburst;norisoldwine

put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it.

An old patch is not sewn into a new

garment,becauseatearwouldresult.”

48Jesussaid,“If twomakepeacewith

each other in this one house, they will

saytothemountain,‘Moveaway,’andit

willmoveaway.”

49

Jesus

said,

“Blessed

are

the

solitaryandelect,foryouwillfindthekingdom.

For you are from it, and to it you will

return.”

50Jesus said, “If they say to you,

‘Where did you come from?’, say to

them,‘Wecamefromthelight,theplace

where the light came into being on its

own accord and established [itself] and

became

manifest

through

their

image.’

If theysaytoyou,‘Isityou?’say,‘Weare

its children, 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,‘Itismovementandrepose.’”

51His disciples said to him, “When

will the reposeof thedeadcomeabout,

andwhenwillthenewworldcome?”

He

said

to

them,

“What

you

look

forwardtohasalreadycome,butyoudonot

recognizeit.”

52Hisdisciplessaidtohim,“Twenty

four prophetsspoke in Israel,andallof

themspokeinyou.”

He said to them, “You have omitted

theonelivinginyourpresenceandhave

spoken(only)of thedead.”


53His disciples said to him, “Is cir

cumcisionbeneficialornot?”Hesaidto

them, “If it were beneficial, their father

would

beget

them

already

circumcised

from their mother. Rather, the true cir

cumcision in spirit has become com

pletelyprofitable.”

54Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,

foryoursisthekingdomof heaven.”

55Jesussaid,“Whoeverdoesnothate

hisfatherandhismothercannotbecome

a

disciple

to

me.

And

whoever

does

not

hatehisbrothersandsistersandtakeup

his cross in my way will not be worthy

of me.”

56Jesus said, “Whoever has come to

understandtheworldhasfound(only)a

corpse,andwhoeverhasfoundacorpse

issuperiortotheworld.”

57Jesussaid,“Thekingdomof thefa

ther

is

like

a

man

who

had

[good]

seed.His enemy came by night and sowed

weeds among the good seed. The man

didnotallowthemtopulluptheweeds;

hesaidtothem,‘Iamafraidthatyouwill

go intending to pull up the weeds and

pullup thewheatalongwith them.’For

onthedayof theharvesttheweedswill

beplainlyvisible,andtheywillbepulled

up

and

burned.”

58Jesussaid,“Blessedisthemanwho

hassufferedandfoundlife.”

59Jesussaid,“Takeheedof theliving

onewhileyouarealive,lestyoudieand

seek toseehimandbeunabletodoso.”

60TheysawaSamaritancarrying

a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to

his disciples, “That man is round about

the

lamb.”

Theysaidtohim,“Sothathemaykill

itandeatit.”

Hesaidtothem,“Whileitisalive,he

willnoteatit,butonlywhenhehaskilled

itandithasbecomeacorpse.”

They said to him, “He cannot do so

otherwise.”

Hesaidtothem,“Youtoo,look fora


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place for yourselves within repose, lest

youbecomeacorpseandbeeaten.”

61Jesussaid,“Twowillrestonabed:

the

one

will

die,

and

the

other

will

live.”

Salomesaid,“Whoareyou,man,that

you . . . have comeuponmycouchand

eatenfrommytable?”

Jesussaidtoher,“Iamhewhoexists

fromtheundivided.Iwasgivensomeof

thethingsof myfather.”

. . . “Iamyourdisciple.”

. . .

“Therefore

I

say,

if

he

is

destroyedhewillbefilledwithlight,butif

he is divided, he will be filled with

darkness.”

62Jesussaid,“It isto those[whoare

worthy of my] mysteries that I tell my

mysteries.Donotletyour(sg.)lefthand

know what your (sg.) right hand is

doing.”

63

Jesus

said,

“There

was

a

rich

manwho had much money. He said, ‘I shall

putmymoneytousesothatImaysow,

reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with

produce,with theresultthatIshalllack

nothing.’ Such were his intentions, but

thatsamenighthedied.Lethimwhohas

earshear.”

64Jesussaid,“Amanhadreceivedvis

itors.

And

when

he

had

prepared

the

dinner, he sent his servant to invite the

guests.Hewenttothefirstoneandsaid

tohim,‘Mymasterinvitesyou.’Hesaid,

‘I have claims against some merchants.

They are coming to me this evening. I

mustgoandgivethemmyorders.Iask

tobeexcusedfromthedinner.’Hewent

to another and said to him, ‘My master

has

invited

you.’

He

said

to

him,

‘I

have

justboughtahouseandamrequiredfor

theday.Ishallnothaveanysparetime.’

Hewenttoanotherandsaidtohim,‘My

masterinvitesyou.’Hesaidtohim,‘My

friendisgoingtogetmarried,andIam

topreparethebanquet.Ishallnotbeable

to come. I ask to be excused from the

dinner.’He went to another and said to

him,‘Mymasterinvitesyou.’Hesaidto

him,‘Ihave justboughtafarm,andIam

onmywaytocollecttherent.Ishallnot

be

able

to

come.

I

ask

to

be

excused.’

Theservantreturnedandsaidtohismas

ter,‘Thosewhomyouinvitedtothedin

nerhaveaskedtobeexcused.’Themaster

said to his servant, ‘Go outside to the

streets and bring back those whom you

happen to meet, so that they may dine.’

Businessmen and merchants [will] not

enter

the

places

of

my

father.”

65He said, “There was a good man

who owned a vineyard. He leased it to

tenantfarmerssothattheymightwork it

and he might collect the produce from

them. He sent his servant so that the

tenantsmightgivehimtheproduceof the

vineyard. They seized his servant and

beathim,allbutkillinghim.Theservant

went

back

and

told

his

master.

The

mastersaid,‘Perhapshedidnotrecognizethem.’

Hesentanotherservant.Thetenantsbeat

thisoneaswell.Thentheownersenthis

son and said, ‘Perhaps they will show

respect to my son.’Because the tenants

knewthatitwashewhowastheheirto

thevineyard,theyseizedhimandkilled

him.Lethimwhohasearshear.”

66

Jesus

said,

“Show

me

the

stonewhich the builders have rejected. That

oneisthecornerstone.”

67Jesus said, “If one who knows the

allstillfeelsapersonaldeficiency,heis

completelydeficient.”

68Jesus said, “Blessed are you when

youarehatedandpersecuted.Wherever

youhavebeenpersecuted theywillfind

no

place.”

69Jesus said, “Blessed are they who

havebeenpersecutedwithinthemselves.

It is they whohave trulycome toknow

thefather.Blessedarethehungry,forthe

bellyof himwhodesireswillbefilled.”

70Jesus said, “That which you have

will save you if you bring it forth from

yourselves.Thatwhichyoudonothave


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26

within you [will] kill you if you do not

haveitwithinyou.”

71Jesus said, “I shall [destroy this]

house,

and

no

one

will

be

able

to

build

it [ . . . ]”

72[A man said] to him, “Tell my

brotherstodividemyfather’spossessions

withme.”

Hesaidtohim,“Oman,whohasmade

meadivider?”

He turned tohisdisciplesandsaid to

them,

“I

am

not

a

divider,

am

I?”

73Jesussaid,“Theharvestisgreatbut

the laborers are few. Beseech the lord,

therefore, to send out laborers to the

harvest.”

74He said, “O lord, there are many

around the drinking trough, but there is

nothinginthecistern.”

75Jesus said, “Many are standing at

the

door,

but

it

is

the

solitary

who

willenterthebridalchamber.”


ther is like a merchant who had a con

signment of merchandise and who dis

covered a pearl. That merchant was

shrewd. He sold the merchandise and

bought the pearl alone for himself.You

too,seek hisunfailingandenduringtrea

sure

where

no

moth

comes

near

to

devourandnowormdestroys.”

77Jesussaid,“ItisIwhoamthelight

which isabove themall.It isI whoam

theall.Frommedid theallcomeforth,

and unto me did the all extend. Split a

piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up

thestone,andyouwillfindmethere.”

78Jesus said, “Why have you come

out

into

the

desert?

To

see

a

reed

shaken

by the wind? And to seea manclothed

in fine garments [like your] kings and

yourgreatmen?Uponthemarethefine

garments,andtheyareunabletodiscern

thetruth.”

79A woman from the crowd said to

him,“Blessedarethewombwhichbore


you and the breasts which nourished

you.”

He said to [her], “Blessed are those

who

have

heard

the

word

of

the

father

and have truly kept it.For therewillbe

days when you (pl.) will say, ‘Blessed

are the womb which has not conceived

and the breasts which have not given

milk.’”

80Jesussaid,“Hewhohasrecognized

theworldhasfoundthebody,buthewho

has

found

the

body

is

superior

to

the

world.”

81Jesussaid,“Lethimwhohasgrown

richbeking,and lethimwhopossesses

powerrenounceit.”

82Jesus said, “He who is near me is

nearthefire,andhewhoisfarfromme

isfarfromthekingdom.”

83Jesus said, “The images are mani

fest

to

man,

but

the

light

in

them

remainsconcealedintheimageof thelightof the

father.Hewillbecomemanifest,buthis

image will remain concealed by his

light.”

84Jesus said, “When you see your

likeness,you rejoice.Butwhenyousee

your images which came intobeingbe

fore you, and which neither die nor be

come

manifest,

how

much

you

will

havetobear!”

85Jesussaid,“Adamcameintobeing

from a great power and a great wealth,

but he did not become worthy of you.

Forhadhebeenworthy,[hewould]not

[haveexperienced]death.”

86Jesus said, “[The foxes have their

holes]andthebirdshavetheirnests,but

the

son

of

man

has

no

place

to

lay

his

headandrest.”

87Jesus said, “Wretched is the body

that is dependent upon a body, and

wretchedisthesoulthatisdependenton

thesetwo.”

88Jesus said, “The angels and the

prophets will come to you and give to


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you those things you (already) have.

And you too, give them those things

which you have, and say to yourselves,

‘When

will

they

come

and

take

what

is

theirs?’”

89Jesussaid,“Why do you wash the

outside of the cup? Do you not realize

thathewhomadetheinsideisthesame

onewhomadetheoutside?”

90Jesussaid,“Comeuntome,formy

yokeiseasyandmylordshipismild,and

you

will

find

repose

for

yourselves.”

91Theysaidtohim,“Telluswhoyou

aresothatwemaybelieveinyou.”

Hesaidtothem,“Youreadthefaceof

theskyandof theearth,butyouhavenot

recognized the one who is before you,

and you do not know how to read this

moment.”

92Jesussaid,“Seek andyouwillfind.

Yet,

what

you

asked

me

about

in

formertimesandwhichIdidnottellyou then,

now I do desire to tell, but you do not

inquireafterit.”

93Jesus said, “Do not give what

isholy todogs,lesttheythrowthemon

the dung heap. Do not throw the pearls

[to]swine,lestthey . . . it [ . . . ].”

94Jesus [said], “He who seeks will

find,

and

[he

who

knocks]

will

be

let

in.”

95[Jesussaid],“If youhavemoneydo

notlenditatinterest,butgive[it]toone

fromwhomyouwillnotgetitback.”


ther is like[acertain]woman.She took

a little leaven, [concealed] it in some

dough,andmadeitintolargeloaves.Let

himwhohasearshear.”

97

Jesus

said,

“The

kingdom

of

the

[father] is like a certain woman who was

carrying a [jar] full of meal.While she

was walking [on the] road, still some

distancefromhome,thehandleof the jar

broke and the meal emptied out behind

her[on]theroad.Shedidnotrealizeit;

she had noticed no accident. When she

reached her house, she set the jar down

andfounditempty.”


ther

is

like

a

certain

man

who

wanted

to

killapowerfulman.Inhisownhousehe

drewhisswordandstuck itintothewall

in order to find out whether his hand

could carry through. Then he slew the

powerfulman.”

99The disciples said to him, “Your

brothers and your mother are standing

outside.”

Hesaidtothem,“Thoseherewhodo

thewillof myfatheraremybrothersand

mymother.Itistheywhowillenterthe

kingdomof myfather.”

100TheyshowedJesusagoldcoinand

saidtohim,“Caesar’smendemandtaxes

fromus.”

He said to them, “Give Caesar what

belongs

to

Caesar,

give

God

what

belongstoGod,andgivemewhatismine.”

101Jesussaid,“Whoeverdoesnot

hate his [father] and his mother as I do

cannot become a [disciple] to me. And

whoeverdoes[not]lovehis[fatherand]

hismotherasIdocannotbecomea[dis

bart ehrman - lost scriptures.pdf

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