Gospels In Conflict: John and Thomas - Part 9

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

We concluded Part 9 with the following:

 

(p.50) Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, [Jesus]

answered them, " The kingdom of God is not coming with signs that can be

observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!,' for the

kingdom of God is within you. " [64]

 

(p.51) Some have taken the phrase " within you " to mean that the kingdom is among

the disciples so long as Jesus is with them, while others take it to mean that

the kingdom of God is embodied not only in Jesus but in everyone. The New

Revised Standard Version of the Bible adopts the first sense--that Jesus alone

embodies the kingdom of God. But a century ago, in a book called 'The Kingdom of

God Is Within You', Leo Tolstoy urged Christians to give up coercion and

violence in order to realize God's kingdom here and now. Thomas Merton, the

twentieth-century writer and Trappist monk, agreed with Tolstoy but interpreted

the kingdom of God mystically rather than practically. [65]

 

Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas), Chapter 2, p.50-51

 

Notes:

 

[64] Luke 17:20-21.

 

[65] Thomas Merton, quoted by Marcus Borg, in 'Meeting Jesus Again for the First

Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith' (San Francisco,

1994).

 

Here now, is Part 10.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

 

Gospels In Conflict: John and Thomas - Part 9

 

(p.51) In certain passages, then, the Gospel of Thomas interprets the kingdom of

God as Tolstoy and Merton would do nearly two thousand years later. The Gospel

of Mary Magdalene, also discovered in Egypt, but in 1896, about fifty years

before the Nag Hammadi find, echoes this theme: Jesus tells his disciples, " Let

no one lead you astray, saying, 'Lo, here!' or 'Lo, there!' For the Son of Man

is within you. Follow after him! " [66] Yet after including his version of this

saying at one point in his gospel, Luke retreats from this position and

concludes his account with the kind of apocalyptic warnings found in Mark: the

Son of Man is not a divine presence in all of us but a terrifying judge who is

coming to summon everyone to the day of wrath that, Luke's Jesus warns, may

 

catch you unexpectedly, like a trap; for it will come upon all who live upon the

face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, and pray that you may have the

strength to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the

Son of Man. [67]

 

(p.52) The Gospels of Thomas and John, however, speak for those who understand

Jesus' message quite differently. Both say that, instead of warning his

disciples about the 'end of time', Jesus points them toward the 'beginning'.

John opens with the famous prologue describing the beginning of the universe,

when " the word was with God, and the word was God. " [68] John is referring, of

course, to the opening verses of Genesis: " in the beginning " there was a vast,

formless void, darkness, and " the abyss, " or deep water, and " a wind [or spirit]

from God swept over the face of the waters. " [69] Yet before there were sun,

moon, or stars, there was, first of all, light: " And God said, 'Let there be

light,' and there was light. " [70] Thus John identifies Jesus not only with the

'word' that God spoke but also with the divine 'light' that it called into

being--what he calls " the true light that enlightens everyone, coming into the

world. " [71]

 

Thomas's Jesus also challenges those who persist in asking him about the " end

time " : " Have you found the beginning, then, that you look to the end? " Here,

too, he directs them to go back to the beginning, " for whoever takes his place

in the beginning will know the end, and will not taste death " [72]--that is,

will be restored to the luminous state of creation before the fall. Thomas, like

John, identifies Jesus with the light that existed before the dawn of creation.

According to Thomas, Jesus says that this primordial light not only brought the

entire universe into being but still shines through everything we see and touch.

For this primordial light is not simply impersonal energy but a being that

speaks with a human voice--with 'Jesus's' voice:

 

Jesus said, " I am the light which is before all things. It is I who am all

things. From me all things came forth, and to me all things extend. Split a

piece of wood, and I am there; lift up the stone, and you will find me. " [73]

 

(p.53) Yet, despite similarities between John's and Thomas's versions of Jesus'

secret teaching, when we look more closely, we begin to see that John's

understanding of Jesus' " way " is diametrically opposed to Thomas's on the

practical and crucial question: How can we find that light? Let us look first at

the Gospel of Thomas.

 

Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas)

Chapter 2, p. 51-53

Elaine Pagels

Vintage Books, New York, U.S.A

ISBN: 0-375-70316-0

 

Notes:

 

[66] Gospel of Mary 8:15-20. See the major new edition and commentary by Karen

King, forthcoming (as of this writing) from Harvard University Press.

 

[67] Luke 21:34-36.

 

[68] John 1:1.

 

[69] Genesis 1:2.

 

[70] Genesis 1:3.

 

[71] John 1:9.

 

[72] Gospel of Thomas 16, in NHL 120.

 

[73] Ibid., 77, in NHL 126.