The Gospel of Thoma is a gnostic text written sometime in the early 3rd century. It consists of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus and is interesting because it casts Jesus in a different light – there is no mention of crucifixion or rising from the dead. Indeed, they are written by ‘Judas Thomas the Twin’ – a claim that the author is the twin brother of Jesus!
This brother of Jesus promises that anyone that ‘discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death’. What is being clearly said is that the sayings attributed to Jesus need to be understood not in a literal manner but perhaps in a metaphysical or esoteric manner. The meaning needs to be ‘discovered’ so it is evident that these writings should not be taken literally.
Why would somebody go to the trouble of disguising their writings? It was known that the Christian Church was selecting texts to form part of the Bible – and the Gospel of Thomas was not among them. The author warns in the text of the trouble that may arise when one understands and preaches the texts, that they may be subject to persecution or attack. Therefore it was important that the esoteric meaning be hidden from view. Interestingly, Thomas the Twin is believed to have sailed to India in 52AD, an area where the ancient belief in Hinduism has flourished. There is a great deal of crossover between the hidden interpretation of the Gospel of Thomas and ancient beliefs of energy and the manner of the universe. Saint Thomas is believed to be burined at Mylapore, India.
Read More: The hidden Gospel of Mary
The table below contains the original translation by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer. Various translation of the Gospel can be found at http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl_thomas.htm
I include my own interpretation of the sayings in the right hand column.
| Gospel of Thomas | Metaphysical or Esoteric Meaning | |
| 1 | And he said, “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.” | You will not fear death when you understand the nature of the universe |
| 2 | Jesus said, “Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]” | Do not stop searching for the nature of things. You will find them but when you do, you will be disturbed as to how people are so blind. But you will also understand. |
| 3 | Jesus said, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the (Father’s) kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father’s) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty.” | The Father’s Kingdom is everywhere. Even though your leaders may trick you and say it is here or there, they are accidentally right because it is everywhere. In truth, the Kingdom you seek is already within you and without you. You have already come from it, are a part of it and exist within it. If you do not understand this, you will live in poverty of spirit. |
| 4 | Jesus said, “The person old in days won’t hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one.” | Our physical age has little to do with our knowledge of the universe. Teachers come in many different guises and because of our many journeys in life, a child may hold more understanding of the universe than a wise old man. |
| 5 | Jesus said, “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised.]” | The truth, the Kingdom, the Tao, the everlasting and everflowing energy is right in front of you – you just have to look. There is nothing hidden away from those that seek. |
| 6 | His disciples asked him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give to charity? What diet should we observe?” Jesus said, “Don’t lie, and don’t do what you hate, because all things are disclosed before heaven. After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered up that will remain undisclosed.” | Here we are told that nothing we do remains hidden in the metaphysical world – everything we do has an energetic footprint and we are constantly changing energy with our actions. The examples of fasting or praying without the accompanying purity of heart means our energetic footprint will still be weak, even though we may appear devout to those to cannot see. |
| 7 | Jesus said, “Lucky is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. And foul is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion still will become human.” | What we take into us affects our energy. Could also be taken to mean that our journey will take us through several forms. |
| 8 | And he said, “The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!” | As you seek, you will draw up your net with a lot of information. You are looking for the truth (the big fish) in that information. |
| 9 | Jesus said, “Look, the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn’t take root in the soil and didn’t produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure.” | You must tend to your own seeds – nourish your body and mind with the right soil and it will produce a good understanding of the universe. Abuse your body with fake news, falsehoods, materialism and your truth will be choked by modern life |
| 10 | Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I’m guarding it until it blazes.” | |
| 11 | Jesus said, “This heaven will pass away, and the one 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 come alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?” | A passage about understanding energy and the way our energy bodies continue after death. ‘The dead are not alive’ – our physical bodies are not alive but our energy bodies (the living) are. Could also be a reference to those that are spiritually dead and spiritually alive – those spiritually dead are not alive while people who are spiritually alive will never die. The reference to when you were one is a link to when our souls were part of the source God – and they split off – we became ‘two’. Now the question that remains is what will we do now that we have split from God or the Source? |
| 12 | The disciples said to Jesus, “We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?” Jesus said to them, “No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.” | No esoteric meaning? James the Just was a brother (or cousin) of Jesus. |
| 13 | Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me to something and tell me what I am like.” Simon Peter said to him, “You are like a just messenger.” Matthew said to him, “You are like a wise philosopher.” Thomas said to him, “Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like.” Jesus said, “I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended.” And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas came back to his friends they asked him, “What did Jesus say to you?” Thomas said to them, “If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and devour you.” | Jesus is not our teacher – we are responsible for our own enlightenment or education. But when we begin to search for the meaning to our lives, we can become intoxicated with knowledge. Possibly a reference that we should beware of becoming intoxicated with the teachings of others but rather go find our own truth. |
| 14 | Jesus said to them, “If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits. When you go into any region and walk about in the countryside, when people take you in, eat what they serve you and heal the sick among them. After all, what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, it’s what comes out of your mouth that will defile you.” | A passage about the operation of energy in the universe. If we view ourselves as having to fast because we have sinned, then we will attract sin upon ourselves. As we think, so shall we be! If we pray for forgiveness, we attract something that requires forgiveness and so will be condemned. Energy is what we make of it – it is not what others think or say of us (i.e. what they feed us into our mouth) that defiles us, but what comes out of our own mouth. This passage is important because it tells us how we think, feel, say and act about ourselves is what attracts our experiences in life. |
| 15 | Jesus said, “When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father.” | There is only one source and (s)he was not born in the manner we are. |
| 16 | Jesus said, “Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there’ll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone.” | A passage that lays it out starkly for us – The original source or God is not here to micromanage our affairs because we have Free Will which was necessary for balance with the Original Source. |
| 17 | Jesus said, “I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart.” | What we want is available to us if we understand the universal energy and its flow. |
| 18 | The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us, how will our end come?” Jesus said, “Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death.” | A reference to how our souls came into being. When we understand how we were created, then we understand both the beginning and the end. The beginning was the creation of a balance between all souls and the soul of God or the original Source. Our work, is to exist in harmony with that original source so the end is as the beginning. |
| 19 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being. If you become my disciples and pay attention 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 fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death.” | Congratulations to the being who came to be before coming into being – i.e. attaining consciousness. The five trees of paradise could be a reference to the Jewish worlds of the Kabbalah – siyah, Yetzirah, Beriah, Atzilut & Adam Kadmon. That is to say, if you pay attention to these sayings, the path to enlightenment is laid out before you. |
| 20 | The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what Heaven’s kingdom is like.” He said to them, “It’s like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky.” | Heaven’s Kingdom is contained within the smallest of seeds and if you understand how a seed grows to become a large plant you will know what Heaven’s Kingdom is like. |
| 21 | Mary said to Jesus, “What are your disciples like?” He said, “They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, ‘Give us back our field.’ They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house (their domain) and steal their possessions. As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can’t find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be among you a person who understands. When the crop ripened, he came quickly carrying a sickle and harvested it. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!” | A passage about the way we live. We think this field is ours or that we ‘own’ things – anything we think we own is just a distraction from the truth. The reference to the owners being prepared for robbers is a warning to anyone who understands these esoteric teachings to be on guard against those that would harm them for preaching them. There are those whose power rests in preaching falsehoods and they seek to harm anyone who preaches the truth, therefore prepare your house! At the same time, when your crop ripens, you must harvest and make good. If you have been blessed with two good ears (i.e. the body and mind to understand), reach back and pull someone up. Do something with your good harvest. |
| 22 | Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, “These nursing babies are like those who enter the (Father’s) kingdom.” They said to him, “Then shall we enter the (Father’s) kingdom as babies?” Jesus said to them, “When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].” | The first part of this passage refers to our nature – when we are in alignment with the universe we shall enter heaven. Babies view themselves as neither male nor female, are unconcerned with material goods. When we become like this it is easier to understand heaven. The second part explains that when we make the inner like the outer (when our emotions, thoughts and actions are in alignment) we shall ‘enter’ heaven. When we reach this state, what we do matches what we say, think and feel i.e. we make eyes in place of an eye and a hand in place of a hand. Very often now, we say one thing and do another and expect to be in alignment which is not possible. |
| 23 | Jesus said, “I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one.” | I’m Unsure. A reference to the tiny amount of people that will understand these sayings? A reference to how three people can stand as one if they understand the nature of energy and the universe? |
| 24 | His disciples said, “Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it.” He said to them, “Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark.” | The Kingdom of Heaven is within us. The light we have can shine on the whole world if we let it. When we darken our light, it is dark. |
| 25 | Jesus said, “Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye.” | Possibly a reference to loving other like they were part of our own soul – because they are. Unity pervades the universe but we are under the illusion that we are distinct and separate beings. |
| 26 | Jesus said, “You see the sliver in your friend’s eye, but you don’t see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend’s eye.” | Our ego’s blind us. We see the faults in others but fail to see our own faults. |
| 27 | “If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the (Father’s) kingdom. If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the Father.” | If we do not take a break from the world (‘fast’) we will not find Heaven or the nature of the universe. Detachment from the material nature of the world is a necessity to finding the Light. ‘Observing the Sabbath’ could be a reference to ensuring we dedicate time to our spiritual practice – if we do not, we will not see ‘The Father’ or the Original Source. |
| 28 | Jesus said, “I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways.” | This passage describes us as drunk – we are drunk to the spiritual truths that are available to us and we will depart this earthly world drunk if we choose not to wake up. Can also be interpreted that we are drunk on fake news, contaminated water, false preachings and we live in an induced stupor. |
| 29 | Jesus said, “If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty.” | We are a marvel because our bodies came into being because of our spirits. If it was the other way around, that our spirit came into being because of our bodies, it would be a marvel of marvels – possible a sarcastic throwaway comment. This wealth that we have, our Free Will and our Spirit, dwells in a spiritual poverty because we neglect it. |
| 30 | Jesus said, “Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one.” | A cryptic saying – No matter how many deities there are they are divine. Within that three are also two and One and ‘I am with that one’ is a reference that the original light that we hold is with us always. It is our soul, a soul derived from the Original Source and therefore the Original Source (God) is with us all. |
| 31 | Jesus said, “No prophet is welcome on his home turf; doctors don’t cure those who know them.” | If you understand what is in these sayings, the people closest to you will doubt you. Those closest to you will speak ill of you. Whenever you reach for a new level of enlightenment, those closest to you will seek to pull you back down. |
| 32 | Jesus said, “A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.” | Prepare your foundation in the magical arts wisely. If you seek enlightenment, put down a solid base for yourself and nothing anyone says or does will topple you. |
| 33 | Jesus said, “What you will hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim from your rooftops. After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light.” | Possibly can be taken to mean to listen to your inner voice and seek to spread your understanding. Could also be interpreted as when you listen to your inner voice let your inner light shine so that others may see that you can assist them. |
| 34 | Jesus said, “If a blind person leads a blind person, both of them will fall into a hole.” | Be wary of following those who are blind to the truth. Both of you will fall into a hole (despair/materialism/falsehoods) |
| 35 | Jesus said, “One can’t enter a strong person’s house and take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot his house.” | May be a call to fortify your spirit because others will seek to undermine you |
| 36 | Jesus said, “Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food–what you’re going to eat, or about your clothing–] what you are going to wear. [You’re much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin. As for you, when you have no garment, what will you put on? Who might add to your stature? That very one will give you your garment.]” | Stay present in the moment rather than worrying about things that the mind generates. When you have nothing left, what will you do? ‘What will you put on’ is a reference to the real you – i.e. what persona, spirit or ego is truly you? When death faces us, all our material worries slip away and all that is left is the true self. ‘Who might add to your stature?’ – If you know of someone who might add to your stature, go seek them out now and learn from them. This could also be a mockery of people associating with others just to increase their stature. In death, your stature matters little because only your spirit and deeds will count. |
| 37 | His disciples said, “When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?” Jesus said, “When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample them, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid.” | When we return to harmony with the Source, with nature or the Universe, then we will see all that is currently mystical. Our clothes represent our material goods – when they mean nothing to us because we are free then we will not be afraid of our true form. |
| 38 | Jesus said, “Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and you will not find me.” | There will be days when you seek the truth and you cannot find it or see it. Be patient and continue trying. |
| 39 | Jesus said, “The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of 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 sly as snakes and as simple as doves.” | Those in power hold the information and have hidden it from you. But this does not mean they understand what they hold but they prevent people from understanding anyway lest they be thrown from power. You, the seeker should be sly or cautious in your undertaking. Appear as a dove or appear like everybody else lest you be found by those in power. |
| 40 | Jesus said, “A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its root and will perish.” | Possibly means those that grow apart from the original source are easy to uproot and control. |
| 41 | Jesus said, “Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they have.” | Energy works by what we believe and do. If you believe you have something or are grateful for what you have in your hand, you will be given more. If you think you have nothing, then the universe will work to deprive you of even the little you have. Have a bountiful mindset. |
| 42 | Jesus said, “Be passersby.” | A warning for the seeker – Be like everybody else lest you are found by those who wield power. Appear like someone passing, blend into the crowd. See also (39) |
| 43 | His disciples said to him, “Who are you to say these things to us?” “You don’t understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree.” | The disciples did not understand everything or where Jesus (or any soul) had come from. Some of us love ‘God’ but hate what we have become (the fruit). Others, love what we have become (i.e. materialism) and hate the idea of ‘God’ or Original Source. |
| 44 | Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven.” | We all have the power to forgive and therefore words used against us (blasphemes) can be forgiven. But, if we speak ill of the holy spirit i.e. the energy that surrounds and is us, then it is impossible to forgive because energy will attract like energy. When we blaspheme energy, that is what we attract to our very selves. Our words have power. |
| 45 | Jesus said, “Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit. Good persons produce good from what they’ve stored up; bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they’ve stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil.” | We are what we consistently do. We cannot give love out if we have no love within us. If we have only ever experienced hate, war and evil without every understanding that we can change these things, then that is what we will project outwards. |
| 46 | Jesus said, “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that his eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will recognize the (Father’s) kingdom and will become greater than John.” | I’m not sure of the John the Baptist reference – maybe telling us that John the Baptist understood the truth. Whoever amongst us becomes a child (i.e. innocent, full of love, free from materialism, will also understand the truth. |
| 47 | Jesus said, “A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor the one and offend the other. Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants to drink young wine. Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear.” | A number of allegories that tell us we cannot be a true seeker if we are also intent on following another (false) ‘God’. If we seek the truth, we cannot also dedicate ourselves to another master of falsehoods. The wineskins and patch metaphors is telling us that we must be consistent in our practice of seeking spiritual truth. Illumination will not come straight away. We must change our energy pattern so that old energy patterns can no longer affect us i.e. on our way of seeking truth, that which is old must be shed away and a new us emerges. We cannot hold to the same old patterns and expect progress on our path. |
| 48 | Jesus said, “If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the mountain, ‘Move from here!’ and it will move.” | The house is a reference to us, this entity that we call ‘us’ has a heart and mind. If they work as one unit, anything is possible. If our mind (thoughts) and our heart (emotions) are aligned, we can move mountains. |
| 49 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again.” | A saying encouraging those who are following the path but are alone at the moment because of their work. You will find the kingdom, it is the same source you have come from and you are heading there again. |
| 50 | Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where have you come from?’ say to them, ‘We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the evidence of your Father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is motion and rest.'” | A passage full of meaning and probably beyond what I can write here. The ‘light’ that came into being by itself and established itself was the original source becoming conscious. We are its children because it created us from itself out of a necessity for balance in the universe (our soul’s Free Will is the balance to God’s Free Will). The passage could be directing those on the path what to say to others who seek the path rather than a generic response to all and sundry. |
| 51 | His disciples said to him, “When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?” He said to them, “What you are looking forward to has come, but you don’t know it.” | Possibly meaning that the dead have already rested in spiritual form. They are not tormented but are continuing on their journey. The ‘new world’ people seek is all around us but we do not recognise it because we have been indoctrinated to the point of losing our ability to see it. |
| 52 | His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you.” He said to them, “You have disregarded the living one who is in your presence, and have spoken of the dead.” | The prophets in this case refers to religious teachings. Instead, we could be so focused on religious teachings and their predictions that we fail to recognise ‘the living in our presence’. Our greatest teachers could be walking amongst us but we do not recognise them because we are indoctrinated into a system – religious, political or societal systems. |
| 53 | His disciples said to him, “Is circumcision useful or not?” He said to them, “If it were useful, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect.” | Our natural state is what is best for us yet we continue to interfere in its workings. Circumcision in spirit could possibly mean that using spirit as an excuse for circumcision has made many wealthy as it wields power over others. |
| 54 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven’s kingdom.” | The poor in this case are those who have understood the insignificance of material wealth and have detached from seeking wealth for wealth’s sake. |
| 55 | Jesus said, “Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, will not be worthy of me.” | A cryptic line, the meaning is wrapped up in our understanding of truth. Because mothers and father, brothers and sisters raise us in a manner that is consistent with a system of indoctrination, we must on one level hate that they are asleep. I doubt it refers to deep seated hatred, rather a sense that we cannot wake everybody up when we journey on the path of truth. |
| 56 | Jesus said, “Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass, and whoever has discovered a carcass, of that person the world is not worthy.” | Whoever understands energy and the way it operates i.e. the truth, will understand that the world has become a carcass (i.e. rotten, asleep, enslaved people full of materialism). Those who can see this carcass, the world is not worthy of you. |
| 57 | Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like a person who has [good] seed. His enemy came during the night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The person did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to them, ‘No, otherwise you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.’ For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be conspicuous, and will be pulled up and burned.” | Possibly meaning that even though our enemies (i.e. those that would seek to keep us enslaved) may sow weeds in our work, it does not mean that we should go around trying to pull every little weed out – this will distract us from the harvest and may possibly ruin the harvest. Instead, stay focused on the good rather than the negative. Stay focused on the results of your work (the harvest) rather than the weeds. This is very apt to our mindset in achieving the truth. |
| 58 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life.” | Congratulations to those who have worked on their path and found the truth. |
| 59 | Jesus said, “Look to the living one as long as you live, otherwise you might die and then try to see the living one, and you will be unable to see.” | Reinforcing the previous passage that we should continue to focus on the living one (the source) or a metaphor for positive energy. Otherwise, we will die (i.e. lose the ability to focus) and then even though we may look for the living one, we will be unable to see because our focus will be on the negative or our third eye coated over. |
| 60 | He saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb and going to Judea. He said to his disciples, “that person … around the lamb.” 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 he has killed it and it has become a carcass.” They said, “Otherwise he can’t do it.” He said to them, “So also with you, seek for yourselves a place for rest, or you might become a carcass and be eaten.” | We are possibly the lamb and those in power (the Samaritan) will eat us if we allow ourselves to become a carcass (i.e. we neglect our spiritual truth or body). We need to find a place of rest (i.e. detach from the materialistic world) to recuperate our spirit and our abilities or we will become a carcass to be eaten (i.e. we will be enslaved by those in power). |
| 61 | Jesus said, “Two will recline on a couch; one will die, one will live.” Salome said, “Who are you mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone.” Jesus said to her, “I am the one who comes from what is whole. I was granted from the things of my Father.” “I am your disciple.” “For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness.” | The two reclining on a couch is a metaphor for our mind and heart when we become lazy. One will die away (i.e. become useless and we will be unable to be in alignment. Do not let laziness become you. If we are ‘whole’ (i.e. in alignment), we will be filled with light – our light and our nature will shine. If we are divided (i.e. our mind and heart are not in alignment – think of this as our thoughts, emotions and action as going in opposite directions) then we will become dark (i.e. we will succumb to the materialistic ways of the world). |
| 62 | Jesus said, “I disclose my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of [my] mysteries. | When we work on our spiritual path, the mysteries will be revealed to us. To become worthy of anything takes dedication and work. If we do this in honesty and truthfulness, not even ‘God’ will deny us the truth. |
| 63 | Jesus said, “There was a rich person who had a great deal of money. He said, ‘I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing.’ These were the things he was thinking in his heart, but that very night he died. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!” | A call to everybody to listen to these sayings. Keeping our focus on the materialistic nature of this world will lead to our death – in a metaphysical sense. We become the carcass of saying (60). Materialism will lead to nothing but our death, not necessarily in a physical sense but an emptiness of soul. ‘That very night he died’ means that the rich person so focused on material wealth died a spiritual death. |
| 64 | Jesus said, “A person was receiving guests. When he had prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. The slave went to the first and said to that one, ‘My master invites you.’ That one said, ‘Some merchants owe me money; they are coming to me tonight. I have to go and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner.’ The slave went to another and said to that one, ‘My master has invited you.’ That one said to the slave, ‘I have bought a house, and I have been called away for a day. I shall have no time.’ The slave went to another and said to that one, ‘My master invites you.’ That one said to the slave, ‘My friend is to be married, and I am to arrange the banquet. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from dinner.’ The slave went to another and said to that one, ‘My master invites you.’ That one said to the slave, ‘I have bought an estate, and I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me.’ The slave returned and said to his master, ‘Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his slave, ‘Go out on the streets and bring back whomever you find to have dinner.’ Buyers and merchants [will] not enter the places of my Father.” | A passage about materialism and how we can become distracted from the ‘dinner’ that is prepared for us – i.e. spiritual truth and enlightenment. Money, materialism, family and friends can all be distractions in this life but we must ensure we make time for what is important to our soul. Today’s world has a myriad of ways that we can be distracted and controlled by those in power and those who do not understand but we must ensure we make time for ourselves and our journey. |
| 65 | He said, “A […] person owned a vineyard and rented it to some farmers, so they could work it and he could collect its crop from them. He sent his slave so the farmers would give him the vineyard’s crop. They grabbed him, beat him, and almost killed him, and the slave returned and told his master. His master said, ‘Perhaps he didn’t know them.’ He sent another slave, and the farmers beat that one as well. Then the master sent his son and said, ‘Perhaps they’ll show my son some respect.’ Because the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him and killed him. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!” | A warning to those who attempt to spread the word amongst those who are materialistic in nature. Those in power think they own the vineyard i.e. this world. In truth, the vineyard belongs to all of us and the Original Source, but those that seek to spread enlightenment face a very real danger of being harmed – of being laughed at, mocked, killed. Be careful when you seek to spread the word or truth. |
| 66 | Jesus said, “Show me the stone that the builders rejected: that is the keystone.” | Possibly meaning that those in power have rejected works of literature that show the truth – these are the keystones. Could also be interpreted to mean that those who bear the truth will be rejected by society and its builders (those that designed the system to keep us enslaved). |
| 67 | Jesus said, “Those who know all, but are lacking in themselves, are utterly lacking.” | Even though the light is inside of us, if we do not understand this, we lack everything. Could also mean that we may know in our hearts what is true, but if we are not in alignment with this truth in our actions and thoughts, then we lack everything anyway to the point we might as well not know anything! |
| 68 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to you when you are hated and persecuted; and no place will be found, wherever you have been persecuted.” | Another cryptic warning to those who understand the truth of the universe. You will be hated and persecuted, because you threaten those for whom control of the world is their goal. |
| 69 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to those who have been persecuted in their hearts: they are the ones who have truly come to know the Father. Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the stomach of the one in want may be filled.” | A reference that we may feel persecuted in our hearts because we suffer turmoil when we understand the truth and can see the way the society and the world is structured to distract us from that truth. We feel persecuted, or emotionally upset because we cannot get the message through to people. Our hunger is our hunger for spiritual truth and when we consistently keep seeking it, we will receive it. |
| 70 | Jesus said, “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.” | We all hold the keys to the truth within ourselves. There is no one that does not possess this ability and if we bring that forth, we will be saved (i.e. we will come to know the truth). If we do not work on our spiritual truth, we will die a spiritual death. |
| 71 | Jesus said, “I will destroy [this] house, and no one will be able to build it […].” | Possibly a reference to the materialistic world that we inhabit. |
| 72 | A [person said] to him, “Tell my brothers to divide my father’s possessions with me.” He said to the person, “Mister, who made me a divider?” He turned to his disciples and said to them, “I’m not a divider, am I?” | The Original Source or God or whatever you refer to the Original Source as, is not a divider of souls. We are not separate from each other nor are the spiritual possessions we were given there to be controlled by the Source. We have Free Will and the Original Source is not some entity that seeks to divide us because all souls are part of a Uni-verse – an singular entity. |
| 73 | Jesus said, “The crop is huge but the workers are few, so beg the harvest boss to dispatch workers to the fields.” | The truth is huge. But those that understand it are few. The remainder of the line could be a reference to spread the light that you hold so that more enlightened workers can be brought to to bear. |
| 74 | He said, “Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well.” | In this context could mean that the drinking trough is the materialistic world but it is devoid of meaning. We will not find enlightenment in this drinking trough. |
| 75 | Jesus said, “There are many standing at the door, but those who are alone will enter the bridal suite.” | A warning and encouragement to those who seek the truth. In a sense, the bridal suite is the unity of a soul with the Original Source or it could also be taken to mean the unity of our heart-spirit-mind or the understanding of how we operate in a universe of energy. If we understand the truth in these sayings, we may be alone but do not fear, because you will enter truth. There will be many seeking to enter this bliss, but they will be denied because they have failed to understand their nature. |
| 76 | Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like a merchant who had a supply of merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. So also with you, seek his treasure that is unfailing, that is enduring, where no moth comes to eat and no worm destroys.” | Material wealth is attractive to us all, to our egos it means a lot. But instead, the treasure that is unending is spiritual truth – the pearl. Go seek this, because it will never fail and nothing will be able to destroy it or take it from you. |
| 77 | Jesus said, “I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.” | A passage explaining how everything came to be and how everything is of the one energy. The Original Source is the light that is over all things and all things came from it. It is everywhere we look, it permeates everything and there is nowhere it is not. It is the Tao and the Qi of all things, including us. . |
| 78 | Jesus said, “Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a person dressed in soft clothes, [like your] rulers and your powerful ones? They are dressed in soft clothes, and they cannot understand truth.” | A reference of chasing things that false authority tells us will lead to truth. We do not need to go anywhere or have anything to find truth. It is within us since the day we were born and even before that. |
| 79 | A woman in the crowd said to him, “Lucky are the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you.” He said to [her], “Lucky are those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, ‘Lucky are the womb that has not conceived and the breasts that have not given milk.'” | Possibly can be taken to mean that our physical body, borne from the womb and fed the milk, is not the true us at all – therefore lucky is the soul that understands life does not come from the physical but from another space entirely. |
| 80 | Jesus said, “Whoever has come to know the world has discovered the body, and whoever has discovered the body, of that one the world is not worthy.” | A cryptic saying but one that illustrates that when we understand the nature of energy we understand the nature of our bodies and the world. When we reach this understanding, the physical world and all its ego and materialism is not worthy of our time. |
| 81 | Jesus said, “Let one who has become wealthy reign, and let one who has power renounce | Even though the wealthy reign, they do not hold true power. Material wealth means nothing compared to our spiritual truth and when we understand the nature of our universe we hold power to renounce material wealth. It does not control us anymore and we become free from the yoke of the wealthy. |
| 82 | Jesus said, “Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the (Father’s) kingdom.” | A metaphor to describe that those who are seeking to understand the truth move closer to it. When we remove ourselves from our spiritual journey, we become removed from the ‘Kingdom’ i.e enlightenment. |
| 83 | Jesus said, “Images are visible to people, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father’s light. He will be disclosed, but his image is hidden by his light.” | We see with our physical eyes images that are interpreted by the brain. But there is more than this, there is the light within us and because we came from the ‘Father’ (the Original Source), that light is the same as his light. If we seek, we will find that light and understand it. |
| 84 | Jesus said, “When you see your likeness, 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 have to bear!” | We are happy when we physically see our image. But this physical body is only part of our journey. We will have much to bear when we see where we have come from, images and understanding that will never become physical in the sense that we will see them with our two eyes. |
| 85 | Jesus said, “Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he was not worthy of you. For had he been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] death.” | Adam, i.e. a soul, came from the Original Source – he held within him, much like you, great power and great wealth. But he did not understand it and therefore he died a spiritual death. A metaphor that we must seek to understand that which is within. |
| 86 | Jesus said, “[Foxes have] their dens and birds have their nests, but human beings have no place to lay down and rest.” | We do not find peace until we understand the meaning of our creation, where we came from, where we are going, our journey and our alignment with spiritual truth. We will not find rest in this physical world. |
| 87 | Jesus said, “How miserable is the body that depends on a body, and how miserable is the soul that depends on these two.” | When we depend on the physical we will be miserable. Even if our soul depends on itself and our body, it views itself as a separate entity to everything around it and therefore we do not understand the nature of our soul and the universe. Therefore, we will still be miserable. Conversely, a soul that understands its creation and its body is enlightened and will find peace. |
| 88 | Jesus said, “The messengers and the prophets will come to you and give you what belongs to you. You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to yourselves, ‘When will they come and take what belongs to them?'” | Give unto Ceaser what is Ceaser’s. A warning that those in power will give you what they view as yours. But think to yourself, why they do not take what is already theirs -i.e. why do they not take the riches that are in spiritual truth. A warning that they do not because they either do not understand it or they are wedded to the idea of control over others. |
| 89 | Jesus said, “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don’t you understand that the one who made the inside is also the one who made the outside?” | We spend so long taking care of outward appearances but we fail to mind our inner core. Look after your soul work also. |
| 90 | Jesus said, “Come to me, for my yoke is comfortable and my lordship is gentle, and you will find rest for yourselves.” | A call to journey towards the Original Source where we will find rest when we understand the truth. |
| 91 | They said to him, “Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you.” He said to them, “You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment.” | Instead of looking outwards, the truth is already within us, right here in this present moment. We have lost the ability to see, hear and understand what is all around us. |
| 92 | Jesus said, “Seek and you will find. In the past, however, I did not tell you the things about which you asked me then. Now I am willing to tell them, but you are not seeking them.” | If we undertake our soul work, we will find answers. All will be revealed to us if we work on ourselves and our truth, but we are not seeking that at present. |
| 93 | “Don’t give what is holy to dogs, for they might throw them upon the manure pile. Don’t throw pearls [to] pigs, or they might … it […].” | An unfinished passage, but a warning to those who understand truth, not to attempt to enlighten those who do not want to be enlightened. |
| 94 | Jesus [said], “One who seeks will find, and for [one who knocks] it will be opened.” | If you look for truth, you will find it. |
| 95 | [Jesus said], “If you have money, don’t lend it at interest. Rather, give [it] to someone from whom you won’t get it back.” | Material wealth means nothing and interest possibly corrupts. |
| 96 | Jesus [said], “The Father’s kingdom is like [a] woman. She took a little leaven, [hid] it in dough, and made it into large loaves of bread. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!” | This saying deals with the creation of our souls. We all came from the original source – souls were created to balance the power of the original source. So within all of us is a spark of the Original. |
| 97 | Jesus said, “The [Father’s] kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a [jar] full of meal. While she was walking along [a] distant road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled behind her [along] the road. She didn’t know it; she hadn’t noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was empty.” | A warning that if we do not work or pay attention to our spiritual practice we will lose our ability to connect to the Source. |
| 98 | Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like a person who wanted to kill someone powerful. While still at home he drew his sword and thrust it into the wall to find out whether his hand would go in. Then he killed the powerful one.” | Our thoughts, emotions and actions have a very real affect in the metaphysical world. |
| 99 | The disciples said to him, “Your brothers and your mother are standing outside.” He said to them, “Those here who do what my Father wants are my brothers and my mother. They are the ones who will enter my Father’s kingdom.” | Those who act in alignment with the Source are the brothers and mother of the adept. |
| 100 | They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, “The Roman emperor’s people demand taxes from us.” He said to them, “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine.” | Those in power will seek to keep you enslaved – give to them what is theirs – worthless material taxes. Give to the Source the energy that its from the beginning – i.e. align with the Original Source and your spiritual truth. The reference of ‘give me what is mine’ is an elaboration of this theme – what is ours will come to us, we all have an energetic vibration that will attract energy that matches it. |
| 101 | “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 mother […], but my true [mother] gave me life.” | Our earthly bonds are a love-hate relationship. On one side, we are born into a society that attempts to remove our ability to connect with the divine. Our true ‘mother’ is the Original Source. Our earthly mother is on a spiritual journey just like ours and so operates at a lower vibration than the true mother. Therefore, it is a love-hate relationship with those we view as familiar to us. |
| 102 | Jesus said, “Damn the Pharisees! They are like a dog sleeping in the cattle manger: the dog neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat.” | Beware those that hold themselves out as in positions of authority for in truth, many of them devoid of any true spiritual truth – they do not eat and neither will they let others eat i.e. if you allow them to rule over you, you too will be devoid of spiritual fulfillment. |
| 103 | Jesus said, “Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive.” | Encouragement to those seeking truth to be ready and prepared for ‘rebels’ to attack them. |
| 104 | They said to Jesus, “Come, let us pray today, and let us fast.” Jesus said, “What sin have I committed, or how have I been undone? Rather, when the groom leaves the bridal suite, then let people fast and pray.” | A warning that others cannot tell us what when or how we have to pray or fast. We know within ourselves what we have to do to align ourselves with our spiritual truth – this si the meaning of Jesus saying when the groom has left the bridal suite, let the people fast and pray – they will know themselves they have to fast and pray because their ‘groom’ has left. The groom does not instruct them to do so, rather it is up to people to decide. |
| 105 | Jesus said, “Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a whore.” | A warning that others will speak ill of us when we understand the nature of the father and the mother – i.e. how we were created and where we came from. |
| 106 | Jesus said, “When you make the two into one, you will become children of Adam, and when you say, ‘Mountain, move from here!’ it will move.” | When we are in alignment in our thoughts and emotions, anything will become possible. |
| 107 | Jesus said, “The (Father’s) kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep, ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.'” | A metaphor that we will have to leave what appears like more to chase truth. We will leave ’99 sheep’ because we love or know that the missing sheep is the way to the Kingdom. |
| 108 | Jesus said, “Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him.” | Whoever understands these sayings will become aligned to truth. |
| 109 | Jesus said, “The (Father’s) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.” | The treasure we seek is always inside of us. But when we do not realise it, we allow others (the buyer) to use our resources at ‘interest’. This is saying that if we do not know the treasure we hold, others in authority will use us and our treasure to their own advantage. |
| 110 | Jesus said, “Let one who has found the world, and has become wealthy, renounce the world.” | A cryptic saying telling us that if we have found the world, i.e. if we understand the nature of the universe, then let us renounce the material world. |
| 111 | Jesus said, “The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and whoever is living from the living one will not see death.” Does not Jesus say, “Those who have found themselves, of them the world is not worthy”? | When we understand the nature of the universe and our own power, heaven and earth will move for us and this material world will be unworthy of us. |
| 112 | Jesus said, “Damn the flesh that depends on the soul. Damn the soul that depends on the flesh.” | If we believe our material body or wealth is dependent on our soul, we do not understand the meaning of energy. If we are debased enough to value ourselves based on the flesh (material wealth), we are also damned. |
| 113 | His disciples said to him, “When will the kingdom come?” “It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the Father’s kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don’t see it.” [Saying probably added to the original collection at a later date:] | The Kingdom is spiritual truth and alignment. It is already here, it is everywhere. When we understand this, much like we understand the Tao, then we will cease looking for it because we know we are already part of it. |
| 114 | Simon Peter said to them, “Make Mary leave us, for females don’t deserve life.” Jesus said, “Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.” | A double meaning – Simon Peter was the first leader of the Catholic Church and the Church has a history of females being secondary to males. Perhaps a warning to those who understand. The second meaning is held in Jesus’s answer and is metaphysical in nature. When we understand that we are neither male nor female in a metaphysical sense then will be able to enter the Kingdom. Our souls or spirits do not hold themselves as male or female because our light is singular – our earthly existence ascribes this label of male or female to itself. |
