The Role of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas starts with the statement:
While
it is easy to dismiss this as an example of the common practice
of attributing a document to a respected name, we have to consider
some of the evidence presented to us. First of course is how the
disciple with the birth-name Judas came to be given, twice over,
the spiritual name of Twin. This is reflected in the tradition
of the Russian Orthodox Church that the apostle Thomas had a special
affinity with Jesus, and in their ikons he is portrayed with a
particularly sensitive expression.
Such a person would have been needed to understand and record
the sayings with the precision and the cutting edge that we see.
Furthermore, he had to convey the hidden meanings in the parables,
which are put there to prompt us to find them as steps in our
spiritual growth. They are meant to be found by anyone with the
urge to seek them, and they are not secret sayings merely for
a favoured elite as in the mystery cults of that time.
Apart
from that opening statement, Thomas completely effaces himself—with
one very significant exception which we can find in the next text
'Signature of Thomas'.
More about the Gospel of Thomas
- Found in Egypt
Only one ancient copy of the complete Gospel of Thomas exist, discovered
in 1945 by Egyptian peasants
- Finding the Inner Meanings
Experience shows that everyone at first finds the Gospel of Thomas difficult; no exceptions to this rule have been found. The primary reason is that Jesus is striving to take his listeners to a high level of spiritual awareness.
- The Teachings
To assimilate these Teachings requires a good deal of work—chiefly thought and contemplation, and allowing time for them to grow inwardly and mature.
- The Language of the Gospel
Working with this original text it becomes more and more apparent that these are the words of a Master. Such texts are rare. In consequence every word has to be carefully studied, and due weight given to it.
- Structure of the Sayings
One of the pioneering achievements of scholars was to identify that the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas are made up from short phrases. By following their example it can be seen that the Gospel is a record of speech, for this is a characteristic of Semitic speech that Jesus would have used.
- The Role of Thomas
How the disciple with the birth-name Judas came to be given, twice over, the spiritual name of Twin
- Signature of Thomas
It is very clear that Jesus taught his chosen disciple Thomas something that he and his colleagues considered to be blasphemous and punishable by ritual stoning
- The Thomas People
'India, and all the countries belonging to it and round it, even to the
farthest sea, received the apostles' ordination to the priesthood from
Judas Thomas'
- Presentation of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas is definitely not a literary or narrative work. It is quite unlike the Gospels in the Bible
