Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is a non-canonical gospel discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in December of 1945. Much debate surrounds this gospel which has been dated between AD 60 and AD140. Some believe the Coptic-language text was buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture that did not include the Gospel of Thomas.

The Gospel of Thomas is composed of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. The gospel starts with "These are the hidden words that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down." About half of the 114 sayings, logia, can be found in the canonical gospels and half are not in the canonical gospels. Scholars believe that the other half may come from the Gnostic tradition.

The logia is rich and inspired the painting, Gospel of Thomas, which shows a mother and a child, the embodiment of Love, against the backdrop of my favorite logia written in Coptic from the Gospel of Thomas.

Logion 3 (part):

Teshua said:

If those who guide you say: Look,

the Kingdom is in the sky,

then the birds are closer than you.

If they say: Look,

it is in the sea,

then the fish already know it.

The Kingdom is inside you,

and it is outside you.

Logion 17:

Yeshua said:

I will give you that which no eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no hand has touched,

and no human heart has conceived.

Logion 24

His disciples asked:

"Teach us about the place where you dwell, for we must seek it.:

He told them:

Those who have ears, let them hear!

There is light within people of light,

and they shine it upon the whole world.

If they do not shine it,

what darkness!

Logion 29:

Yeshua said:

If flesh came into being because of spirit,

it is a wonder.

But if spirit came into being because if flesh,

it is a wonder of wonders.

Yet the greatest of wonders is this:

How is it that this Being, which Is,

inhabits this nothingness?

Logion 44:

Yeshua 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.

Logion 66:

Yeshua said:

Show me the stone rejected by the builders.

That is the cornerstone.

Logion 77:

Yeshua said:

I am the Light

that shines on everyone.

I am the All.

The All came forth from me.

Split the wood, and I am there.

Turn over the stone,

and there you will find me.

Logion 94:

Whoever seeks will find;

whoever knocks from inside, it will open to them.

Logion 113:

The disciples asked him:

"When will the Kingdom come?

Yeshua answered:

It will not come by watching for it.

No one will be saying, Look, here it is!

or, Look, there it is!

The Kingdom of the Father

is spread out over the whole earth,

and people do not see it.

An early detail of the painting.