The Gospel of Thomas 52-59

52 His disciples said to him, "Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke about you." He said to them, "You have left out the living one who is with you. You have only spoken of the dead."

The apocryphal 4 Esdras (sometimes called "2 Esdras") refers to the entire Old Testament with the number twenty-four: "...when the forty days were ended, the Most High spoke to me, saying, 'Make public the twenty-four books that you wrote first, and let the worthy and the unworthy read them'" (4 Esdras 14:45, NRSV).

The number "24" is arrived at this way: Five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (that's 12 so far). Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Esdras (Ezra-Nehemiah combined), and the (one) book of the Minor Prophets (that five more -- 17 in all). Chronicles, Daniel, Esther, Ruth, Lamentations, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes make 7 more: 24 in all, although the last five are sometimes combined as "the five rolls" in a single book.

53 His disciples asked him, "Is circumcision useful or not?" He answered them, "If it were useful, then fathers would beget them already circumcised from their mothers. But the true spiritual circumcision is valuable in every way."

Here Jesus appears to be quoting Paul (see Galatians 5, Romans 2, Colossians 2, and so forth). For the spiritual circumcision, see Romans 2.

54 Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven." [Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20]

This is combines the second part of Matthew's Beatitude (5:3) with the first half of Luke's (6:20). It's interesting that for the most part, the Gospel of Thomas prefers to say "kingdom of the Father" rather than "of God" or "of heaven" (see saying 57 below), yet here the words are the same as Matthew's "kingdom of heaven."

55 Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross as I do ¹ is not worthy of me." [Luke 14:26; Matthew 10:37]
¹ Or: his cross in my way.

There are similar sayings as this in the Gospels, but always with much more context and explanation by Jesus.

56 Jesus said, "Whoever knows the world has only found a corpse. The world is not worthy of one who has actually found a corpse."

This cryptic saying reflects a gnostic view of the flesh, which is to be transcended. But in the resurrection, our fleshly bodies will still be ours (Job 19).

57 Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a man who had seed. His enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not allow them to pull up the weeds; he said to them, 'I'm afraid that you will try to pull up the weeds but you pull up the wheat along with them.' But when harvest comes the weeds will be plainly visible, and they will be pulled up and burned." [Matthew 13:24-30]

The correct understanding of the parable of the weeds is found in Matthew 13:36-43. It's interesting to note that in the New Testament, the kingdom of God is always represented as an activity, and the parables explain God's work among us. But here, the core of the parable isn't an activity at all, but just a guy "who had seed."

58 Jesus said, "Blessed is the one who has suffered ¹ and found life." [Matthew 5:10]
¹ Or: Blessed is the one who has worked hard...

The translation issue is over the word for "work" which could be "labor" or "suffer."

59 Jesus said, "Look to the living One while you live, or when you die and seek him you will not be able to see." [John 7:34 and 13:33]

This isn't a bad warning, and reflects the same thoughts as saying 38. And yet, just being able to understand is not the same as not being able to misunderstand.

That's why John spells it out so clearly:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12, NIV)

The Gospel of Thomas 44-51

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 never be forgiven either on earth or in heaven." [Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke12:10]

The curious thing about this saying is that in each of the Gospels, Jesus speaks these words about himself and the Holy Spirit, but here the whole Trinity is mentioned.

45 Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn bushes, and figs are not gathered from thistles, for these do not produce fruit. A good man brings good things out of what is stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him, and he says evil things. For out of the overflow of the heart he brings forth evil things." [Matthew 7:16-20; 12:33-35; Luke 6:43-46]

This is basically as it is in the Gospels.

46 Jesus said, "Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, no one is so much greater to John the Baptist that he should not lower his eyes. But I have said whoever among you becomes a child will know the kingdom and will be greater than John." [Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28]

Once again a cryptic, gnostic twist is placed on a clear saying of Jesus.

47 Jesus said, "A man cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. A servant cannot serve two masters; he will honor the one and hate the other. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, or they will burst; likewise old wine is not put into a new wineskin, or it will spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because it will tear." [Matthew 6:24 and 9:16-17; Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:36-38 and 16:13].

This is an interesting and appropriate application of two different quotations from Jesus. I am skeptical of the gnostic intent, however. It is very easy to take things that Jesus said, give them a new context, and give them entirely new meanings. Jesus' words for us have been given to us in the context of the Bible, and that is how we should read them. For the gnostic, as for the Mormon, the "new garment" could mean something very different than what it means in the New Testament, which is the robe of Christ's own righteousness that we wear through faith.

48 Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to a mountain, 'Move,' and it will move." [Matthew 17:20 and 18:19, Mark 11:23-24]

49 Jesus said, "Blessed are you who are alone and elect, for you will find the kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return."

These two sayings (48 and 49) also bring up the gnostic ideal of finding God on one's own. The gnostic thought that getting to heaven was all about a decision a person makes, or a discovery one finds. The gnostics tried to ignore passages like Ephesians 2:8, "It is by grace you have been saved... and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Being saved isn't up to us. It's God's gift to us.

50 Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?', say to them, 'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being by itself, established itself, and appeared in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?', say, 'We are its children, we are the chosen of the living Father.' If they ask, 'What is the evidence of your father in you?', say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"

When the Church Father Irenaeus wrote "Against Heresies," he described the gnostic belief that the soul entering heaven is questioned by angels as it passes through the spheres of the heavenly realms (Adv. Haer, 1.21.5). Here, the "they" are these questioning angels. As for the idea of "motion" and "rest," the gnostics took this from the opening verses of the Bible, where the Spirit is "moving" (NIV "hovering") and after the creation the Lord "rests."

51 His disciples said to him, "When will the sleep of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you look for has already come, but you do not know it."

Here the idea that the "new world" (which comes after the sleep of the dead -- therefore it is the resurrection) has already come is exposed. Paul wrote 1 and 2 Thessalonians against this very misunderstanding. The resurrection will come on the Last Day, not before, and not after.

This group of sayings calls into question our relationship with God. Is it something we chose for ourselves? It is something mystrious and hard to grasp? The answer to all these questions is "No." We know what our relationship to God is because of what Jesus did, not because of what we do. At the same time, we see that faith in us coming out as love. That's why John wrote:

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:11-16, NIV)

The Gospel of Thomas 36-43

36 Jesus said, "Do not worry from morning til evening and from evening til morning about what you will wear." [Matthew 6:25, Luke12:22]

What Jesus meant by these words in the gospels was that God will provide for us, and we can rely on him. In the context of the other sayings in the Gospel of Thomas, the meaning takes a different tone altogether: Don't worry about your clothes, because there are more important things in life than clothes.

37 His disciples said, "When will you be revealed to us and when shall we see you?" Jesus said, "When you undress without being ashamed and 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."

Some early Christian writers say similar things when talking about baptism, which in some areas may have been performed while naked: "Once you entered, you took off your garment, and this was an image of taking off the old person with its deeds. Having taken this off, you were naked... How marvelous! You were naked in the sight of all and were not ashamed. For truly you were bearing a copy of the first-formed Adam, who in paradise was naked and not ashamed" (Cyril of Jerusalem, quoted by Marvin Meyer).

Yet the real meaning of baptism is not to be unashamed of ourselves, naked or not, but rather to be forgiven our sins by this wonderful washing in Jesus' name. It gives forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who beleive.

38 Jesus said, "Often have you desired to hear these words I am speaking to you, and you have no one else to hear them from. There will be days when you will seek me and will not find me."

Although this could be taken as a prophecy of Jesus' death and resurrection, the complete lack of context other than the gnostic sayings that surround it makes it more likely that this is a "hidden knowledge" reference, and in that respect violates Matthew 7:7, "Seek and you will find."

The next three sayings are much closer to the Jesus of the Bible:

39 Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the teachers of the law have taken the keys of knowledge and hidden them. They have not entered, and they have hindered those who want to enter. [Luke 11:52] You, however, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." [Matthew 10:16]

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus speaks words like these directly to the Pharisees. They were the ones who should have been unlocking heaven to people, but their extra laws were shutting people out.

40 Jesus said, "A vine has been planted away from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by the roots and will perish." [Cp. Matthew 15:13; Jeremiah 2:21]

This saying has a connection with the one preceding.

41 Jesus said, "Everyone who has something in his hand will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." [Matthew 25:29, Luke 19:26]

But then we come to:

42 Jesus said, "Be passersby."

This odd saying may reflect a tradition about the meaning of the word "Jew," which some thought meant "vagabond" or "wanderer." In fact, "Jew" is just a diminutive of "Judah," but the idea of being a person walking through the world without being of the world is not far from the truth of Scripture.

Sometimes the Jews in the later Old Testament books are called galut, or "exiles." This is perhaps the origin of the American word "galoot," since the meaning for this word has never been satisfactorily explained by etymology.

An Arabic inscription in the mosque at Fatehpur-Sikri, India, also ascribes a saying like this to Jesus -- the only instance I know of in which a non-Scriptural quotation of Jesus is found in a non-Christian context (assuming that it was a non-Christian who inscribed it).

43 His disciples said to him, "Who are you, that you should say these things to us?" [John 8:25] "You do not realize who I am from what I say to you, but you have become like the Jews, for they love the tree and hate its fruit, or they love the fruit and hate the tree." [Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 6:43-46]

These combined sayings match some of what is in the Bible -- but as with the entire document, there is no real mention of the key of Scripture: the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus. There is no salvation here; only pointless anti-Semitism. We don't need to wonder about what we have, or how we become pure. We know that Jesus has done all this for us. That's why John wrote:

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

(1 John 3:1-3)

The Gospel of Thomas 28-35

28 Jesus said, "I took my place in the world, and I appeared to them in the flesh. I found all of them drunk; I found none of them thirsty. My soul ached for the sons of men, because their hearts are blind and do not see; for they came into the world empty, and they seek to leave the world empty, too. But now they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, they will repent."

Here the Messiah aches for repentant mankind, but there is no hint of a promise; only a lament that they are drunk / empty / blind. There is no sobering / filling / sight-giving Savior here.

29 Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty."

Here the gnostic/Greek idea of the flesh being evil comes through loud and clear. How could something as wonderful as the spirit cause something as vile as the flesh to come into being? And even more unbelievable, how could something as vile as the flesh cause the spirit to come into being? But the flesh is not evil because it is flesh, it is evil because of sin. Sin has been destroyed in Christ, and when we rise in the great resurrection, there will still be flesh (Job 19) but there will be no sin, no stain, and no corruption. Once again we see that in gnosticism, there is no Christ -- there is only a corruption of Christian wisdom.

30 Jesus said, "Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him." [Matthew 18:20]

This passage has come down in various corrupt forms, all of them drifting far afield from the original Biblical record. The early Syrian church father Ephraim quoted something between this passage and the Bible's account (Harmony of the Gospel 14). Far from a statement about the Trinity, this is a riddle for which there is no answer in the gospels.

31 Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his hometown; no physician heals those who know him." [Mark 6:4, Luke 4:23-24, John 4:44]

32 Jesus said, "A fortified city built on a high mountain cannot fall, nor can it be hidden." [Matthew 5:14]

Both of these sayings are essentially as they appear in Scripture, except without the context.

33 Jesus said, "What you hear in one ear, and then in the other ear, proclaim from your roofs. [Matthew 10:27] No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl, nor do they hide it. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone who enters and leaves the house." [Matthew 5:15, Mark 4:21, Luke 8:16; 11:33]

I wonder whether this passage troubled gnostic teachers. It goes against the basics of gnostic and many modern religions, that the message should be proclaimed in public; the word of God is a message for everyone to hear. Don't chain it up in a library. Don't hide it under a layer of dust under the coffee table. Share it!

34 Jesus said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit." [Matthew 15:14; Luke 6:39]

This passage was probably applied by gnostic teachers to suit their doctrine. For us, the Bible tells us over and again to "test the spirits" -- know who it is we are following. We put our leaders to tests, and we test what they teach by going into the Bible and comparing their words with the word of God.

35 Jesus said, "It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and take it by force unless he ties his hand; then he will be able to ransack his house." [Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27; Luke 11:21-22]

The analogy of the robber can be taken two ways: Jesus bound Satan in order to reclaim what was already his (in this case, the robber "steals back" what was already stolen). But the way Jesus applies this passage in Matthew is in the context of how the devil does and does not work. In order to take us captive, Jesus says, he has to tie us up first. It doesn't happen without our knowing that it's going on.

That's why John warned us:

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:26-28)

The Gospel of Thomas 22-27

22 Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, "These nursing babies are like those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "So shall we enter the kingdom as babies?" 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 what is above like what is below, and when you make the male and the female one, so that the male is not male and the female is not female; and when you make eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and an image in place of an image; then will you enter." [Matthew 18:3; Luke 18:17 and Matthew 5:29-30; Mark 9:43-48]

Typical of the cryptic nature of the Gospel of Thomas, this saying takes a perfectly understandable quote from Jesus -- that a person needs to have the faith of a little child to enter into the kingdom of heaven -- and twists it into something so obscure that only a few even know enough about what's being said to not be offended. The idea of female and male changing is one that will come up again in the very last of the sayings (#114). 23 Jesus said, "I will choose you, one from a thousand, and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one."

Ecclesiastes 7:28 also talks about the scarcity of believers in the world: "...while I was still searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all." The point in Ecclesiastes is not the unrighteousness of women, but the rarity of believers at all. Perhaps there is also a connection to Deuteronomy 32:30.

24 His disciples said to him, "Show us the place where you are, since we must seek it." He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a man of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark." [John 13:36 and Matthew 6:22-23; Mark 9:43-48]

This is much closer to the actual Jesus than most of what is in this "gospel," but it still doesn't point clearly to God himself.

25 Jesus said, "Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the pupil of your eye."

This saying appears to be an interpretation of the summary of the second table of the Law ("Love your neighbor as yourself"). See Leviticus 19:18 (and 34); Matthew 5:44; 19:19; 22:39; and often throughout the New Testament (Gospels, Paul and James).

26 Jesus said, "You see the speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. When you take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." [Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42]

This saying is virtually intact from the Gospels. It's an example of the kind of good saying mixed in with the bizzare that makes this book seem better than it is.

Again, the saying is presented with no surrounding context. Jesus follows the "speck and plank" words with "Ask, seek, knock," "The narrow and wide gates" and the parable of the Wise and Foolish builders in Matthew 7.

27 "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not keep the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the Father."

This curious saying comes closer to the teachings of the Pharisees and perhaps the mysterious Essenes than to the gnostics. On the other hand, once the true path of salvation by faith is abandoned, all religions -- even all forms of Christianity -- degenerate into a righteousness by works, which is no righteousness at all. We can't choose to be righteous. We can't discover righteousness by wishing hard about it. Our righteousness comes to us because Jesus is righteous. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. This is exactly what John meant when he wrote:

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him (1 John 2:29).

The Gospel of Thomas 14-21

Gnosticism is a hard religion to define. Essentially, it is the death-throe of the pagan Egyptian pantheistic religion and perhaps also the end of the classical Greek pantheism as well, at least the part of it that did not transfer into roman mythology and dilute into fairy-tales. The basic idea behind gnosticism is that flesh is evil, and the spirit is good, and knowledge is kept from the fleshly and can only begin to be discerned by the spiritual. The less fleshly one is, the closer one gets to knowledge (gnosis, pronounced like "no, sis") and the spirit.

14 Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin on 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 land and walk through the countryside, if people receive you, eat what they set before you, and heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you, but what comes out of your mouth that will defile you." [Luke 10:8-9 and Matthew 15:11; Mark 7:15]

The essence of this saying is a corruption of Jesus' original intent (see Matthew 15, etc.). Here the meaning seems to be: If you try to be spiritual, it will do you no good, but if you just live, then you're on the right path. However, fasting, charity and prayer can indeed be valuable. What matters, however, is not knowledge, but faith in the one "who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One" (1 John 2:1).

15 Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, prostrate yourselves on your faces and worship him. He is your Father."

While much of the Gospel of Thomas appears to be gnostic, this one passage could be taken as Docetist. Docetism takes its name from the Greek word dokeo (δοκεω) "to seem," and was an ancient heretical view that the Messiah did not actually come into the world in the flesh, but only "seemed" to be here. Docetism is a problem addressed in some of the earliest Christian documents outside the Bible (e.g. Ignatius to the Trallians). Another idea was that the Christ "possessed" the man Jesus at his baptism and then fled from his body during the crucifixion ("why have you forsaken me?"), but Jesus showed that his divine-human nature still exists after his resurrection in his many appearances.

16 Jesus said, "People think I have come to force peace on the world. They do not know that I have come to stir up conflicts on the earth: fire, sword, and war. For there will be five in a house: three against two, and two against three, the father against the son, and the son against the father. And they will stand alone." [Matthew 10:34-36; Luke 12:51-53]

17 Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind."¹ [1 Cor 2:9; Isaiah 64:4]

¹ Coptic "to the human heart."

Since Paul says "It is written..." before quoting something like this, it is sometimes thought that he was quoting the Gospel of Thomas (no such quote occurs in the Bible apart from 1 Cor 2:9). In fact, Paul was probably quoting something from Jesus that just doesn't occur in the Gospels (Jesus seems to have been interpreting Isaiah 64:4). It is much more likely, given the dates involved, that the quotation from Paul is what the Gospel of Thomas has picked up, not the other way around.

18 The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be." Jesus said, "So have you discovered the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, the end will be. Blessed is he who stands at the beginning. He will know the end and will not taste death."

This cyclic attitude shows up in other pseudo-Christian literature. The point seems to be that the beginning and ending are connected. But the beginning isn't for us to "discover," but for God to reveal -- as he has in his Word. And the end isn't for us to know, but to prepare for, and we prepare by sharing the gospel of Jesus with the world.

19 Jesus said, "Blessed is he who was before he became. ¹ If you become my disciples and listen to my words, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees for you in Paradise which remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."

¹ Coptic "he who came into being before he came into being."

Other gnostic texts also mention the "five trees in paradise." Typically, it's the goal of other religions to contradict Scripture as being incomplete in some way. In Genesis, there are only two trees that are special in some way, and later in Scripture, only the Tree of Life is mentioned (see Revelation 22). Something like this happens in other faiths. However, no matter what others try to add or supplement, the truth is that the Bible is sufficient all by itself for salvation. As Paul told Timothy, "the holy Scriptures... are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). The Bible is complete and sufficient all by itself.

20 The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like." He said to them, "It is like a mustard seed. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, when it falls on tilled soil, it produces a great plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky." [Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19]

This appears pretty much as in the Bible.

21 Mary said to Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like children living in a field that isn't theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Give our field back to us.' They undress in their presence [cp. Ruth 4:7] in order to let them have their field back and they give it back to them. Therefore I say to you, if the owner of a house knows that a thief is coming, he will be on guard before the thief comes and will not let him into the house he owns to steal his possessions. So then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength or robbers might find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be an understanding person among you. When the grain ripened, he came quickly with sickle in hand and harvested it. Whoever has ears, let him hear." [Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39 and Mark 4:26-29]

The last part of this saying seems to be an appropriate application of the parable of the robber (see the references above), as long as what the believer arms himself with is faith -- not a false knowledge.

The children undressing is probably a reference to the Law of the Unsandaled (that's why I inserted a reference to Ruth 4:7), but it isn't applied correctly and might be the result of a misunderstanding of the Jewish law -- at least, this is putting the best construction on it.

The Gospel of Thomas doesn't proclaim the truth. It announces that you -- personally -- don't know the truth. It tells you that unless you buy into what this doctrine is hiding, you can't get to heaven. But the hidden doctrine is never revealed, and the truth is never uncovered. There is no Jesus here. That's why John assures us:

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. (1 John 2:20).

Hold onto the truth of Jesus -- let go of the hidden, the secret, and the unknown. Jesus is all we need.

The Gospel of Thomas 7-13

7 Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion that becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man."

This beatitude ("blessed..." statement) is typical of the kind of cryptic language common among the gnostics. A human becoming something else is a reflection of the Greek ideal of leaving the sinful flesh behind in favor of something spiritual. We will see this idea again and again throughout Thomas, especially in saying 114 at the very end. This saying may also reflect the lapsi phenomenon of the early church (those who lapsed or fell away during persecution) from the standpoint that a person who goes to the lions in the arena is under a curse. There were those who would do anything, even renounce their faith in Jesus, rather than go to the lions.

8 He also said, "The kingdom is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. The wise fisherman found a fine big fish among them, so without bothering he threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the big fish. He who has ears, let him hear." [Matthew 13:47-48]

In Matthew's account of the Parable of the Net, the fish are not "big" and "small" but rather "good" (Greek καλος) and "bad/spoiled" (Greek σαπρος).

9 Jesus said, "Now the sower went out, took a handful and scattered them. Some fell along the path; the birds came and gathered them up. Some fell on rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not produce ears. Other (seed) fell among thorns; which choked the seed(s),¹ and worms ate them [Cp. Deut. 28:39]. And others fell on the good soil and produced good fruit: it bore sixty or a hundred and twenty times what was sown." [Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-8]

¹ In the Gospels, the parable says "plants" rather than "seeds."

The Parable of the Sower is one of the three parables told three times in the Gospels, and in Matthew, Mark and Luke it is always the first parable Jesus tells -- probably it was the very first parable that the Lord ever told (John's gospel contains no parables at all). In the Bible, it is accompanied by an extended explanation about how to interpret it; no such explanation is here. Notice that where in the Gospels Jesus says "100, 60 or 30 times" (Mark inverts the order; Luke only says "100 times") the Gospel of Thomas says "60 or 120 times."

10 Jesus said, "I have sent fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes." [Luke 12:49; Cp. Amos 1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; Malachi 4:1].

Again there is a kind of hidden gnostic message here with Jesus being made to say that the fire he has sent is not yet at work in the world.

11 Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away [Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; cp. 1 John 2:17]. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell 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?"

This completely obscure passage is meant to portray the kind of hidden knowledge the gnostics boasted about. There isn't any comfort here; no promise of the resurrection, no assurance of forgiveness. This is no Christian passage, but a cryptic enigma meant to disturb the reader.

12 The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

The point of this statement is the supremacy of James (Jesus' brother). The last statement would be tantamount to blasphemy taken as it stands, except that Jesus could say the same thing about any single believer.

13 Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone; tell me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is completely unable to say what you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become drunk by the bubbling spring I have measured out." Then he took him aside and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas answered, "If I tell you one of the things he told me, you will pick up stones and stone me; and a fire will leap out of the stones and burn you up."

This last passage is thoroughly apocryphal. Never in any account of Jesus' life does he indulge in a question like "Tell me what I am." This is a twisted version of "Who do people say that I am?" (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27; Luke 9:18). In the Gospels, Peter follows this with his great confession, "You are the Christ of God." Here in Thomas, Jesus' answers to the hesitant and confused apostles are cryptic and accusatory -- even threatening. This is not Jesus.

The "three things" that the author imagines Jesus recounting to Thomas as secret things and are never revealed. This is typical of gnostic teaching, which emphasizes secret things. In this way, gnosticism is similar to modern cults where secret mysteries are treasured.

In other ancient gnostic writings, there are references to "three words," often a reference to the name of the Triune God. A document called "True Wisdom" (Pistis Sophia, 136) mentions yao, yao, yao (= yod yod yod), the first letter of God's name written three times. The yod is the "jot" or "smallest letter" Jesus mentions in Matthew 5:18. The early Church father Hippolytus talks about the words Kaulakau, Saulasau and Zeesar as being three powerful words ("do and do, rule on rule, a little here a little there" from the Hebrew of Isaiah 28:10, see Hipp. Adv. Haer. 5,8,4).

But the Gospel is not hidden. The truth about Jesus is not a secret. It is revealed and open for all to see. John put it this simply:

This is the testimony:

God has given us eternal life, and this life is his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12).

The Gospel of Thomas 1–6

Why don't home videos win Emmy awards? Why don't my kindergartener's drawings hang in the Louvre? When I was a boy and tried to shoot the moon with a BB gun, why couldn't I hit it? If you can answer any of these questions, you already know the answer to the next question: Why isn't the Gospel of Thomas in the Bible?

The Gospel of Thomas isn't a gospel at all -- in fact, it doesn't call itself a gospel, but rather "the sayings of Jesus." It is a short (about the same length as 1 Timothy) collection of mostly unrelated quotes from Jesus. There are no "stories" here, but there are sayings, proverbs, and a few parables. Less than forty of the 114 sayings are completely independent of quotations of Jesus in the New Testament.

There is no atonement for sin here. There is no crucifixion, and no resurrection. There is nothing offensive, except to those who read it lightly and don't know what the author means by "female becoming male" and such things. And there is nothing here that helps a person—Christian or not—understand God or put his faith in God. In fact, there is no God here. There is only a clever philosophy that makes the reader wish he knew what was being talked about. There is a hidden knowledge that is never quite revealed. Even Jesus' parable of the sower is presented without the interpretation that always accompanies it in the Bible.

You will find as you read that the Gospel of Thomas is more like a desk calendar than a gospel. The sayings sometimes follow a pattern, but more often they do not. The original document was probably written in Greek (a few fragments of Greek copies survive) around 200 AD or a little later -- more than a century after the actual apostle Thomas died and after the writing and sharing of the complete New Testament. The copies we have today are written in Coptic, an Egyptian language written with the Greek alphabet with a few extra letters. Since I am only an amateur when it comes to translating Coptic, I won't claim that this is anything like a perfect translation of the text. I have tried to use turns of phrase common in contemporary editions of the Bible whenever the Coptic is identical or similar to the Greek of the New Testament. I have felt free to rely on other translations where the grammar or word meanings are difficult.

The Gospel of Thomas

These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and that Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.

The apostle Thomas is called Didymus (Greek "the Twin") in John's gospel. Thomas is not called Judas anywhere in the Bible. Sometimes there is some speculation that the person with whom Thomas was a twin was Jesus himself -- but a twin is not mentioned in either Matthew's nor Luke's account of Jesus' birth. In fact, Matthew 1:25 and especially Luke 2:7 and Luke 2:16 indicate that there was only one baby born to Mary while they were in Bethlehem. The "twin" theory is nothing more than a legend that contradicts the facts we have in the Gospels.

1 Jesus said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will never see death." [John 8:51] 2 Jesus said, "Let him who seeks keep seeking until he finds. [Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10] When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over all."

These first sayings both imply that salvation is something that we must seek or choose for ourselves rather than something God offers to us freely. This is typical of the message in the Gospel of Thomas, a message of searching but no help in the search. It is a message of superiority. The author claims that "we" who know are superior to "you" who don't know. The special people in the "kingdom of the Father" have something that no can learn by reading this gospel.

3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say, 'See, the 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 kingdom is inside you [Luke 17:21], and it is outside of you. If you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will realize that you are the sons of the living Father. But if you don't know yourselves, then you live in poverty and you are poverty itself."

This saying may be an interpretation of Proverbs 28:19, "the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty." The references to sky and fish reflect the order of creation, since the fifth day of creation saw the making of the creatures of the sky and sea. Self-knowledge is exalted here, not knowledge about Jesus.

4 Jesus said, "An old man will not hesitate to ask a little week-old child about the place of life, ¹ and he will live. For many who are first will become last [Matthew 19:30], and they will become one and the same."

¹ Coptic topos m-pmto, perhaps similar to "the everlasting place" of Tobit 3:6.

This passage is quoted by the Church Father Hippolytus as being a saying of the Nassene Gnostics (Against Heresies 5,7,20). The cult that St. Augustine belonged to before he became a Christian (the Manicheans) also had a saying like this (Manichean Psalm Book 192:2-3). The reference to a week-old child probably means "an uncircumcised child" since circumcision happened on the eighth day.

5 Jesus said, "Recognize what is in front of you, and that which is concealed from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be made known" [Matthew 10:26].

Although a modern example, I can't help but be reminded of the dualism of the Force in the Star Wars series, and particularly the old master Yoda's comment: "This one a long time have I watched. Always looking ahead he is, to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he is; what he is doing. You are reckless." The thought seems to be the same: Know where and who you are today and that's what truly matters. There is no Christ here.

6 His disciples questioned him saying, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? [cp. Luke 11:1] Shall we give to the poor¹? What diet shall we observe?" ² Jesus said, "Do not tell lies [Leviticus 19:11], and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For there is nothing hidden that will not be made known, and nothing concealed that will not be disclosed." [Matthew 10:26; Luke 12:2]

¹ The Coptic for "alms" is the same as the Greek word ελεημοσυνη (eleémosyné).

Ironically, the author of the Gospel of Thomas quotes a saying of Jesus hoping that it will support the philosophy of uncovering hidden knowledge. But in context, what Jesus was saying (see Luke 12) was watch out for Pharisees and people who twist the true gospel, making people reach for something apart from the free salvation that we all have in Jesus. The context of Jesus' original quote preaches against the false doctrine of the passage here.

One of the basic teachings of the gnostics was that salvation is found in the escape from the body, an escape that isn't achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, but by a special, hidden knowledge. The Greek word for "knowledge" is gnosis (sounds like noses), hence "gnostic." Incidentally, the silent G in gnosis is where we get the silent K in knowledge.

The only knowledge we need isn't hidden at all. It's preached every Sunday; it's on every page of Scripture. Even the real Thomas, who doubted Jesus' resurrection, had to be convinced, not by secret knowledge, but on the evidence of what he felt with his own hands. It's as John said as he began his first epistle:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.(1 John 1:1)

Now that truly is the word of God.

Bel and the Dragon 33-42

Daniel in the Lion's Den... Again.
33 Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judea;¹ he had made a stew and had broken bread into a bowl, and was going into the field to take it to the reapers. 34 But the angel of the Lord said to Habakkuk, "Take the food that you have to Babylon, to Daniel, in the lions' den." 35 Habakkuk said, "Sir, I have never seen Babylon, and I know nothing about the den." 36 Then the angel of the Lord took him by the crown of his head and carried him by his hair;² with the speed of the wind he set him down in Babylon, right over the den. 37 Then Habakkuk shouted, "Daniel, Daniel! Take the food that God has sent you." 38 Daniel said, "You have remembered me, O God, and have not forsaken those who love you." 39 So Daniel got up and ate. And the angel of God immediately returned Habakkuk to his own place. 40 On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den he looked in, and there sat Daniel! 41 The king shouted with a loud voice, "You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!" 42 Then he pulled Daniel out, and threw into the den those who had attempted his destruction, and they were instantly eaten before his eyes. (NRSV)
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¹ 1:33 In some manuscripts Habakkuk is also mentioned in the title of the book: "Bel and the Dragon, from the prophecy of Habakkuk son of Joshua of the tribe of Levi." However, Habakkuk lived at about the time of the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC, cf. Habakkuk 1:5-6), when Daniel was a very young man, not, as this story implies, when Daniel was old (530 BC). Incidentally, Bel and Dragon was probably composed around 100 BC.
² 1:36 Cp. Ezekiel 8:3, a vision that took place September 17, 592 BC.

The story concludes with a wild retelling of Daniel in the Lion's Den with an echo of Ezekiel 8:3. In Ezekiel, the prophet is whisked off by his hair to the north gate of Jerusalem. But in Ezekiel this is a vision. We take it literally because it's God's word—it was a vision that happened exactly as the prophet describes. But here in this story (not part of God's word) a similar event happens outside a vision. The story concludes as we would expect: The prophet is saved and the wicked are punished.

Time to answer some questions. First, the word "dragon" that occurs in this book is sometimes translated "huge snake" or "serpent." But the Greek word is simply drakon (δρακων), translated "dragon" throughout Revelation 12 and 13 in the Bible. It's also the word used in the Greek of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) in Job 7:12 (NIV "monster of the deep"). I don't know what the author had in mind here by "dragon." Probably, "dragon" means "dragon."

Second, I don't really know of any good commentary that points out the problems with the apocrypha. Commentaries on the apocrypha fall into two camps: either they are by Roman Catholics who take them as Scripture, or by critics who don't take the Bible any more seriously than they do the Apocrypha. Perhaps devotions like those offered this week might serve, as far as they have gone.

The main themes we have seen in "Bel and the Dragon" have been the courage of the faithful, the folly of idolatry, and trusting that God will provide for us, even and perhaps especially when we stand up for our faith. That's why the "Habakkuk flying with the soup" section is here: to show us that God will provide, and that God is capable of providing for us no matter what. Of course, we didn't really need to have a story made up to show that—but remember that this story was written by someone who didn't know Jesus' name; who never heard of the Feeding of the Five Thousand or the Calming of the Storm. If he or she could trust God to provide, how much more we should trust God to provide.

We know those true stories and we know our Savior. He gave everything for us, even his life. He has given us faith, heaven, forgiveness -- and the resurrection from the dead. And more than that, he has defeated the most serious dragon in existence, the old enemy himself.

He did it for me, and he did it for you. And I can't help saying it: he did it for my sister Belle (not Bel) too.

Bel and the Dragon 23-32

The Dragon

23 Now in that place there was a great dragon,¹ which the Babylonians revered. 24 The king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny that this is a living god; so worship him." 25 Daniel said, "I worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God. 26 But give me permission, O king, and I will kill the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission." 27 Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. Then Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!" 28 When the Babylonians heard about it, they were very indignant and conspired against the king, saying, "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests." 29 Going to the king, they said, "Hand Daniel over to us, or else we will kill you and your household." 30 The king saw that they were pressing him hard, and under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them. 31 They threw Daniel into the lions' den, and he was there for six days. 32 There were seven lions in the den, and every day they had been given two human bodies and two sheep; but now they were given nothing, so that they would devour Daniel. (NRSV)

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¹ 1:23 great dragon. Nothing is recorded about a dragon-god or serpent-oracle in Babylon, but the Pythia or python-oracle was well known in Delphi.

For a long time it was thought that this reference to a dragon was incongruous (see the footnote with the text above), because no dragon or serpent-god is ever mentioned in Babylonian writings. But dragonlike creatures adorn Babylonian architecture, and perhaps this is where the author got the idea for this final part of the story.

Dragonlike creature

(serpent / cheetah / rooster)

on the Ishtar Gate.

In the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back," tall machines that walk on mechanical legs attack a snowy encampment. When the director was planning this part of the film, he decided that when the Walkers fell over, they needed to explode. Completely unnecessary to the story, it was necessary for the film, because sometimes we just need to get a "bang" in a moment like that, especially in a battle scene. I think the author of Bel and the Dragon was thinking something like that when he had Daniel do more than just discredit the dragon. Daniel's "tar cakes" may have represented something that would "just" rupture a snake's (or dragon's) bowel—and that would fit the text—but I'd like to think of this critter actually going "boom!" We see lots of idols smashed in the Bible and in the Apocrypha, too—it's satisfying to get a little Rambo moment in there and let one actually blow up.

The author wants to put Daniel into danger, though, because so far there hasn't been any miracle, and he thinks he needs one to round out the story—more about that tomorrow. For now, he plunks Daniel into (where else? He's Daniel!) a lion's den. And the lions are hungry.

But once again, as far as the useful qualities of this non-Biblical story go, we are told to have courage with our faith. An idol may be metal or stone. But this dragon wasn't. It was a living, breathing, scaly animal. It's a good reminder that the First Commandment isn't just about things that happened once upon a time. Other gods can turn up in living things, too. A false god could easily turn up in a bank account, or in a mirror, or even in an idea.

But God, the true God, must never take a backseat to anything. Even the American Constitution. Even a person's desire. Even a person's will. They all, without exception, move over for God. And God has moved everything for us. Our evil desires, our selfish ambitions, our ignorant opinions—all of our sins and failings—all are forgiven in Jesus Christ. He has washed us clean and blown up the sins of our past. In Jesus, nothing can haunt our dreams; nothing can nag at our consciences. Those sins that bother us and those sins we've forgotten are all covered.

We are at peace with God.

-

Bel and the Dragon 18-22

The Verdict
18 As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, "You are great, O Bel, and in you there is no deceit at all!" 19 But Daniel laughed and restrained the king from going in. "Look at the floor," he said, "and notice whose footprints these are." 20 The king said, "I see the footprints of men and women and children." 21 Then the king was enraged, and he arrested the priests and their wives and children. They showed him the secret doors through which they used to enter to consume what was on the table. 22 Therefore the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple. (NRSV)

This is the second time in our tale that Daniel has laughed -- but before we talk about the example this story sets for witnessing to our faith, let's remind ourselves that it isn't part of God's word, and why.

First, and perhaps most important of all, Bel and the Dragon does not "self-authenticate" itself. It doesn't create faith in Christ by proclaiming the gospel of forgiveness. There is simply a certain "something" missing when one reads it -- and that something is the gospel itself. The book describes how we react to unbelievers, but it doesn't really tell us anything useful about God and his love.

Second, it has never been accepted by the church as part of Scripture. Although one church council voted to include it (the one that met just after Marin Luther's death in 1546, the Council of Trent) it was far from being representative of the entire Christian Church.

Thirdly (and there are more), in the text, we will meet the prophet Habakkuk soon, who was not a contemporary with Daniel as an old man (as the story presents him). An historical flaw is an error -- and the Bible has no errors. In fact, it is possible that the author of Bel and the Dragon included the error so that people would be tipped off as to the "just a story" quality of the book, a little bit like throwing George Washington into the American Civil War, or slipping Martin Luther King into a story about Martin Luther.

Yet the story teaches us something about our faith: courage. There is no reason to be afraid to show our faith. If God wants us to suffer for some reason for our faith, then we should endure the suffering with joy. If God wants us to gain some kind of success because of our faith, then we should humbly give him thanks and credit for it, and serve him.

The Daniel character in our tale easily proved his point about the priests of Bel. Sometimes showing our faith is as simple as that: Look down at the footprints, or look up at the cross. See the footprints on the floor; or see the nail prints in his hands. We take an idol for what it is: a thing. We take God for what he is: the Creator, our Redeemer; our King. He provides for much more than our stomachs. He provides for our hearts, for our lives, for our souls. He is the way to eternal life. And that's not just a story.

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Bel and the Dragon 10-17

The Trick
10 Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. So the king went with Daniel into the temple of Bel. 11 The priests of Bel said, "See, we are now going outside; you yourself, O king, set out the food and prepare the wine, and shut the door and seal it with your signet. 12 When you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; otherwise Daniel will, who is telling lies about us." 13 They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and consume the provisions.

14 After they had gone out, the king set out the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door and sealed it with the king's signet, and departed. 15 During the night the priests came as usual, with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything. 16 Early in the morning the king rose and came,¹ and Daniel with him. 17 The king said, "Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?" He answered, "They are unbroken, O king." (NRSV)
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¹ 16 Cp. Daniel 6:19.

Groups of seventy are not uncommon in the Bible: There were seventy kings killed by Adoni-Bezek (Judges 1:7), the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal (Judges 9:2-56), the seventy elders of Israel who went up the mountain to see God with Moses (Exodus 24:9) and so forth. Perhaps the author of Bel and the Dragon wanted to hitch himself to this idealized number in some way.

I have given this section the heading "The Trick," and the title fits for two reasons. On the surface, it would appear that Daniel's ruse is nothing more than a simple trick: the ashes on the floor will reveal footprints the next day. But although we realize that this particular story about Daniel isn't part of God's word, we recognize that the idea behind this trick is sound enough.

In a sense, it is ironic that ashes are used to discover the truth -- ashes are the valueless refuse left over after burning, which is all that false idols are good for. And of course, the deception of the priests of Bel is another reason for the heading.

The false priests showed that their main interest was in filling their bellies, and in doing so, they led their families away from the truth. That's the real danger with false teachers. It isn't that they have a worthless profession, it's that they lead other people into hell right along with them, beginning with their own loved ones. The evidence of their folly and sin isn't tampered with; God knows exactly what they have done.

That's why we point to the cross of Jesus Christ. A story like this one reminds us to look only to Jesus, who paid the price for our sins. Jesus has rescued us and made us pure before our Heavenly Father. No scattered ashes will show anything against us or on our account. In Jesus, we are pure, and we are ready for judgment day.

Bel and the Dragon 1-9

Babylonian deity Bel (Marduk)

and a Dragon


"Bel and the Dragon" is part of a collection of books known as the Apocrypha or "Hidden Books." These books are not part of God's Word, the Bible. They are spiritual writings that were made after the time of Malachi (the last Old Testament prophet) and were mostly completed before the time of Christ, although the last few have Christian themes and references.

Lutherans have avoided the Apocrypha primarily because they are not part of Scripture and because we often don't have access to them. But in a day when so many non-Christian and even antichristian influences dominate the radio, TV, movies, magazines, books, billboards, podcasts, the internet, and every part of our lives, it might be worth looking at a decent short story written by a believer like "Bel and the Dragon."

Although it isn't God's Word, it's a story written by a believer to talk about a part of our spiritual lives. "Bel" is about the falseness of idolatry. Instead of "Bel," we could easily substitute "Big Screen TV," or "The NFL," or "The Republican/Democratic Party," or "Big Science" or any other "thing" that people -- we -- put above God's will in our lives.

BEL AND THE DRAGON

1. Bel (verses 1-9)
2. The Trick (verses 10-17)
3. The Verdict (verses 18-22)
4. The Dragon (verses 23-32)
5. Daniel in the Lion's Den... Again (verses 33-42)
   

Daniel and the Priests of Bel

1 When King Astyages was laid to rest with his ancestors, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom. 2 Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his friends. 3 Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it twelve bushels of choice flour and forty sheep and six measures of wine.¹ 4 The king revered it and went every day to worship it. But Daniel worshiped his own God. So the king said to him, "Why do you not worship Bel?"² 5 He answered, "Because I do not revere idols made with hands, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all living creatures." 6 The king said to him, "Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?" 7 And Daniel laughed, and said, "Do not be deceived, O king, for this thing is only clay inside and bronze outside, and it never ate or drank anything." 8 Then the king was angry and called the priests of Bel and said to them, "If you do not tell me who is eating these provisions, you shall die. 9 But if you prove that Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he has spoken blasphemy against Bel." Daniel said to the king, "Let it be done as you have said." (NRSV)

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¹ 3 A little more than fifty gallons.
² 4 Bel (not "Baal") was one of the names of Marduk, guardian deity of Babylon. See Isaiah 46:1; Jeremiah 50:2; 51:44.

Bel was another name for Marduk, the patron god of Babylon. The "Hanging Gardens" of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (perhaps alluded to in Daniel 4:29) were built partly as a shrine to Marduk. It was destroyed in 479 BC by Xerxes I. Cyrus the Persian (Daniel 10:1) conquered Babylon in 539 BC. Daniel, by now an old man, still held his position as chief of the Magi (Daniel 2:48).

At this point, the facts come to an end and the apocryphal story about Bel begins. The author wants us to see that believers are not always free to hold onto their faith. Sometimes we are coaxed to let it go and be like everybody else ("Why do you not worship Bel?", verse 4).

It seems uncomfortable, even a strain, for us to stand up for our faith. But the writer puts laughter (verse 7) into Daniel's mouth, reminding us of the great truth of the Bible: There is no god but the true God. Our Almighty Father in heaven is the one who gives "knowledge and understanding" (Dan. 1:15) to his people. As Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar actually confessed: "His dominion is an eternal dominion, his kingdom endures from generation to generation" (Daniel 4:34).

In the story, the King gives Daniel a test: If you can prove the statue isn't really eating all the food we give it every day, then you win. As tests go, this one isn't very complicated. The story is almost something we would expect on Gilligan's Island. But it reminds us to stand up for our faith -- and that's a lesson worth sharing over and over again. Our faith is in Jesus Christ himself, the Savior of the world, and the one whose dominion even Nebuchadnezzar recognized.
Who better to stand up for than the Savior who forgave us our sins?