19 For when our fathers were being led captive to Persia, the pious priests of that time took some of the fire of the altar and secretly hid it in the hollow of a dry cistern, where they took such precautions that the place was unknown to any one.
The fire being talked about is the fire from the altar in Jerusalem. Whether the cistern was dry or wet, closed or open to the air, the fire would have gone out soon after being placed in. Now, a priest could not begin his work as a priest until he was thirty. In the Book of Numbers, priests were only counted from ages thirty to fifty (Num. 4:3; 4:23, 30, 35, etc., and cf. Ezekiel 1:1). So the "pious priests" during the beginning of the exile would have been, at the very least, one hundred years old when the captivity ended, and one hundred twenty on the high end.
Since it is unlikely that these men would have been looking for the fire, we can assume that some secret information was passed down as to where to find it. It is curious that not even a hint is given beyond "a dry cistern."
Although alchemists and others have been interested in this passage to identify what was meant by the secret fire, and whether it has something to do with the kundalini or serpentine fire, we must see that in the context of the book the point is that there was a miracle associated with the temple in Jerusalem as proof, over and above the law of Moses, that any other temple (i.e., the Hellenistic temple built in Alexabdria) was not legitimate.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
2 Maccabees 1:10-18
The Second Letter
10 The people of Jerusalem and of Judea and the senate and Judas, To Aristobulus, who is of the family of the anointed priests, teacher of King Ptolemy, and to the Jews in Egypt, Greetings and good health. 11 Having been saved by God out of grave dangers we thank him greatly for taking our side against the king, 12 for he drove out those who fought against the holy city. 13 When the leader reached Persia with a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanea by a deception employed by the priests of the goddess Nanea. 14 On the pretext of intending to marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his Friends, to secure most of its treasures as a dowry. 15 When the priests of the temple of Nanea had set out the treasures and Antiochus had come with a few men inside the wall of the sacred precinct, they closed the temple as soon as he entered it. 16 Opening a secret door in the ceiling, they threw stones and struck down the leader and his men; they dismembered them and cut off their heads and threw them to the people outside. 17 Blessed in every way be our God, who has brought judgment on those who have behaved impiously. 18 Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the festival of booths and the festival of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices. (NRSV)
The letter will continue through 2:18. Although described by editors as “the Second Letter,” it is presented here as an earlier document, and will present traditions (perhaps we should say legends) about Nehemiah and Jeremiah and the festival of Hanukkah. Aristobulus (1:10) was the author of a famous allegorical interpretation of the Pentateuch. He "seems to have introduced the allegorical method to the study of the Torah."¹
The basic elements of this story are political: King Antiochus of Syria The goddess Nanea mentioned was an earlier pagan deity whose worship became mixed together with Artemis/Isis/Venus (cp. Acts 19:23-41). 2 Maccabees is criticized by all other sources for presenting an account here of the death of Antiochus IV which is incompatible with all other records. He did die at this time, but he fell ill in another city in this area and probably died in bed. The incident, incidentally, took place in Elam (Elemis) between Persia and Babylon. The chief city was Susa, the place where the prophet Nehemiah was stationed until his departure for Israel (Neh. 1:1).
Coin of Antiochus IV with Apollo (seated) on the reverse.The Greek ANTIOXOY (Antiochus) can be read on the far right.
Amazingly, 2 Maccabees 9:1-29 gives yet another version of Antiochus' death, this time making him die of an incurable disease at Ecbatana.
In the last verse of this section (really the beginning of the next paragraph), the author invokes the name of Nehemiah. Nehemiah himself never offered a sacrifice (he was not a priest) but he was responsible for the reforms that set the pattern for Israel from the return from Babylon until this, the time of the Maccabees.
The author is careful to give God credit for what had happened. For this we would agree: God is the one who deserves all our praise. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
¹ "The Bible Through the Ages," Lecture given at a Pastor's Institute at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary by Prof. Richard Balge, fall 1974.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
2 Maccabees 1:1–9
The First Letter
1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace. 2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. 3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. 5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. 6 We are now praying for you here. 7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,¹ we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom 8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. 9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.²
——————————
¹ 1:7 143 BC. ² 1:9 124 BC.
The "feast of booths" here is not the same as the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) mentioned in Scripture. The Biblical festival of Tabernacles is celebrated in October (Tishri) as a memorial of the Jews' time in the wilderness under God's protection. This December (Chislev) festival is Hanukkah, mentioned in the Bible only in John 10:22.
The motive for the writing of the book is to bring the Egyptian Jews into a harmonious worship practice with temple worship in Jerusalem. In about 170 BC, a priest named Onias IV (son of the Onias III mentioned in 2 Macc. 4:33 ff.) founded a new temple, slightly smaller than Solomon's, in Leontopolis in Egypt.
The way in which Hanukkah is described here makes it sound as if some people (such as the author) were seeking to replace the Feast of Tabernacles with the more immediate celebration of Hanukkah.
What happens when believers begin to replace something the Bible says with their own ideas? Hanukkah, of course, was a perfectly acceptable festival. Jesus attended the Hanukkah celebration during his ministry. But since Hanukkah is never commanded as a feast of the Jews by God (these events took place only a hundred and fifty years before Christ) they could not replace or supplant the festivals of Moses. From our New Testament perspective, this is perhaps a little academic since we celebrate none of these festivals at all anymore. But we can apply the principal: We don't replace God's word with our own customs or new ideas.
But we need to keep focused on what God's word does and does not say. When we hold up a tradition as being more important than the work of the Gospel, then may Paul walk up to face to face and rebuke us as he did Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-12). Instead, we grab onto Paul's inspired command: "We are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law" (Gal. 2:16).
1 The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem and those in the land of Judea, To their Jewish brethren in Egypt, Greeting, and good peace. 2 May God do good to you, and may he remember his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, his faithful servants. 3 May he give you all a heart to worship him and to do his will with a strong heart and a willing spirit. 4 May he open your heart to his law and his commandments, and may he bring peace. 5 May he hear your prayers and be reconciled to you, and may he not forsake you in time of evil. 6 We are now praying for you here. 7 In the reign of Demetrius, in the one hundred and sixty-ninth year,¹ we Jews wrote to you, in the critical distress which came upon us in those years after Jason and his company revolted from the holy land and the kingdom 8 and burned the gate and shed innocent blood. We besought the Lord and we were heard, and we offered sacrifice and cereal offering, and we lighted the lamps and we set out the loaves. 9 And now see that you keep the feast of booths in the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and eighty-eighth year.²
——————————
¹ 1:7 143 BC. ² 1:9 124 BC.
The "feast of booths" here is not the same as the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) mentioned in Scripture. The Biblical festival of Tabernacles is celebrated in October (Tishri) as a memorial of the Jews' time in the wilderness under God's protection. This December (Chislev) festival is Hanukkah, mentioned in the Bible only in John 10:22.
The motive for the writing of the book is to bring the Egyptian Jews into a harmonious worship practice with temple worship in Jerusalem. In about 170 BC, a priest named Onias IV (son of the Onias III mentioned in 2 Macc. 4:33 ff.) founded a new temple, slightly smaller than Solomon's, in Leontopolis in Egypt.
The way in which Hanukkah is described here makes it sound as if some people (such as the author) were seeking to replace the Feast of Tabernacles with the more immediate celebration of Hanukkah.
What happens when believers begin to replace something the Bible says with their own ideas? Hanukkah, of course, was a perfectly acceptable festival. Jesus attended the Hanukkah celebration during his ministry. But since Hanukkah is never commanded as a feast of the Jews by God (these events took place only a hundred and fifty years before Christ) they could not replace or supplant the festivals of Moses. From our New Testament perspective, this is perhaps a little academic since we celebrate none of these festivals at all anymore. But we can apply the principal: We don't replace God's word with our own customs or new ideas.
But we need to keep focused on what God's word does and does not say. When we hold up a tradition as being more important than the work of the Gospel, then may Paul walk up to face to face and rebuke us as he did Peter in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-12). Instead, we grab onto Paul's inspired command: "We are justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law" (Gal. 2:16).
Note: The Jerusalem Bible, an authorized Catholic translation, betrays the editor's opinion of preaching in his introduction to 2 Maccabees, saying that the book is not the best writing: "at times it is turgid, frequently pompous; more a sermon than a history."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
2 Maccabees — Introduction
There are four books that are called "Maccabees." Two of them are part of the apocrypha; the other two are apocalypses and are part of the pseudepigrapha. None of them is part of Scripture. Although 1 Maccabees appears to be relatively factual, all the other books have a strong quality of history that has been doctored or spun to fit later circumstances.
As with Kings and Chronicles, you don't need to have read one in order to understand the others, and also as with Kings and Chronicles, they cover some of the same material for different reasons. But the similarity ends there. For one thing, at 15 chapters 2 Maccabees is relatively short for a history. But it's revivalist and revisionist history. Where 1 Maccabees is straightforward, matter-of-fact and accused of being dry (and therefore held up as one of the most truthful and reliable books in the collection), 2 Maccabees is focused on the beloved temple and the author tends to magnify spiritual things, especially miracles. (3 Maccabees is primarily an anti-Hellenistic propaganda letter dealing with events that happened much later).
In 2:19-23, the author will explain that he is actually condensing another massive work of five volumes by Jason of Cyrene. The opening verses are two letters (1:1–9 and 1:10–2:18) written from Jerusalem by Jews as a prologue to Egyptian Jews in Alexandria.
As with Kings and Chronicles, you don't need to have read one in order to understand the others, and also as with Kings and Chronicles, they cover some of the same material for different reasons. But the similarity ends there. For one thing, at 15 chapters 2 Maccabees is relatively short for a history. But it's revivalist and revisionist history. Where 1 Maccabees is straightforward, matter-of-fact and accused of being dry (and therefore held up as one of the most truthful and reliable books in the collection), 2 Maccabees is focused on the beloved temple and the author tends to magnify spiritual things, especially miracles. (3 Maccabees is primarily an anti-Hellenistic propaganda letter dealing with events that happened much later).
In 2:19-23, the author will explain that he is actually condensing another massive work of five volumes by Jason of Cyrene. The opening verses are two letters (1:1–9 and 1:10–2:18) written from Jerusalem by Jews as a prologue to Egyptian Jews in Alexandria.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Psalm 151
Psalm 151 is a little poem included at the end of the Psalms in the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It doesn't tell us anything new; it's theology is no different than the rest of the Bible. But it's not part of the Hebrew Book of Psalms.
Some scholars think it may be based on parts of two otherwise unknown psalms found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but we don't know when it was composed -- probably in the first or second century AD.
Psalm 151, Title
Ουτος ο ψαλμος ιδιογραφος εις Δαυιδ
και εξωθεν του αριθμου
οτε εμονομαχησεν τω Γολιαδ
This psalm is ascribed to David—though it is outside the number (of Psalms)—after he had fought Goliath in single combat.
Probably the most interesting point about this Psalm is its title or header. The psalm is ascribed to David as his own composition (though it is outside the number), after he had fought in single combat with Goliath. Note the spelling of Goliath's name. His name is spelled Γολιαδ three times in the Septuagint (not counting apocryphal books, 1 Sam 17:42; 22:10 and Psalm 143:1) and Γολιαθ four times (1 Sam 17:4; 21:10; 2 Sam 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5).
Psalm 151:1
1 μικρος ημην εν τοις αδελλοις μου
και νεωτεροις εν τω οικω του πατρος μου
εποιμανον τα προβατα του πατρος μου
1 I was small among my brothers,
and the youngest in my father's house;
I tended my father's sheep.
Note the use of the comparative νεωτεροις even though it is superlative in context ("in my father's house") and a superlative form exists (νεωτατοις, Genesis 49:22).
εποιμανον is an imperfect act. indic. (1 sg) from εποιμανω. It also occurs in Hosea 13:5, "I cared for you in the desert, in the land of the burning heat."
Psalm 151:2
αι χειρες μου εποιησαν οργανον
οι δακτυλοι μου ηρμησαν ψαλτηριον
2 My hands made a harp;
my fingers fashioned a lyre.
Strictly speaking, an οργανον (organon) is an "instrument" of any kind, whether a musical instrument (as here), a surgical instrument, an organ of the body (“But he said, ‘Even if you remove my organ of speech, God hears also those who are mute’” 4 Maccabees 10:17, Greek 10:18), or even a constucted device like the rim of a wall ("For there is a tower in that place, fifty cubits high, full of ashes, and it has a rim running around it which on all sides inclines precipitously into the ashes." 2 Maccabees 13:5).
Psalm 151:3
και τις αναγγελει τω κυριω μου;
αυτος κυριος, αυτος εισακουει
3 And who will tell my Lord?
The Lord himself; it is he who hears.
αναγγελει is the future active 3rd sg. of αναγγελλω, to tell or proclaim, "he will tell you what is yet to come." (John 16:13).
εισακουει is the present active indicative form of εισακουω, to hear, especially a prayer. That's the meaning here, but it can also refer to hearing advice ("a wise man listens to advice," Proverbs 12:15).
Psalm 151:4
αυτος εξαπεστειλεν τον αγγελον αυτου
και ηρεν με εκ των προβατων του πατρος μου
και εχρισεν με εν τω ελαιω της χρισεως αυτου
4 It was he who sent his messenger
and took me from my father's sheep,
and anointed me with his anointing oil.
The verb εξαπεστειλεν (aorist, εξαποστελλω "send out") contains the verb apostle, to be sent out on a mission with authority. We see this form used both of God sending out Christ (Galatians 4:4) and the Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6).
Psalm 151:5
οι αδελφοι μου καλοι και μεγαλοι,
και ουκ ευδοκησεν εν αυτοις κυριοις.
5 My brothers were handsome and tall,
but the Lord was not pleased with them.
The verb ευδοκησεν (aorist, ευδοκεω) is the word used at Jesus' baptism, "with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). The account of God's comments about David's taller brothers is given in 1 Samuel 16:1-12 ("the Lord looks at the heart," 16:7), but we might just point out that it was David himself who was described as "ruddy, with a fine appearance, and handsome" (1 Sam. 16:12).
Psalm 151:6
εξηλθον εις συναντησιν τω αλλοφυλω,
και επικατηρασατο με εν τοις ειδωλοις αυτου
6 I went out to meet the Philistine,
and he cursed me by his idols.
αλλοφυλος means "foreigner, Gentile," rather than Philistine, but the meaning is clear enough.
Psalm 151:7
εγω δε σπασαμενος την παρ’ αυτου μαχαιραν
απεκεφαλεσα αυτον και ηρα οδεινος εξ υιων Ισραηλ
7 But I drew his own sword;
I beheaded him, and took away disgrace from the people of Israel.
The entire incident with the sling is omitted. Did the author feel embarrassed about it? Did he want to omit the entire miraculous side of the battle? If so, it's a pity, and since God's work is left out, it's no wonder that this Psalm--late or not--has never really been seriously considered for being included in the canon.
The Gospel of Thomas 108-114
108 Jesus said, "He who will drink from my mouth will become like me. I will become him, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
Although the picture of drinking from the mouth of God is a useful image of the word of God as the water of life, the second part of the saying is so typically gnostic -- hidden things! We've got hidden things over here! -- that it's not worth bothering with.
109 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure in his field without knowing it. He died and left it to his son, but the son didn't know (about the treasure). After he inherited the field he sold it. When the one who bought it went plowing, he found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished." [Matthew 13:44]
This saying twists the meaning of the similar (but much shorter) parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13. In the Bible, the point of the parable (and its companion, the Pearl) is that one should be willing to give up anything for eternal life (compare Paul's thoughts about outreach and evangelism in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 and 10:23-11:1). Here, the gnostic idea is that knowledge is hidden, and can only be uncovered by hard work. There might be a Christian application to be sure to pass one's Christian faith on to the next generation, but the main point here is the misguided idea that the guy who works hard will win. For Biblical truth to the contrary, we hardly need to go any farther than Ecclesiastes ("For whom am I toiling?" Eccl. 4:8), and Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." Compare this to Ephesians 2:8-10: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."
110 Jesus said, "Let whoever finds the world and becomes rich, renounce the world." [Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25]
Compare Proverbs 11:28: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." Also Job 21:34; Psalm 49:6; etc.
111 Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. [Isaiah 34:4; Hebrews 1:10-12; Revelation 6:13-14 and some versions of Psalm 102:25-27] And one who lives from the living one [John 11:25-26] will never die." Does not Jesus say, "The world is unworthy of one who finds himself?"
In this context, this saying seems more like a promise that the one who discovers the hidden secrets will understand everything than the comfort that believers will have nothing to fear from the Last Day.
112 Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
This co-dependency motif is present earlier in Thomas; see sayings 29 and 87.
113 His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" [Jesus said] "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it." [Matthew 24:23-25; Mark 13:21-23; Luke 17:20-24]
Although we could find this idea in the Apocrypha (Sirach 1:9, "The Lord poured [his Wisdom] out upon all his works"), the idea is also found throughout Scripture itself.
114 Simon Peter said to him, "Send Mary away, for females are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Look, I will lead her myself so that she will become like a male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
Perhaps it is in this final passage that the Gnostic author of The Gospel of Thomas shows his true colors. To the Gnostic, eternal life is not possible for a woman, who is so completely bound to the flesh. Perhaps there was also a kind of male guilt involved in this idea: women were completely bound up in male fleshly desires. But the idea behind this offensive passage is that unless a woman becomes like a man, setting aside all thoughts of the world and focusing on loftier, heavenly things, she can't enter into eternal life. This idea is found in other ancient heretical writings: "The perishable has reached the imperishable; the feminine element has attained to this masculine element" (First Apocalypse of James 41:15-19).
This is contrary to everything in Scripture. We don't achieve eternal life ourselves at all. We can't make ourselves acceptable to God by becoming better people, or by comparing ourselves to a person (or a race, or gender) that we feel is somehow inferior. And we can't make ourselves acceptable to God by balancing the evil in our lives with good, either. We don't pray our way into heaven, and we don't pray or pay the way into heaven for anyone else, either. Jesus forgave our sins.
There is no other testimony about God than that which is already there for us in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. John was fighting this very notion when he wrote:
Although the picture of drinking from the mouth of God is a useful image of the word of God as the water of life, the second part of the saying is so typically gnostic -- hidden things! We've got hidden things over here! -- that it's not worth bothering with.
109 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure in his field without knowing it. He died and left it to his son, but the son didn't know (about the treasure). After he inherited the field he sold it. When the one who bought it went plowing, he found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished." [Matthew 13:44]
This saying twists the meaning of the similar (but much shorter) parable of the Hidden Treasure in Matthew 13. In the Bible, the point of the parable (and its companion, the Pearl) is that one should be willing to give up anything for eternal life (compare Paul's thoughts about outreach and evangelism in 1 Corinthians 9:1-27 and 10:23-11:1). Here, the gnostic idea is that knowledge is hidden, and can only be uncovered by hard work. There might be a Christian application to be sure to pass one's Christian faith on to the next generation, but the main point here is the misguided idea that the guy who works hard will win. For Biblical truth to the contrary, we hardly need to go any farther than Ecclesiastes ("For whom am I toiling?" Eccl. 4:8), and Ecclesiastes 7:20, "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins." Compare this to Ephesians 2:8-10: "It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."
110 Jesus said, "Let whoever finds the world and becomes rich, renounce the world." [Matthew 19:16-24; Mark 10:17-25; Luke 18:18-25]
Compare Proverbs 11:28: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." Also Job 21:34; Psalm 49:6; etc.
111 Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. [Isaiah 34:4; Hebrews 1:10-12; Revelation 6:13-14 and some versions of Psalm 102:25-27] And one who lives from the living one [John 11:25-26] will never die." Does not Jesus say, "The world is unworthy of one who finds himself?"
In this context, this saying seems more like a promise that the one who discovers the hidden secrets will understand everything than the comfort that believers will have nothing to fear from the Last Day.
112 Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
This co-dependency motif is present earlier in Thomas; see sayings 29 and 87.
113 His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" [Jesus said] "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying 'Here it is' or 'There it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it." [Matthew 24:23-25; Mark 13:21-23; Luke 17:20-24]
Although we could find this idea in the Apocrypha (Sirach 1:9, "The Lord poured [his Wisdom] out upon all his works"), the idea is also found throughout Scripture itself.
114 Simon Peter said to him, "Send Mary away, for females are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Look, I will lead her myself so that she will become like a male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
Perhaps it is in this final passage that the Gnostic author of The Gospel of Thomas shows his true colors. To the Gnostic, eternal life is not possible for a woman, who is so completely bound to the flesh. Perhaps there was also a kind of male guilt involved in this idea: women were completely bound up in male fleshly desires. But the idea behind this offensive passage is that unless a woman becomes like a man, setting aside all thoughts of the world and focusing on loftier, heavenly things, she can't enter into eternal life. This idea is found in other ancient heretical writings: "The perishable has reached the imperishable; the feminine element has attained to this masculine element" (First Apocalypse of James 41:15-19).
This is contrary to everything in Scripture. We don't achieve eternal life ourselves at all. We can't make ourselves acceptable to God by becoming better people, or by comparing ourselves to a person (or a race, or gender) that we feel is somehow inferior. And we can't make ourselves acceptable to God by balancing the evil in our lives with good, either. We don't pray our way into heaven, and we don't pray or pay the way into heaven for anyone else, either. Jesus forgave our sins.
There is no other testimony about God than that which is already there for us in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. John was fighting this very notion when he wrote:
Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:10-12)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 101-107
101 "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not love his father and his mother as I do cannot be mine. For my mother gave me lies, but my true mother gave me life." [Matthew 10:37, Luke 14:26]
The translation here looks much better than the original text, which is so warn out that we can't really be sure of what was said. The "true mother" might be a way of looking at the Holy Spirit, although assigning a female gender to the Holy Spirit runs contrary to Scripture. Arguments (such as have been made by Leonard Nimoy) that there are a handful of "female" references to the spirit in the Old Testament and therefore the Spirit must be female, are invalid when brought into our Western context, since in the Hebrew language the female gender also stands for neuter. In the New Testament, the masculine gender is always used.
This issue is relevant today because of certain prayers and hymns used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that mention "Father, Mother and Son" in reference to the Trinity. Doctrinally, this only the tip of the iceberg as far as problems in the ELCA go. But, like any iceberg, this is the first sign of a serious problem that runs very, very deep.
102 Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, who neither eats nor lets the oxen eat."
This is actually a paraphrase of a famous fable in Aesop. Aesop's moral fits perfectly with the problems surrounding the Pharisees:
This runs more or less along the lines of what Jesus says in the gospels.
104 They said, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed? How have I been defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray." [Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35]
This is also similar to what Jesus said.
105 Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a prostitute."
There are different ways of looking at this strange passage. The first is that it is an example of the way the gnostics wanted to deny everything, even human parents. If you don't deny your parents, then you are no child of God ("son of a prostitute").
Another and perhaps a more likely explanation is that the supposed founder of the gnostics, the Simon Magus mentioned in the Bible, had an associate named Helena. This Helena was a prostitute, and some claimed, including Simon, that she was divine (the claim was that the divine being was reincarnated time after time and that at this particular moment he had even become a whore).
A third but unlikely interpretation (even for the gnostics) runs along the lines of an ancient heresy that Jesus was the child of Mary and a soldier from Sidon, an archer named Panthera or Pantera. There is even a gravestone of a Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera who was stationed in Palestine at the time of Jesus' birth. This, then, would be a reference to Mary's supposed extramarital affair. On the other hand, there are gravestones with many names on them all over the world -- it doesn't mean every bride is unfaithful to her husband before their wedding. Also, such an affair directly contradicts Scripture and all other ancient witnesses. It's more like a locker room joke in poor taste than a genuine interpretation. Each of these explanations is awkward, and more so because the saying itself runs contrary to Scripture.
106 Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move,' it will move."
This saying reflects some other things said earlier -- see sayings 4 and 48. But like so much in this collection, it is left all by itself without any context and so it creates doubt instead of faith. It makes the reader wonder why he doesn't have this almost magical power, and it makes teh reader wonder what is meant by "making the two one."
The Gnostics loved the attention they got with their secrets and their supposed special knowledge, their gnosis. But by spreading around the rumor that they had secrets, they were hating the world and hating God.
107 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest one went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for that one until he found it. Having gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'" [Matthew 18:12-13; Luke 15:3-7]
Here again is a twisting of Jesus' words. God does not show favoritism; he shows his favor. He loves us all -- and yes, he comes looking for us when we wander astray. But his love is boundless. Not one of us has to be afraid that God loves someone else more than him. That's why John wrote:
The translation here looks much better than the original text, which is so warn out that we can't really be sure of what was said. The "true mother" might be a way of looking at the Holy Spirit, although assigning a female gender to the Holy Spirit runs contrary to Scripture. Arguments (such as have been made by Leonard Nimoy) that there are a handful of "female" references to the spirit in the Old Testament and therefore the Spirit must be female, are invalid when brought into our Western context, since in the Hebrew language the female gender also stands for neuter. In the New Testament, the masculine gender is always used.
This issue is relevant today because of certain prayers and hymns used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that mention "Father, Mother and Son" in reference to the Trinity. Doctrinally, this only the tip of the iceberg as far as problems in the ELCA go. But, like any iceberg, this is the first sign of a serious problem that runs very, very deep.
102 Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, who neither eats nor lets the oxen eat."
This is actually a paraphrase of a famous fable in Aesop. Aesop's moral fits perfectly with the problems surrounding the Pharisees:
103 Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who knows where the thieves will come, so that he may get up, alert his house, and arm himself before they invade." [Matthew 24:43, Luke 12:39]"The cattle said to the dog: 'It's not fair for you to keep us from eating the hay when you never eat hay and it's our nature."
This runs more or less along the lines of what Jesus says in the gospels.
104 They said, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed? How have I been defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray." [Matthew 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35]
This is also similar to what Jesus said.
105 Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a prostitute."
There are different ways of looking at this strange passage. The first is that it is an example of the way the gnostics wanted to deny everything, even human parents. If you don't deny your parents, then you are no child of God ("son of a prostitute").
Another and perhaps a more likely explanation is that the supposed founder of the gnostics, the Simon Magus mentioned in the Bible, had an associate named Helena. This Helena was a prostitute, and some claimed, including Simon, that she was divine (the claim was that the divine being was reincarnated time after time and that at this particular moment he had even become a whore).
A third but unlikely interpretation (even for the gnostics) runs along the lines of an ancient heresy that Jesus was the child of Mary and a soldier from Sidon, an archer named Panthera or Pantera. There is even a gravestone of a Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera who was stationed in Palestine at the time of Jesus' birth. This, then, would be a reference to Mary's supposed extramarital affair. On the other hand, there are gravestones with many names on them all over the world -- it doesn't mean every bride is unfaithful to her husband before their wedding. Also, such an affair directly contradicts Scripture and all other ancient witnesses. It's more like a locker room joke in poor taste than a genuine interpretation. Each of these explanations is awkward, and more so because the saying itself runs contrary to Scripture.
106 Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move,' it will move."
This saying reflects some other things said earlier -- see sayings 4 and 48. But like so much in this collection, it is left all by itself without any context and so it creates doubt instead of faith. It makes the reader wonder why he doesn't have this almost magical power, and it makes teh reader wonder what is meant by "making the two one."
The Gnostics loved the attention they got with their secrets and their supposed special knowledge, their gnosis. But by spreading around the rumor that they had secrets, they were hating the world and hating God.
107 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest one went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for that one until he found it. Having gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'" [Matthew 18:12-13; Luke 15:3-7]
Here again is a twisting of Jesus' words. God does not show favoritism; he shows his favor. He loves us all -- and yes, he comes looking for us when we wander astray. But his love is boundless. Not one of us has to be afraid that God loves someone else more than him. That's why John wrote:
We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16-18)
The Gospel of Thomas 100
100 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's men demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's, and to me what is mine." [Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:22-25]
The addition of "Give to me what is mine" isn't in the Bible. Notice, though, how it could either (1) elevate Jesus' status, or (2) separate Jesus from God the Father in a way that isn't supported by the Bible. In fact, Jesus said, "All that belongs to the Father is mine" (John 16:15).
What disturbes me most about this saying is that, the longer you chew on it, the more it divides the Father and the Son. There is no urgency about being saved here; there is no call to repentance. There is no stewardship. There is only a division in the mind that grows and grows: What does it mean? What belongs to Father that I wouldn't give to Christ? What should I give to Christ that is not also set aside as holy to the Father?
The more one thinks about this saying, the more wicked it becomes. On first glance, it is odd. On second glance, it is confusing. On third, it is disturbing. On fourth, it is evil. As for considering what really belongs to us, there is an illustration from a 3rd or 4th century monk that may grow on you:
The addition of "Give to me what is mine" isn't in the Bible. Notice, though, how it could either (1) elevate Jesus' status, or (2) separate Jesus from God the Father in a way that isn't supported by the Bible. In fact, Jesus said, "All that belongs to the Father is mine" (John 16:15).
What disturbes me most about this saying is that, the longer you chew on it, the more it divides the Father and the Son. There is no urgency about being saved here; there is no call to repentance. There is no stewardship. There is only a division in the mind that grows and grows: What does it mean? What belongs to Father that I wouldn't give to Christ? What should I give to Christ that is not also set aside as holy to the Father?
The more one thinks about this saying, the more wicked it becomes. On first glance, it is odd. On second glance, it is confusing. On third, it is disturbing. On fourth, it is evil. As for considering what really belongs to us, there is an illustration from a 3rd or 4th century monk that may grow on you:
Some thieves came one day to the dwelling of an old man and said to him, "We have come to take everything that is in your cell." He said to them, "My children, take what seems good to you." So they took what they found in the cell and went away. Now they forgot a purse which happened to be hanging there. The old man picked it up and ran out after them, calling out, "Take this which you have forgotten from the cell." Filled with wonder at the old man's long-suffering, they put back everything in its place in the cell and repented, saying one to another, "Truly this is a man of God." (Agathon)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Recognitions of Clement 1,1,1-19
About the Ebionites: Many of their teachings have been linking to the pseudepigraphical writings called The Recognitions of Clement and the Clementine Homilies. These documents took the name of Clement of Rome but are not connected with him at all, since they come from much later. Clement died toward the end of the first century.
One of the hallmarks of the Ebionites, similar to other Jewish-Christian sects, is the rejection of Paul and of Paul's Epistles. The preference is to put men like Barnabas (who left Paul to go another way) and Peter (who was opposed by Paul in Antioch--Gal. 2:11-14, note that "even Barnabas was led astray," 2:13) in Rome doing the work of evengelism and to marginalize Paul if he is mentioned at all.
What follows is the opening section of the Recognitions of Clement, giving the story of one man's conversion to Christianity during the time of the Apostles. The climax is probably evident in 1,1,12, where certain people might feel a thrill to hear the words, "O Peter, this is Clement." But the scene is a fabrication, and should be regarded as pious fiction.
The text is from the CCEL and is in the public domain.
Book 1.1.1 -- Clement's Early History; Doubts.
I Clement, who was born in the city of Rome, was from my earliest age a lover of chastity; while the bent of my mind held me bound as with chains of anxiety and sorrow.
For a thought that was in me--whence originating, I cannot tell--constantly led me to think of my condition of mortality, and to discuss such questions as these: Whether there be for me any life after death, or whether I am to be wholly annihilated: whether I did not exist before I was born, and whether there shall be no remembrance of this life after death, and so the boundlessness of time shall consign all things to oblivion and silence; so that not only we shall cease to be, but there shall be no remembrance that we have ever been.
This also I revolved in my mind: when the world was made, or what was before it was made, or whether it has existed from eternity. For it seemed certain, that if it had been made, it must be doomed to dissolution; and if it be dissolved, what is to be afterwards? -- unless, perhaps, all things shall be buried in oblivion and silence, or something shall be, which the mind of man cannot now conceive.
1.2 -- His Distress.
While I was continually revolving in my mind these and such like questions, suggested I know not how, I was pining away wonderfully through excess of grief; and, what was worse, if at any time I thought to cast aside such cares, as being of little use, the waves of anxiety rose all the higher upon me.
For I had in me that most excellent companion, who would not suffer me to rest-the desire of immortality: for, as the subsequent issue showed, and the grace of Almighty God directed, this bent of mind led me to the quest of truth, and the acknowledgment of the true light; and hence it came to pass, that ere long I pitied those whom formerly in my ignorance I believed to be happy.
1.3 -- His Dissatisfaction with the Schools of the Philosophers.
Having therefore such a bent of mind from my earliest years, the desire of learning something led me to frequent the schools of the philosophers. There I saw that nought else was done, save that doctrines were asserted and controverted without end, contests were waged, and the arts of syllogisms and the subtleties of conclusions were discussed. If at any time the doctrine of the immortality of the soul prevailed, I was thankful; if at any time it was impugned, I went away sorrowful.
Still, neither doctrine had the power of truth over my heart. This only I understood, that opinions and definitions of things were accounted true or false, not in accordance with their nature and the truth of the arguments, but in proportion to the talents of those who supported them.
And I was all the more tortured in the bottom of my heart, because I was neither able to lay hold of any of those things which were spoken as firmly established, nor was I able to lay aside the desire of inquiry; but the more I endeavoured to neglect and despise them, so much the more eagerly, as I have said, did a desire of this sort, creeping in upon me secretly as with a kind of pleasure, take possession of my heart and mind.
1.4 -- His Increasing Disquiet.
Being therefore straitened in the discovery of things, I said to myself, Why do we labour in vain [Psalm 127:1], since the end of things is manifest? For if after death I shall be no more, my present torture is useless; but if there is to be for me a life after death, let us keep for that life the excitements that belong to it, lest perhaps some sadder things befall me than those which I now suffer, unless I shall have lived piously and soberly; and, according to the opinions of some of the philosophers, I be consigned to the stream of dark-rolling Phlegethon, or to Tartarus, like Sisyphus and Tityus, and to eternal punishment in the infernal regions, like Ixion and Tantalus.
And again I would answer to myself: But these things are fables; or if it be so, since the matter is in doubt, it is better to live piously. But again I would ponder with myself, How should I restrain myself from the lust of sin, while uncertain as to the reward of righteousness? -- and all the more when I have no certainty what righteousness is, or what is pleasing to God; and when I cannot ascertain whether the soul be immortal, and be such that it has anything to hope for; nor do I know what the future is certainly to be. Yet still I cannot rest from thoughts of this sort.
1.5 -- His Design to Test the Immortality of the Soul.
What, then, shall I do? This shall I do. I shall proceed to Egypt, and there I shall cultivate the friendship of the hierophants or prophets, who preside at the shrines. Then I shall win over a magician by money, and entreat him, by what they call the necromantic art, to bring me a soul from the infernal regions, as if I were desirous of consulting it about some business.
But this shall be my consultation, whether the soul be immortal. Now, the proof that the soul is immortal will be put past doubt, not from what it says, or from what I hear, but from what I see: for seeing it with my eyes, I shall ever after hold the surest conviction of its immortality; and no fallacy of words or uncertainty of hearing shall ever be able to disturb the persuasion produced by sight.
However, I related this project to a certain philosopher with whom I was intimate, who counseled me not to venture upon it; "for," said he, "if the soul should not obey the call of the magician, you henceforth will live more hopelessly, as thinking that there is nothing after death, and also as having tried things unlawful. If, however, you seem to see anything, what religion or what piety can arise to you from things unlawful and impious? For they say that transactions of this sort are hateful to the Divinity, and that God sets Himself in opposition to those who trouble souls after their release from the body."
When I heard this, I was indeed staggered in my purpose; yet I could not in any way either lay aside my longing, or cast off the distressing thought.
1.6 -- Hears of Christ.
Not to make a long story of it, whilst I was tossed upon these billows of my thought, a certain report, which took its rise in the regions of the East in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, gradually reached us; and gaining strength as it passed through every place, like some good message sent from God, it was filling the whole world, and suffered not the divine will to be concealed in silence. For it was spread over all places, announcing that there was a certain person in Judaea, who, beginning in the springtime, was preaching the kingdom of God to the Jews, and saying that those should receive it who should observe the ordinances of His commandments and His doctrine.
And that His speech might be believed to be worthy of credit, and full of the Divinity, He was said to perform many mighty works, and wonderful signs and prodigies by His mere word; so that, as one having power from God, He made the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, and the lame to stand erect, and expelled every infirmity and all demons from men; yea, that He even raised dead persons who were brought to Him; that He cured letters also, looking at them from a distance; and that there was absolutely nothing which seemed impossible to Him.
These and such like things were confirmed in process of time, not now by frequent rumours, but by the plain statements of persons coming from those quarters; and clay by day the truth of the matter was further disclosed.
1.7 -- Arrival of Barnabas at Rome.
At length meetings began to be held in various places in the city, and this subject to be discussed in conversation, and to be a matter of wonder who this might be who had appeared, and what message He had brought from God to men; until, about the same year, a certain man, standing in a most crowded place in the city, made proclamation to the people, saying: "Hear me, O ye citizens of Rome. The Son of God is now in the regions of Judaea, promising eternal life to every one who will hear Him, but upon condition that he shall regulate his actions according to the will of Him by whom He hath been sent, even of God the Father. Wherefore turn ye from evil things to good, from things temporal to things eternal. Acknowledge that there is one God, ruler of heaven and earth, in whose righteous sight ye unrighteous inhabit His world. But if ye be converted, and act according to His will, then, coming to the world to come, and being made immortal, ye shall enjoy His unspeakable blessings and rewards."
Now, the man who spoke these things to the people was from the regions of the East, by nation a Hebrew, by name Barnabas, who said that he himself was one of His disciples, and that he was sent for this end, that he should declare these things to those who would hear them. When I heard these things, I began, with the rest of the multitude, to follow him, and to hear what he had to say.
Truly I perceived that there was nothing of dialectic artifice in the man, but that he expounded with simplicity, and without any craft of speech, such things as he had heard from the Son of God, or had seen. For he did not confirm his assertions by the force of arguments, but produced, from the people who stood round about him, many witnesses of the sayings and marvels which he related.
1.8 -- His Preaching.
Now, inasmuch as the people began to assent willingly to the things which were sincerely spoken, and to embrace his simple discourse, those who thought themselves learned or philosophic began to laugh at the man, and to flout him, and to throw out for him the grappling-hooks of syllogisms, like strong arms. But he, unterrified, regarding their subtleties as mere ravings, did not even judge them worthy of an answer, but boldly pursued the subject which he had set before him.
At length, some one having proposed this question to him as he was speaking, Why a gnat has been so formed, that though it is a small creature, and has six feet, yet it has got wings in addition; whereas an elephant, though it is an immense animal, and has no wings, yet has only four feet; he, paying no attention to the question, went on with his discourse, which had been interrupted by the unseasonable challenge, only adding this admonition at every interruption:
"We have it in charge to declare to you the words and the wondrous works of Him who hath sent us, and to confirm the truth of what we speak, not by artfully devised arguments, but by witnesses produced from amongst yourselves. For I recognise many standing in the midst of you whom I remember to have heard along with us the things which we have heard, and to have seen what we have seen.
"But be it in your option to receive or to spurn the tidings which we bring to you. For we cannot keep back what we know to be for your advantage, because, if we be silent, woe is to us; but to you, if you receive not what we speak, destruction. I could indeed very easily answer your foolish challenges, if you asked for the sake of learning truth, -- I mean as to the difference of a gnat and an elephant; but now it were absurd to speak to you of these creatures, when the very Creator and Framer of all things is unknown by you."
1.9 -- Clement's Interposition on Behalf of Barnabas.
When he had thus spoken, all, as with one consent, with rude voice raised a shout of derision, to put him to shame, and to silence him, crying out that he was a barbarian and a madman. When I saw matters going on in this way, being filled, I know not whence, with a certain zeal, and inflamed with religious enthusiasm, I could not keep silence, but cried out with all boldness,
"Most righteously does Almighty God hide His will from you, whom He foresaw to be unworthy of the knowledge of Himself, as is manifest to those who are really wise, from what you are now doing. For when you see that preachers of the will of God have come amongst you, because their speech makes no show of knowledge of the grammatical art, but in simple and unpolished language they set before you the divine commands, so that all who hear may be able to follow and to understand the things that are spoken, you deride the ministers and messengers of your salvation, not knowing that it is the condemnation of you who think yourselves skilful and eloquent, that rustic and barbarous men have the knowledge of the truth; whereas, when it has come to you, it is not even received as a guest, while, if your intemperance and lust did not oppose, it ought to have been a citizen and a native.
"Thus you are convicted of not being friends of truth and philosophers, but followers of boasting and vain speakers. Ye think that truth dwells not in simple, but in ingenious and subtle words, and produce countless thousands of words which are not to be rated at the worth of one word. What, then, do ye think will become of you, all ye crowd of Greeks, if there is to be, as he says, a judgment of God?
"But now give over laughing at this man to your own destruction, and let any one of you who pleases answer me; for, indeed, by your barking you annoy the ears even of those who desire to be saved, and by your clamour you turn aside to the fall of infidelity the minds that are prepared for faith. What pardon can there be for you who deride and do violence to the messenger of the truth when he offers to you the knowledge of God? whereas, even if he brought you nothing of truth, yet, even for the kindness of his intentions towards you, you ought to receive with gratitude and welcome."
1.10 -- Intercourse with Barnabas.
While I was urging these and similar arguments, a great excitement was stirred up amongst the bystanders, some being moved with pity as towards a stranger, and approving my speech as in accordance with that feeling; others, petulant and stolid, rousing the anger of their undisciplined minds as much against me as against Barnabas. But as the day was declining to evening, I laid hold of Barnabas by the right hand, and led him away, although reluctantly, to my house; and there I made him remain, lest perchance any one of the rude rabble should lay hands upon him.
While we were thus placed in contact for a few days, I gladly heard him discoursing the word of truth; yet he hastened his departure, saying that he must by all means celebrate at Judaea a festal day of his religion which was approaching, and that there he should remain in future with his countrymen and his brethren, evidently indicating that he was horrified at the wrong that had been done to him.
1.11 -- Departure of Barnabas.
At length I said to him, "Only expound to me the doctrine of that man who you say has appeared, and I will arrange your sayings in my language, and will preach the kingdom and righteousness of Almighty God; and after that, if you wish it, I shall even sail along with you, for I am extremely desirous to see Judaea, and perhaps I shall remain with you always."
To this he answered, "If indeed you wish to see our country, and to learn those things which you desire, set sail with me even now; or, if there be anything that detains you now, I shall leave with you directions to my dwelling, so that when you please to come you may easily find me; for tomorrow I shall set out on my journey."
When I saw him determined, I went down with him to the harbour, and carefully took from him the directions which he gave me to find his dwelling. I told him that, but for the necessity of getting some money which was due to me, I should not at all delay, but that I should speedily follow him. Having told him this, I commended him to the kindness of those who had charge of the ship, and returned sad; for I was possessed of the memory of the intercourse which I had had with an excellent guest and a choice friend.
1.12 -- Clement's Arrival at Caesarea, and Introduction to Peter.
Having then stopped for a few days, and having in some measure finished the business of collecting what was owing to me (for I neglected many things through my desire of hastening, that I might not be hindered from my purpose ), I set sail direct for Judaea, and after fifteen days landed at Caesarea Stratonis, which is the largest city in Palestine.
When I had landed, and was seeking for an inn, I learned from the conversation of the people, that one Peter, a most approved disciple of Him who appeared in Judaea, and showed many signs and miracles divinely performed among men, was going to hold a discussion of words and questions the next day with one Simon, a Samaritan. Having heard this, I asked to be shown his lodging; and having founder it, and standing before the door, I informed the doorkeeper who I was, and whence I came; and, behold, Barnabas coming out, as soon as he saw me rushed into my arms, weeping for joy, and, seizing me by the hand, led me in to Peter, having pointed him out to me at a distance.
"This," said he, "is Peter, of whom I spoke, to you as the greatest in the wisdom of God, and to whom also I have spoken constantly of you. Enter, therefore, as one well known to him. For he is well acquainted with all the good that is in thee, and has carefully made himself aware of your religious purpose, whence also he is greatly desirous to see you. Therefore I present you to him to-day as a great gift." At the same time, presenting me, he said, "This, O Peter, is Clement."
1.13 -- His Cordial Reception by Peter.
But Peter most kindly, when he heard my name, immediately ran to me and kissed me. Then, having made me sit down, he said, "Thou didst well to receive as thy guest Barnabas, preacher of the truth, nothing fearing the rage of the insane people. Thou shalt be blessed. For as you have deemed an ambassador of the truth worthy of all honour, so the truth herself shall receive thee a wanderer and a stranger, and shall enroll thee a citizen of her own city; and then there shall be great joy to thee, because, imparting a small favour, thou shalt be written heir of eternal blessings.
"Now, therefore, do not trouble yourself to explain your mind to me; for Barnabas has with faithful speech informed me of all things about you and your dispositions, almost daily and without ceasing, recalling the memory of your good qualities And to point out to you shortly, as to a friend already of one mind with us, what is your best course; if there is nothing to hinder you, come along with us, and hear the word of the truth, which we are going to speak in every place until we come even to the city of Rome; and now, if you wish anything, speak."
1.14 -- His Account of Himself.
Having detailed to him what purpose I had conceived from the beginning, and how I had been distracted with vain inquiries, and all those things which at first I intimated to thee, my lord James, so that I need not repeat the same things now, I willingly agreed to travel with him; "for that," said I, "is just what I was most eagerly desirous of. But first I should wish the scheme of truth to be expounded to the, that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal; and if immortal, whether it shall be brought into judgment for those things which it does here.
"Further, I desire to know what that righteousness is, which is pleasing to God; then, further, whether the world was created, and why it was created, and whether it is to be dissolved, and whether it is to be renovated and made better, or whether after this there shall be no world at all; and, not to mention everything, I should wish to be told what is the case with respect to these and such like things."
To this Peter answered, "I shall briefly impart to you the knowledge of these things, O Clement: therefore listen."
1.15 -- Peter's First Instruction: Causes of Ignorance.
"The will and counsel of God has for many reasons been concealed from men; first, indeed, through bad instruction, wicked associations, evil habits, unprofitable conversation, and unrighteous presumptions. On account of all these, I say, first error, then contempt, then infidelity and malice, covetousness also, and vain boasting, and other such like evils, have filled the whole house of this world, like some enormous smoke, and preventing those who dwell in it from seeing its Founder aright, and from perceiving what things are pleasing to Him.
"What, then, is fitting for those who are within, excepting with a cry brought forth from their inmost hearts to invoke His aid, who alone is not shut up in the smoke-filled house, that He would approach and open the door of the house, so that the smoke may be dissipated which is within, and the light of the sun which shines without may be admitted."
1.16 -- Instruction Continued: the True Prophet.
"He, therefore, whose aid is needed for the house filled with the darkness of ignorance and the smoke of vices, is He, we say, who is called the true Prophet, who alone can enlighten the souls of men, so that with their eyes they may plainly see the way of safety. For otherwise it is impossible to get knowledge of divine and eternal things, unless one learns of that true Prophet; because, as you yourself stated a little ago, the belief of things, and the opinions of causes, are estimated in proportion to the talents of their advocates: hence, also, one and the same cause is now thought just, now unjust; and what now seemed true, anon becomes false on the assertion of another.
"For this reason, the credit of religion and piety demanded the presence of the true Prophet, that He Himself might tell us respecting each particular, how the truth stands, and might teach us how we are to believe concerning each.6 And therefore, before all else, the credentials of the prophet himself must be examined with all care; and when you have once ascertained that he is a prophet, it behoves you thenceforth to believe him in everything, and not further to discuss the particulars which he teaches, but to hold the things which he speaks as certain and sacred; which things, although they seem to be received by faith, yet are believed on the ground of the probation previously instituted.
"For when once at the outset the truth of the prophet is established on examination, the rest is to be heard and held on the ground of the faith by which it is already established that he is a teacher of truth. And as it is certain that all things which pertain to divine knowledge ought to be held according to the rule of truth, so it is beyond doubt that from none but Himself alone can it be known what is true."
1.17 -- Peter Requests Him to Be His Attendant.
Having thus spoken, he set forth to me so openly and so clearly who that Prophet was, and how He might be found, that I seethed to have before my eyes, and to handle with my hand, the proofs which he produced concerning the prophetic truth; and I was struck with intense astonishment, how no one sees, though placed before his eyes, those things which all are seeking for.
Whence, by his command, reducing into order what he had spoken to me, I compiled a book concerning the true Prophet, and sent it to you from Caesarea by his command. For he said that he had received a command from you to send you every year an account of his sayings and doings.
Meantime, at the beginning of his discourse which he delivered to me the first day, when he had instructed me very fully concerning the true Prophet, and very many things besides, he added also this: "See," said he, "for the future, and be present at the discussions which whenever any necessity arises, I shall hold with those who contradict; against whom, when I dispute, even if I shall seem to be worsted, I shall not be afraid of your being led to doubt of those things which I have stated to you; because, even if I shall seem to be beaten, yet those things shall not therefore seem to be uncertain which the true Prophet has delivered to us.
"Yet I hope that we shall not be overcome in disputations either, if only our hearers are reasonable, and friends of truth, who can discern the force and bearing of words, and recognise what discourse comes from the sophistical art, not containing truth, but an image of truth; and what that is, which, uttered simply and without craft, depends for all its power not on show and ornanent, but on truth and reason."
1.18 -- His Profiting by Peter's Instruction.
To this I answered: "I give thanks to God Almighty, because I have been instructed as I wished and desired. At all events, you may depend upon me so far, that I can never come to doubt of those things which I have learned of you; so that even if you yourself should at any time wish to transfer my faith from the true Prophet, you should not be able, because I have drunk in with all my heart what you have spoken.
"And that you may not think that I am promising you a great thing when I say that I cannot be moved away from this faith, it is with me a certainty, that whoever has received this account of the true Prophet, can never afterwards so much as doubt of its truth. And therefore I am confident with respect to this heaven-taught doctrine, in which all the art of malice is overborne.
"For in opposition to this prophecy neither any art can stand, nor the subtleties of sophisms and syllogism; but every one who hears of the true Prophet must of necessity long immediately for the truth itself, nor will he afterwards, under pretext of seeking the truth, endure diverse errors. Wherefore, O my lord Peter, be not further anxious about me, as if I were one who does not know what he has received, and how great a gift has been conferred on him. Be assured that you have conferred a favour on one who knows and understands its value: nor can I be easily deceived on that account, because I seem to have gotten quickly what I long desired; for it may be that one who desires gets quickly, while another does not even slowly attain the things which he desires."
1.19 -- Peter's Satisfaction.
Then Peter, when he heard me speak thus, said: "I give thanks to my God, both for your salvation and for my own peace; for I am greatly delighted to see that you have understood what is the greatness of the prophetic virtue, and because, as you say, not even I myself, if I should wish it (which God forbid!), should be able to turn you away to another faith. Now henceforth begin to be with us, and to-morrow be present at our discussions, for I am to have a contest with Simon the magician."
When he had thus spoken, he retired to take food along with his friends; but he ordered me to eat by myself;8 and after the meal, when he had sung praise to God and given thanks, he rendered to me an account of this proceeding, and added, "May the Lord grant to thee to be made like to us in all things, that, receiving baptism, thou mayest be able to meet with us at the same table."
Having thus spoken, he ordered me to go to rest, for by this time both fatigue and the time of the day called to sleep.
One of the hallmarks of the Ebionites, similar to other Jewish-Christian sects, is the rejection of Paul and of Paul's Epistles. The preference is to put men like Barnabas (who left Paul to go another way) and Peter (who was opposed by Paul in Antioch--Gal. 2:11-14, note that "even Barnabas was led astray," 2:13) in Rome doing the work of evengelism and to marginalize Paul if he is mentioned at all.
What follows is the opening section of the Recognitions of Clement, giving the story of one man's conversion to Christianity during the time of the Apostles. The climax is probably evident in 1,1,12, where certain people might feel a thrill to hear the words, "O Peter, this is Clement." But the scene is a fabrication, and should be regarded as pious fiction.
The text is from the CCEL and is in the public domain.
Book 1.1.1 -- Clement's Early History; Doubts.
I Clement, who was born in the city of Rome, was from my earliest age a lover of chastity; while the bent of my mind held me bound as with chains of anxiety and sorrow.
For a thought that was in me--whence originating, I cannot tell--constantly led me to think of my condition of mortality, and to discuss such questions as these: Whether there be for me any life after death, or whether I am to be wholly annihilated: whether I did not exist before I was born, and whether there shall be no remembrance of this life after death, and so the boundlessness of time shall consign all things to oblivion and silence; so that not only we shall cease to be, but there shall be no remembrance that we have ever been.
This also I revolved in my mind: when the world was made, or what was before it was made, or whether it has existed from eternity. For it seemed certain, that if it had been made, it must be doomed to dissolution; and if it be dissolved, what is to be afterwards? -- unless, perhaps, all things shall be buried in oblivion and silence, or something shall be, which the mind of man cannot now conceive.
1.2 -- His Distress.
While I was continually revolving in my mind these and such like questions, suggested I know not how, I was pining away wonderfully through excess of grief; and, what was worse, if at any time I thought to cast aside such cares, as being of little use, the waves of anxiety rose all the higher upon me.
For I had in me that most excellent companion, who would not suffer me to rest-the desire of immortality: for, as the subsequent issue showed, and the grace of Almighty God directed, this bent of mind led me to the quest of truth, and the acknowledgment of the true light; and hence it came to pass, that ere long I pitied those whom formerly in my ignorance I believed to be happy.
1.3 -- His Dissatisfaction with the Schools of the Philosophers.
Having therefore such a bent of mind from my earliest years, the desire of learning something led me to frequent the schools of the philosophers. There I saw that nought else was done, save that doctrines were asserted and controverted without end, contests were waged, and the arts of syllogisms and the subtleties of conclusions were discussed. If at any time the doctrine of the immortality of the soul prevailed, I was thankful; if at any time it was impugned, I went away sorrowful.
Still, neither doctrine had the power of truth over my heart. This only I understood, that opinions and definitions of things were accounted true or false, not in accordance with their nature and the truth of the arguments, but in proportion to the talents of those who supported them.
And I was all the more tortured in the bottom of my heart, because I was neither able to lay hold of any of those things which were spoken as firmly established, nor was I able to lay aside the desire of inquiry; but the more I endeavoured to neglect and despise them, so much the more eagerly, as I have said, did a desire of this sort, creeping in upon me secretly as with a kind of pleasure, take possession of my heart and mind.
1.4 -- His Increasing Disquiet.
Being therefore straitened in the discovery of things, I said to myself, Why do we labour in vain [Psalm 127:1], since the end of things is manifest? For if after death I shall be no more, my present torture is useless; but if there is to be for me a life after death, let us keep for that life the excitements that belong to it, lest perhaps some sadder things befall me than those which I now suffer, unless I shall have lived piously and soberly; and, according to the opinions of some of the philosophers, I be consigned to the stream of dark-rolling Phlegethon, or to Tartarus, like Sisyphus and Tityus, and to eternal punishment in the infernal regions, like Ixion and Tantalus.
And again I would answer to myself: But these things are fables; or if it be so, since the matter is in doubt, it is better to live piously. But again I would ponder with myself, How should I restrain myself from the lust of sin, while uncertain as to the reward of righteousness? -- and all the more when I have no certainty what righteousness is, or what is pleasing to God; and when I cannot ascertain whether the soul be immortal, and be such that it has anything to hope for; nor do I know what the future is certainly to be. Yet still I cannot rest from thoughts of this sort.
1.5 -- His Design to Test the Immortality of the Soul.
What, then, shall I do? This shall I do. I shall proceed to Egypt, and there I shall cultivate the friendship of the hierophants or prophets, who preside at the shrines. Then I shall win over a magician by money, and entreat him, by what they call the necromantic art, to bring me a soul from the infernal regions, as if I were desirous of consulting it about some business.
But this shall be my consultation, whether the soul be immortal. Now, the proof that the soul is immortal will be put past doubt, not from what it says, or from what I hear, but from what I see: for seeing it with my eyes, I shall ever after hold the surest conviction of its immortality; and no fallacy of words or uncertainty of hearing shall ever be able to disturb the persuasion produced by sight.
However, I related this project to a certain philosopher with whom I was intimate, who counseled me not to venture upon it; "for," said he, "if the soul should not obey the call of the magician, you henceforth will live more hopelessly, as thinking that there is nothing after death, and also as having tried things unlawful. If, however, you seem to see anything, what religion or what piety can arise to you from things unlawful and impious? For they say that transactions of this sort are hateful to the Divinity, and that God sets Himself in opposition to those who trouble souls after their release from the body."
When I heard this, I was indeed staggered in my purpose; yet I could not in any way either lay aside my longing, or cast off the distressing thought.
1.6 -- Hears of Christ.
Not to make a long story of it, whilst I was tossed upon these billows of my thought, a certain report, which took its rise in the regions of the East in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, gradually reached us; and gaining strength as it passed through every place, like some good message sent from God, it was filling the whole world, and suffered not the divine will to be concealed in silence. For it was spread over all places, announcing that there was a certain person in Judaea, who, beginning in the springtime, was preaching the kingdom of God to the Jews, and saying that those should receive it who should observe the ordinances of His commandments and His doctrine.
And that His speech might be believed to be worthy of credit, and full of the Divinity, He was said to perform many mighty works, and wonderful signs and prodigies by His mere word; so that, as one having power from God, He made the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, and the lame to stand erect, and expelled every infirmity and all demons from men; yea, that He even raised dead persons who were brought to Him; that He cured letters also, looking at them from a distance; and that there was absolutely nothing which seemed impossible to Him.
These and such like things were confirmed in process of time, not now by frequent rumours, but by the plain statements of persons coming from those quarters; and clay by day the truth of the matter was further disclosed.
1.7 -- Arrival of Barnabas at Rome.
At length meetings began to be held in various places in the city, and this subject to be discussed in conversation, and to be a matter of wonder who this might be who had appeared, and what message He had brought from God to men; until, about the same year, a certain man, standing in a most crowded place in the city, made proclamation to the people, saying: "Hear me, O ye citizens of Rome. The Son of God is now in the regions of Judaea, promising eternal life to every one who will hear Him, but upon condition that he shall regulate his actions according to the will of Him by whom He hath been sent, even of God the Father. Wherefore turn ye from evil things to good, from things temporal to things eternal. Acknowledge that there is one God, ruler of heaven and earth, in whose righteous sight ye unrighteous inhabit His world. But if ye be converted, and act according to His will, then, coming to the world to come, and being made immortal, ye shall enjoy His unspeakable blessings and rewards."
Now, the man who spoke these things to the people was from the regions of the East, by nation a Hebrew, by name Barnabas, who said that he himself was one of His disciples, and that he was sent for this end, that he should declare these things to those who would hear them. When I heard these things, I began, with the rest of the multitude, to follow him, and to hear what he had to say.
Truly I perceived that there was nothing of dialectic artifice in the man, but that he expounded with simplicity, and without any craft of speech, such things as he had heard from the Son of God, or had seen. For he did not confirm his assertions by the force of arguments, but produced, from the people who stood round about him, many witnesses of the sayings and marvels which he related.
1.8 -- His Preaching.
Now, inasmuch as the people began to assent willingly to the things which were sincerely spoken, and to embrace his simple discourse, those who thought themselves learned or philosophic began to laugh at the man, and to flout him, and to throw out for him the grappling-hooks of syllogisms, like strong arms. But he, unterrified, regarding their subtleties as mere ravings, did not even judge them worthy of an answer, but boldly pursued the subject which he had set before him.
At length, some one having proposed this question to him as he was speaking, Why a gnat has been so formed, that though it is a small creature, and has six feet, yet it has got wings in addition; whereas an elephant, though it is an immense animal, and has no wings, yet has only four feet; he, paying no attention to the question, went on with his discourse, which had been interrupted by the unseasonable challenge, only adding this admonition at every interruption:
"We have it in charge to declare to you the words and the wondrous works of Him who hath sent us, and to confirm the truth of what we speak, not by artfully devised arguments, but by witnesses produced from amongst yourselves. For I recognise many standing in the midst of you whom I remember to have heard along with us the things which we have heard, and to have seen what we have seen.
"But be it in your option to receive or to spurn the tidings which we bring to you. For we cannot keep back what we know to be for your advantage, because, if we be silent, woe is to us; but to you, if you receive not what we speak, destruction. I could indeed very easily answer your foolish challenges, if you asked for the sake of learning truth, -- I mean as to the difference of a gnat and an elephant; but now it were absurd to speak to you of these creatures, when the very Creator and Framer of all things is unknown by you."
1.9 -- Clement's Interposition on Behalf of Barnabas.
When he had thus spoken, all, as with one consent, with rude voice raised a shout of derision, to put him to shame, and to silence him, crying out that he was a barbarian and a madman. When I saw matters going on in this way, being filled, I know not whence, with a certain zeal, and inflamed with religious enthusiasm, I could not keep silence, but cried out with all boldness,
"Most righteously does Almighty God hide His will from you, whom He foresaw to be unworthy of the knowledge of Himself, as is manifest to those who are really wise, from what you are now doing. For when you see that preachers of the will of God have come amongst you, because their speech makes no show of knowledge of the grammatical art, but in simple and unpolished language they set before you the divine commands, so that all who hear may be able to follow and to understand the things that are spoken, you deride the ministers and messengers of your salvation, not knowing that it is the condemnation of you who think yourselves skilful and eloquent, that rustic and barbarous men have the knowledge of the truth; whereas, when it has come to you, it is not even received as a guest, while, if your intemperance and lust did not oppose, it ought to have been a citizen and a native.
"Thus you are convicted of not being friends of truth and philosophers, but followers of boasting and vain speakers. Ye think that truth dwells not in simple, but in ingenious and subtle words, and produce countless thousands of words which are not to be rated at the worth of one word. What, then, do ye think will become of you, all ye crowd of Greeks, if there is to be, as he says, a judgment of God?
"But now give over laughing at this man to your own destruction, and let any one of you who pleases answer me; for, indeed, by your barking you annoy the ears even of those who desire to be saved, and by your clamour you turn aside to the fall of infidelity the minds that are prepared for faith. What pardon can there be for you who deride and do violence to the messenger of the truth when he offers to you the knowledge of God? whereas, even if he brought you nothing of truth, yet, even for the kindness of his intentions towards you, you ought to receive with gratitude and welcome."
1.10 -- Intercourse with Barnabas.
While I was urging these and similar arguments, a great excitement was stirred up amongst the bystanders, some being moved with pity as towards a stranger, and approving my speech as in accordance with that feeling; others, petulant and stolid, rousing the anger of their undisciplined minds as much against me as against Barnabas. But as the day was declining to evening, I laid hold of Barnabas by the right hand, and led him away, although reluctantly, to my house; and there I made him remain, lest perchance any one of the rude rabble should lay hands upon him.
While we were thus placed in contact for a few days, I gladly heard him discoursing the word of truth; yet he hastened his departure, saying that he must by all means celebrate at Judaea a festal day of his religion which was approaching, and that there he should remain in future with his countrymen and his brethren, evidently indicating that he was horrified at the wrong that had been done to him.
1.11 -- Departure of Barnabas.
At length I said to him, "Only expound to me the doctrine of that man who you say has appeared, and I will arrange your sayings in my language, and will preach the kingdom and righteousness of Almighty God; and after that, if you wish it, I shall even sail along with you, for I am extremely desirous to see Judaea, and perhaps I shall remain with you always."
To this he answered, "If indeed you wish to see our country, and to learn those things which you desire, set sail with me even now; or, if there be anything that detains you now, I shall leave with you directions to my dwelling, so that when you please to come you may easily find me; for tomorrow I shall set out on my journey."
When I saw him determined, I went down with him to the harbour, and carefully took from him the directions which he gave me to find his dwelling. I told him that, but for the necessity of getting some money which was due to me, I should not at all delay, but that I should speedily follow him. Having told him this, I commended him to the kindness of those who had charge of the ship, and returned sad; for I was possessed of the memory of the intercourse which I had had with an excellent guest and a choice friend.
1.12 -- Clement's Arrival at Caesarea, and Introduction to Peter.
Having then stopped for a few days, and having in some measure finished the business of collecting what was owing to me (for I neglected many things through my desire of hastening, that I might not be hindered from my purpose ), I set sail direct for Judaea, and after fifteen days landed at Caesarea Stratonis, which is the largest city in Palestine.
When I had landed, and was seeking for an inn, I learned from the conversation of the people, that one Peter, a most approved disciple of Him who appeared in Judaea, and showed many signs and miracles divinely performed among men, was going to hold a discussion of words and questions the next day with one Simon, a Samaritan. Having heard this, I asked to be shown his lodging; and having founder it, and standing before the door, I informed the doorkeeper who I was, and whence I came; and, behold, Barnabas coming out, as soon as he saw me rushed into my arms, weeping for joy, and, seizing me by the hand, led me in to Peter, having pointed him out to me at a distance.
"This," said he, "is Peter, of whom I spoke, to you as the greatest in the wisdom of God, and to whom also I have spoken constantly of you. Enter, therefore, as one well known to him. For he is well acquainted with all the good that is in thee, and has carefully made himself aware of your religious purpose, whence also he is greatly desirous to see you. Therefore I present you to him to-day as a great gift." At the same time, presenting me, he said, "This, O Peter, is Clement."
1.13 -- His Cordial Reception by Peter.
But Peter most kindly, when he heard my name, immediately ran to me and kissed me. Then, having made me sit down, he said, "Thou didst well to receive as thy guest Barnabas, preacher of the truth, nothing fearing the rage of the insane people. Thou shalt be blessed. For as you have deemed an ambassador of the truth worthy of all honour, so the truth herself shall receive thee a wanderer and a stranger, and shall enroll thee a citizen of her own city; and then there shall be great joy to thee, because, imparting a small favour, thou shalt be written heir of eternal blessings.
"Now, therefore, do not trouble yourself to explain your mind to me; for Barnabas has with faithful speech informed me of all things about you and your dispositions, almost daily and without ceasing, recalling the memory of your good qualities And to point out to you shortly, as to a friend already of one mind with us, what is your best course; if there is nothing to hinder you, come along with us, and hear the word of the truth, which we are going to speak in every place until we come even to the city of Rome; and now, if you wish anything, speak."
1.14 -- His Account of Himself.
Having detailed to him what purpose I had conceived from the beginning, and how I had been distracted with vain inquiries, and all those things which at first I intimated to thee, my lord James, so that I need not repeat the same things now, I willingly agreed to travel with him; "for that," said I, "is just what I was most eagerly desirous of. But first I should wish the scheme of truth to be expounded to the, that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal; and if immortal, whether it shall be brought into judgment for those things which it does here.
"Further, I desire to know what that righteousness is, which is pleasing to God; then, further, whether the world was created, and why it was created, and whether it is to be dissolved, and whether it is to be renovated and made better, or whether after this there shall be no world at all; and, not to mention everything, I should wish to be told what is the case with respect to these and such like things."
To this Peter answered, "I shall briefly impart to you the knowledge of these things, O Clement: therefore listen."
1.15 -- Peter's First Instruction: Causes of Ignorance.
"The will and counsel of God has for many reasons been concealed from men; first, indeed, through bad instruction, wicked associations, evil habits, unprofitable conversation, and unrighteous presumptions. On account of all these, I say, first error, then contempt, then infidelity and malice, covetousness also, and vain boasting, and other such like evils, have filled the whole house of this world, like some enormous smoke, and preventing those who dwell in it from seeing its Founder aright, and from perceiving what things are pleasing to Him.
"What, then, is fitting for those who are within, excepting with a cry brought forth from their inmost hearts to invoke His aid, who alone is not shut up in the smoke-filled house, that He would approach and open the door of the house, so that the smoke may be dissipated which is within, and the light of the sun which shines without may be admitted."
1.16 -- Instruction Continued: the True Prophet.
"He, therefore, whose aid is needed for the house filled with the darkness of ignorance and the smoke of vices, is He, we say, who is called the true Prophet, who alone can enlighten the souls of men, so that with their eyes they may plainly see the way of safety. For otherwise it is impossible to get knowledge of divine and eternal things, unless one learns of that true Prophet; because, as you yourself stated a little ago, the belief of things, and the opinions of causes, are estimated in proportion to the talents of their advocates: hence, also, one and the same cause is now thought just, now unjust; and what now seemed true, anon becomes false on the assertion of another.
"For this reason, the credit of religion and piety demanded the presence of the true Prophet, that He Himself might tell us respecting each particular, how the truth stands, and might teach us how we are to believe concerning each.6 And therefore, before all else, the credentials of the prophet himself must be examined with all care; and when you have once ascertained that he is a prophet, it behoves you thenceforth to believe him in everything, and not further to discuss the particulars which he teaches, but to hold the things which he speaks as certain and sacred; which things, although they seem to be received by faith, yet are believed on the ground of the probation previously instituted.
"For when once at the outset the truth of the prophet is established on examination, the rest is to be heard and held on the ground of the faith by which it is already established that he is a teacher of truth. And as it is certain that all things which pertain to divine knowledge ought to be held according to the rule of truth, so it is beyond doubt that from none but Himself alone can it be known what is true."
1.17 -- Peter Requests Him to Be His Attendant.
Having thus spoken, he set forth to me so openly and so clearly who that Prophet was, and how He might be found, that I seethed to have before my eyes, and to handle with my hand, the proofs which he produced concerning the prophetic truth; and I was struck with intense astonishment, how no one sees, though placed before his eyes, those things which all are seeking for.
Whence, by his command, reducing into order what he had spoken to me, I compiled a book concerning the true Prophet, and sent it to you from Caesarea by his command. For he said that he had received a command from you to send you every year an account of his sayings and doings.
Meantime, at the beginning of his discourse which he delivered to me the first day, when he had instructed me very fully concerning the true Prophet, and very many things besides, he added also this: "See," said he, "for the future, and be present at the discussions which whenever any necessity arises, I shall hold with those who contradict; against whom, when I dispute, even if I shall seem to be worsted, I shall not be afraid of your being led to doubt of those things which I have stated to you; because, even if I shall seem to be beaten, yet those things shall not therefore seem to be uncertain which the true Prophet has delivered to us.
"Yet I hope that we shall not be overcome in disputations either, if only our hearers are reasonable, and friends of truth, who can discern the force and bearing of words, and recognise what discourse comes from the sophistical art, not containing truth, but an image of truth; and what that is, which, uttered simply and without craft, depends for all its power not on show and ornanent, but on truth and reason."
1.18 -- His Profiting by Peter's Instruction.
To this I answered: "I give thanks to God Almighty, because I have been instructed as I wished and desired. At all events, you may depend upon me so far, that I can never come to doubt of those things which I have learned of you; so that even if you yourself should at any time wish to transfer my faith from the true Prophet, you should not be able, because I have drunk in with all my heart what you have spoken.
"And that you may not think that I am promising you a great thing when I say that I cannot be moved away from this faith, it is with me a certainty, that whoever has received this account of the true Prophet, can never afterwards so much as doubt of its truth. And therefore I am confident with respect to this heaven-taught doctrine, in which all the art of malice is overborne.
"For in opposition to this prophecy neither any art can stand, nor the subtleties of sophisms and syllogism; but every one who hears of the true Prophet must of necessity long immediately for the truth itself, nor will he afterwards, under pretext of seeking the truth, endure diverse errors. Wherefore, O my lord Peter, be not further anxious about me, as if I were one who does not know what he has received, and how great a gift has been conferred on him. Be assured that you have conferred a favour on one who knows and understands its value: nor can I be easily deceived on that account, because I seem to have gotten quickly what I long desired; for it may be that one who desires gets quickly, while another does not even slowly attain the things which he desires."
1.19 -- Peter's Satisfaction.
Then Peter, when he heard me speak thus, said: "I give thanks to my God, both for your salvation and for my own peace; for I am greatly delighted to see that you have understood what is the greatness of the prophetic virtue, and because, as you say, not even I myself, if I should wish it (which God forbid!), should be able to turn you away to another faith. Now henceforth begin to be with us, and to-morrow be present at our discussions, for I am to have a contest with Simon the magician."
When he had thus spoken, he retired to take food along with his friends; but he ordered me to eat by myself;8 and after the meal, when he had sung praise to God and given thanks, he rendered to me an account of this proceeding, and added, "May the Lord grant to thee to be made like to us in all things, that, receiving baptism, thou mayest be able to meet with us at the same table."
Having thus spoken, he ordered me to go to rest, for by this time both fatigue and the time of the day called to sleep.
The Gospel of Thomas 99
99 The disciples said to Him, "Your brothers and mother are outside." He said to them, "Whoever here does my Father's will are my brothers and mother. It is they who will enter my Father's kingdom." [Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35]
There was a sect, the Ebionites, who denied that Jesus was a human being at all. They used this quote (or rather, Matthew 12:46-50, since they only accepted Matthew's gospel at God's word) to support their claim. The Ebionites also believed that Christ was not fully God, but a sort of intermediate being between God and man -- rather than the intermediary, that is, the sacrifice, that brought mankind into a right relationship with God. The Ebionites eventually disappeared. Toward the end of their time, only a few congregations existed in the small towns in Syria and northern Judea. One scholar named Gerhard Uhlhorn thinks he has found a link between this doctrine, the final location of the Ebionites and the earliest beginnings of Islam, but no one has supported his findings.
The gnostics wanted to focus on overcoming the flesh and the things of this world. But that isn't possible for a human. Only Jesus could overcome the world. And Jesus really did overcome the world. That's why John assured us:
There was a sect, the Ebionites, who denied that Jesus was a human being at all. They used this quote (or rather, Matthew 12:46-50, since they only accepted Matthew's gospel at God's word) to support their claim. The Ebionites also believed that Christ was not fully God, but a sort of intermediate being between God and man -- rather than the intermediary, that is, the sacrifice, that brought mankind into a right relationship with God. The Ebionites eventually disappeared. Toward the end of their time, only a few congregations existed in the small towns in Syria and northern Judea. One scholar named Gerhard Uhlhorn thinks he has found a link between this doctrine, the final location of the Ebionites and the earliest beginnings of Islam, but no one has supported his findings.
The gnostics wanted to focus on overcoming the flesh and the things of this world. But that isn't possible for a human. Only Jesus could overcome the world. And Jesus really did overcome the world. That's why John assured us:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:1-5, NIV)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 97-98
97 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking a path, still far from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled out behind her on the road, but she did not realize it; she hadn't noticed the accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."
Sayings 97 and 98 are not found anyplace in scripture. The parable of the jar of meal is odd on the surface—but it may refer to the unconscious testimony a Christian makes throughout life. We do things we aren't aware of that show our faith.
The woman wasn't aware that she was spreading the nourishing "meal" (the gospel) behind her as she walked the path of her life all the way until she reached her destination, but she did it all the same.
98 Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a certain man who wanted to kill a strong man. He drew his sword inside his own house and stuck it into the wall in order to find out whether he had the courage to go through with it. Then he murdered the strong man."
Saying 98 is the parable of the assassin. Perhaps the Gnostic origin of this saying had brushed shoulders with the Zealots, a Jewish revolutionary group that used violence and terrorism to oppose Roman rule in Palestine.
Perhaps a good application could be this: if we can't share the gospel with our own family members, how can we go out and share it with strangers who may (strongly) oppose the message? But the picture language -- involving a sin -- is not the kind of thing you would expect to hear from the Lord, nor do you, anywhere in the Bible.
The problem with using this kind of language is that you don't know how people will use it to advocate their own agenda. Perhaps that's why John said:
Sayings 97 and 98 are not found anyplace in scripture. The parable of the jar of meal is odd on the surface—but it may refer to the unconscious testimony a Christian makes throughout life. We do things we aren't aware of that show our faith.
The woman wasn't aware that she was spreading the nourishing "meal" (the gospel) behind her as she walked the path of her life all the way until she reached her destination, but she did it all the same.
98 Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a certain man who wanted to kill a strong man. He drew his sword inside his own house and stuck it into the wall in order to find out whether he had the courage to go through with it. Then he murdered the strong man."
Saying 98 is the parable of the assassin. Perhaps the Gnostic origin of this saying had brushed shoulders with the Zealots, a Jewish revolutionary group that used violence and terrorism to oppose Roman rule in Palestine.
Perhaps a good application could be this: if we can't share the gospel with our own family members, how can we go out and share it with strangers who may (strongly) oppose the message? But the picture language -- involving a sin -- is not the kind of thing you would expect to hear from the Lord, nor do you, anywhere in the Bible.
The problem with using this kind of language is that you don't know how people will use it to advocate their own agenda. Perhaps that's why John said:
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (2 John 12)
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 96
96 Jesus: "The kingdom of the father is like a woman who took a little yeast in some dough, and made it into large loaves. Whoever has ears let him hear." [Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20-21]
Notice that there is no verb of speaking, just "Jesus" to begin the saying. This happens from time to time in the Gospel of Thomas.
The differences of what kind of kingdom might seem relevant at first (Matthew "kingdom of heaven," Luke "kingdom of God," Thomas "kingdom of the father"), but they're not. Matthew probably falls to "heaven" instead of God because of Jewish sensitivities and the Second Commandment. Not that we would expect Matthew under divine inspiration to be concerned about using the name of God (he mentions God's name about 37 times), but he may have been reflecting Paul's point about causing other people to stumble by using your own Christian freedom when people are bound by their conscience and might be led to sin. Perhaps Jesus varied the way he spoke his parables for this very reason.
Much more importantly, the point that Jesus makes in the Gospels is missing. In Luke 13:20-21, the working of the kingdom is like dough working through a batch of dough. It works and works and works until it's everywhere in the dough, and the whole loaf rises.
Here in Thomas, the focus is on the result of the work—large loaves. Both words, "large" and "loaves," proclaim a potentially unchristian messages. "Large," because it might lead us to think that if the gospel only seems to produce a small return that we would somehow have failed. And "loaves," because it is in the plural, and Scripture consitently urges us to be unified into one body. Paul even uses the idea of a single loaf in the Lord's Supper to make a point about being in fellowship with those we take the Lord's Supper with: "Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17). That's also why John said:
Notice that there is no verb of speaking, just "Jesus" to begin the saying. This happens from time to time in the Gospel of Thomas.
The differences of what kind of kingdom might seem relevant at first (Matthew "kingdom of heaven," Luke "kingdom of God," Thomas "kingdom of the father"), but they're not. Matthew probably falls to "heaven" instead of God because of Jewish sensitivities and the Second Commandment. Not that we would expect Matthew under divine inspiration to be concerned about using the name of God (he mentions God's name about 37 times), but he may have been reflecting Paul's point about causing other people to stumble by using your own Christian freedom when people are bound by their conscience and might be led to sin. Perhaps Jesus varied the way he spoke his parables for this very reason.
Much more importantly, the point that Jesus makes in the Gospels is missing. In Luke 13:20-21, the working of the kingdom is like dough working through a batch of dough. It works and works and works until it's everywhere in the dough, and the whole loaf rises.
Here in Thomas, the focus is on the result of the work—large loaves. Both words, "large" and "loaves," proclaim a potentially unchristian messages. "Large," because it might lead us to think that if the gospel only seems to produce a small return that we would somehow have failed. And "loaves," because it is in the plural, and Scripture consitently urges us to be unified into one body. Paul even uses the idea of a single loaf in the Lord's Supper to make a point about being in fellowship with those we take the Lord's Supper with: "Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf" (1 Corinthians 10:17). That's also why John said:
Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. (2 John 9-11)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 94-95
The next two sayings, also based on the Sermon on the Mount, are likewise without context. Taken at given here, they merely teach a Christian ethics, and not the way to salvation.
94 Jesus: "Whoever seeks will find, and for whoever knocks it will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10] 95 "If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give to one who cannot repay you." [Luke 6:34-35; Luke 14:12-14]
Standing alone, there isn't any comfort here. There is only the cruel gnostic offer of Secret Knowledge--a knowledge which is never revealed; never given. What Jesus promises in the Sermon on the Mount is that a believer can ask God and know that God hears our prayers. "For by his word God testifies that our prayer is heartily pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so that we may not despise or disdain it or pray uncertainly" (Luther's Large Catechism, Pt. III Lord's Prayer, par. 20.
What God wants is for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and he chooses to use us as his amabssadors to the world. That's why our message needs to be clear, without deception, and ture: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like me. When we give encouragement to each other, it shouldn't be vague. It shouldn't be conditional. It should just be from the heart, like Gaius did for John's missionaries:
94 Jesus: "Whoever seeks will find, and for whoever knocks it will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10] 95 "If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give to one who cannot repay you." [Luke 6:34-35; Luke 14:12-14]
Standing alone, there isn't any comfort here. There is only the cruel gnostic offer of Secret Knowledge--a knowledge which is never revealed; never given. What Jesus promises in the Sermon on the Mount is that a believer can ask God and know that God hears our prayers. "For by his word God testifies that our prayer is heartily pleasing to him and will assuredly be heard and granted, so that we may not despise or disdain it or pray uncertainly" (Luther's Large Catechism, Pt. III Lord's Prayer, par. 20.
What God wants is for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and he chooses to use us as his amabssadors to the world. That's why our message needs to be clear, without deception, and ture: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like me. When we give encouragement to each other, it shouldn't be vague. It shouldn't be conditional. It should just be from the heart, like Gaius did for John's missionaries:
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. (3 John 5-8)
Friday, May 9, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 93
93 "Do not give dogs what is sacred, or they will throw it into the manure pile. Do not throw your pearls to pigs, or they may..." ¹ [Matthew 7:6]
¹ Probably: or they may trample it, but the remainder of this saying -- a word or two -- is missing from the manuscript due to a lacuna or small hole.
The problem of the unknown ending of this saying can't make up for it's lack of context. Here the speaker (certainly Jesus) doesn't give any indication of who the pigs and dogs are or why we should avoid them. In the Sermon on the Mount, this saying follows two warnings about judging others: you will be judged the way you judge, and take the plank out of your own eye before you go picking a speck out of someone else's eye. In that context, Jesus is saying that passing along God's commands to people who don't even believe in God is not the way (1) to make a better world, or (2) to bring unbelievers to faith. The law, all by itself, doesn't create faith. The pigs and the dogs (unbelievers and enemies of the gospel) need to hear the gospel as well as the law.
The early Christian rule book called the Didache applies this statement by Jesus to our fellowship and the Lord's Supper (those without faith must not be allowed to take the Eucharist -- Didache 9:5). St. Paul makes the same application in 1 Corinthians.
¹ Probably: or they may trample it, but the remainder of this saying -- a word or two -- is missing from the manuscript due to a lacuna or small hole.
The problem of the unknown ending of this saying can't make up for it's lack of context. Here the speaker (certainly Jesus) doesn't give any indication of who the pigs and dogs are or why we should avoid them. In the Sermon on the Mount, this saying follows two warnings about judging others: you will be judged the way you judge, and take the plank out of your own eye before you go picking a speck out of someone else's eye. In that context, Jesus is saying that passing along God's commands to people who don't even believe in God is not the way (1) to make a better world, or (2) to bring unbelievers to faith. The law, all by itself, doesn't create faith. The pigs and the dogs (unbelievers and enemies of the gospel) need to hear the gospel as well as the law.
The early Christian rule book called the Didache applies this statement by Jesus to our fellowship and the Lord's Supper (those without faith must not be allowed to take the Eucharist -- Didache 9:5). St. Paul makes the same application in 1 Corinthians.
And John said: If anyone comes to you and does not have this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares his wicked work. (2 John 10-11)
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 85-92
85 Jesus said, "Adam was created from great power and great wealth, but he was unworthy of you. If he had been worthy, he would not have tasted death." ¹
¹ The second half of this saying is difficult to assess due to lacunae (holes) in the manuscript.
In Acts 8, people mistake Simon the magician to be "the divine power known as the Great Power" (Acts 8:9-10). Several gnostic writings also talk about the "Great Power." Here Adam is described as being unworthy rather than as a sinner. There is a twisting of God's word and a misunderstanding about how we enter into eternal life. It isn't about being worthy or making ourselves worthy, it is being rescued despite our unworthiness.
86 Jesus said, "Foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest." ¹ [Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58]
¹ The first half of this saying is difficult to assess due to lacunae (holes) in the manuscript.
When Jesus said this in the Gospels, he was explaining to a man how difficult a life of service to the gospel and to Christ would be. Here, it just sounds like Jesus is whining.
87 Jesus said, "Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body, and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two."
The word 'wretched' is the same in Coptic and Greek (ταλαιπορος, talaiporos). In the New Testament you can find it used by Paul ("What a wretched man I am!", Romans 7:24) and by Jesus through John ("You are wretched", Revelation 3:17).
The idea here is that we must not rely on the physical things of this world, but on the spiritual. This has only a partial foundation in what God's word actually says. Although we mustn't rely only on worldly things, God nevertheless has given us the world for our home. We are to subdue it and use it.
88 Jesus said, "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give you what you already have. And you too, give them whatever you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what is theirs?'"
"Angel" could just be "messenger" -- the word αγγελος (angelos) is the same in both Greek and Coptic. The idea here seems to be that teachers and their pupils share in wisdom; it isn't just a one-way street.
89 Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don't you know that the one who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?" [Luke 11:39-40]
In Luke, Jesus is talking about the uncleanness of the Pharisees. Here, Jesus sounds like he is just doing the dishes. This is just another example of how vital it is to understand the Bible in its context rather than just phrases pulled out and admired. See also the Venerable Bede, Book I,27.
90 Jesus said, "Come unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is light, and you will find rest." [Matthew 11:28-30]
"Lordship" is an interesting and not altogether inappropriate interpretation of "burden."
91 They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky and the earth, but you have not recognized the one who is before you, and you do not know how to interpret this present time." [John 9:36; Luke 12:54-56]
Although Jesus said many things like this, here again the lack of context leaves the reader wondering whether we can ever know who Jesus is without some special information.
92 Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. What you asked me about earlier and which I didn't tell you, I want to tell you now; but you do not seek these things." [92a: Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9]
Does Jesus leave us guessing? Is the Bible nothing but a riddle that the humble or the meek or the average could never hope to unravel? No. The Bible is clear, and the message of the Gospel is absolutely certain. Don't wonder whether you know Jesus. Be sure. Don't wonder whether your sins are forgiven. Be certain. Don't wonder whether you will have eternal life. Be assured: Eternal life is yours, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There can be no doubt as to whether our sins have been paid for. The life we lead today is a thank-you to God for sending Jesus into the world for us. That's why we live; that's why we walk in this life. God isn't a mystery to us at all. He has given us his commands to show us how he would have us live in thanksgiving for Jesus Christ. That's why John wrote:
¹ The second half of this saying is difficult to assess due to lacunae (holes) in the manuscript.
In Acts 8, people mistake Simon the magician to be "the divine power known as the Great Power" (Acts 8:9-10). Several gnostic writings also talk about the "Great Power." Here Adam is described as being unworthy rather than as a sinner. There is a twisting of God's word and a misunderstanding about how we enter into eternal life. It isn't about being worthy or making ourselves worthy, it is being rescued despite our unworthiness.
86 Jesus said, "Foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest." ¹ [Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58]
¹ The first half of this saying is difficult to assess due to lacunae (holes) in the manuscript.
When Jesus said this in the Gospels, he was explaining to a man how difficult a life of service to the gospel and to Christ would be. Here, it just sounds like Jesus is whining.
87 Jesus said, "Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body, and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two."
The word 'wretched' is the same in Coptic and Greek (ταλαιπορος, talaiporos). In the New Testament you can find it used by Paul ("What a wretched man I am!", Romans 7:24) and by Jesus through John ("You are wretched", Revelation 3:17).
The idea here is that we must not rely on the physical things of this world, but on the spiritual. This has only a partial foundation in what God's word actually says. Although we mustn't rely only on worldly things, God nevertheless has given us the world for our home. We are to subdue it and use it.
88 Jesus said, "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give you what you already have. And you too, give them whatever you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what is theirs?'"
"Angel" could just be "messenger" -- the word αγγελος (angelos) is the same in both Greek and Coptic. The idea here seems to be that teachers and their pupils share in wisdom; it isn't just a one-way street.
89 Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don't you know that the one who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?" [Luke 11:39-40]
In Luke, Jesus is talking about the uncleanness of the Pharisees. Here, Jesus sounds like he is just doing the dishes. This is just another example of how vital it is to understand the Bible in its context rather than just phrases pulled out and admired. See also the Venerable Bede, Book I,27.
90 Jesus said, "Come unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is light, and you will find rest." [Matthew 11:28-30]
"Lordship" is an interesting and not altogether inappropriate interpretation of "burden."
91 They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky and the earth, but you have not recognized the one who is before you, and you do not know how to interpret this present time." [John 9:36; Luke 12:54-56]
Although Jesus said many things like this, here again the lack of context leaves the reader wondering whether we can ever know who Jesus is without some special information.
92 Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. What you asked me about earlier and which I didn't tell you, I want to tell you now; but you do not seek these things." [92a: Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9]
Does Jesus leave us guessing? Is the Bible nothing but a riddle that the humble or the meek or the average could never hope to unravel? No. The Bible is clear, and the message of the Gospel is absolutely certain. Don't wonder whether you know Jesus. Be sure. Don't wonder whether your sins are forgiven. Be certain. Don't wonder whether you will have eternal life. Be assured: Eternal life is yours, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There can be no doubt as to whether our sins have been paid for. The life we lead today is a thank-you to God for sending Jesus into the world for us. That's why we live; that's why we walk in this life. God isn't a mystery to us at all. He has given us his commands to show us how he would have us live in thanksgiving for Jesus Christ. That's why John wrote:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:1-6, NIV).
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 76-84
76 Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had a shipment of merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the one pearl for himself. You too, seek his unfailing treasure that lasts where no moth comes to devour and no worm destroys." [Matthew 13:45-46 and 6:20; Luke 12:33]
There is a problem with the text in this saying, whether "his... treasure" is meant or "his... face," (probably "treasure"). As with all the other sayings in this book, there is only the command to seek the treasure -- but there is no comforting message telling us what that treasure is. This is the writing of a cult that wants to tell its initiates whatever it pleases, not the true word of God.
77 Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am the All. All has come from me, and to me does all extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up a stone, and you will find me there." [cp. John 8:12; 9:5]
Jesus did speak this way at times. The important thing to remember is that when you lift up a stone and see a worm wriggling there, the worm is not Christ. And when you split a log and see the rings or a rotten part, those things are not Christ. God came into the world in human flesh -- Jesus -- to be obedient to the Father and to give himself up for our sins. Everything that is exists because of Jesus, and he is in everything. But at the same time, he still has his human flesh. He did not give it up when he ascended into heaven.
78 Jesus said, "Why have you come out into the desert? To see a reed swayed by the wind? To see a man dressed in fine clothes like your kings and your great men? They are dressed in fine things, but they cannot understand the truth." [Matthew 11:7-9; Luke 7:24-26]
This appears to take Jesus' words about John the Baptist and apply them directly to Jesus himself.
79 A woman from the crowd said to Him, "Blessed are the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you." He said to her, "Blessed are those who hear the word of the father and obey it. For the days are coming when you will say, 'Blessed are the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given milk.'" [Luke 11:27-28; 23:29]
This is similar to several things in Scripture and in the apocryphal Gospel of the Egyptians (3, "Until when will people die?"... "As long as women give birth."). Since this book of sayings never follows up by revealing how we are saved, even an accurate quotation like this one is not helpful to the person who doesn't know the content of the genuine Gospels. Like so many things in Thomas, this is more like the warning cry of John the Baptist without the following saving gospel of Jesus.
80 Jesus said, "Whoever knows the world has found a body, The world is not worthy of one who has actually found a body."
Compare this with Thomas saying 56. The only difference is a wordplay in the Coptic between euptoma 'corpse' and epsoma 'body.'
81 Jesus said, "Let the one who had riches rule, but let him who has power renounce it."
This saying may reflect some of Paul's sarcasm in 1 Corinthians 4:8.
82 Jesus said, "Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom."
This is one of the better known of all the sayings in The Gospel of Thomas. It is quoted by Origen, by Didymus the Blind and in Armenian document. In one of his letters, Ignatius also says: "And why have I also surrendered myself to death, to fire, to the sword, to the wild beasts? But, in fact, he who is near to the sword is near to God; he that is among the wild beasts is in company with God; provided only he be so in the name of Jesus Christ. I undergo all these things that I may suffer together with Him, He who became a perfect man inwardly strengthening me." (Smyrnaeans 4:2 ff., Lightfoot's translation). Notice that Ignatius, a genuine Christian, continues with the gospel message about Jesus, where the Gospel of Thomas simply leaves a mystery.
83 Jesus said, "Images are visible to men, but the light in them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He will be revealed, but his image is hidden by his light." 84 Jesus said, "You're happy to see your own image. But when you see your images that came into being before you, and which neither die nor appear, what a burden it will be!"
These cryptic sayings would mask God behind the idea of light. But Jesus is the image of the Father. When Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father," Jesus replied: "Don't you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?" (John 14:8-9).
The gnostics and others claim to have a message from God, but they only obscure Jesus and his work for us. That's why John said:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:1-6, NIV).
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 66-75
66 Jesus said, "Show me the stone the builders rejected. That one is the cornerstone." [Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7]
In Matthew, this quotation from Psalm 118 is used to answer a question from the Pharisees about the authority Jesus had to perform miracles. Here it has no context, and comes off sounding like foolishness. Here, the act of rejecting the cornerstone is the criterion for the divinity of the stone, which wasn't Jesus' point.
This would be like saying that any religious view that anyone rejects must therefore be the true religion. And in the same vein, any meat the FDA condemns must therefore be the most healthy meat of all, or any political candidate that gets no votes whatsoever must be the one most qualified to hold the office, or any TV show that gets no viewers at all (not even the star's mother) must therefore be placed into prime time.
The act of rejecting Christ did fulfill prophecy, but the act itself didn't make Christ divine. Christ is divine whether he is rejected or accepted by anyone. He is beyond us altogether.
67 Jesus said, "Whoever believes that the All itself is lacking is himself completely lacking."
An alternative translation might be: "Whoever knows everything but is lacking is himself completely lacking." But the translation above seems to be a better fit both with the Coptic text and with gnostic thought. This saying reflects two sayings from Paul. The first is 1 Corinthians 13:2, "If I ... can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge ... but have not love, I am nothing." And notice also 1 Corinthians 15:28, "The Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all."
There is sometimes a question about passages like 1 Timothy 6:15-16, where in context God the Father "alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light" -- does that mean that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are lacking something? The Lutheran pastor Martin Chemnitz explained clearly:
68 Jesus said, "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no place." [Matthew 5:11; Luke 6:22]
Although this saying reflects Matthew 5:11, it is quoted by several other sources as a gnostic saying with a very different meaning: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake, for they will have a place where they will not be persecuted" (this quote is from Clement of Alexandria, Misc. 4,6,41,2). As to whether a physical or eternal place of rest is meant is unclear since there is no context here.
69 Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their hearts. It is they who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of the one who desires will be filled." [Matthew 5:8 and 5:6; Luke 6:21]
Here, knowledge of God comes from trial and testing, not from the word of God. There is no comfort here, only the desire to "wish hard enough," which is the axiom running through modern soap operas.
70 Jesus said, "If you bring what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring what is within you, what you do not have will destroy you."
Again, salvation is based here on the inside -- not on what Jesus did for us apart from our own good works or desires. This is one of the clearest violations of Scripture in the Gospel of Thomas. We are saved by Christ -- not by "what is within."
71 Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house,¹ and no one will be able to rebuild it." [Matthew 26:61 and 27:40; Mark 14:58; Acts 6:14; John 2:19].
¹ Or: a house.
This is a curious perversion of Jesus famous prophecy about his own resurrection. It appears to fit in with a Sadducean understanding of the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection (see Luke 20:27 and other places in Scripture).
72 Someone said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's inheritance with me." He said to him, "Man, who has appointed me as an arbiter?" He turned to his disciples and asked them, "I am not an arbiter, am I?" [Luke 12:13-15]
This is just a snippet from Luke 12. The parable of the rich fool is condensed above in saying 63. The last sentence here is an addition outside the gospel account. Also, in Luke the man asks Jesus to make his "brother" divide the inheritance. Here the number of brothers has grown to several.
73 Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field." [Matthew 9:37-38; Luke 10:2]
This is as it is in the gospels, but without any context.
74 He said, "O Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well."
The "he" must be one of the disciples or another follower of Jesus. Ironically, it is a remarkable description of eastern religions, where the initiate is urged to discover that he has never existed, or to gaze into the center of his being and see that there is nothing there. This correctly describes the content of any religion that doesn't have or rejects Christ. There is nothing in the well.
When Abraham Lincoln's popularity was dropping down out of sight as the Civil War dragged on and intellectuals all over the United States and Confederate States alike made fun of the way he looked, the way he talked and the way he ran or failed to run the country, he was overwhelmed by the numebr of people who were coming to him looking for jobs in the government. His comment to a friend that "There's too many pigs for the teats" to a friend was not so much a quip as it was a deperate plea. But there was at least something, if not quite enough to go around. That's not what a religion that rejects Christ's payment for sin is like at all. There, the feeding trough is just plain empty. There's nothing there at all.
75 Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but just one ¹ will enter the bridal chamber." [cp. Matthew 22:14]
¹ Or: but only those who are alone will enter...
This is a reference to a Middle Eastern wedding. There are lots of people watching, but only the groom will go in to the bridal chamber.
It is possible that sayings 73, 74 and 75 are meant to be a little dialogue, but the message is awkward and the meaning is obscure -- which of course is a watermark of gnostic teaching. Eternal life, however, is not obscure or unreachable. It is clearly taught in the Bible by eyewitnesses who saw it happen. That's why John wrote:
In Matthew, this quotation from Psalm 118 is used to answer a question from the Pharisees about the authority Jesus had to perform miracles. Here it has no context, and comes off sounding like foolishness. Here, the act of rejecting the cornerstone is the criterion for the divinity of the stone, which wasn't Jesus' point.
This would be like saying that any religious view that anyone rejects must therefore be the true religion. And in the same vein, any meat the FDA condemns must therefore be the most healthy meat of all, or any political candidate that gets no votes whatsoever must be the one most qualified to hold the office, or any TV show that gets no viewers at all (not even the star's mother) must therefore be placed into prime time.
The act of rejecting Christ did fulfill prophecy, but the act itself didn't make Christ divine. Christ is divine whether he is rejected or accepted by anyone. He is beyond us altogether.
67 Jesus said, "Whoever believes that the All itself is lacking is himself completely lacking."
An alternative translation might be: "Whoever knows everything but is lacking is himself completely lacking." But the translation above seems to be a better fit both with the Coptic text and with gnostic thought. This saying reflects two sayings from Paul. The first is 1 Corinthians 13:2, "If I ... can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge ... but have not love, I am nothing." And notice also 1 Corinthians 15:28, "The Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all."
There is sometimes a question about passages like 1 Timothy 6:15-16, where in context God the Father "alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light" -- does that mean that God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are lacking something? The Lutheran pastor Martin Chemnitz explained clearly:
"When the Deity is placed in opposition to idols, or to creatures, then the mention of one person (of the Trinity) does not exclude the others from being of the same substance with the Godhead" (Loci, Vol. I, page 75).
68 Jesus said, "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no place." [Matthew 5:11; Luke 6:22]
Although this saying reflects Matthew 5:11, it is quoted by several other sources as a gnostic saying with a very different meaning: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake, for they will have a place where they will not be persecuted" (this quote is from Clement of Alexandria, Misc. 4,6,41,2). As to whether a physical or eternal place of rest is meant is unclear since there is no context here.
69 Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their hearts. It is they who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of the one who desires will be filled." [Matthew 5:8 and 5:6; Luke 6:21]
Here, knowledge of God comes from trial and testing, not from the word of God. There is no comfort here, only the desire to "wish hard enough," which is the axiom running through modern soap operas.
70 Jesus said, "If you bring what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not bring what is within you, what you do not have will destroy you."
Again, salvation is based here on the inside -- not on what Jesus did for us apart from our own good works or desires. This is one of the clearest violations of Scripture in the Gospel of Thomas. We are saved by Christ -- not by "what is within."
71 Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house,¹ and no one will be able to rebuild it." [Matthew 26:61 and 27:40; Mark 14:58; Acts 6:14; John 2:19].
¹ Or: a house.
This is a curious perversion of Jesus famous prophecy about his own resurrection. It appears to fit in with a Sadducean understanding of the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection (see Luke 20:27 and other places in Scripture).
72 Someone said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's inheritance with me." He said to him, "Man, who has appointed me as an arbiter?" He turned to his disciples and asked them, "I am not an arbiter, am I?" [Luke 12:13-15]
This is just a snippet from Luke 12. The parable of the rich fool is condensed above in saying 63. The last sentence here is an addition outside the gospel account. Also, in Luke the man asks Jesus to make his "brother" divide the inheritance. Here the number of brothers has grown to several.
73 Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field." [Matthew 9:37-38; Luke 10:2]
This is as it is in the gospels, but without any context.
74 He said, "O Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well."
The "he" must be one of the disciples or another follower of Jesus. Ironically, it is a remarkable description of eastern religions, where the initiate is urged to discover that he has never existed, or to gaze into the center of his being and see that there is nothing there. This correctly describes the content of any religion that doesn't have or rejects Christ. There is nothing in the well.
When Abraham Lincoln's popularity was dropping down out of sight as the Civil War dragged on and intellectuals all over the United States and Confederate States alike made fun of the way he looked, the way he talked and the way he ran or failed to run the country, he was overwhelmed by the numebr of people who were coming to him looking for jobs in the government. His comment to a friend that "There's too many pigs for the teats" to a friend was not so much a quip as it was a deperate plea. But there was at least something, if not quite enough to go around. That's not what a religion that rejects Christ's payment for sin is like at all. There, the feeding trough is just plain empty. There's nothing there at all.
75 Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but just one ¹ will enter the bridal chamber." [cp. Matthew 22:14]
¹ Or: but only those who are alone will enter...
This is a reference to a Middle Eastern wedding. There are lots of people watching, but only the groom will go in to the bridal chamber.
It is possible that sayings 73, 74 and 75 are meant to be a little dialogue, but the message is awkward and the meaning is obscure -- which of course is a watermark of gnostic teaching. Eternal life, however, is not obscure or unreachable. It is clearly taught in the Bible by eyewitnesses who saw it happen. That's why John wrote:
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:2-4).
Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Gospel of Thomas 60-65
In each of the following six sayings (many are parables), the core message of "Christ for us" is left out. If this were only true sometimes in these sayings, it would possible to understand them better. But the atonement of Jesus for our sins never turns up in these sayings. It simply isn't there.
60 They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, "Why does that man carry around the lamb?" They said, "So he can kill it and eat it." He said to them, "He won't eat it while it is alive, but only after he has killed it and it has become a corpse." They said, "Otherwise he cannot do it." He said to them, "You too, look for a place for yourself to rest, or you will become a corpse and be eaten."
Something similar about corpses was in saying 56 earlier.
61 Jesus said, "Two people will lie on one bed: the one will die, and other will live." Salome said to him, "Who are you, sir? You have climbed into my bed and eaten from my table as if you are from the One." Jesus said to her, "I am he who exists from the Indivisible. I was given the things of my Father." She said, "I am Your disciple." He said, "That is why I say, if a man is indivisible, he will be filled with light, but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness." [61a: Luke 17:34-35]
This is probably meant to be the Salome of Mark 15:40 and 16:1 (certainly not the Salome said to be the dancer of Mark 6:22-29). The "bed" may not be blasphemous -- the dining couches (see the footnote in your NIV for Mark 7:4) used around tables were like low beds, and this might simply imply the fellowship of eating a meal. However, a blasphemous sexual relationship might be meant here -- some late traditions accuse Jesus of an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene, but of course there is no evidence for this, and there is unbounded evidence against it inside and out of the Bible.
62 Jesus said, "I reveal my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." [62a: Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10. 62b: Matthew 6:3]
Again, the gnostic passion for "mysteries" is elevated above any useful information.
63 Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had a lot of money. He said, 'I'll invest my money so that I can sow, reap, plant, and fill my barn with crops, and I will lack nothing.' That was his plan, but that same night he died. Whoever has ears let him hear." [Luke 12:16-21]
The introduction to this parable occurs later: see saying 72.
64 Jesus said, "A man was expecting guests. After he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servant to invite the guests. The servant went to the first one and said to him, "My master invites you.' The person replied, 'Some merchants owe me money. They are coming to me tonight, and I must go and make arrangements. Please excuse me from the dinner.' The servant went to another one and said, 'My master has invited you.' That person replied, 'I have just bought a house and I'm busy today. I won't have time.' He went to another and said to him, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the servant, 'My friend is getting married, and I have to prepare the banquet. I won't be able to come. Please excuse me from the dinner.' He went to another and said to him, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the servant, 'I have just bought some land, and I'm going to collect the rent. I won't be able to come. Please excuse me.' The servant returned and said to his master, 'The people you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.' The master said to his servant, 'Go outside into the streets and bring back whoever you happen to meet, so they may dine.' Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father." [Matthew 22:3-9, Luke 14:16-24]
It is an easy misunderstadning of Jesus driving out the moneychangers (Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47 and John 2:13-16) to think that he held something against the occupation of a businessman or a merchant. I've heard people misapply the same passages as Jesus preaching against having any noise or sound other than a pipe organ playing before a church service. But in the Gospels, the sin was the attitude of the heart of the priests and Levites who were fleecing the flock.
Also, in the apocryphal saying above, only the last person is a merchant or has a businessman's excuse. The first man owes a merchant money. The second is a new homeowner. The third has been selected as the "Friend" of a bridegroom (cp. Judges 14:11). And of course Matthew 9:11, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors?" speaks against this as a genuine saying of Jesus as well.
65 He said, "There was a good man who owned a vineyard. He rented it to farmers to work it so he could collect the harvest from them. He sent a servant so that the farmers would give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant and beat him, almost killing him. When the servant went back and told his master, the master said, 'Maybe they did not recognize him.' So he sent another servant. The tenants beat this one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, 'Maybe they will show respect to my son.' But since the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears let him hear." [Matthew 21:33-39; Mark 12:1-8; Luke 20:9-15]
The complete message of the Gospel is the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. Without that message, parables like these can easily be twisted to mean anything a person or devil wants them to mean. That's why John made Jesus' sacrifice for us so obvious:
60 They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, "Why does that man carry around the lamb?" They said, "So he can kill it and eat it." He said to them, "He won't eat it while it is alive, but only after he has killed it and it has become a corpse." They said, "Otherwise he cannot do it." He said to them, "You too, look for a place for yourself to rest, or you will become a corpse and be eaten."
Something similar about corpses was in saying 56 earlier.
61 Jesus said, "Two people will lie on one bed: the one will die, and other will live." Salome said to him, "Who are you, sir? You have climbed into my bed and eaten from my table as if you are from the One." Jesus said to her, "I am he who exists from the Indivisible. I was given the things of my Father." She said, "I am Your disciple." He said, "That is why I say, if a man is indivisible, he will be filled with light, but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness." [61a: Luke 17:34-35]
This is probably meant to be the Salome of Mark 15:40 and 16:1 (certainly not the Salome said to be the dancer of Mark 6:22-29). The "bed" may not be blasphemous -- the dining couches (see the footnote in your NIV for Mark 7:4) used around tables were like low beds, and this might simply imply the fellowship of eating a meal. However, a blasphemous sexual relationship might be meant here -- some late traditions accuse Jesus of an intimate relationship with Mary Magdalene, but of course there is no evidence for this, and there is unbounded evidence against it inside and out of the Bible.
62 Jesus said, "I reveal my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." [62a: Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10. 62b: Matthew 6:3]
Again, the gnostic passion for "mysteries" is elevated above any useful information.
63 Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had a lot of money. He said, 'I'll invest my money so that I can sow, reap, plant, and fill my barn with crops, and I will lack nothing.' That was his plan, but that same night he died. Whoever has ears let him hear." [Luke 12:16-21]
The introduction to this parable occurs later: see saying 72.
64 Jesus said, "A man was expecting guests. After he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servant to invite the guests. The servant went to the first one and said to him, "My master invites you.' The person replied, 'Some merchants owe me money. They are coming to me tonight, and I must go and make arrangements. Please excuse me from the dinner.' The servant went to another one and said, 'My master has invited you.' That person replied, 'I have just bought a house and I'm busy today. I won't have time.' He went to another and said to him, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the servant, 'My friend is getting married, and I have to prepare the banquet. I won't be able to come. Please excuse me from the dinner.' He went to another and said to him, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the servant, 'I have just bought some land, and I'm going to collect the rent. I won't be able to come. Please excuse me.' The servant returned and said to his master, 'The people you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.' The master said to his servant, 'Go outside into the streets and bring back whoever you happen to meet, so they may dine.' Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father." [Matthew 22:3-9, Luke 14:16-24]
It is an easy misunderstadning of Jesus driving out the moneychangers (Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47 and John 2:13-16) to think that he held something against the occupation of a businessman or a merchant. I've heard people misapply the same passages as Jesus preaching against having any noise or sound other than a pipe organ playing before a church service. But in the Gospels, the sin was the attitude of the heart of the priests and Levites who were fleecing the flock.
Also, in the apocryphal saying above, only the last person is a merchant or has a businessman's excuse. The first man owes a merchant money. The second is a new homeowner. The third has been selected as the "Friend" of a bridegroom (cp. Judges 14:11). And of course Matthew 9:11, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors?" speaks against this as a genuine saying of Jesus as well.
65 He said, "There was a good man who owned a vineyard. He rented it to farmers to work it so he could collect the harvest from them. He sent a servant so that the farmers would give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant and beat him, almost killing him. When the servant went back and told his master, the master said, 'Maybe they did not recognize him.' So he sent another servant. The tenants beat this one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, 'Maybe they will show respect to my son.' But since the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears let him hear." [Matthew 21:33-39; Mark 12:1-8; Luke 20:9-15]
The complete message of the Gospel is the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ. Without that message, parables like these can easily be twisted to mean anything a person or devil wants them to mean. That's why John made Jesus' sacrifice for us so obvious:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1:5-10, NIV)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
