Gospel of Thomas Commentary
174,747 words
This compilation explores modern interpretations of the Gospel according to Thomas, an ancient text preserved in a Coptic translation at Nag Hammadi and Greek fragments at Oxyrhynchus. With no particular slant, this commentary gathers together quotations from various scholars in order to elucidate the meaning of the sayings, many of which are right...
Saying 91 - Recognition Of Jesus' Presence
Nag Hammadi Coptic Text
Funk's Parallels
Luke 12:54-56
And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
Matt 16:1-4
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Scholarly Quotes
R. McL. Wilson writes:
"The actual saying is most closely parallel to Luke xii. 56, a passage omitted from some manuscripts of Matthew; but the opening suggests that the author knew Matthew xvi. 1-4 with the 'Western interpolation.' If this be so, the specific reference to Pharisees and Sadducees has been omitted, and this would suggest an advanced stage of the tradition. Grant and Freedman, like Doresse before them, interpret of the disciples, quoting John viii. 25 ff., which may be correct for Thomas as it stands; but we may also recall such texts as John x. 24: 'If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly,' and the many challenges put to Jesus by His opponents, who demanded a 'sign.' The words inserted into the Lucan saying recall logion 5 (Know what is in thy sight . . .), in which Puech has suggested that we should read a masculine rather than a neuter. The Greek of logion 5 is unfortunately fragmentary, and Coptic has no distinct neuter form, but confirmation for Puech's suggestion may perhaps be found in logia 52 (the Living One who is before you) and 59 (Look upon the Living One as long as you live . . .). Altogether, such sayings as logion 91 seem to present excellent specimens of the development of the early tradition: floating sayings, detached from their original context, the specific references smoothed away, so that they could later be employed for quite a different purpose. Sometimes the shorter versions which appear in Thomas have an appearance of originality, and one is tempted to suggest that it is the Synoptic version which has suffered elaboration; but such cases as this give warning against hasty conclusions."
(Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, pp. 65-66)
F. F. Bruce writes:
"The disciples' request is similar to that of the man cured of his blindness in John 9.36 (cf. John 8.25-30); Jesus's answer is based on his words in Luke 12.54-56, but in this context the original historical reference has been replaced by an exhortation to self-knowledge."
(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 146)
Helmut Koester writes:
"There is no trace in Thomas of the first part of this saying (Q/Luke 12:54-55). The secondary address 'hypocrites' of Luke 12:56 (no parallel in Matt 16:3b) is missing in Thomas as is Matthew's expansion 'the signs of the time.'"
(Ancient Christian Gospels, pp. 94-95)
J. D. Crossan writes:
"In terms of form the Thomas text is an aphoristic dialogue, as in Matt. 16:1-3, rather than an aphoristic saying, as in Q/Luke 12:54-56."
(In Fragments, p. 249)
J. D. Crossan writes:
"In terms of content, there are two important differences between Gos. Thom. 91 and Q/Luke 12:54-56. Thomas gives no concrete examples of weather indications, yet he does mention 'the face of the sky and of the earth,' and this fits with the types of indicatiosn mentioned in Luke: cloud and wind. But the more significant change is that, corresponding to the opening question - 'They said to him, "Tell us who You are so that we may believe in You"' - the aphoristic dialogue contains 'but you have not recognized the one who (or: that which) is before you.' This is best seen as 'a gnosticized reqorking of the saying we have known from Luke 12:56' (Sieber: 220)."
(In Fragments, pp. 249-250)
Visitor Comments
This might be another point of saying that what we seek on earth is irrelavant because God is right here with us.
- Seeking Truth
To misquote A.N.Other:- Each aspirant has to learn how to learn, to know how to know. These are not in-born nor even conventionally acquired capabilities. They have to be taught to those who enter a school
- Thief37
We tend to look everywhere for answers except our own present experience. If we learn to see into this moment, we can answer the questions ourselves.
- Anon
Unlike his disciples, Jesus did not perceive himself as being separate from all that is. He did not use words and his body as reference points. For Jesus, like speechless children, and Thomas, who would not use words to utter what Jesus was like, heaven and earth are all manifestations of the One. The disciples wanted to believe in the separate Jesus. Jesus wanted them to see that they, like heaven and earth, are all part of the eternal process of coming and going. They, like heaven and earth are passersby...all the separate manifestations will all pass away, but the name of the Lord (the eternal process itself) lasts forever.
- nothing