Saying 22 - Those Who Enter The Kingdom Resemble Little Ones

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (22) Jesus saw some infants who were being suckled. He said to his disciples: These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom. They said to him: If we then become children, shall we enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you make the two one, and when you make the inside as the outside, and the outside as the inside, and the upper as the lower, and when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male is not male and the female not female, and when you make eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter [the kingdom].

LAYTON (22) Jesus saw some little ones nursing. He said to his disciples, "These little ones who are nursing resemble is those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "So shall we enter the kingdom by being little ones?" Jesus said to them, "When you (plur.) make the two one and make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and the above like the below, and that you might make the male and the female be one and the same, so that the male might not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye and a hand in place of a hand and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image - then you will enter [the kingdom]."

DORESSE 27 [22]. Jesus saw some children who were taking the breast: he said to his disciples: "These little ones who suck are like those who enter the Kingdom." They said to him: "If we are little, shall we enter the Kingdom?" Jesus says to them: "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the upper like the lower! And if you make the male and female one, so that the male is no longer male and the female no longer female, and when you put eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in the place of a hand, and a foot in the place of a foot, and an image in the place of an image, then you will enter [the Kingdom!"]

 

Funk's Parallels

GThom 46
Jesus said, "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that the persons eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will know the kingdom, and will become greater than John."

GThom 114
Simon Peter said to them, "Let Mary leave us, for females are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Behold, I shall guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."

Luke 9:46-48
And a reasoning came in amongst them, who should be [the] greatest of them. And Jesus, seeing the reasoning of their heart, having taken a little child set it by him, and said to them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receives me, and whosoever shall receive me receives him that sent me. For he who is the least among you all, he is great.

Luke 18:15-17
And they brought to him also infants that he might touch them, but the disciples when they saw [it] rebuked them. But Jesus calling them to [him] said, Suffer little children to come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Matt 18:1-4
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens? And Jesus having called a little child to [him], set it in their midst, and said, Verily I say to you, Unless ye are converted and become as little children, ye will not at all enter into the kingdom of the heavens. Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt 19:13-15
Then there were brought to him little children that he might lay his hands on them and pray; but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and do not hinder them from coming to me; for the kingdom of the heavens is of such: and having laid his hands upon them, he departed thence.

John 3:1-10
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mothers womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

Mark 9:33-37
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

Mark 10:13-16
And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

DialSav 7
The Lord [said], "[...] [...receive] them. These do not die, [...] they are not destroyed, for they have known [their] consorts and him who would [receive them]. For the truth seeks [out the] wise and the righteous."

GEgy 6
When Salome inquired when the things concerning which she asked should be known, the Lord said: When ye have trampled on the garment of shame, and when the two become one and the male with the female is neither male nor female. In the first place, then, we have not this saying in the four Gospels that have been delivered to us, but in that according to the Egyptians.

Gal 3:28-29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise.

 

Scholarly Quotes

Clement of Alexandria states in Stromata iii.13.92-93 (J.E.L. Oulton's translation):

"On this account he [Julius Casinos] says: 'When Salome asked when she would know the answer to her questions, the Lord said, When you trample on the robe of shame, and when the two shall be one, and the male with the female, and there is neither male nor female.' In the first place we have not got the saying in the four Gospels that have been handed down to us, but in the Gospel according to the Egyptians."

Second Clement 12:2-6 says (Lightfoot's translation):

"For the Lord Himself, being asked by a certain person when his kingdom would come, said, When the two shall be one, and the outside as the inside, and the male with the female, neither male or female. Now the two are one, when we speak truth among ourselves, and in two bodies there shall be one soul without dissimulation. And by the outside as the inside He meaneth this: by the inside he meaneth the soul and by the outside the body. Therefore in like manner as they body appeareth, so also let thy soul be manifest by its good works. And by the male with the female, neither male nor female, he meaneth this; that a brother seeing a sister should have no thought of her as a female, and that a sister seeing a brother should not have any thought of him as a male. These things if ye do, saith He, the kingdom of my father shall come."

Martyrdom of Peter 9 says:

"Concerning this the master says in a mystery, 'If you do not make what is on the right like what is on the left and what is on the left like what is on the right, and what is above like what is below, and what is behind like what is before, you will not recognize the kingdom.'"

Marvin Meyer writes:

"In this last passage Peter, who is crucified upside-down, compares his position with that of the first human being. Philip makes a similar comparison in Acts of Philip 140, where he also cites a variant of this saying. For a New Testament statement bearing some resemblance to this saying, see Galatians 3:27-28. On the two becoming one, see saying 4 and the note on becoming one."

(The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 80)

Marvin Meyer quotes an account of creation in the Letter of Peter to Philip 136:5-11 that says:

"So he, the arrogant one, became haughty because of the praise of the powers. He became a rival, and he wanted [to] make an image in place [of an image] and a form in place of a form." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 80)

Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write:

"Infants (as in Sayings 3, 21, and 38) may be compared with those who enter into the kingdom (cf., John 3, 3.5). But entering the kingdom means more than becoming childlike. The two must become one; all earthly differences must be obliterated, including - especially - those of sex. Sayings very much like this one are preserved in the Gospel of the Egyptians, in 2 Clement 12:2, and in the Martyrdom of Peter (see pages 78-79). The unity of Christian believers in the body of Christ is, of course, based on the New Testament. Doresse (pages 155-56) cites John 17:11, 20-23; Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 2:14-18; and he points out that in Ephesians 5:32 the unity of Adam and Eve (i.e., of human marriage) is referred to 'Christ and the Church.' It is perhaps more important to notice that in Galatians 3:28 Paul says that 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free men, neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' This kind of unity looks back to the first creation story in Genesis, where 'man' is male and female; it is the second creation story that sharply differentiates Eve from Adam. The original state of creation is to be reached through spiritual union. Man is not to be man; woman is not to be woman (though according to Saying 112 she is to become man - i.e., fully human in a spiritual sense)."

(The Secret Sayings of Jesus, pp. 143-144)

R. McL. Wilson writes:

"The idea that only the childlike can enter the Kingdom of God is, of course, familiar from the canonical Gospels. It may be added that this saying is one of the few which have anything in the nature of a narrative setting, although whether the words which introduce the saying derive from genuine tradition or were constructed for the purpose is matter for debate. Certainly all that follows the disciples' question is far removed from the canonical portrait of Jesus. Yet even here there is a basis in the New Testament: as Grant and Freedman note, listing passages cited by Doresse, the unity of believers in the body of Christ is based on New Testament teaching. They also quote Paul's words in Galatians iii.8: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Such a passage as this must serve to confirm the view that one element at least in the development of Gnosticism is a re-interpretation of Christian teaching."

(Studies in the Gospel of Thomas, p. 31)

F. F. Bruce writes:

"This is an expansion of the canonical saying: 'whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it' (Luke 18.17; cf. Matthew 18.3). But the expansion suggests the abolition of sex distinction (cf. Sayings 4, 11, 106): as infants are devoid of sex awareness or shame, so should the disciples be. In the Gospel according to the Egyptians words like these are spoken by Jesus to Salome. We may recognize a Gnostic interpretation of Paul's words: 'there can be no male and female' (Galatians 3.28). The replacement of physical eyes, hand and foot by corresponding spiritual members is probably a gloss on the saying in Mark 9.43-48 (cf. Matthew 5.29 f.; 18.8 f.), which similarly follows words about children."

(Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, p. 123-124)

Bruce Chilton writes:

"The ascetic emphasis of Christianity in Edessa was a profound influence on Thomas; a central saying (saying 22), for example, stipulates that one must be neither male nor female in order to enter the kingdom. A denial of sexuality is manifest."

(Pure Kingdom, p. 69)

Funk and Hoover write:

"The initial saying (v. 2), which is earlier than any of the written gospels, is followed, in Thom 22:4-7, by interpretive rephrasing. One enters life by recovering one's original self, undivided by the differences between male and female, physical and spiritual. The theme of unifying opposites is well known from later gnostic texts. This surrounding commentary on v. 2 was designated black as the work of the Thomas community."

(The Five Gospels, p. 487)

J. D. Crossan writes:

"You will recall from earlier that the Gospel of Thomas derided the idea of looking into the future for apocalyptic salvation. Instead, it advocated looking back to the past, not only to an Edenic moment before Adam and Eve sinned but to an even more primordial moment before they were split into two beings. Its gaze was not on a male but on an androgynous Adam, image of its Creator in being neither female nor male. And it was in baptism, precisely in the primitive form of nude baptism, that the initiant, reversing the saga of Genesis 1-3, took off 'the garments of shame' (Smith 1965-66) mandated for a fallen humanity and assumed 'the image of the androgyne' (Meeks). This theology, which is the basic unifying vision of the Gospel of Thomas, can be seen not only in Gospel of Thomas 22:1-4 but also in 21:1-2 and 37:1-2 and in all those sayings, such as 4:2, 11:2, 16, 23, 49, 75, 106, about being or becoming one, a single one, or a solitary (Klijn)."

(The Historical Jesus, p. 267)

Stevan Davies writes:

"In summary, Thomas presents a dualism of perspectives and urges people to 'seek and find' a new view of the world, a view it claims Jesus himself advocated and embodied. Insofar as the world in its perfect condition, the kingdom of heaven, is thought to be above, that conception of the world is to be applied to the world below: 'make that which is above like that which is below' (saying 22). Yet the kingdom is not really a place above (saying 3) but a primordial time, a time that persists in the present. All things, all people came from it, for all were created as specified in Gen 1:1-2:4. All can return there now by actualizing primordial light within themselves and seeing that light spread throughout the world, thus making the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside (saying 22). To return to the kingdom one remains standing on the earth, but with an altered conception of it. The theme of a salvific or restorative return to the time of primordial mythic origins is, of course, a theme commonly encountered in religious throughout the world."

(http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

Stevan Davies writes:

"A person who has actualized the primordial light has become (is reborn as) an infant (saying 22) precisely seven days of age (saying 4), for he dwells in the seventh day of Genesis. Reflecting the fact that the kingdom of God, like the light, is within and outside of people, such 'infants' have made what is inside like the outside and the outside like the inside and have restored the primordial condition of the image of God; this is the meaning of Gos. Thom. 22."

(http://www.misericordia.edu/users/davies/thomas/jblprot.htm)

J. D. Crossan writes of 22b:

"Robinson has shown most persuasively how the original Kingdom and Children aphorism has moved along two hermeneutical trajectories. One is the 'orthodox' baptismal interpretation represented by John 3:1-10 and developed in later patristic texts (1962a:106-107). The other is the 'unorthodox' and gnostic interpretation represented here by Gos. Thom. 22b: 'When one considers that repudiation of sex was a condition to admission to some Gnostic groups, somewhat as baptism was a condition of admission into the church at large, it is not too difficult to see how a logion whose original Sitz im Leben was baptism could be taken over and remolded in the analogous Sitz im Leben of admission to the sect' (1962a: 108). Thus Jesus' reply in Gos. Thom. 22b involves a fourfold 'when you make,' each of which contains the obliteration of bodily differences, and each of which is known by itself or in various combinations from other gnostic sources (save the fourth). Thus 'when you make the two one' reappears in Gos. Thom. 106 and combined as 'when the two become one and the male with the female (is) neither male nor female' in the Gospel of the Egyptians (Hennecke and Schneemelcher: 1.168). These, and Robinson's more detailed examples (1962a: 108, 281-284), show that the setting and saying in Gos. Thom. 22a have been redactionally expanded in typically gnostic terms by the dialogue of 22b. 'The result is a logion all but transformed beyond recognition, were it not that the hint provided by the basic structure is confirmed by the introduction, in which it becomes clear that the logion grew out of the saying about the children' (Robinson, 1962a: 109)."

(In Fragments, p. 323)

J. D. Crossan continues:

"The only factor not adequately explained in all this is the meaning of the fourth and final 'when you make' concerning eye-hand-foot. 'It is tempting to propose an emendation of the text' (Kee: 312) so that it would recommend eye to replace eyes, hand hands, and foot feet. But that, as Kee admits, is but a plausible guess, and Robinson can only note Mark 9:43, 45, 47 and add a question mark. But however one explains that final 'when you make (fashion),' it is clear that 'a collection of various traditions' (Robinson, 1962a: 283 note 46) has been appended to the Kingdom and Children aphorism. This means that one cannot dismiss the possibility of independent tradition in Gos. Thom. 22a simply because of the gnostic interpretation(s) now attached to it in 22b (against Kee: 314). Any decision on 22a must be made apart from its present much longer dialogic conclusoin in 22b."

(In Fragments, p. 324)

J. D. Crossan writes of the form of 22a:

"Here is a classic example of an aphoristic story, that is, of an aphoristic saying developed into narrative. A setting or situation is given with 'Jesus saw infants being suckled.' But this situation is already verbally contained within the aphorism itself: 'He said to His disciples, "These infants are being suckled like those who enter the Kingdom."' On the one hand, this adds little to the aphorism itself, but, on the other, it significantly chooses the narrative mode (situation) over the discourse mode (address) to develop the aphorism. Notice also that the incident begins with Jesus, with something from Jesus rather than something to Jesus. It begins when 'Jesus saw.' This recalls Bultmann's observation that, 'It is characteristic of the primitive apophthegm that it makes the occasion of a dominical saying somthing that happens to Jesus (with the exception of the stories of the call of the disciples). It is a sign of a secondary formation if Jesus himself provides the initiative' (66)."

(In Fragments, p. 324)

J. D. Crossan writes:

"The aphoristic saying in Mark 10:15; Matt. 18:3; John 3:3, 5 appears as a double negative ('unless . . . not'), but the dialectical story in Mark 10:14 and the aphoristic story in Gos. Thom. 22a are positive. The shift from saying to story has involved a shift from negative to positive as well."

(In Fragments, pp. 324-325)

J. D. Crossan concludes:

"The whole unit of 22 involves three steps. First, the aphoristic saying is developed into an aphoristic story in 22a. Second, this is hermeneutically expanded by means of aphoristic dialogue. A single exchange is created between disciples and Jesus. Their question simply picks up the language of Jesus' original saying in 22a. Three, the reply of Jesus almost overpowers the original saying in length, but it is an aphoristic commentary in form. If one leaves aside 22a and the opening question of 22b, the rest of 22b could be taken as an originally independent saying. It is, however, an aphoristic commentary, that is, a unit that looks like an independent aphorism but is appended as interpretative commentary to a preceding aphorism."

(In Fragments, p. 325)

 

Visitor Comments

Saying 22 is the "11:11 phenomena" that many people have experienced.
(make the left hand like the right hand, inside like the outside etc.)

- anonymous

This saying resembles what Jesus said before about becoming one.

- Joshua

This saying, in my opinion, is saying that when we realize that everything is one and one is everything then we shall be able to enter God's kingdom.

- anonymous

This sounds very similar to Buddhist teachings of abandonment of the material. It amazes me that Jesus preaches such teaching. I mean he actually says that children are closer to enlightenment (so to speak) than adults. How cool is that?
- Five_crowss

"When you make the two parts of every division into one true whole, and when you make the inner part of the vessel like the outer and the outer like the inner (for each defines the other), and the upper life like the lower life, and when you cease to observe the distinction of sexuality, when you make an infant's eyes in place of your eye, an infant's hand in place of your hand, an infant's foot in place of your foot, an image of these infants in place of an image of yourself, then you will enter the kingdom."
- Simon Magus

This imagery is very potent. Consider that the man and woman were two who became one in sex. The outside became the inside and the woman became pregnant. where man becam woman and woman becam man. The mother and child were one who became two and made the inside the outside. The mother suckles the infant and the two become one. The milk enters the child, the inside becomes the outside, the outside becomes the inside. It's a meditation. See what's in front of you. There's no moral or ethical admonition here. No return to the childlike or advance to the sage. Enter directly into the kingdom right now!
- Mud

I agree with mud, Jesus was a poet of sorts, using the imagery to tell the disciples to notice the everyday miracles of being alive. Anyone who has experienced a birth or suckled a child knows what Jesus is referring to--it's miraculous that we can make one child out of two people, a child who looks like the parent. Even non-believers can make babies, but the true believer realizes the miracle it took to do it.
- Holly

When one integrates the innate self and the learnt self one enters the kingdom of heaven.
- Rodney

This passage refers to one realizing that there is a spiritual extension to yourself. And upon realizing this, you gain entry into the kingdom of heaven. It should be noted that physical death is not required to achieve this, and this is because the kingdom is here now.
- Merinsan

Potted description of a technical process. In a nutshell, when you have become "whole" then you are ready for the Kingdom of Heaven
- Thief37

I think the meaning is to unite the opposites, as described by C.G. Jung in his works about alchemy.
- Petr

Children do not use words, nor do they divide the world into parts. They do not know themselves to exist as a separate "me," using the body as a point of reference, and so the world does not exist as a separate "not me." For children, all is One. Words are convenient tools that describe reality, but they are not themselves part of the real world.
- nothing

I feel this saying is directed to the body of christ, only when the body absorbs all of its parts in unity and in equality will it know the kingdom, he said the kingdom is within you and around you, in the individual the body must become as the spirit and the spirit the body, so as to reflect the spirit, in the church all must be considered equal both child and adult young and old, student and teacher, male and female for then the kingdom is truly revealed.
- David

The body is a tool you can control, but it still belongs to the world of the outside, divided from the inside. Make your body a continuation of the mind, fill it with awareness, and it will become awareness. The mind transcends the mortality of the body. Then, make the things around you a part of the mind, saturate them with awareness, one awareness, one spirit that extends into all.
- Z

The child at the breast is fully dependent on it's mother and here in this verse I believe the mother represents the Lord and the child represents us. The child is fully dependent on its mother, and here Jesus is saying that we should be fully dependent upon the good will of the Lord. We cannot achieve the Kingdom without realizing our complete dependence upon the Lord. [Note that Clement of Alexandria in [i]The Instructor[/i] refers to Christ as "the care-soothing breast of the Father."] Here, "making the two become one", has two meanings in my opinion. First, Jesus is pointing out how the Lord and we are meant to be one in love, as a mother and her child (the two) experience a oneness due to their strong love (the one) for each other. Secondly, love between God and ourselves can not be achieved as long as we are enamored by this material world of duality (the two) and therefore we are unable to see or perceive the Kingdom of God (the one) although it is outside of us and within us. Here, Jesus is saying that as long as we "see" inside and outside, upper and lower, male and female etc., all material designations, not of the soul, we are seeing with our material eyes, not our spiritual eyes, and therefore cannot glimpse the Kingdom of God.
- Mark