Saying 41 - The Person Who Has Will Receive

Nag Hammadi Coptic Text

BLATZ (41) Jesus said: He who has in his hand, to him shall be given; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even the little that he has.

LAYTON (41) Jesus said, "The person who possesses will be given more. And the person who does not have will be deprived of even the little that that person has."

DORESSE 46 [41]. Jesus says: "To him who has in his hand, will be given. But from him who has not, the little he has will be taken away!"

 

Funk's Parallels

GThom 70
Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."

Luke 8:18
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Luke 19:11-27
And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Matt 13:10-13
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Matt 25:14-30
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lords money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mark 4:24-25
And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

 

Scholarly Quotes

Gerd Ludemann writes:

"These verses have parllels in Mark 4.25 and Matt. 25.29/Luke 19.26 (= Q). Thomas diverges from them in two points: (a) in v. 1 he reads 'in his hand' (cf. 9.1; 17; 21.10; 22.6; 35.1; 98.2) and (b) in v. 2 'the little'. The saying is a common proverb. How it was read by Gnostics is shown for example by Gospel of Philip 105: 'Is it not fitting for all who have all this also to know themselves? But some, if they do not know themselves, will not enjoy what they have. The others, who have come to know themselves, will enjoy them (= their possessions).'"

(Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 610)

J. D. Crossan writes:

"The addition of 'in his hand' may be redactional, since Thomas seems to have a particular liking for 'hand' (17, 21c, 22b, 35, 98; see Menard, 1975: 142). The other change is of more significance. The negative stich is again qualified: 'even the little he has.' It is also possible that Gos. Thom. 70 is a much more gnostic version of this saying (Grant and Freedman: 147)."

(In Fragments, p. 201)

Funk and Hoover write:

"This saying in Thomas betrays no dependence on the canonical gospels; it represents an independent tradition. The Q form is recorded by Luke at the conclusion of the parable of the money in trust (Luke 19:26): 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given; and from those who don't have, even what they do have will be taken away.' Mark has a slightly different version in Mark 4:25: 'In fact, to those who have, mre will be given, and from those who don't have, even what they do have will be taken away!' Thomas exhibits two minor additions: the words 'in hand' in the first line, and the phrase 'the little' in the last line are unique to Thomas. The additional words do not help clarify the original context of the saying, if indeed it is more than a general maxim that was universally applicable."

(The Five Gospels, p. 496)

 

Visitor Comments

How about, "He who has in his hand (wisdom of truth) to him more shall be given; and he who has none, the little bit of truth he has will be snatched away." A two-fold saying also applying to faith.
- wacky

But what if it means just that? What if it means that people who have, i.e. possessions, will gain more and those who do not have much, will have less? Maybe it's based on working hard for what you have...
- Five_crowss

Most of us live in a world of mental concepts. To enter the Kingdom means to see the real world behind the mental concepts. Such a person «possesses». He/she then will be given more i.e. all the joy of life one can accept, the Life itself. Those who continue to view the world through their mental concepts do not «possess», they live in their minds and thus are condemned to lose what they have since what they have is subject to the law of change so everything perishes in the end.
- Zdenko

Those who live in gratitude have abundance. Those who live in want need more no matter what they have. Those in abundance will have much and will get more. Those in need are never satisfied.
- TomC

Correct preparation of the student to begin study, in a joint operation by the student & his/her teacher. Without that guidance in that milieu what little one has gained in the ordinary way will be next to useless. But to those who have worked on themselves to create a sure foundation, to them it is possible to give more. No mystery here, a simple cause & effect situation
- Thief37

Maybe it is that he who has gnosis, or knowledge, will be given more, and he who does not have gnosis will remain in the dark and will not be able to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
- lorien

This is a teaching on the importance of attitude and perspective in life. One who sees his glass as half full, who focuses on his bounty in life, will attract more bounty into his life. But one who sees his glass a half empty, who focuses on his poverty in life, will just attract more poverty his way. This is quickly proven by the many stories of lottery winners who somehow always manage to lose all their winnings and end up as poor as they started. One's inner attitude and perspective on life creates and defines one's experience.
- DivisionTheory