Hey everyone, since being out of the society I have been researching many different texts and writings. The bible is just one of many books that have been edited for content. Anyway, has anyone read the Gospel of Thomas? And if so what are your thoughts on saying 12? Here it is:
Gospel of Thomas Saying 12
Nag Hammadi Coptic Text
BLATZ (12) The disciples said to Jesus: We know that you will depart from us; who is it who will be great over us? Jesus said to them: Wherever you have come, you will go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being. | LAYTON (12) The disciples said to Jesus, "We are aware that you will depart from us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to him, "No matter where you come it is to James the Just that you shall go, for whose sake heaven and earth have come to exist." | DORESSE 13 [12]. The disciples say to Jesus, "We know that Thou wilt leave us: who will <then> be the great<est> over us?" Jesus says to them: "Wherever you go, you will turn to James the Just, for whose sake heaven as well as earth was produced." |
Scholarly Quotes
Marvin Meyer refers to the quote of Hegesippus on James the Just in Ecclesiastical History 2.23.4-7 and quotes from Secret James 16:5-11 on his authority: "So, not wishing to give them offense, I sent each one of them to a different place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying that I might acquire a share with the beloved ones who will appear." (The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus, p. 74)
Robert M. Grant and David Noel Freedman write: "The answer which Jesus gives is again related to the conversation in the Gospel of John, where Jesus tells the disciples that he is going away to prepare a 'place' for them (John 14:2-3). In Thomas, however, the 'place' is apparently earthly rather than heavenly; it is a place in which they are to go to James the Just, 'for whose sake the heaven and the earth came into existence.' This exaltation of James is characteristic of Jewish-Christian and Naassene tradition . . . it may be derived from the Gospel of the Hebrews. Doresse suggests (page 140) that James may here be regarded as a supernatural power, but there is nothing in Thomas which could favor such an interpretation." (The Secret Sayings of Jesus, p. 131)
Gerd Ludemann writes: "The logion recalls the disciples' conversations about status which we know from Mark 9.33-34. To be precise, the saying regulates the succession to Jesus (cf. the Paraclete in John 14.16, 26; 15.26; 16.7 and Peter as the follower of Jesus in John 21.15-17). James is not only given the predicate 'righteous' (cf. Acts 7.52), but is also assigned a role in creation. All these sayings came into being in Jewish-Christian circles where James later became 'the pope of Ebionite fantasy' (H. J. Schoeps)." (Jesus After 2000 Years, p. 596)
F. F. Bruce writes: "This saying originated in a Jewish-Christian setting where James the Just, Jesus' brother, was regarded as the natural leader of Jesus's disciples after Jesus's departure. James was actually leader of the Jerusalem church for fifteen to twenty years, until his death in A.D. 62; his memory was revered and enhanced by legendary embellishments. Here a high estimate is placed on his person: in Jewish thought the world was created for the sake of the Torah, [Assumption of Moses 1.2; Genesis Rabbah 1.25.] although in one rabbinical utterance 'every single person is obliged to say: "The world was created for my sake."' [TB Sanhedrin 37b]" (Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament, pp. 117-118)
Robert Price writes: "So to be called the Pillars indicated quite an exalted status. We can see the same sort of godlike veneration reflected in Thomas, saying 12 . . . 'Wherever you come from' refers to the obligation of missionary apostles to check in with a report to James in Jerusalem, another measure of his importance." (Deconstructing Jesus, p. 53)
Well... your thoughts....
-Freddy