Chapter 1

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These are the hidden sayings which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.

And he said, "Whoever finds the meaning of these sayings will not taste death."

Jesus said, "Let the one who seeks not cease from seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will be troubled. When he is troubled, he will marvel, and he will reign over the All."

Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'Behold, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will go before you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will go before you. But the kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are the children of the Living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and you are the poverty."

Jesus said, "The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they shall become a single one."

Jesus said, "Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing concealed that will not be manifest."

His disciples questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What rule of eating shall we keep?" Jesus said, "Do not lie, and do not do what you hate, for all things are laid bare before heaven. There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing covered that will remain uncovered."

Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion which the man will eat, so that the lion becomes man. And cursed is the man whom the lion will eat, and the lion will still become man."

And he said, "Man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea. He drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine, large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea; without hesitation he chose the large fish. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus said, "Behold, the sower went out. He filled his hand and cast. Some fell upon the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell upon the rock, and they did not take root in the soil, and they sent up no ears. Others fell among the thorns; they choked the seed, and the worm devoured them. And others fell on good soil, and it brought forth good fruit: it yielded sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure."

Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and behold, I watch over it until it blazes."

Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what was dead, you made it come alive. When you come into the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"

The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who will become great over us?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you have come from, you shall go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

Jesus said to his disciples, "Liken me and tell me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous messenger." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly unable to say whom you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become drunk from the bubbling spring which I have measured out." And he took him, withdrew, and spoke three words to him. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the words he spoke to me, you will pick up stones and cast them at me, and fire will come out of the stones and consume you."

Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves. If you pray, you will be condemned. If you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and walk through the country places, when they receive you, eat what they set before you; heal the sick among them. For what enters your mouth will not defile you; rather, what comes out of your mouth — that is what will defile you."

Jesus said, "When you see him who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship him. He is your Father."

Jesus said, "Perhaps men think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast divisions upon the earth — fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: three will be against two, and two against three; the father against the son, and the son against the father. And they shall stand as solitary ones."

Jesus said, "I shall give you what no eye has seen, and what no ear has heard, and what no hand has touched, and what has never entered the heart of man."

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be." Jesus said, "Have you then discovered the beginning, that you now seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed is he who stands at the beginning: he will know the end, and he will not taste death."

Jesus said, "Blessed is he who was before he came into being. If you become my disciples and hear my words, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in Paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like." He said to them, "It is like a mustard seed, smaller than all other seeds. But when it falls on tilled ground, it sends out a great branch and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven."

Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like little children dwelling in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Release our field to us.' 4The children undress before them to release it to them, and to give back their field. Therefore I say, if the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he arrives, and will not let him dig through into the house of his domain to carry off his goods. But as for you, be on guard against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength, so that the robbers may find no way to reach you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the fruit ripened, he came swiftly with his sickle in his hand, and he reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, "These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "Shall we then, being children, enter the kingdom?" Jesus said 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 when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male will 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, and an image in place of an image, then you will enter the kingdom."

Jesus said, "I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they shall stand as a single one."

His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for it is necessary that we seek it." He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, there is darkness."

Jesus said, "Love your brother as your own soul. Guard him as the apple of your eye."

Jesus said, "The speck that is in your brother's eye you see, but the beam in your own eye you do not see. When you remove the beam from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

Jesus said, "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not keep the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father."

Jesus said, "I stood in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunken; I found none of them thirsty. And my soul was grieved for the sons of men, because they are blind in their hearts, and do not see that they came empty into the world, and empty they seek to leave the world again. But for the present they are drunken. When they shake off their wine, then they will repent."

Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Yet I marvel at this: how has this great wealth made its home in this poverty?"

Jesus said, "Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him."

Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village. No physician heals those who know him."

Jesus said, "A city built upon a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden."

Jesus said, "What you hear in your ear, proclaim in the other ear from your housetops. For no one lights a lamp to set it under a bushel, nor in a hidden place; rather, he sets it upon a lampstand, so that all who come and go may see its light."

Jesus said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, both of them fall into a pit."

Jesus said, "It is not possible for one to enter the house of the strong man and take him by force, unless he first binds his hands. Then he will plunder his house."

Jesus said, "Be not anxious from morning until evening, nor from evening until morning, about what you shall wear."

His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when shall we see you?" Jesus said, "When you strip yourselves of your garments without being ashamed, and take your garments and lay them beneath your feet like little children, and tread upon them, then you will behold the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid."

Jesus said, "Many times you have longed to hear these words which I speak to you, and you have no other from whom to hear them. Days will come when you will seek me and will not find me."

Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed those who wished to enter to do so. But you — become as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves."

Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted outside the Father, and because it is not sound, it shall be pulled up by its roots and destroyed."

Jesus said, "Whoever has something in his hand will be given more; and whoever has nothing, even the little he has will be taken from him."

Jesus said, "Become passersby."

His disciples said to him, "Who are you, that you should say these things to us?" Jesus said, "Do you not know from what I say to you who I am? Rather, you have become like the Jews, for they love the tree and hate its fruit, or love the fruit and hate the tree."

Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the Son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither on earth nor in heaven."

Jesus said, "Grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor are figs picked from thistles, for they yield no fruit. A good man brings forth good out of his treasure. An evil man brings forth evil things out of the wicked treasure in his heart, and he utters evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil."

Jesus said, "From Adam until John the Baptist, among those born of women, there is none greater than John the Baptist, so that his eyes should not be broken. But I have said: Whoever among you becomes as a little child shall know the kingdom, and shall become greater than John."

Jesus said, "A man cannot mount two horses, nor stretch two bows. A servant cannot serve two masters, or he will honor the one and offend the other. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not poured into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine poured into new wineskins, lest it spoil. An old patch is not sewn on a new garment, for a tear would result."

Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in this one house, they shall say to the mountain, 'Move from here,' and it shall move."

Jesus said, "Blessed are the solitary and the chosen, for you shall find the kingdom. For you came from it, and to it you shall return."

Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'From where have you come?' — say to them, 'We came from the light, from the place where the light came into being of itself. It stood, and revealed itself in their image.' 2If they say to you, 'Who are you?' — say, 'We are his children, and we are the chosen of the Living Father.' 3If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your Father in you?' — say to them, 'It is movement and rest.'"

His disciples said to him, "When will the rest of the dead come into being, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you look for has already come, but you do not know it."

His disciples said to him, "Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke concerning you." He said to them, "You have abandoned the Living One who is before you, and you have spoken of the dead."

His disciples said to him, "Is circumcision beneficial, or not?" He said to them, "Were it beneficial, their father would beget them from their mother already circumcised. But the true circumcision in the spirit has become profitable in every way."

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross as I do will not be worthy of me."

Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has found a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse — of him the world is not worthy."

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had good seed. His enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not let them pull up the weeds. He said to them, 'Lest you go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.' 4For on the day of harvest the weeds will be revealed, and they will be pulled up and burned."

Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who has suffered: he has found life."

Jesus said, "Gaze upon the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to see."

They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way into Judea. He said to his disciples, "What does that man do with the lamb?" They said to him, "He will kill it and eat it." He said to them, "While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse." They said, "Otherwise he cannot do it." He said to them, "You yourselves — seek a place for yourselves within rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten."

Jesus said, "Two will rest upon a bed: the one will die, the other will live." Salome said, "Who are you, Sir, that you have come up onto my couch and eaten from my table as from a stranger?" Jesus said to her, "I am he who comes forth from what is whole. To me was given of the things of my Father." Salome said, "I am your disciple." Jesus said, "Therefore I say, when one becomes whole, he will be filled with light; but when he becomes divided, he will be filled with darkness."

Jesus said, "I disclose my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries. Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had great wealth. He said, 'I will put my wealth to use, so that I may sow and reap and plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing.' 3Such were the thoughts of his heart. And that very night he died. Whoever has ears, let him hear."

Jesus said, "A man had invited guests. When he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servant to summon the guests. The servant went to the first and said, 'My master invites you.' 3He said, 'I have money claims against some merchants; they are coming to me this evening. I must go and give them my orders. I beg to be excused from the dinner.' 4He went to another and said, 'My master has invited you.' 5He said, 'I have bought a house, and they ask of me a day. I shall not have time.' 6He went to another and said, 'My master invites you.' 7He said, 'My friend is to be married, and it is I who am to prepare the feast; I cannot come. I beg to be excused from the dinner.' 8He went to another and said, 'My master invites you.' 9He said, 'I have bought a farm, and I am going to collect the rent. I cannot come. I beg to be excused.' 10The servant returned and said to his master, 'Those whom you invited to the dinner have begged to be excused.' 11The master said to his servant, 'Go out into the streets and bring those whom you find, that they may dine.' 12Buyers and merchants shall not enter the places of my Father."

He said, "A good man had a vineyard. He leased it to tenants, that they might work it, and he might receive its fruit from them. He sent his servant, that the tenants might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, and all but killed him. The servant returned and told his master. The master said, 'Perhaps he did not recognize them.' He sent another servant; the tenants beat this one also. Then the master sent his son. He said, 'Perhaps they will show respect to my son.' 6Since those tenants knew that he was the heir of the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears, let him hear."

Jesus said, "Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. It is the cornerstone."

Jesus said, "Whoever knows the All but fails to know himself lacks everything."

Jesus said, "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. And wherever you have been persecuted, there no place will be found."

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."

Jesus said, "When you bring forth that which 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."

Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house, and no one shall be able to build it again."

A man said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me." He said to him, "Man, who made me a divider?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "Am I a divider?"

Jesus said, "The harvest is indeed great, but the laborers are few. Beseech the Lord, therefore, to send forth laborers into the harvest."

He said, "Lord, there are many around the well, but no one in the well."

Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who shall enter the bridal chamber."

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had a consignment of goods and found a pearl. That merchant was wise; he sold the consignment and bought the single pearl for himself. You too — seek his unfailing and enduring treasure, where no moth draws near to devour, nor does worm destroy."

Jesus said, "I am the light that is above them all. I am the All. The All came forth from me, and the All attained unto me. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you shall find me there."

Jesus said, "Why have you come out into the desert? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in soft raiment, like your kings and your great men? They are clothed in soft garments, and they cannot know the truth."

A woman in the crowd said to him, "Blessed is the womb which bore you, and the breasts which nourished you." He said to her, "Blessed are they who have heard the word of the Father and have kept it in truth. For there shall be days when you will say, 'Blessed is the womb which has not conceived, and the breasts which have not given milk.'"

Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has found the body, but whoever has found the body — of him the world is not worthy."

Jesus said, "Let him who has grown rich reign, and let him who has power renounce it."

Jesus said, "Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom."

Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, and the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He shall be revealed, but his image is concealed by his light."

Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you behold your images which came into being before you — which neither die nor are made manifest — how much will you bear?"

Jesus said, "Adam came into being out of a great power and a great wealth, yet he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, he would not have tasted death."

Jesus said, "The foxes have their dens, and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head and rest."

Jesus said, "Wretched is the body that depends upon a body, and wretched is the soul that depends upon these two."

Jesus said, "The messengers and the prophets shall come to you, and they shall give you what is yours. And you also — give them what is in your hands. Say to yourselves, 'On what day will they come and take what is theirs?'"

Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that he who made the inside is also he who made the outside?"

Jesus said, "Come to me, for my yoke is easy and my rule is gentle, and you shall find rest for yourselves."

They said to him, "Tell us who you are, that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You examine the face of the sky and of the earth, but him who is before you, you have not come to know, and you do not know how to examine this present moment."

Jesus said, "Seek, and you shall find. But the things you asked me about in former days, which I did not tell you then, now I am willing to tell them, and you do not seek them."

Jesus said, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they cast it upon the dunghill. Do not throw the pearls to the swine, lest they grind them to nothing."

Jesus said, "He who seeks shall find, and to him who knocks it shall be opened."

Jesus said, "If you have money, do not lend at interest. Rather, give it to the one from whom you will not receive it back."

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a woman. She took a little leaven and hid it in dough; she made of it large loaves of bread. Whoever has ears, let him hear."

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a woman carrying a jar full of meal. While she walked along a distant road, the handle of the jar broke, and the meal spilled out behind her along the road. She was unaware of it; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."

Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a man who wished to kill a powerful man. He drew the sword in his own house and thrust it into the wall, to test whether his hand would be strong enough. Then he slew the powerful man."

The disciples said to him, "Your brothers and your mother are standing outside." He said to them, "Those here who do the will of my Father — they are my brothers and my mother. It is they who shall enter the kingdom of my Father."

100

They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's men demand tribute from us." He said to them, "Give Caesar what is Caesar's, give to God what is God's, and give me what is mine."

101

Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be a disciple to me. And whoever does not love his father and his mother as I do cannot be a disciple to me. For my mother bore me, but my true Mother gave me life."

102

Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of cattle: neither does he eat, nor does he let the cattle eat."

103

Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who knows in what part of the night the robbers will come, so that he may rise, gather his dominion together, and gird up his loins before they enter."

104

They said to him, "Come, let us pray today and fast." Jesus said, "What is the sin that I have committed, or in what have I been overcome? Rather, when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber — then let them fast and pray."

105

Jesus said, "Whoever knows the father and the mother shall be called the son of a harlot."

106

Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you shall become sons of man. And when you say, 'Mountain, move from here,' it shall move."

107

Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest of them went astray. He left the ninety-nine and sought for that one until he found it. When he had labored, he said to the sheep, 'I love you more than the ninety-nine.'"

108

Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth shall become as I am. And I myself shall become he, and the hidden things shall be revealed to him."

109

Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a hidden treasure in his field, and did not know it. When he died, he left it to his son. The son, not knowing of it, took that field and sold it. And the one who bought it came plowing, found the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."

110

Jesus said, "Let him who has found the world and become rich renounce the world."

111

Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth shall be rolled up in your presence. And he who lives from the Living One shall not see death. Does not Jesus say: Whoever has found himself — of him the world is not worthy?"

112

Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends upon the soul! Woe to the soul that depends upon the flesh!"

113

His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" Jesus said, "It shall not come by watching for it. They shall not say, 'Behold, here,' or, 'Behold, there.' 4Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."

114

Simon Peter said to them, "Let Mary depart from us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "Behold, I shall lead her, so that I may make her male, that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter the kingdom of heaven."