Apocryphon of James

James writes to a beloved disciple, recounting how the Saviour appeared 550 days after His resurrection and drew Peter and James apart to reveal the hidden teaching.

1James writeth unto … : Peace be unto thee from peace; love from love; grace from grace; faith from faith; life from holy life.

2Inasmuch as thou hast asked me to send thee a hidden book which was revealed unto Peter and unto me by the Lord, I could not refuse thee, neither could I gainsay thee. But I have written it in Hebrew letters, and have sent it unto thee — and unto thee alone.

3Yet, since thou art a minister of the salvation of the saints, take heed; and be careful not to recount unto many this book which the Saviour did not wish to recount even unto all of us, His twelve disciples.

4Now the twelve disciples were all sitting together at one time, and recalling what the Saviour had said unto each of them, whether secretly or openly, and were setting it down in books.

5And I, even I, was writing what was in my book, when behold, the Saviour appeared, after He had departed from us — even five hundred and fifty days after He had risen from the dead. And we said unto Him: Hast Thou departed and removed Thyself from us?

6And Jesus said: Nay; but I shall return unto the place from which I came forth. If ye will come with me, come.

7We all answered, and said: If Thou biddest us, we will come.

8He said: Verily, I say unto you, none shall ever enter the kingdom of heaven because I bid him; but rather, because ye yourselves are full.

9Leave James and Peter unto me, that I may fill them. And when He had called the two of them, He took them apart, and bade the rest occupy themselves with that which they were doing.

10The Saviour said: Ye have received mercy. Have ye not understood? Be not desirous, then, to hear about the head, but about the matter that is hidden in the head.

11I say unto you: be ye full, and lack nothing, lest ye lack.

12And I, James, said: Lord, we can be obedient unto Thee if Thou willest, for we have forsaken our fathers and our mothers and our villages, and followed Thee. Grant us, then, not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one.

13The Lord answered, and said: What is your merit, if ye do the will of the Father, and it is not given you of Him as a gift, while ye are tempted by Satan? But if ye are oppressed by Satan and persecuted, and ye do the will of the Father, I say He shall love you, and shall make you equal with me, and shall consider that ye have become beloved through His providence by your own choice.

14Will ye not, then, cease loving the flesh, and being afraid of sufferings? Or know ye not that ye have yet to be abused and to be accused unjustly, and to be shut up in prison, and condemned unlawfully, and crucified, and buried as I myself was, by the evil one?

15Do ye dare to spare the flesh, ye for whom the Spirit is an encircling wall? If ye consider how long the world existed before you, and how long it shall exist after you, ye shall find that your life is one single day, and your sufferings one single hour.

16For the Good shall not enter into the world. Scorn ye, therefore, death; and take thought for life. Remember my cross, and my death, and ye shall live.

17And I answered, and said unto Him: Lord, do not mention to us the cross and the death, for they are far from Thee.

18The Lord answered, and said: Verily, I say unto you, none shall be saved unless he believe in my cross. Yet they that believe in my cross — theirs is the kingdom of God. Become, therefore, seekers of death, even as the dead seek life — for that which they seek is revealed unto them.

19And what is there to trouble them? As for you, when ye examine death, it shall teach you election. Verily, I say unto you: none shall be saved that is afraid of death, for the kingdom of God belongeth to them that put themselves to death.

20Become better than I; make yourselves like the Son of the Holy Spirit.

21Then I, James, asked Him: Lord, in what manner shall we be able to prophesy unto them that ask us to prophesy unto them? For there are many that ask us, and look unto us to hear our utterance.

22The Lord answered, and said: Know ye not that the head of prophecy is cut off with John?

23And I said: Lord, can it be possible to take away the head of prophecy?

24The Lord said unto me: When ye shall have known what the head is, and that prophecy issueth from the head, then understand the meaning of: His head was taken away. I spake unto you in parables; and ye understood not.

25Now then, give heed unto me, as is fitting. Hasten to be saved without being urged. Rather, be ye eager of your own accord; and, if possible, arrive even before me. For thus shall the Father love you.

The Saviour's farewell discourse — parables of the date palm and the grain of wheat, exhortation to seek the kingdom, the ascent of James and Peter, and the dispersion of the twelve.

1Become ye lovers of the Father; flee from hatred. Hate dissimulation and the desire for vainglory. Hate stiff-necked stubbornness, and condemn it.

2Become ye lovers of life. Behold the kingdom: I have given you a sign that ye should approach it. Be ye ready, that ye may be admitted; for the kingdom belongeth unto them that have put themselves to death.

3Become ye seekers after death, like the dead which seek for life. For that which they seek is revealed to them. And what is there for them to be concerned about?

4When ye turn yourselves unto death, it shall make known to you election. Verily, I say unto you, none of them which are afraid of death shall be saved.

5Become ye, therefore, seekers after rest. And when ye have found it, ye shall not desire any other. He that hath found rest hath found a treasure that no man can take from him.

6Hearken unto a parable. There was a man who had a great wealth of dates upon a tree. He gathered the fruit; he ate his fill; he kept the rest for the season of need. Yet was he not the owner of the tree, but only of its fruit. So is the kingdom of the Father.

7And again, hearken unto a parable. Like a grain of wheat is the word of the kingdom: when one casteth it upon the earth, it sprouteth, and putteth forth a stalk, and beareth fruit thirty, sixty, an hundredfold.

8Whosoever hearkeneth and beareth fruit, his is the kingdom. He that beareth not is cast forth, and is consumed in the fire.

9Be ye, then, full of the Spirit, but lacking in reason. For reason belongeth unto the soul; it is, in turn, of the nature of soul.

10And as for me, I shall ascend unto the place from which I came. When ye were eager to leave with me, I bade you depart. None of you wept, nor mourned. Now I shall go alone.

11Then said Peter unto Him: Three things hast Thou said unto us, and the meaning is hidden. Tell us yet again, that we may live.

12And the Saviour said: I shall not be with you very much longer. The day cometh when I shall be taken from you. Therefore stretch out your hands; that I may bless you while I am yet with you.

13And we stretched out our hands; and He blessed us. And He filled us with the Spirit.

14Then He said: Be on your guard against the flesh, and on the watch against the spirit which is in error. Stand fast in the truth which I have taught you. Forget not what ye have heard.

15And after this, He commanded us, saying: I shall ascend unto the place from which I came. Ye shall remain. Yet a little while; and the kingdom shall come for you. Take heed; and watch. Be ye not slothful.

16When the Saviour said these things, He departed. And we knelt down — I and Peter — and we gave thanks. And we sent our hearts up unto heaven.

17We heard with our ears, and saw with our eyes, the noise of wars, and a trumpet-blast, and a great commotion.

18And when we had passed beyond that place, we sent our minds up still further. And we saw with our eyes, and heard with our ears, hymns and angelic praises, and angelic rejoicing. And heavenly majesties were singing praises; and we ourselves rejoiced.

19After this, we wished to send our spirits up to the Majesty. After we had ascended, we were not permitted to behold or to hear anything. The other disciples called us; and they questioned us, saying: What heard ye from the Master? And what hath He said unto you? And whither hath He gone?

20We answered them: He hath ascended. He hath given us a pledge. He hath promised us all life, and revealed to us children that come after us. He hath bidden us to love them, even as we should be saved for their sake.

21And when they had heard this, they believed in the revelation; but they were displeased about them that were to be born. So, that I might not give them cause to stumble, I sent each one of them unto a different place. But I myself went up unto Jerusalem, praying that I might obtain a portion among the beloved that shall be made manifest.

22And I pray that the beginning may come from thee, even from thee, beloved. For thus shall I be saved, since they shall be enlightened through me — by my faith, and through another that is better than mine. For I would that mine be the lesser.

23Strive earnestly, therefore, to make thyself like them; and pray that thou mayest obtain a portion with them.

24For beyond what I have said, the Saviour did not disclose unto us a revelation on their behalf — them, that is, that He hath said. We proclaim a portion with them that received the message; that is, those for whom the Lord made His children.

25Amen.