The Apocryphon of James

1THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES (1,2) Introduced and translated by F r a n c is E . W illiams The Apocryphon o f James is a pseudonymous work translated from Greek to Coptic, which professes to be a letter written by James, the Lord’s brother; the alleged recipient’s name is illegible but might have been that of the early Chris­ tian heterodox teacher, Cerinthus. The letter in turn introduces a secret writing, or “ apocryphon” - hence our title for the entire tractate. This apocryphon is meant for an elect few - even among the disciples, for James and Peter only - but salvation is promised to those who receive its message. “ James’ ” letter states that the apocryphon is written in the Hebrew alphabet, and mentions another even more secret apocryphon, which James has already sent. These details are presumably inserted for the sake of atmosphere. The apocryphon, which comprises the bulk of our tractate, makes Jesus ap­ pear to the disciples 550 days after the resurrection, take Peter ^nd James aside to “ fill” them, and give them, in a series of speeches, his final and definitive teaching, heretofore delivered only “ in parables.” He then ascends to the Fath­ er’s right hand, with James and Peter unsuccessfully attempting to follow. This closes the apocryphon; the letter now resumes, and states that the revelation just given was meant, not for the disciples of Jesus, but for the “ children” who would be “ born” later. While the disciples believed the revelation, they were angry over these later children, and James therefore dispatched them to other places. This, presumably, is meant to explain why our tractate formed no part of the apostolic preaching (or the canonical scripture?). Jesus’ speeches in the apocryphon are partly the author’s composition, but in­ corporate older material, which seems to be the product of complex oral and per­ haps written transmission; some of it can be compared with the material under­ lying the canonical gospels. The speeches show Jesus announcing that he has de­ scended to save God’s “ beloved” sons, and inviting them to follow him back to the place from which he (and they?) came. He assures them of salvation in the strongest terms, while at the same time urging them to earnestness and zeal, and warning them that they can be lost. The first and longest of the speeches, how­ ever, is a two-page exhortation to martyrdom. Its distinctive style, manner, and subject matter suggest that it may be a later interpolation. It is clear that the persons for whom this tractate was written made a dis­ tinction between themselves and the larger Christian church. Probably they re­ jected the doctrine of the atonement; they certainly ignored the second coming of Christ and the general resurrection, and hoped to ascend, in soul or spirit, to the kingdom of heaven, which they meanwhile felt to be within themselves. This outlook, together with the large amount of typically gnostic terminology in the tractate, has led most investigators to conclude that the work is Christian Gnos­ tic, even though it lacks the Valentinian, and other well-known gnostic theol­

2ogies. The reporting of a special postresurrection appearance of Jesus, and the appeal to James as a source of secret and superior tradition, are means Gnostics often used to legitimate their message. The exhortation to martyrdom, James’ letter, and the description of Jesus’ ap­ pearance to the disciples, may be secondary; these and other questions relating to the document’s literary history have been investigated and deserve further in­ vestigation. It has been urged that the tractate must have been written before 150 C.E., while it was still possible to speak of “ remembering” orally delivered say­ ings of Jesus and writing them down; this language, it is argued, would not have been used after the fixing of the Gospel canon. The apocryphon’s many resem­ blances to the Fourth Gospel’s “ farewell discourses” might also help to establish its date. To use these as a criterion, however, one must decide whether they are allusions to the actual text of the Fourth Gospel, or independent discussions of the same questions. In any case the tractate cannot be later than 314 C.E., when the persecution of the church, and with it the risk of martyrdom, came to an end. THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES I 1, 1-16, 30 [James] writes to 1 [...]thos: Peace 1 [be with you from] Peace, 1 [love from] Love, 5 [grace from] Grace, 1 [faith] from Faith, 1 life from Holy Life! 1 Since you asked 1 that I send 10 you a secret book 1 which was re­ vealed to me 1 and Peter by the Lord, 1 I could not turn you away 1 or gainsay (?) you; 15 but [I have written] it in 1 the Hebrew alphabet and 1 sent it to you, and you 1 alone. But since you are 1 a minister of the salvation 20 of the saints, endeavor earnestly 1 and take care not to rehearse 1 this text to many - this 1 that the Savior did not wish 1 to tell to all of us, his 25 twelve disciples. 1 But blessed will they be 1 who will be saved through 1 the faith of this discourse. I 1 also sent you, 30 ten months ago, another secret 1 book which the Savior 1 had revealed to me. Under the circumstances, however, 1 regard that one 1 as revealed 35 to me, James; but this one 2 [un­ translatable fragments] 1 the twelve disciples 1 [were] all sitting together 10 and recalling 1 what the Savior had said 1 to each one of them, whether 1 in secret or openly, 1 and [putting it] 15 in books - [But I] 1 was writing that which was in [my book] - 1 lo, the Savior appeared, [after] 1 departing from [us while we] gazed 1 after him. And five hun­ dred 20 and fifty days since he had risen 1 from the dead, we said ‘to him, “ Have you departed and removed yourself from us?” 1

3THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES ( i,2 ) But Jesus said, “ No, but 1 I shall go to the place from whence I came.25 If you wish to come 1 with me, come!” They all answered 1 and said, “ If you bid 1 us, we come.” He said, 1 “ Verily I say unto you,30 no one will ever enter 1 the king­ dom of heaven at my 1 bidding, but (only) because 1 you yourselves are full. Leave 1 James and Peter to me 35 that I may fill them.” And 1 hav­ ing called these two, 1 he drew them aside and bade 1 the rest occupy themselves 1 with that which they were about.40 The Savior said, “ You have received mercy 3 7 [untranslatable fragments] 1 Do you not, then, desire to be filled? 1 And your heart is drunken; 10 do you not, then, desire to be sober? 1 Therefore, be ashamed! Henceforth, waking 1 or sleeping, remember 1 that you have seen 1 the Son of Man, and 15 spoken with him in person, 1 and listened to him in person. 1 Woe to those who have seen the 1 Son [of] Man; 1 blessed will they be who 20 have not seen the m an, and they 1 who have not consorted with him, and 1 they who have not spoken with him, 1 and they who have not listened to 1 anything from him; yours is 25 life! Know, then, that he healed 1 you when you were ill 1 that you might reign. Woe 1 to those who have found relief from 1 their illness, for they will 30 relapse into illness. Blessed are 1 they who have not been ill, and 1 have known relief before 1 falling ill; yours is the 1 kingdom of God. Therefore, I 35 say to you, ‘Become ! full and leave no space within 1 you empty, for he who is coming 1 can mock you.’ ” Then 1 Peter replied, “ Lo, 40 three times you have told us, 4 ‘Become [full’; but] 1 we are full.” The [Savior answered] 1 and said, [“ For this cause I have said] 1 to you, [‘Become full,’] th at5 [you] may not [be in want. They who are in want], 1 however, will not [be saved]. For it is good to be full, 1 and bad to be in want. Hence, just as 1 it is good that you (sg.) be in want and, 1 conversely, bad that you be full, so 10 he who is full is in want, 1 and he who is in want does not become full as 1 he who is in want becomes full, and 1 he who has been filled, in turn, attains 1 due perfection. Therefore, you must be in w ant15 while it is possible to fill you (pi.), and 1 be full while it is possible for you to be in want, 1 so that you may be able [to fill] 1 yourselves the more. Hence become 1 full of the Spirit, 20 but be in want of 1 reason, for reason (belongs to> the soul; 1 in turn it is (of the nature of) soul.” 1 But I answered and said to him, “ Lord, 1 we can obey you 25 if you wish, for we have forsaken 1 our fathers 1 and our mothers and our vil­ lages 1 and followed you. Grant us, therefore, 1 not to be tempted 30 by the devil, the evil one.” 1

4The Lord answered 1 and said, “ What is your (pi.) merit 1 if you do the will of the Father 1 and it is not given to you from him 35 as a gift while 1 you are tempted by 1 Satan? But if 1 you (pi.) are oppressed by 1 Satan and 40 persecuted and you do his (i.e. the Father’s) 5 will, I [say] that he will 1 love you, and make you equal 1 with me, and reckon 1 [you] to have become 5 beloved through his providence 1 by your own choice. So 1 will you not cease 1 loving the flesh and being 1 afraid of sufferings? Or do 10 you not know that you have yet 1 to be abused and to be 1 accused unjustly; 1 and have yet to be shut 1 up in prison, and 15 condemned 1 unlawfully, and 1 crucified (without) 1 reason, and buried 1 (shamefully), as (was) I myself, 20 by the evil one? 1 Do you dare to spare the flesh, 1 you for whom the Spirit is an 1 encircling wall? If you consider 1 how long the world existed 25 (before) you, and how long 1 it will exist after you, you will find 1 that your life is one single day 1 and your sufferings one 1 single hour. For the good 30 will not enter into the world. 1 Scorn death, therefore, 1 and take thought for life! 1 Remember my cross 1 and my death, and you will 35 live!” But I answered and 1 said to him, “ Lord, 1 do not mention to us the cross 1 and death, for they are far 6 from you.” The Lord answered 1 and said, “ Verily I say 1 unto you, none will be saved 1 unless they believe in my cross.5 But those who have believed in my 1 cross, theirs is the kingdom of 1 God. Therefore, become seekers 1 for death, like the dead 1 who seek for life; 10 for that which they seek is revealed to them. 1 And what is there 1 to trouble them? As for you, when you examine 1 death, it will 1 teach you election. Verily 151 say un­ to you, none 1 of those who fear death will be saved; 1 for the kingdom (of God) 1 belongs to those who put themselves to death. 1 Become bet­ ter than I; make 20 yourselves like the son of the Holy Spirit!” 1 Then I asked him, 1 “ Lord, how shall we be able 1 to prophesy to those who request 1 us to prophesy 25 to them? For there are many who 1 ask us, and look 1 to us to hear an oracle 1 from us.” The Lord 1 answered and said, “ Do you n o t30 know that the head of 1 prophecy was cut off with John?” 1 But I said, “ Lord, 1 can it be possible to remove 1 the head of prophe­ cy?” The Lord 35 said to me, “ When you (pi.) 1 come to know what ‘head’ means, and 1 that prophecy issues from the 1 head, (then) understand the meaning of ‘Its head was 7 removed.’ At first I spoke 1 to you (pi.) in parables 1 and you did not understand; 1 now I speak to 5 you openly, and 1 you (still) do not perceive. Yet 1 it was you who served me 1 as a

5THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES ( l,2 ) parable in 1 parables, and as that which is open 10 in the (words) that are open. “ Hasten 1 to be saved without being urged! 1 Instead, be 1 eager of your own accord and, 1 if possible, arrive even before me; 15 for thus 1 the Father will love you. 1 “ Come to hate 1 hypocrisy and the evil 1 thought; for it is the thought 20 that gives birth to hypocrisy; 1 but hypocrisy is far from 1 truth. “ Do not allow 1 the kingdom of heaven to wither; 1 for it is like a palm shoot25 whose fruit has dropped down 1 around it. They (i.e., the fallen fruit) put forth 1 leaves, and after they had sprouted, 1 they caus­ ed their womb to dry up. 1 So it is also with the fruit which 30 had grown from this single root; 1 when it had been picked (?), 1 fruit was borne by many (?). 1 It (the root) was certainly good, (and) if 1 it were possible for you to produce the 35 new plants now, <you> (sg.) would find it. “ Since 1 I have already been glorified in this fashion, 1 why do you (pi.) hold me back 1 in my eagerness to go? 8 For after the [labor], you have 1 compelled me to stay with 1 you another eighteen days for 1 the sake of the parables. It was enough 5 for some <to listen) to the 1 teach­ ing and understand The Shepherds’ and 1 ‘The Seed’ and The Build­ ing’ and The Lamps of 1 the Virgins’ and The Wage of the 1 Work­ men’ and The Didrachmae’ and The 10 Woman.’ “ Become earnest about 1 the word! For as to the word, 1 its first part is faith; 1 the second, love; the 1 third, works; 15 for from these comes life. 1 For the word is like a 1 grain of wheat; when someone 1 had sown it, he had faith in it; and 1 when it had sprouted, he loved it because he had seen 20 many grains in place of one. And 1 when he had worked, he was saved because he had 1 prepared it for food, (and) again he 1 left (some) to sow. So also 1 can you yourselves receive 25 the kingdom of heaven; 1 unless you receive this through knowledge, 1 you will not be able to find it. “ Therefore, 1 I say to you, 1 be sober; do not be deceived! 30 And many times have I said to you all together, 1 and also to you alone, 1 James, have I said, 1 ‘Be saved!’ And I have commanded 1 you (sg.) to follow me, 35 and I have taught you 1 what to say before the archons. 1 Observe that I have descended 1 and have spoken and undergone tribulation 1 and carried off my crown 9 after saving you (pi.). For 1 I came down to dwell with 1 you (pi.) so that you (pi.) in turn 1 might dwell with me. And, 5 finding your houses 1 unceiled, I have made my abode 1 in the houses that could receive me 1 at the time of my descent. 1 “ Therefore, trust 10 in me, my brethren; understand 1 what the great

6light is. The Father 1 has no need of me, 1 - for a father does not need a son, 1 but it is the son who needs 15 the father - though I go to him. 1 For the Father 1 of the Son has no need of you. 1 “ Hearken to the word; 1 understand knowledge; love 20 life, and no one will persecute 1 you, nor will anyone 1 oppress you, other 1 than you yourselves. 1 “ O you wretches; O 25 you unfortunates; O 1 you pretenders to the truth; 1 O you falsifiers of knowledge; 1 O you sinners against the Spirit: 1 can you still bear to 30 listen, when it behooved you 1 to speak from the first? 1 Can you still bear to 1 sleep, when it behooved you to be awake 1 from the first, so th at35 the kingdom of heaven might receive you? 10 Verily I say unto you, 1 it is easier for a pure one 1 to fall into defile­ ment, and for 1 a man of light to fall 5 into darkness, than for you to reign 1 or not reign. “ I have remembered 1 your tears and your mourning 1 and your an­ guish, (while you say) ‘They are far 1 behind us.’ But now, you who are 10 outside of the Father’s inheritance, 1 weep where it is necessary 1 and mourn and 1 preach what is good, 1 as the Son is ascending as he should. 15 Verily I say 1 unto you, had I been sent 1 to those who listen to me, and 1 had I spoken with them, 1 I would never have come 20 down to earth. So, 1 then, be ashamed for these things. 1 “ Behold, I shall depart from you 1 and go away, and do not wish 1 to remain with you any longer, just as 25 you yourselves have not wished it. 1 Now, therefore, follow 1 me quickly. This is why 1 I say unto you, ‘for your sakes 1 I came down.’ You are 30 the beloved; you are they 1 who will be the cause of life 1 in many. Invoke the Father, 1 implore God often, 1 and he will give to you. Blessed 35 is he who has seen you with Him 1 when He was proclaimed among the 1 angels, and glorified among 1 the saints; yours (pi.) is life. 1 Rejoice and be glad as 11 sons of God. Keep his will 1 that you may be saved; 1 accept reproof from me and 1 save yourselves. I intercede 5 on your behalf with the Father, and he will 1 forgive you much.” And when we 1 had heard these words, we became glad, 1 for we had been grieved 1 at the words we have mentioned 10 before. But when he saw us 1 rejoicing, he said, “ Woe to you (pi.) 1 who lack an advocate! 1 Woe to you, who stand in need 1 of grace! Blessed will they be 15 who have 1 spoken out and obtained 1 grace for themselves. Liken 1 your­ selves to foreigners; 1 of what sort are they in the eyes of your 20 city? Why are you disturbed 1 when you cast yourselves away 1 of your own accord and 1 separate yourselves from your city? Why 1 do you abandon

7THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES ( i ,2 ) your dwelling place 25 of your own accord, 1 making it ready for those who want 1 to dwell in it? O you 1 outcasts and fugitives, woe 1 to you, for you will be caught! Or 30 do you perhaps think that the Father 1 is a lover of mankind, or that he is 1 won over without prayers, or that he 1 grants remission to one on another’s behalf, or 1 that he bears with one who asks? - 35 For he knows the desire and 1 also what it is that the flesh needs! - 1 (Or do you think) that it is not this (flesh) that de­ sires 1 the soul? For without the soul 1 the body does not sin, just as 12 the soul is not saved without 1 [the] spirit. But if the soul 1 is saved (when it is) without evil, and 1 the spirit is also saved, then the body 5 becomes free from sin. For it is the spirit 1 that raises the soul, but the body that 1 kills it; 1 that is, it is it (the soul) which kills 1 itself. Verily I say unto you, 10 he will not forgive the soul the sin 1 by any means, nor the flesh 1 the guilt; for none of those who have 1 worn the flesh will be saved. 1 For do you think that many have 15 found the kingdom of heaven? 1 Blessed is he who has seen himself as 1 a fourth one in heaven!” 1 When we heard these words, we were distressed. 1 But when he saw that we were distressed, 20 he said, “ For this cause I tell 1 you this, that you may 1 know yourselves. For the kingdom 1 of heaven is like an ear of grain after it 1 had sprouted in a field. And 25 when it had ripened, it scattered its 1 fruit and again filled the field 1 with ears for another year. You 1 also, hasten to reap 1 an ear of life for yourselves th at30 you may be filled with the kingdom! 1 “ And as long as I am 1 with you, give heed to me 1 and obey me; but 1 when I depart from you, 35 remember me. And remember me 1 be­ cause when I was with you, 1 you did not know me. 1 Blessed will they be who have 1 known me; woe to those who have 40 heard and have not believed! 1 Blessed will they be who 13 have not seen, [yet have be­ lieved]! 1 “ And once more I [prevail upon] you, 1 for I am revealed to you (pi.) 1 building a house which is of great value to 5 you when you find shelter 1 beneath it, just as it will be able 1 to stand by your neighbors’ house 1 when it threatens to fall. Verily 1 I say unto you, woe 10 to those for whose sakes I was sent 1 down to this place; blessed 1 will they be who ascend 1 to the Father! Once more I 1 reprove you, you who are; 15 become like those who are not, 1 that you may be with those who 1 are not. “ Do not make 1 the kingdom of heaven a desert 1 within you. Do not be proud 20 because of the light that illumines, but 1 be to yourselves 1

8as I myself am 1 to you. For your sakes I have 1 placed myself under the curse, that you 25 may be saved.” 1 But Peter replied 1 to these words and said, 1 “ Sometimes you urge 1 us on to the kingdom of 30 heaven, and then again you turn 1 us back, Lord; sometimes 1 you persuade and draw 1 us to faith and promise 1 us life, and then again you cast35 us forth from the kingdom 1 of heaven.” But the Lord answered 1 and said to us, “ I have given you (pi.) 1 faith many times; moreover, 1 I have revealed myself to you (sg.), 14 James, and you (pi.) have not 1 known me. Now again I 1 see you (pi.) rejoicing many times; 1 and when you are elated 5 at the promise of life, 1 are you yet sad, and do you 1 grieve, when you are instructed 1 in the kingdom? But you, through 1 faith [and] knowledge, have received 10 life. There­ fore, disdain 1 the rejection when you 1 hear it, but when you hear 1 the promise, rejoice the more. 1 Verily I say unto you, 15 he who will receive life and 1 believe in the kingdom will 1 never leave it, not even if 1 the Father wishes 1 to banish him. “ These are the things that I shall tell 20 you so far; now, however, I shall 1 ascend to the place from whence I came. 1 But you, when I was eager 1 to go, have cast me out, and 1 instead of accompanying me, 25 you have pursued me. 1 But pay heed to the glory that awaits 1 me, and, having opened 1 your heart, listen to the hymns 1 that await me up in the heavens; 30 for today I must 1 take (my place at) the right hand of the Father. 1 But I have said (my) last word to 1 you, and I shall depart from you, 1 for a chariot of spirit has borne me aloft, 35 and from this moment on I shall strip myself 1 that I may clothe myself. 1 But give heed; blessed 1 are they who have proclaimed 1 the Son before his des­ cent 40 that, when I have come, I might ascend (again). 1 Thrice blessed 15 are they who [were] 1 proclaimed by the Son 1 before they came to be, that 1 you might have a portion 5 among them.” Having said these words, 1 he departed. But we bent (our) knee(s), 1 I and Peter, and gave thanks 1 and sent our heart(s) upwards 1 to heaven. We heard with 10 our ears, and saw with 1 our eyes, the noise of wars 1 and a trum pet blare 1 and a great turmoil. And 1 when we had passed beyond 15 that place, we sent our 1 mind(s) farther upwards and 1 saw with our eyes and heard 1 with our ears hymns 1 and angelic benedictions and 20 angelic rejoicing. And 1 heaven­ ly majesties were 1 singing praise, and we too 1 rejoiced. After this 1 again, we wished to send our 25 spirit upward to the 1 Majesty, and after ascending we 1 were not permitted to see or hear 1 anything, for the other 1 disciples called us and 30 asked us, “ W hat did

9THE APOCRYPHON OF JAMES ( i ,2 ) you (pi.) 1 hear from the 1 Master? And what has 1 he said to you? And where 1 did he go?” But we answered 35 them, “ He has ascended and 1 has given us a pledge and 1 promised life to us all and 1 revealed to us children (?) 1 who are to come after us, after bidding 16 [us] love them, as we would be 1 [saved] for their sakes.” And 1 when they heard (this), they indeed believed 1 the revelation, but were displeased 5 about those to be born. And so, not wishing 1 to give them offense, 1 I sent each one to another 1 place. But I myself went 1 up to Jerusalem, praying that I 10 might obtain a portion among the beloved, 1 who will be made manifest. 1 And I pray that 1 the beginning may come from you, 1 for thus I shall be capable of 15 salvation, since they will be 1 enlightened through me, by my faith - 1 and through another (faith) that is 1 better than mine, for I would that 1 mine be the lesser. 20 Endeavor earnestly, then, to make 1 yourself like them and 1 pray that you may obtain a portion 1 with them. For because of what 1 I have said, the Savior did 25 not make the revelation to us 1 for their sakes. We do, indeed, proclaim 1 a por­ tion with those 1 for whom the proclamation was made, 1 those whom the Lord has made his 30 sons.