In 1945 one of the greatest historical finds ever emerged in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Dozens of early Christian texts suddenly came to the awareness of the western world. Called the Nag Hammadi Library, it was a collection of a 52 mainly gnostic texts along with Plato’s Republic and The Corpus Hermeticum. One theory is that they were stashed in jars and buried by a local monastery following the denunciation of non-canonical books in the fourth-century. However they got there, we have them now and they are amazing. Included in this library is the subject of our discussion today; the only complete copy ever found: The Gospel of Thomas.

The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of quotations of Jesus of Nazareth purportedly made during his ministry. If it were a red-letter edition, almost all of the words would be red. No background or real setup is included. Just the words “Jesus said:” followed by the quotation. This makes perfect sense seeing as how he is a rabbi. No one cared where he went or what exactly he did, it is the holy words that he uttered that the people wanted to hear. In an age of largely oral tradition, what he actually said was of great value. If you are a student of the New Testament, this may sound very familiar to you!

A similar text has been proposed as being one of the sources in the writing of the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Both clearly had read Mark as well as the letters of Paul yet they both contained identical quotations that didn’t appear in Mark. Due to their linguistic similarity, it has been hypothesized that both authors had access to a collection of Jesus quotes from which they drew to add some color to their accounts. This is why they both contain the sermon on the mount / plain. The sermon probably didn’t happen, rather it served as a vehicle in which to introduce Jesus’ words of wisdom without having to write an entire story / situation for each. This source called “Q” has never been found. Before you ask, the Gospel of Thomas is NOT “Q”

We know that Tom’s Gospel isn’t “Q” due to its dating. It is generally dated to the middle of the second century. There is some variation in this with many arguing that some of the material could be as early as 60 CE or even as late as the fourth century but mid to late second century is where most settle. This of course would probably be too late to be lifted for use in the best-sellers Matthew and Luke.

So what does it say that the Council of Nicaea found too objectionable to include in the “official” New Testament? Well, it’s not so much what the author said but rather what Jesus was saying. The gospel has too much of a Gnostic after-taste for the Council. Quick review; Gnostics believe it is the knowledge that Jesus imparts rather than Jesus himself that provides “salvation.” As a whole, groups who are labeled as Gnostic also consider the God of the Old Testament to be evil. They often considered the knowledge to be secret and only granted by Jesus to the very few who could truly understand. (The Jesus of Mark really lends himself to this view.) I know that is not a very comprehensive review of Gnosticism but I think it will suffice for our purposes.

Now, does it having a gnostic “flavor” mean that Jesus didn’t say it or that it is otherwise unimportant? Not at all. These were sayings that were floating around the early Christian community. There is no message that the sayings are employed to reinforce or convey; all data, no context. This gospel may well contain some of the genuine utterances of the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Contrary to belief, the Council of Nicaea was not using historicity as a qualification for inclusion in the canon.

The gospels chosen were those that lent themselves to support the message as interpreted by the Apostle Paul. Any book or letter in which salvation may be found in any form but through the redemption by the blood of Jesus shed for the sins of the world was to be excluded. There was a definite agenda when they were creating the orthodoxy and it did not include many works that may actually represent genuine accounts of their savior.

Luckily for us, some of these wonderful works survived the purges and are available for all of us to consume today.. Even if they are fiction, they demonstrate one of the many different “flavors” of Christianity around the Roman Empire. I would encourage all believers to read this gospel as it can only really add to their knowledge of the man at the center of their belief.