The Gospel of Thomas - MuutaNet Comics

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The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus, discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate that the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as 60 CE and as late as 250 CE.. It is a Gnostic text and is considered to be a non-canonical gospel.

The text, written in Coptic, consists of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus, some of which are similar to those found in the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). However, it also contains sayings that are not found in the canonical gospels and offers a different perspective on the teachings and message of Jesus.

The Gospel of Thomas was part of a larger collection of Gnostic texts discovered in Dec. 1945, and its contents have been the subject of much scholarly debate and discussion. Some scholars see it as an early Christian text that predates the canonical gospels, while others view it as a later Gnostic composition that reflects the beliefs of a specific group within the early Christian movement.

Regardless of its origins, the Gospel of Thomas provides valuable insights into the diversity of early Christian beliefs and practices and offers a window into the development of early Christianity.

Comparison of the major gospels

The material in the comparison chart is from Gospel Parallels by B. H. Throckmorton, The Five Gospels by R. W. Funk, The Gospel According to the Hebrews by E. B. Nicholson and The Hebrew Gospel and the Development of the Synoptic Tradition by J. R. Edwards. [wikipedia]

Item	Matthew, Mark, Luke	John	Thomas	Nicholson/Edwards Hebrew Gospel
New Covenant	The central theme of the Gospels – Love God with all your being and love your neighbor as yourself	The central theme – Love is the New Commandment given by Jesus	Secret knowledge, love your friends	The central theme – Love one another
Forgiveness	Very important – particularly in Matthew and Luke	Assumed	Mentions being forgiven in relation to blasphemy against the Father and Son, but no forgiveness to those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit	Very important – Forgiveness is a central theme and this gospel goes into the greatest detail
The Lord’s Prayer	In Matthew and Luke but not Mark	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	Important – “mahar” or “tomorrow”
Love and the poor	Very Important – The rich young man	Assumed	Important	Very important – The rich young man
Jesus starts his ministry	Jesus meets John the Baptist and is baptized in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar	Jesus meets John the Baptist, 46 years after Herod’s Temple is built (John 2:20)	Only speaks of John the Baptist	Jesus meets John the Baptist and is baptized. This gospel goes into the greatest detail
Disciples-number	Twelve	Twelve	not mentioned	Twelve
Disciples-inner circle	Peter, Andrew, James and John	Peter, Andrew, James and the Beloved Disciple	Thomas, James the Just	Peter, Andrew, James, and John
Disciples-others	Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon the Zealot, Judas Thaddaeus, and Judas Iscariot	Philip, Nathanael, Thomas, Judas not Iscariot and Judas Iscariot	Peter, Matthew, Mariam, and Salome	Matthew, James the Just (Brother of Jesus), Simon the Zealot, Thaddaeus, Judas Iscariot
Possible Authors	Unknown; Mark the Evangelist and Luke the Evangelist	The Beloved Disciple	Unknown	Matthew the Evangelist (or Unknown)
Virgin birth account	Described in Matthew and Luke, Mark only makes reference to a “Mother”	Not mentioned, although the “Word becomes flesh” in John 1:14	N/A as this is a gospel of Jesus’ sayings	Not mentioned.
Jesus’ baptism	Described	Seen in flash-back (John 1:32–34)	N/A	Described great detail
Preaching style	Brief one-liners; parables	Essay format, Midrash	Sayings, parables	Brief one-liners; parables
Storytelling	Parables	Figurative language & metaphor	hidden, parables	Parables
Jesus’ theology	1st-century populist Judaism	Critical of Jewish authorities	disputed, possibly proto-Gnostic	1st-century Judaism
Miracles	Many miracles	Seven Signs	N/A	Fewer miracles
Duration of ministry	Not mentioned, possibly 3 years according to the Parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13)	3 years (Four Passovers)	N/A	1 year
Location of ministry	Mainly Galilee	Mainly Judea, near Jerusalem	N/A	Mainly Galilee
Passover meal	Body and Blood = Bread and wine	Interrupts meal for foot washing	N/A	Multiple pieces of cloth^[
Burial shroud	A single piece of cloth	Multiple pieces of cloth	N/A	Given to the High Priest
Resurrection	Mary and the women are the first to learn that Jesus has arisen	John adds detailed account of Mary’s experience of the Resurrection	N/A	In the Gospel of the Hebrews is the unique account of Jesus appearing to his brother, James the Just.