Gospel of Thomas Commentary

This page explores modern interpretations of the Gospel according to Thomas, an ancient text preserved in a Coptic translation at Nag Hammadi and Greek fragments at Oxyrhynchus. With no particular slant, this commentary gathers together quotations from various scholars in order to elucidate the meaning of the sayings, many of which are rightly described as "obscure."

Gospel of Thomas Prologue - Jesus spoke and Thomas wrote
Gospel of Thomas Saying 1 - Importance of interpreting the obscure sayings
Gospel of Thomas Saying 2 - Seek until you find
Gospel of Thomas Saying 3 - The kingdom is within us
Gospel of Thomas Saying 4 - The first will be last
Gospel of Thomas Saying 5 - The obscure will become disclosed
Gospel of Thomas Saying 6 - True fasting, prayer, and charity
Gospel of Thomas Saying 7 - The lion and the human being
Gospel of Thomas Saying 8 - A parable of an intelligent fisherman
Gospel of Thomas Saying 9 - A parable of a sower
Gospel of Thomas Saying 10 - Jesus has cast fire
Gospel of Thomas Saying 11 - The living will not die
Gospel of Thomas Saying 12 - The disciples will come to James
Gospel of Thomas Saying 13 - The disciples tell Jesus what he resembles
Gospel of Thomas Saying 14 - True fasting, prayer, and charity
Gospel of Thomas Saying 15 - One not born of woman
Gospel of Thomas Saying 16 - Jesus has come to impose divisions
Gospel of Thomas Saying 17 - Jesus will bestow what has not been perceived
Gospel of Thomas Saying 18 - The end is where the beginning is
Gospel of Thomas Saying 19 - The preexistent is blessed, Five trees in paradise
Gospel of Thomas Saying 20 - A parable of a mustard seed
Gospel of Thomas Saying 21 - A parable of children living in a plot of land
Gospel of Thomas Saying 22 - Those who enter the kingdom resemble little ones
Gospel of Thomas Saying 23 - Few are chosen
Gospel of Thomas Saying 24 - A person of light enlightens the whole world
Gospel of Thomas Saying 25 - Love your sibling
Gospel of Thomas Saying 26 - The speck and the beam
Gospel of Thomas Saying 27 - Abstinence from the world
Gospel of Thomas Saying 28 - The world is intoxicated
Gospel of Thomas Saying 29 - Independence of spirit and body
Gospel of Thomas Saying 30 - Jesus dwells where there are two or more
Gospel of Thomas Saying 31 - Prophets and physicians are not accepted at home
Gospel of Thomas Saying 32 - A city on a hill cannot be hidden
Gospel of Thomas Saying 33 - No one hides a lamp
Gospel of Thomas Saying 34 - The blind cannot lead the blind
Gospel of Thomas Saying 35 - No one robs the strong without subduing them
Gospel of Thomas Saying 36 - What we wear is unimportant
Gospel of Thomas Saying 37 - The disciples must strip off their garments
Gospel of Thomas Saying 38 - Jesus' sayings have long been awaited
Gospel of Thomas Saying 39 - Pharisees and Scribes impede acquaintance
Gospel of Thomas Saying 40 - A parable of a grapevine
Gospel of Thomas Saying 41 - The person who has will receive
Gospel of Thomas Saying 42 - We should be passersby
Gospel of Thomas Saying 43 - Disciples should recognize Jesus in his sayings
Gospel of Thomas Saying 44 - On blasphemy
Gospel of Thomas Saying 45 - Grapes do not come from thorns
Gospel of Thomas Saying 46 - Little ones are more exalted than John the Baptist
Gospel of Thomas Saying 47 - Opposites cannot coexist
Gospel of Thomas Saying 48 - The power of unity
Gospel of Thomas Saying 49 - Solitaries have come from the kingdom
Gospel of Thomas Saying 50 - We have come from the light
Gospel of Thomas Saying 51 - Arrival of repose and a new world
Gospel of Thomas Saying 52 - The twenty-four prophets of Israel
Gospel of Thomas Saying 53 - True circumcision
Gospel of Thomas Saying 54 - The poor
Gospel of Thomas Saying 55 - We should hate our family
Gospel of Thomas Saying 56 - The world is a corpse
Gospel of Thomas Saying 57 - A parable of wheat and tares
Gospel of Thomas Saying 58 - The laborer
Gospel of Thomas Saying 59 - We should meditate on the one who is alive
Gospel of Thomas Saying 60 - A parable of a Samaritan and a lamb
Gospel of Thomas Saying 61 - Jesus on Salome's couch
Gospel of Thomas Saying 62 - Jesus tells his secrets to the worthy
Gospel of Thomas Saying 63 - A parable of a rich man who died
Gospel of Thomas Saying 64 - A parable of a dinner for out-of-town guests
Gospel of Thomas Saying 65 - A parable of the murder of a vineyard owner's son
Gospel of Thomas Saying 66 - The rejected building stone
Gospel of Thomas Saying 67 - Any deficiency is utter deficiency
Gospel of Thomas Saying 68 - The persecuted are blessed
Gospel of Thomas Saying 69 - The internally persecuted and the compassionate are blessed
Gospel of Thomas Saying 70 - Our salvation is within us
Gospel of Thomas Saying 71 - Destruction of "this building"
Gospel of Thomas Saying 72 - Jesus is not an arbitrator of possessions
Gospel of Thomas Saying 73 - Workers for the harvest
Gospel of Thomas Saying 74 - The cistern is empty
Gospel of Thomas Saying 75 - Solitaries will enter the bridal chamber
Gospel of Thomas Saying 76 - A parable of a merchant and a pearl
Gospel of Thomas Saying 77 - Jesus is the entirety and is everywhere
Gospel of Thomas Saying 78 - The goal of coming out to the countryside
Gospel of Thomas Saying 79 - Those who have kept the father's utterance are blessed
Gospel of Thomas Saying 80 - The world is like the body
Gospel of Thomas Saying 81 - The rich should reign and renounce
Gospel of Thomas Saying 82 - Fire and the kingdom are with Jesus
Gospel of Thomas Saying 83 - Light is hidden by images
Gospel of Thomas Saying 84 - Our encounter with our preexistent images
Gospel of Thomas Saying 85 - Adam was not worthy of us
Gospel of Thomas Saying 86 - The son of man has nowhere to lay his head
Gospel of Thomas Saying 87 - Soul should be independent of body
Gospel of Thomas Saying 88 - We should give to messengers and prophets
Gospel of Thomas Saying 89 - We should wash not only the outside
Gospel of Thomas Saying 90 - Jesus' yoke is easy
Gospel of Thomas Saying 91 - Recognition of Jesus' presence
Gospel of Thomas Saying 92 - We do not seek what Jesus wishes to tell us
Gospel of Thomas Saying 93 - Do not give the holy to dogs
Gospel of Thomas Saying 94 - Seekers will enter
Gospel of Thomas Saying 95 - We should not lend at interest
Gospel of Thomas Saying 96 - A parable of a woman baking bread
Gospel of Thomas Saying 97 - A parable of a woman with a jar of meal
Gospel of Thomas Saying 98 - A parable of an assassination
Gospel of Thomas Saying 99 - Jesus' true family
Gospel of Thomas Saying 100 - Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's
Gospel of Thomas Saying 101 - We should hate our family and love our true family
Gospel of Thomas Saying 102 - Pharisees impede nourishment
Gospel of Thomas Saying 103 - A parable of a landowner and brigands
Gospel of Thomas Saying 104 - Do not pray or fast while the bridegroom is present
Gospel of Thomas Saying 105 - Acquaintance with the father and the mother
Gospel of Thomas Saying 106 - The power of wholeness
Gospel of Thomas Saying 107 - A parable of a lost sheep
Gospel of Thomas Saying 108 - Assimilation to Jesus
Gospel of Thomas Saying 109 - A parable of a hidden treasure
Gospel of Thomas Saying 110 - The rich should renounce
Gospel of Thomas Saying 111 - The living will not die
Gospel of Thomas Saying 112 - Soul should be independent of flesh
Gospel of Thomas Saying 113 - The kingdom is already spread over the earth
Gospel of Thomas Saying 114 - The female element must make itself male

Find information on other ancient texts here:
Early Christian Writings - New Testament, Apocrypha, Gnostics, and Church Fathers