The Gospel of Thomas has no story, no miracles and no cross. Instead, it holds a hundred and fourteen sayings of Jesus, written down by Thomas and buried at Nag Hammadi until 1945. Some of them echo the four Gospels. Others turn them inside out, because they point to a kingdom that is already here and within. This book gives you a new translation of those sayings, and then explains them one by one.
This is the book for anyone who has heard that there is a fifth Gospel. You want to know what it says, and why it never made it into the Bible. You need no Greek, no Coptic and no prior reading, because Jeremy Payton starts from the jar in the sand and then takes the sayings in order.
What is inside
- Origins and discovery. How the codex came to light at Nag Hammadi, who wrote it, when, and why the Church left it out.
- The sayings. A new translation and a commentary on each of the hundred and fourteen sayings, with their meaning in plain words.
- Thomas beside the four Gospels. Where the sayings agree with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and where they part ways.
- The teaching. Direct knowledge, the divine spark and a kingdom spread out upon the earth: what Thomas asks of the reader.
- Why it still matters. What the text says to a reader today, two thousand years on.
Between them, these parts answer the questions that Thomas raises. Above all, they answer the first one: is this really Jesus speaking? Some of the sayings are older than the Gospels we know. Others came from the Gnostic teachers of the second century. So the book keeps both possibilities open, and it tells you what the evidence says.
How the sayings are presented
First of all, this is a study of the Gospel of Thomas, not a bare edition of the text. Each saying appears in translation, but it also comes with its explanation, and the explanation is the point of the book. If you want the hundred and fourteen sayings in a row and nothing else, look elsewhere. If instead you want to understand them, this is the book.
The writing is plain, current English. The sayings follow their traditional numbering, so you can read the book straight through or open it at the one you are after. Illustrations accompany the text, and the large 8.5 by 11 inch paperback keeps the type comfortable to read.
What readers say
Two verified purchasers, one in the United States and one in Italy:
This book clearly explains these complex teachings, making it a captivating read for anyone interested in early Christian history. It’s an enlightening journey into the hidden depths of spiritual thought, offering fresh insights into the essence of Jesus’s message.
W. Buchanan, Amazon, May 2024
I had never read The Gospel of Thomas before, but it was interesting and quite engaging all the way through.
AlexDB60, Amazon, May 2024
In short: a hundred and fourteen sayings, one volume, and the Jesus of Thomas at last within reach. Paperback and Kindle, on Amazon.
Also by Jeremy Payton
The Gospel of Thomas is one of the seven volumes of the Apocrypha and Gnostic Gospels Bible Collection. The other six: The Apocrypha, The Books of Enoch, The Book of Giants, The Gnostic Gospels, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and The Book of Revelation.