Invocation

Om May no harm be done Here, May this desire be motivated by Love. May what is not beneficent wither to obscurity.

 

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The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is extra to the canonical gospels in the New Testament of the bible. It was 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 and hidden after the declaration of a strict canon of Christian scripture, where any works that were not selected for inclusion in the new testament were ordered to be destroyed. Scholars have proposed dates of composition as early as 60 AD and as late as 250 AD as a collection of sayings of Jesus.

 

Our Commentary on Verse 021 of Thomas Gospel.

 

These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.

 

Gospel of Thomas saying 21 - The parable of lacking knowledge in a field of knowledge.
Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?"
He said, "They are like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field.' They (will) undress in their presence in order to let them have back their field and to give it back to them. Therefore, I say, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into his house of his domain to carry away his goods. You, then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way to come to you, for the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the grain ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

Mary said to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?" He said "They are like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs”
The disciples are unprepared, they don't yet have a deep enough understanding of Jesus' teachings to claim and defend ownership of the truth in the field of religious matters.
Those that adopt the mantle of being something they are not risk being exposed and having their mantle stripped from them.

When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field.' They (will) undress in their presence in order to let them have back their field and to give it back to them.
Jesus taught in a hostile environment. The Pharisees strictly asserted their authority in the field of religion and its laws.
Jesus knew his disciples would need the full understanding of his teaching to defend their right to teach in the same field as the pharisees,  “the owners of the field.”
There will also be others “the thief is coming”   that will want to steal any claim to authority the disciples might gain, by defeating their claim to be teaching the truth.

On their own, without Jesus, the present owners of the field of scriptual law, the Pharisees, would strip the claims of the disciples away "they (will) undress in their presence in order to let them have back their field”   because the disciples don’t yet have a strong enough understanding of Jesus' teaching to asset ownership of that truth.

"Therefore, I say, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into his house of his domain to carry away his goods”
The church that existed before Jesus came was well practised in retaining its authority in the field of Religious rule. The church authorities could be predicted to challenge anyone else that claimed to speak with authority. Jesus warns his supporters to be well versed in his teaching to be on guard against the hostile authorities or other chance detractors.

"You, then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way to come to you”
If you wish to promote Jesus' teaching then you have to arm yourself fully with his unassailable knowledge. Anyone wishing to promote Jesus' teachings also needs to be “be on your guard against the world”  .

In order to "Arm yourselves with great strength”   Jesus is urging his followers to hear his words and strive for the full understanding of the source of his sayings. From deep understanding the higher truth is revealed. This higher divine truth is immune from robbers and all attackers.

"for the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize”
Regardless of his disciples air of being knowledgeable each one of them would have been afraid to face official inquisition, “the difficulty which you expect will (surely) materialize”   Jesus saw this lack of maturity of knowing in his disciples. But, when the real truth of the nondual Absolute is properly realised then fear vanishes and the realised truth becomes impenetrable and indomitable.

“Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the grain ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
The disciples, though content with their learning were not yet mature enough to claim proper understanding of the truth of the divine that Jesus sought to reveal to them. When they do mature or ripen to proper realisation, they will be ready to spread Jesus' teaching and reap the harvest of converted followers.

 

ref. Luke 12:39-40, Luke 11:21-22, Matt 24:37-44, Matt 12:29, Mark 3:27, Mark 4:26-29

 

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All verses of the Thomas Gospel.

 

 

Ohm   peace,   peace,   peace.