Ever Hear of the Gospel According to Thomas?

Look, a sower went out. He filled his hands (with seeds), (and) he scattered (them).

From the Gospel According to Thomas-Part 9

One of the most fascinating things I like to study in the history and creation of the New Testament. I know this may sound boring but hang in there. I just have a few boring things to point out before it gets interesting.

The New Testament is made up of twenty-seven books. All were written by 120AD. Depending on the denomination, the New Testament was completed from 392AD (Catholic) to the 1500s. (Protestant)  So what we see today in our Bibles, we can take as authentic and God-breathed.

However, there are many and I mean many; stories surrounding the creation and development of each of the books. For me none is more exciting than the Gospel According to Thomas importance in helping create the four Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

In each of the Four Gospels, we have the story of Jesus’s life and his sayings. And all of these Gospels were written at least four decades after the crucifixion. So how accurate is the history and how reliable are the Gospels? Well considering the lack of written material from the first century in general, there actually is quite a lot written or orally known about Jesus that makes the Gospels reliable history.

One of the most important documents is called Quelle. It appears to be a document that contained the sayings of Jesus. However, it has never been found. So how do we know it exists? Well, we know through Biblical detective work that Quelle or some other source contributed a significant amount of material. Especially as it relates to Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Mark was written first, which scholars are sure of. Matthew and Luke wrote second and third. What is interesting is that almost all of Mark is in either Matthew or Luke. Both Matthew and Luke are considerably longer than Mark. As such, they contain significant additional material. The additional material appears in a very similar form in both Matthew and Luke. So it is likely from the same source. The best example of this is The Beatitudes, while most commonly associated with Matthew, is actually in Luke as well.

So where did this additional material come from? Well, many scholars believe from this Sayings document, called Quelle or Q. But I think, and there is some scholarly support for my belief, that the material that is thought of as Quelle, is actually Quelle and/or other documents. How much other, is likely unknown.

I come to this conclusion because of a little known and non-biblical document called The Gospel According to Thomas. An extensive book of sayings of Jesus.

What is most exciting about Thomas is that in 1945 its manuscript, dated around 60AD, was discovered in the Egyptian desert near Nag Hammadi.

This actually makes this document older than any of the four Gospels! And one of the very earliest documents that contain details about Jesus’s life. While its literary quality is far inferior to the four Gospels, it has an extensive list of the sayings of Jesus.  Many of which we find in the four Gospels. By the way, the earliest discovered intact documents of the four Gospels weren’t found until the fourth century.

Today’s verse is from section 9 of The Gospel According to Thomas. In fact, you can click this hyperlink to read the entire book; Gospel According to Thomas.

Today’s verse is very similar to the beginning of one of Jesus’s most well-known Parables, The Parable of the Sower, which appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And, there are many other similar connections from Thomas to the four Gospels.

I discovered this document initially during my Doctoral studies. And knowing that Quelle was thought to have existed, but never found. I started to do more research. And that is when I discovered the actual text. Stunned to find many of the same sayings in The Gospel According to Thomas, are in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In fact, I wondered if this wasn’t the missing document Quelle.

After approaching my professor about this, he stated that others have come to the same conclusion, that some of what is the Gospels could have come from Thomas.

Okay, so what does mean and why is it important? Well, most importantly and very reassuring, this manuscript of Thomas adds a very strong layer of authenticity to the life of Jesus. Adding firmer and reliable information as to the real existence and purpose of Jesus.

So while we can’t find the document Quelle, we have found Thomas. It is incredibly important that archeologists actually found an intact document that existed prior to the writing of the four Gospels. Almost an independent validation of the New Testament.

Now we might ask if this document is so important, why isn’t it in the New Testament. The main reason is that it isn’t up to Biblical literary standards, it’s more of a listing than a story. While an authentic document and important for history, it is cumbersome, doesn’t flow well and a large part of its content has been inserted into the Gospels.

This doesn’t mean that Thomas isn’t valuable, it is! Of the 114 sayings in Thomas, over half are found in the Gospels. Thomas also is a very early Christian document, a very close eyewitness of the events of Jesus’s life. And it seems to me this later point is the real value of Thomas. It gets us very close to Jesus and his life. Further affirming he was real.

This story is only the tip of the iceberg in the stories of the creation of the New Testament. Many other writings exist, and many other stories exist. But the bottom line is that I believe all these events, manuscripts, and people who created the New Testament were through providential circumstances. So when I say God-breathed, this is what I mean. Providential circumstances created the Bible. Books like The Gospel According to Thomas created this history. Most stories in the creation of the New Testament, even if they are little known, are all part of God’s plan.

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Jordan Steranka on Unsplash

A Different Way of Thinking About Jesus

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.

Revelations [3:20]

Today’s verse is one of my personal favorites and reveals how I feel Jesus approaches us. In this verse we see two things, first is the active action by Jesus of trying to connect with us, by knocking on our door. The second is a very clear statement about Jesus’s desire to form a mutual relationship with us, by wanting to dine with us. While they are insistent, neither of these statements are aggressive or demanding statements, but a compelling request by Jesus for us to get to know Him more closely.

When you read Bible commentaries about this verse, you will discover it is in the last of the seven letters to various churches contained in Revelations. These letters were requested by Jesus, to be written by John, the author of Revelations. Each letter contains a specific message for each church.

The seventh letter is written to the church in Laodicea. Laodicea was a wealthy town in the country now known as Turkey. Today, it is a place of ancient ruins, but in the first century was an early wealthy Christian enclave. The letter was specifically written to address the lukewarm attitude of their faith. It seems they were never fully committed to Jesus, and were still attached to and relied on their wealth. They were both in and out with their faith.

This lukewarm attitude is one of the reasons, I have always loved this verse. In many ways, it represents my personal struggle in my relationship with Jesus. A sometimes to lukewarm attitude with my own faith. At times I rely on my own possessions and human abilities, instead of using the lessons of Jesus.  At times I catch myself not thinking about the lessons of Jesus in my behavior. And in retrospect, I see my actions were not Christ-like.

And Jesus still knocks on my door. Desiring to bring me closer to having a heart filled with His lessons. A daily struggle to continue answering the knock.

This verse is an appeal to answer Jesus’s knocking on the door. A knocking at the door and invitation to eat with Jesus. All that one has to do is hear Jesus’s voice and then open the door.

Now I can imagine if this happened in the 21^st century, just about everyone I know would answer the door and have dinner with Jesus, and not just my Christian friends. Who wouldn’t? Jesus has a wonderful reputation. He healed a lot of people. He walked on water. So why wouldn’t we answer his knocking at the door?

But here is the catch, Jesus doesn’t want to just have a dinner companion. Jesus wants to be part of our lives. Not just as a novelty, so that we can tell our friends that we had dinner Jesus. And who wouldn’t want to go to a party and say to everyone, guess who I had dinner with?

Jesus isn’t interested in being a novelty or part of a cocktail conversation. Jesus specifically wants us to know him. He doesn’t want to force himself on us, but to become connected with us fully. He is not demanding this dinner, but compelling us to dine with him.

Certainly, Jesus knows that a command and control management style doesn’t work. And certainly, if you want to turn people off, saying things like, believe in me or else, will accomplish that task.

No, this is a very different message of how Jesus approaches us than what we sometimes hear in modern society. And that’s the point about this message. Our relationship with Jesus is just that; our relationship. It is not someone else’s relationship, but ours. And Jesus doesn’t want a tepid relationship; Jesus wants us all in; all the time.

Now this knock is an insistent knock, and the original Greek word, kpouw doesn’t easily translate to English, but actually means a rap, as if with a knuckle. Perhaps, even a heavy blow.

And the door Jesus is knocking on is unlikely our door at home. This figure of speech refers to our heart. The inner sanctum of our being. This is where Jesus wants to get to. And make no mistake about it, Jesus wants in.

Our challenge is to be ready to dine with Jesus. To move away from our distractions, possessions and listen intently. And at the same time converse, by expressing our fears, joys, and desires. Not a one-way conversation, but an intensely mutual exchange.

Sure, Jesus is our Lord; the king of kings. But Jesus isn’t a command and control ruler. Jesus is a relational ruler, that desires the best for us. Jesus knows even more about us than we know about ourselves. Jesus just wants in. And Jesus is knocking, and the knocking is insistent. There is a polite urgency to Jesus’s knock.

I say, answer the knock. It is one of those moments in life when we really receive a great gift and all we have to do is not be lukewarm and make time for Jesus.

Listen to the Full Podcast – A Different Way of Thinking About Jesus

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Claudio Testa on Unsplash

The Book of  Revelations isn’t Really that Scary!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place.

Revelations 1:1

When I first took on the task of reading the Bible cover to cover, I started with the New Testament. My reasoning for starting there was because of Jesus and my personal belief that the books of the Old Testament point to the arrival of Jesus. As such, I would have a better understanding of the Old Testament after I read the New Testament.

However, when I got to the book or Revelations, I was very nervous and skipped over the book and proceeded to the Old Testament. I always had felt and heard that Revelations was dark and scary. So I put it off to last.

Now I am not the only one who felt this way. Even though it was one of the first books to be included in the New Testament by the early organizers of the Bible, the book was not universally accepted. Even today, there are some in the Eastern church that don’t consider the book to be worthy and don’t include the book in their version of the Bible.

Early Protestant reformers, Luther and Calvin did not think Revelations should be in the Bible. Even when you look at Calvin’s comprehensive commentary’s on the Bible you will find Revelations missing. Both believed the book was not God-inspired.

After reading the book on my first reading of the complete Bible and studying it at Theological school, I changed my views. I came to view Revelations as a wonderful story of the battle between good and evil, that Jesus ultimately wins.

The imagery of the battle between good and evil in Revelations is vivid and very colorful. In part this is what makes the book scary. When you read Revelations you discover very dark characters like Death riding on a pale horse, followed by Hades. Even the angels at one point scorch a third of the earth. Humans even retreat into caves. A cosmic battle between good and evil vividly shown.

Even near the end of the book, the reader is warned to not take anything away from this book. If they do, they will lose their share of the tree of life.

Some really harsh and vivid language. But there is a backdrop to why this type of language was used. While the letter is intended to be the revelation of Jesus to the author, John, as it states in the very first line of Revelations, it was written to give confidence to the general Christian population of the late first century, who were enduring persecution by the Roman Empire.

Specifically, in a concealed way the book is about Rome as the evil empire and Christians as being protected by Jesus. Concealed in not specifically calling out Rome, instead using scary and dark characters to represent evil. This was done to prevent the book from being banished. But as we have seen consistently throughout the New Testament, these writings about current events led to the creation of Biblical masterpieces that can be brought forward in time. Their messages just as relevant to the 21^st century as they are to the 1^st century. God-breathed words, through God created events that created stories and messages that are timeless.

Also, included are letters to seven churches. These letters give guidance to these churches as how to become better Christians. Instructions on how to move closer to Jesus. When you read these letters, you can identify weaknesses in these churches that are not much different than today.  Still relevant criticisms that must urgently be addressed.

The book also uses extensive numerology to tell its story of good and evil. The number seven, which for the reader means God or heavenly things, is mentioned well over one hundred times, explicitly or implicitly. The “Beast” or evil is expressed with “666.” This contrast was used for the hearers of the story in the 1^st century to further draw out the battle between good and evil. In the 1^st century, because so few could read, they received the Bible orally and numerology helped reinforce memory.

There is also a sense of immediacy in the book. And you get this from the first line, where it says,  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place. While this call to action was spoken in the first century, it is really an eternal call to respond quickly to evil. And many have misunderstood this to only apply to the time of its writing. We are now in the 21^st century and the battle between good and evil still exists, so its sense of urgency is for all time. In other words, whenever we are engaged or witness good or evil, we must quickly side with good in our actions and deeds. To do nothing is the same as siding with evil.

A final note in the book that occurs in the final chapter, Jesus declares himself to be the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. In all things Jesus is the Lord. And in all things Jesus will be involved. And not only that Jesus will resolve evil promptly.

This statement is reassuring for those desirous of doing good and a caution for those committing evil. In that the Alpha and Omega, Jesus, will always prevail.

So while the imagery and words of Revelation are vivid and would rival anything produced by Marvel comics, it is simply a very strong revelation by Jesus for us to always and with urgency resist evil. And when evil occurs or happens to us, to know and have a strong faith that Jesus will always win.

I am now happy to be able to say, that with this knowledge, I can venture into Revelations and not become alarmed. Revelations is a vivid message from Jesus to get our attention to resist evil urgently, for both us as individuals and the church at large.

Listen to the Full Podcast – The Book of Revelations Isn’t That Scary

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.

John [8:12]

On a day when the number of new COVID-19 cases had dropped by fifteen percent for the third day in a row, all I read and saw was frightening headlines. Headlines that promoted danger and reminded us to be fearful. The major newspapers ran headlines that said deaths hit an all-time high on that day. Yet missing from the article was the erroneous inclusion of deaths on that day of missed reporting from January to March.  Simple fact-checking would have revealed the error.

Our news reporting on the national level has become so obviously biased, it is promoting division among the populace. Short of facts and long on agenda, our television has moved from unbiased reporting to opinion-based reporting. Missing are the real facts and news.

In every report, we hear about the risks without the solutions. It seems as if people are setting themselves up to say; I told you so! When we listen or read the news we only get problems, which promotes fear.

In John [8:12], Jesus tells us He is the light of the world. And that those who follow Him will no longer walk in darkness. It is not that following Jesus will make us problem-free, rather Jesus reorients us to think about how to live with hope. People that only give you problems without solutions only create fear. People who see problems and think through the solutions provide hope. They give us the light of encouragement.

In my business life, you couldn’t come to my office with a problem that didn’t contain a solution. Otherwise, we considered the act of just identifying problems as dark behavior. Almost like a hit and run.

Successful Christians, businesses, and people are solution-oriented. Not looking to make things worse by creating fear, but making things better by working the problem.

This is what Jesus is talking about when He says I am the light of the world. And this is what Jesus wants from us; to walk in the light and not in darkness. Jesus wants us to find hope through problem-solving and not fear.

Jesus doesn’t want us to report numbers in the press just to create fear. But to dig deeper and look for hope with a solution. Jesus doesn’t want us to intentionally edit remarks by others to promote our agenda, rather be balanced in our views. Jesus doesn’t want us to look at a small piece of information and make it larger, so we create more fear, rather Jesus wants us to be objective.

The media believes that this negative and fearful reporting will help their business, nothing could be further from the truth. In the all-important 25-54 age group, the combined audience of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox are all seeing drops in viewership of over twenty percent. In fact, if you add up all three, their audience doesn’t achieve one million viewers. A far cry from the lofty numbers of years gone by.

What they are missing is Americans want the truth. Americans want light and not darkness. They are missing that hope sells. They are missing that there is always a solution to every problem.

Thin thinking has led us to this point. Critical thinking will lead us out. It is way too easy to just tell the bad, but far harder to critically think about a solution.

Americans are not dumb they know this difference between thin and critical thinking. Americans are not sheep, rather they are sheepdogs. Give Americans a goal and they will achieve it. Only give Americans problems and they will tune you out. And the numbers don’t lie, Americans are tuning out.

Imagine if those reporting the problem thought first; what would Jesus want us to report? Certainly, the agenda would disappear. Certainly, a harder look at the facts would occur. Certainly, solutions would be revealed. We all know Jesus wouldn’t approve of craftily edited sound bites that don’t reveal the truth.

John Krasinski, from The Office and Jack Ryan, recently set up a YouTube channel called Some Good News. His viewership is over two million people. And he just started! There is a message here about how people want the news. Not overly optimistic, but the real facts.

I can see Jesus sitting back and saying; Well you did a great job at identifying the problem. Now what is the solution and where is there hope. We all know Jesus wouldn’t allow only the darkness to be reported. We all know Jesus would only want the facts and messages of hope.

This is true in our own lives; problems will always appear. Jesus wants us to seek the Light and not darkness.

Listen to the Full Podcast – Avoiding Being Mired by Darkness

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Anthony Bouzalas on Unsplash

Are Religious Freedoms Being Trampled Because of the Corona Virus?

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

Matthew [18:20]

Due to the lockdowns across our country caused by Covid-19, most churches have been ordered to be closed. Ironically in most states, Liquor stores have been declared an essential business and remain opened. For many Christians, this appears to be a trampling of the first amendment, which protects religious freedom. Certainly, politically we can see this as a denial of our rights and in some state’s lawsuits have been filed.

But as Christians are we driven by politics or acting in a way God desires? In other words, how does God want us to act? After all, didn’t Jesus say; Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things are God’s. Paul in Romans wrote; Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.

So it appears Biblically, that we should comply with the civil orders, but at the same time stay committed to Jesus. In other words, still worship, but find a different way. Instead of being confrontational, we should put our energies into thinking about alternative ways to worship. Leave the political bickering to civil authorities.

As Christians, we have a long history of figuring out how to be true to Christ and avoid civil conflict. The early Christians in Rome worshipped under the city in the catacombs to avoid upsetting the local authorities. The early Methodists in England met in homes or chapels, so as not to upset the state-sponsored Anglican church. Even in early America when the population grew faster than churches could be built, Methodists and Baptist met in homes or created camp meetings. Ingenuity in worship has always been a Christian hallmark.

Jesus defines worship as; For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew [18:20]) A simple message that means all we have to do is gather in Jesus’s name.

While I agree, the right to practice religious freedom is a constitutional hallmark, I don’t think fighting this ban is as productive as finding other ways to worship. Our energies are better spent using alternative methods and gathering in Jesus’ name.

And many churches are live streaming their services. Some have started drive-in churches, even though some overly zealous authorities have been handing out tickets.

Zoom has become a way for Christians to gather in Jesus’ name. Zoom is a great place to hold small bible groups or even meet for prayer. It has the added advantage of being able to this with friends who are physically far away. I am sure, Jesus would approve of Zoom for small Bible groups and prayer groups.

I am also sure Jesus would not want us to get our neighbors sick, by meeting in unsafe environments. Biblically, social distancing is supported, particularly in Leviticus 13, which lays out the Biblical rules of self-quarantine. Ironically fourteen days is mentioned as the protocol, similar to today’s rules.

Some will disagree and say we should fight harder to protect our religious freedom, to which I heartedly agree. But there are bigger Christian persecution issues we should labor against. Once COVID-19 is diminished, we will be able to go back to our physical church. Instead, we should stay focused on issues that will not go away when COVID-19 disappears; like letting Bibles be okay in school. Fighting for the right to pray in schools.

Internationally, we should still fight for religious freedom in faraway places like China. Today, more than ten percent of Christians live with persecution. Frankly, this is the battle to fight and not be distracted by the obvious insanity of letting liquor stores be open when churches are closed.

Here in the United States, we have viable options for worship, in other parts of the world, many Christians not only do not have options. Their worship is banned, no matter the form. This is where our voices can have a long term impact.

Our voices should be louder with allowing prayer and Bibles to exist in schools and businesses. While atheists will proclaim that this is an invasion of their 1^st Amendment rights, to not allow Christians to pray or read the Bible is also a violation of practicing Christian rights. Those who oppose will say they are being coerced and being put upon illegally. This issue isn’t about anyone being forced but providing the freedom to those who hold Jesus as their source of faith. Prayer and Bibles at work or in schools don’t have to be forced upon people, just made available for practicing Christians.

In the meantime, we will be able to worship together in person in the near future. And at the same time, we have Zoom to connect with other Christians. By the way one of the hidden advantages of virtual Christianity is that people who are geographically far away can now participate. A special blessing for Christian friends to stay connected even though thousands of miles separate them.

Maybe today, reach out to those you know who want to have a virtual Bible study and start one up. Perhaps even start a long-distance prayer group. And don’t forget on Sunday to tune into your church’s live-streamed worship service or perhaps one you find on the internet.

All Jesus asks is that we gather in His name.

Listen to the Full Podcast – Are Religious Freedoms Being Trampled Because of the Corona Virus?

Blessings, until next time,
Bruce L. Hartman

Photo by Taylor Wilcox on Unsplash