Recovering Jewish-Christian Sects and Gospels (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae)

 chapter five

Jesus said to them, “If you fast you will give rise to sin for yourselves, and

if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm

toyourspirits ...” (Gos. Thom. ).

Jesus said, “If the flesh came into being because of spirit it is a wonder, but

if spirit came into being because of the body it is a wonder of wonders.

Indeed, I am amazed how this great wealth has made its home in this

poverty.” (Gos. Thom. ).

“And in the Gospel which is according to the Hebrews which the Nazarenes

are accustomed to read, among the worst crimes is set he who has dis-

tressed the spirit of his brother.”

(Jerome,Comm. Ezech.,–; NGH: theGospel of the Hebrews).

And in the same volume: “If your brother, he said, sinned to you with a

word and makes amends to you, accept him seven times a day. Simon, his

disciple said to him: Seven times a day? The Lord answered and said to him:

And I say to you until seventy times seven. For even among the prophets

after they were anointed with the Holy Spirit there was found a word of

sin.” (Jerome,Pelag..;NGH:theGospel of the Hebrews).^129

Although bothThomasand the Jewish-Christian fragments contain
admonitions not to harm the spirit, their understanding of the origin
of the spirit is different. The Jewish-Christian fragments presuppose an
endowment of the Holy Spirit during baptism or anointing while in
Thomas, the spirit is used as a term to describe that part in men which
has its origins above, in the light of the living father (Gos. Thom. ), and
which one has to find within oneself in order to enter the kingdom of
heaven.^130
Thomasand the Jewish-Christian fragments both use topics of tradi-
tional Jewish Wisdom theology in their description of Jesus (logion ,
Jesus’ baptism) and his message to the “seekers of Wisdom” (logion 
parr.). They also share the idea about the spirit living in men although
they understand differently its origin and “gender.” The idea about the
Holy Spirit as Jesus’ mother—assuming it can be seen in logion —is
marginal in Thomas and possibly attested only in its later layers, but more
clearly stated in theActs of Thomas. Interestingly, theActs of Thomasalso
seems to accept the traditional forms of Jewish piety: fasting, prayer and

(^129) The GH attributes this to the “Gospel of the Nazarenes.”
(^130) Some sayings also presuppose a distinction between “flesh” (or “body”) and “soul.”
(Gos. Thom. , ). Whether this indicates a knowledge of the “classic” Gnostic
tripartite anthropology spirit-soul-flesh or just shows that, in Thomas’ terminology “soul”
and “spirit” have overlapping meanings, must be left open in this connection.