There are many sayings in Thomas’ Gospel that seem un-understandable. They’re mysterious and draw me in because they hint at a greater meaning that is just out of reach. That, as I believe, the sayings have been modified, jumbled up (portions of sayings intermingled with other sayings) and that they appear to be incorrectly ordered make for difficult reading (and understanding).
I believe that understanding some of the sayings is contingent on first understanding another saying. I am also beginning to think that an understanding of some of the sayings requires that it be considered/contemplated/thought of along with another saying. In other words not sequentially but rather simultaneously.
The 50th is highly esoteric saying. It’s challenging. It may be a ‘keystone’ that many of the other sayings need in order to stand, or it may be a ‘rosetta stone’ that is useful in interpreting meaning. Speculatively (vice operatively) It could be the stone the builders rejected in saying 66 or the stones mentioned in saying 13 or 19 or even 30 . It may be none of these. What is certain is the terms and concepts mentioned in 50 exist in many places throughout the balance of Thomas’ Gospel. Below is what a quick and cursory look at 50 and it’s relationship to other sayings looks like. I focused on four terms: light, became manifest, being, and image.
50. “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’, say to them, ‘We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’, say, ‘We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your father in you?’, say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.'”
83 “The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the father. He will become manifest, but his image will remain concealed by his light.
84. When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you see your images which came into being before you, and which neither die nor become manifest, how much you will have to bear.
5. “Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest.“
6. Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered.
11. “This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?”
19. “Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being …..
Hope I don’t break my mind thinking through what all this might mean !