The Gospel of Thomas: A New Translation, Commentary and Comparison with the Synoptic Gospels

The Gospel of Thomas is a non-canonical scripture dating back to around 50-100 CE that was found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945 CE, buried in a clay jar with many other documents, all in Coptic, that collectively came to be known as the Nag Hammadi Library of Gnostic texts. A few fragments of the Gospel of Thomas in Greek had previously been found in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt at various times between 1897 CE and 1905 CE.

This text bears very little superficial resemblance to the traditional four gospels found in the modern New Testament. Thomas a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus. It contains no linking narrative whatsoever, and very little context for any of the sayings. The words are somewhat similar to those found in Matthew and Luke, a few in Mark, and one or two parallels in John. But the tone and the message of the teaching is often strikingly different. Most of the sayings are clearly mystical instructions. They are lessons in how to contact divine consciousness directly. This book clearly compares each of the sayings with its counterparts in the traditional gospels and points the way to a deeper understanding of all of these ancient texts.