The Solution To A 2,000 Year-Old Puzzle

Jesus in the beginning of the Gospel According To Thomas offers a challenge to the reader: “Whoever discovers the correct interpretation of these sayings will not taste death” (Saying 1). Some proposed solutions:

 1. Jesus’ life means nothing—only his death brings salvation.

This is the solution given by Paul. It contends that a careful examination of Jesus’ words and then following the wisdom contained in them is a waste of time; the only thing that matters is Jesus’ death: “For if many died through one man’s trepass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many” (Roman 5: 15).

Paul’s position says followers of Jesus need just accept his death as a sacrifice and you will be saved. No need to actually follow anything Jesus commanded like “If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the Father” (Gospel According To Thomas, saying 27).

Historically, Paul’s position became the second proposed solution:

 2.  Come to Church on Sunday (even though Jesus commanded in Saying 27 above to keep the Sabbath which is Saturday—we need not obey God), and ritually participate in Jesus’ death each week through:

Drinking Wine= Jesus’s blood being shed

Wafer= Jesus’ body which died

and you will be saved.

The Roman Catholics are direct representatives of Satan. Their celebration of Jesus’ death each week is demonic. Apparently, for the Catholics, Jesus having been murdered once is not good enough; each week all believers reenact his murder! There is a reason the “Black Mass” is called “Black.” So we have the Black Mass and priests in black robes threatening the poor sinners with eternal torment if they skip a Sunday Mass or fail to give 10% of their earnings to the church. Clearly, this proposed solution will not work.

 3.  It’s All Spiritual.

 This is a common response, but it neglects the context in which the puzzle was given: Jesus was a Jew.
Example: He obeyed the Sabbath. This is confirmed by what his brother James did after Jesus resurrection: James started a Jesus movement in Jerusalem and the first followers of Jesus met on the Sabbath—on Saturday. If Jesus had meant for his followers to meet on Sunday, he would have instructed his brother to do so. It follows that Jesus was a Jew. Moreover, since Jews do not believe in an afterlife such as Heaven or Hell (the early church fathers used these concepts and put them in the documents which became the New Testament), Jesus, as a Jew, could not and did not believe in the concept of an afterlife. If there is no afterlife, then the eternal life to which Jesus refers must be in the present life.

So although “It’s all spiritual” position is common (probably 99% of people would give some version of this reply) it is clearly is not a solution to the puzzle.

4. On February 22, 2016 the solution to the 2,000-year old puzzle “Whoever discovers the correct interpretation of these sayings will not taste death,” was given: Jesus meant exactly what he said: Follow me as a truth seeker, discover my wisdom, know yourself, invite my Spirit to unite with your Spirit, and you will live forever in physical form.




Additional Resources:


1) Forgeries In the New Testament --This post gives a brief overview of how the Roman Catholics invented much of what Christians call the "New Testament."


2) Original Model: “The Messianic Secret In the Gospel of Thomas” --This post presents an original model: The Gospel According To Thomas are the recorded words of Jesus after his Resurrection.


3) 17 of My Favorite Posts On the Thomas Immortality Project --This post gives the reader who would like to live forever some pointers to assist him in this goal. A great overview of the message shared on the Thomas Immortality Project.