Jesus said, “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”
This introductory saying to the Gospel of Thomas carries with it a promise; that promise combined with the word taste reminds me of the biblical story of Adam & Eve, another teaching that carried a promise as the result of understanding through taste. “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2: 16b-17) Let us take for granted these sayings are meant for us to ponder and understand Truth…I honestly don’t care if there was an Adam and Eve, if there was so be it, if not, so what! I’m not looking to build upon the theologies of Judeo/Christian religions nor argue apologetics in this discourse, I’m just mining Truth, and sifting for the precious gems of Wisdom to be found.
First I will delve into the Genesis account and then relate what I find to the teaching of Jesus. I notice that it is implied that Good & Evil already exist, but perhaps they are not segregated, meaning to begin to label one thing as Good and another thing as Evil is exactly what was forbidden, because the day that is given place in our lives, is the day the fear of being judged as one or the other becomes predominant in our thoughts. Hence, prior to this, there was no need for religion, because there was no fear of judgment, nor no need for a judge. The whole concept of God would of been different, perhaps just the way Jesus taught, for an unconditional love doesn’t discriminate between Good & Evil, because there is no condition that can ever be met to prevent that Love.
Since the understanding of Good & Evil, God remained out of reach, so life remained destined to be the product of what was done or not done, but as the absence of that Life came through the understanding of judgment and descrimination, so Life once again may be attained through the understanding that Love does not differentiate. The beloved disciple is accredited to have written these words: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears in not perfected in love.” (John 4:18) And one more quote from the Garden Story: “The man and his wife hid themselves [because they were now afraid]….therefore the Lord God sent them out from the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:8b, 23).
All of this comes to my mind as I ponder what it means to understand what Jesus is teaching, and I just had to share that. Life is a product of Love!
Wisdom is Found Through Experience 
I especially like the last sentence. “Life is a product of Love.” God is Love. Therein you have the Truth 🙂
I agree with jalopygirl there. The gospel of Thomas is one of my absolute favourites. Perhaps you will be delving into it more. Thankyou for following my blog too.
You are most welcome, and thank you for the comment. I am doing a weekly commentary blog on the Gospel of Thomas I just started 4 weeks ago…I spend a week meditating on a verse and then blog about usually Saturday or Sunday, it’s my favorite Gospel, and I love writing about it.
I’ve pondered the Gospel of Thomas on various occasions, though not really delved into it in depth. Have you read, “Beyond Belief,” by Elaine Pagels by any chance? As I remember her argument, the Gospel of John was written in part as refutation of Thomas, and eventually carried the day.
I’ve always assumed, along with Joseph Campbell as well as more recent Christian theologians, that the knowledge of good and evil is an image of the birth of the dualistic mind, the mind of separation, and that seeing through this is a key, or *the* key goal of the world’s contemplative paths.
Beyond Belief, no I have not read that, but I’m writing it down and will in the future. Thank you for your visit and for sharing your thoughts. I hope you will stop by again in the future. 🙂