The Gospel of Thomas Fully Interpreted: Logion 61 to 70
Logion 61
Jesus said, “Two will rest on a bed: the one will die, and the other will live.” Salome said, “Who are you, man that you … have come up on my couch and eaten from my table?” Jesus said to her, “I am he who exists from the undivided. I was given some of the things of my father.” <…> “I am your disciple.” <…> “Therefore I say, if he is destroyed, he will be filled with light, but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness.”
Interpretation:
The two that rest on a bed are the two sons of the divided father. One son is born of the Self’s righteous desire, and the other son is born of the Self’s unrighteous desire.
It is the righteous son that possesses the Spirit of Understanding that lives, and it is the unrighteous son that possesses the spirit of ignorance that dies. It is the Spirit of Understanding that gives Life.
The bed that the two rest on is the bed of faith. The two sons each have faith in their respective fathers. The good son has faith in Love and seeks only pleasure in what is good and right.
The unrighteous son seeks pleasure by any means possible.
The good son has empathy and so understanding, therefore he has a conscience and feels guilt for causing hurt to others.
The bad son has no empathy and so cannot feel what others are feeling. Because of this he has no conscience and no feelings of guilt, he is the son of the devil, i.e. the evil heart; the tempter.
Salome is the spirit of peace, her couch is her resting place. That which is eaten from her table is the knowledge that brings contentment.
To exist from the undivided is to exist from the beginning when the Self’s desire was undivided. It was a time when Jesus was given Love, Truth and Understanding (the Way, the Truth and the life).
<…> = Salome said to Jesus, “I am your disciple.” This meant that peace was with Jesus as a follower and companion.
<…> = Jesus said to Salome.
The last part of the logion speaks of the Self’s divided heart that has resulted in two fathers and two sons, one father and son being righteous, and the other father and son being unrighteous.
If unrighteous desire is destroyed then the whole heart will be filled with light. But as long as the heart is divided the whole heart will be filled with darkness.
Now this leaves a problem, because you cannot just stop one side of the heart without stopping the other. Therefore to stop desire completely requires the sacrifice of a son i.e. a soul. When one son is sacrificed its father simply stops, resulting in the whole heart stopping. All desire then ceases, both righteous and unrighteous desire. But which son is prepared to make such a sacrifice? It can only be the one who was there in the beginning, the Self’s first and true soul, the one that was given some of the things of his father, i.e. righteous desire, in other words; the faithful son.
Listen and understand:
When a cup of wine is contaminated it must be emptied and washed before putting new wine in it. Likewise if the Self’s desire is contaminated then Self’s heart must be emptied and washed before putting righteous desire into it.
Desire must be silenced and no pleasure sought, not even the pleasure of life. It is unfulfilled desire that takes away peace.
The Self is immortal and cannot cease to exist. You existed even before you awoke to the realization of your existence, and in that moment of awakening your desire was silent, your heart was empty of want. It is to that moment in the beginning that you must return.
Your soul is no longer your Self’s true image, and to restore that image and come to know yourself once more, you must silence your desire which will then no longer sustain any images that you have of yourself.
See also in Luke 17:34 KJV: I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
Logion 62
Jesus said, “It is to those who are worthy of my mysteries that I tell my mysteries. Do not let your left (hand) know what your right (hand) is doing.”
Interpretation:
Those who are worthy of my mysteries are the souls born of righteous desire. They are the ones who can comprehend the light of Truth, they are the children of righteous desire, and because they have understanding of spiritual things, they are referred to as the living. The children of unrighteous desire are unable to comprehend the light, they have no understanding of spiritual things and so they are referred to as the dead.
It is the hands that do the will of desire. Think of the two hands as the two opposing souls that do the will of their respective fathers. The left hand does the will of the unrighteous father, and the right hand does the will of the righteous father.
A righteous soul should not share its teachings with an unrighteous soul. This is because they will not understand, and they will either reject your teachings as foolish, or they will attack you.
Avoid inner conflict.
See also in Matthew 13:10-13 KJV: And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Logion 63
Jesus said, “There was a rich man who had much money. He said, ‘I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing.’ Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears hear.”
Interpretation:
The man was wealthy and so should have been content with what he had, but there arose a desire within him for even more wealth for himself. In other words, he became greedy and selfish, and in the darkness of his ignorance he experienced death. There was no Light of Understanding left in him, and therefore he was left without a conscience, empathy and guilt. His intention alone was enough to extinguish any light within him.
Logion 64
Jesus said, “A man had received visitors. And when he had prepared the dinner, he sent his servant to invite the guests. He went to the first one and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said, ‘I have claims against some merchants. They are coming to me this evening. I must go and give them my orders. I ask to be excused from the dinner.’ He went to another and said to him, ‘My master has invited you.’ He said to him, ‘I have just bought a house and am required for the day. I shall not have any spare time.’ He went to another and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘My friend is going to get married, and I am to prepare the banquet. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused from the dinner.’ He went to another and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have just bought a farm, and I am on my way to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused.’ The servant returned and said to his master, ‘Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his servant, ‘Go outside to the streets and bring back those whom you happen to meet, so that they may dine.’ Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my father.”
Interpretation:
The man who had received visitors was Jesus.
The visitors were those who were there for his teachings.
The dinner that was prepared was food for their soul, i.e. bread and wine.
Of the four guests that Jesus sent his servant to invite, the first two were businessmen and the other two were merchants. All four turned down the invitation because their desire for material things was greater than their desire for spiritual things.
Jesus then sent his servant out to invite people who were not businessmen or merchants.
Those whose desires are for the things of the world such as wealth and power, will not enter the places of righteous desire. They cannot serve two masters, i.e. they cannot serve righteous desire and unrighteous desire.
See also Luke 14:16-24 KJV. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Logion 65
He said, “There was a good man who owned a vineyard. He leased it to tenant farmers so that they might work it and he might collect the produce from them. He sent his servant so that the tenants might give him the produce of the vineyard. They seized his servant and beat him, all but killing him. The servant went back and told his master. The master said, ‘Perhaps he did not recognize them.’ He sent another servant. The tenants beat this one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, ‘Perhaps they will show respect to my son.’ Because the tenants knew that it was he who was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Let him who has ears hear.”
Interpretation:
The good man who owned a vineyard was the father (the Self’s righteous desire)
The vineyard is the place where the seeds of Self knowledge were planted.
The tenant farmers were the 7 Spirits of God sent into all the earth (subconscious mind). Each spirit leads a congregation of lesser spirits to assist them with nurturing the vines, and producing the fruit from which the pleasure of Self-knowledge would be gained.
The 7 Spirits of God are referred to as Angels, and the congregations of the lesser spirits are referred to as Churches.
The first servant that the father sent was the Spirit of righteous desire.
The second servant was the Spirit of Understanding.
The righteous father then sent his son who was created in the image of the father. The angels at this point had fallen from grace and had become the servants of the unrighteous father (the Devil) and the unrighteous son (Satan). At this point the Self’s desire and mind had become divided.
They knew that the righteous son was the heir to the vineyard, (the Messiah, the faithful Son of righteous desire) and so not wanting to lose their power and worldly wealth, they seized him and killed the righteous son.
Let him who has the Spirit of Truth understand.
See also in Matthew 21:33-39 KJV: Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
Logion 66
Jesus said, “Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. That one is the cornerstone.”
Interpretation:
The cornerstone is the first to be laid in the building of the soul’s temple on earth. This stone is the first Truth by which all other Truths are measured for accuracy. That first Truth is knowledge of the Self as a spiritual being; it is this Truth that was rejected. That is why Jesus was rejected by the chief priests and Pharisees. A stone is a Truth.
See also in Mark 12:10 KJV: And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
Logion 67
Jesus said, “If one who knows the all still feels a personal deficiency, he is completely deficient.”
Interpretation:
The all is a reference to the kingdom within, i.e. the Self’s spiritual domain. It is also referred to as the Self’s mind. The mind is first and foremost a place that exists separately from the physical/material realm, and it is a completely different substance. It is the place that the Self has created and rules over, including over all things that are in its domain.
To know this and yet feel a personal deficiency means that you are completely deficient.
It is feelings of not being worthy, guilt and lack of Love for the Self that make you feel deficient. The soul cannot transcend into the higher mind while wearing garments of condemnation. It is Love, Truth and Understanding that allows the soul to remove its garments of condemnation and transcend.
Logion 68
Jesus said, “Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no place.”
Interpretation:
Those who are loving and speak the Truth, are hated and persecuted by those who have neither. Those who suffer hate and persecution for Love and Truth are blessed, for they shall find the Kingdom. Wherever you have been persecuted, they will find no place of repose (rest).
See also in Matthew 5:10-12 KJV: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Logion 69
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who have been persecuted within themselves. It is they who have truly come to know the father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled.”
Interpretation:
Blessed are they who have a conscience and suffer for it, because that suffering is true repentance. It can only occur in loving souls who possess righteous desire, and in knowing righteous desire, the father is also known.
Blessed are those who are hungry for Truth and search for it, with righteous desire, for their hunger will be satisfied.
The bread of life is knowledge of Truth, which is food for the soul. What does it profit anyone that their physical body is satisfied and yet their soul is starving?
See also in Matthew 5:10-12 KJV: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Logion 70
Jesus said, “That which you have will save you if you bring it forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will kill you if you do not have it within you.”
Interpretation:
Righteous desire will save your soul if you have faith in it and express it.
If you do not have righteous desire within you, then all you have is unrighteous desire, and it is that which causes the death of the soul.