Gospel Of Thaddaeus

Kata Thaddaion According to Thaddaeus A number of years back, I got interested in trying to put myself "inside" the heads of the gospel writers. I also wanted to brush the "sawdust of the classroom" off of what I'd learned in the field of biblical studies. What follows is the result of my little exercise: an entire "early secondcentury apocryphal gospel," complete with scholarly essays. I omit the detailed tables of texual parallels, as well as the approximately one-third of the Gospel of Thaddaeus which I also wrote up in the "original" Greek...

The Gospel of Thaddaeus An English Translation Of the Critical Greek Text Based on the Edessene Codex θ And Compared with the Fragments θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4 Fa197 By Academician Yu. Grigoriev University of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Russian Federation University of Chicago Press © 2004

The Gospel of Thaddaeus. Copyright ©2004 by Yu. Grigoriev. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America by special arrangement with the University of St. Petersburg. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address the University of St. Petersburg Press, 1423 Ul. Yeltsin, St. Petersburg AK5230, Russian Federation. Published simultaneously in the United Kingdom by the University of London, and in Russia by the University of St. Petersburg.

Grigoriev, Yurii Stepanovich (1971--). The Gospel of Thaddaeus: An English Translation

of the Critical Greek Text, Based on the Edessene Codex θ, and Compared with the Fragments θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4 Fa197. 1. New Testament studies-- Greek texts, translations, commentaries. 2. Apocryphal gospels. 3. Gospel of Thaddaeus. I. Ivanovna, Anastasia Fyodorovicha (1982--), joint translator. II. Title. 04-29849

Table of Contents Foreword According to Thaddaeus I. Introduction II. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee III. The Sermon on the Lake IV. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued V. The Way to the Cross VI. The Journey to Jerusalem VII. The Ministry in Jerusalem VIII. The Passion Narrative IX. The Resurrection Thaddaeus and the Gospels Old Testament Citations and Allusions Luke and Thaddaeus Mark and Thaddaeus Other Writings and Thaddaeus The Discovery of the Gospel of Thaddaeus Some Brief Remarks Concerning the Gospel of Thaddaeus

Foreword While field work is still in progress, we are pleased to make available this English translation of the critical Greek text of the Gospel of Thaddaeus. I provide in the postscript some brief remarks on the provenance and import of this writing. A project such as this one does not approach completion without help from divers sources, to whom sincere thanks are due.

My thanks go first and foremost to Max Turner of the University of Chicago, and Vanessa James of the University of London, for their most gracious invitation to join in the work on site at Edessa, and for their unflagging support. I owe thanks also to my colleagues at the University of St. Petersburg, especially I.N. Nekrich, Aleksandr Plekhanov, and Sergei Shelepin, for extending to me on very short notice this year of sabbatical leave. Special thanks go to my graduate assistant, Natasha Ivanovna: she has rendered on-site help on a multitude of points, only the most obvious of which is her revision of my translation into English which is at once colloquial and in conformity with the RSV of the synoptic parallels. Finally, my deepest thanks go out to my friend and colleague, Pyotr Afanasiev of SS. Cyril and Methodius Theological Seminary in Moscow. He deserves, on several counts, the appellation of renaissance man. His always insightful criticism and dialogue have set the standard for the rest of us who have studied the Thaddaean text. --Yu. Grigoriev

According to Thaddaeus I. Introduction Preface

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The book of Jesus the Nazarene, the Christ of God. 2As it is written in the scriptures, "Who has gone up to heaven, and come down? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has dominion of all the ends of the earth? 3What is his name? Or what is his son's name? For God delivers the one who reverences him." 1

The Birth of Jesus 4 Now in Nazareth of Galilee a woman, Mary by name, was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a carpenter. 5But before they had come together, an angel appeared to her and said, "Fear not; for you are favored before God. 6And the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, and you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will call his name Jesus. 7And he will save his people Israel, all whom God calls; and he will be called the Son of God, and he will reign for ever." 8And it came to pass

as the angel from God had said; and she bore her son, and his name was called Jesus, but Joseph did not know her until he was born. 9And his enemies said, "He is the son of a soldier." 10But all these things took place to fulfill what is written: 11"Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." 12And he sprang up in his own place, as it is written, "Behold the man whose name is the Branch." John the Baptist 13 Now John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the prophet: 14 "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way." 15And Judea and Jerusalem came out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 16Now John was clothed with camel's hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. John's Preaching of Repentance 17 Now he said to those that came out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 18Bear fruits that befit repentance, and do not say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 19Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." 20And he preached to them, saying, "I have baptized you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." The Baptism of Jesus 21 And in the appointed season, Jesus came and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 22And when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descended like a dove and rested upon him; 23and a voice came from the heavens, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased; and thou shalt reign for ever." The Temptation 24 Then the Spirit took him out, as if by the hairs of his head, and brought him out onto the great Mount Tabor. 25And he was there forty days and forty nights, being tempted by Satan; and the angels ministered to him.

II. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Jesus Begins to Preach

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And Jesus heard in Bethany about the arrest of John. And so he went into Galilee. 2And there he preached the Good News of the kingdom of God, saying, "Repent; for the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand." 1

The Call of the First Four Disciples 3 And going by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two fishermen, Simon son of Jonah and Andrew the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea. 4And they had toiled all night and took nothing. 5And Jesus called to them, "Let down your nets on the other side for a catch." 6And when they had done this, they took a great shoal of fish; and their nets were breaking. 7 And when Simon saw it, he said, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 8And Jesus spoke and answered them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." 9And immediately they left everything and were following him. 10And after he had gone on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending their nets. 11And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him. The Calls of Levi and Thaddaeus 12 And he went out into the way; and as he went along, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." 13 And he rose and left everything and followed him. 14And two days later, as he was passing along, Jesus looked in the door of a workshop and saw Thaddaeus, that is, Lebbaeus, mending a wheel. 15And he said to him, "Come away, follow me." And it fell silent in the shop, and Thaddaeus put down his hammer and immediately followed him. Teaching in the Synagogue at Capernaum 16 And they went down to Capernaum of Galilee. And on the sabbath he was teaching them in the synagogue. 17And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. The Healing of the Demoniac in the Synagogue 18 And immediately in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out, 19saying, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? We know who you are, the Holy One of God." 20But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be

silent, and come out of the man!" 21And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and throwing him down, cried out and came out of him. 22And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this? What is this new teaching of his? For with authority he command even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." 23And reports of him went out at once throughout all the surrounding region. The Healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law 24 And Jesus arose and left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 25Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and they besought him for her. 26And he came and reached out his hand and took hold and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them. The Sick Healed at Evening 27 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases, or possessed with demons. 28And the whole city was gathered together about the door. 29And he healed many who were sick, and cast out many demons; and he rebuked the demons and would not permit them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ of God. Jesus Departs from Capernaum 30 And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out into a lonely place. 31And Simon and those who were with him pursued him, and they found him and said to him, "Every one is searching for you." 32 And he said to them, "Let us go on to the nearby towns and cities, that I may preach there also; for that is why I have come out." First Preaching Tour in Galilee 33 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. Jesus Casts Seven Demons out of Mary

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Now when Jesus came to the city of Magdala, he went in and was teaching there. And there came before him a prostitute whose name was Mary, who had seven unclean spirits. 2And crying out with a loud voice, she said to him, "O Son of man, what have you to do with us?" 3And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirits, saying, "Pukou minnah," that is, "Come out of her!" And the unclean spirits were cast out of her and left her. 4Now, this Mary of Magdala became one of the women who followed after Jesus. 1

The Cleansing of the Leper 5 Now while he was in one of the cities, a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 6 And Jesus got angry and stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." 7And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 8And he sternly charged him, and threw him out at once, and said to him, "Say nothing to any one; 9but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift for your cleansing as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." 10But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; 11and they came together to him, and he returned to Capernaum. The Healing of the Paralytic 12 And it was reported after some days that he was at home. And Jesus was preaching the word to them. 13And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door. And behold, four men were coming to him carrying a paralytic on a pallet. 14 And finding no way to get near him because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and removed the tiles above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the paralytic with his pallet in front of Jesus. 15 And when he saw their faith, he said, "My son, your sins are forgiven you." 16Now some of the Pharisees and scribes there began to question in their hearts, "Who is this that speaks thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 17Now when Jesus perceived in his spirit their questionings, he said to them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 18Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'? 19But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he said to the man who was paralyzed-- "Rise, take up your pallet, go home." 20And he rose, and immediately took up that on which he lay and went out before them, and went home. 21And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" The Question about Fasting 22 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people said to him, "Why do these fast, but your disciples eat and drink?" 23And Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while they have the bridegroom with them. 24The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 25No one sews a piece from a new garment on an old garment; if he does, the new tears away from the old, and a worse tear is made. 26And no one puts

new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the skins will burst through, and the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 27But new wine must be kept in new skins and jars." Plucking Grain on the Sabbath 28 On the second sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples began to pluck and eat some heads of grain. 29And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are you doing what it is not lawful to do on the sabbath?" 30And Jesus answered them and said, "Have you never read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him; 31 how when he entered the house of God, when Abimelech was high priest, he took the bread of the presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave it to those with him, and they ate it? 32 But I say to you that the sabbath was created for man, not man for the sabbath." A Man Gathering Sticks on the Sabbath 33 And on the same day, as he was going along, he saw a man picking up sticks on the sabbath. 34And Jesus said to him, "Man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed; but if you do not know what you are doing, you are accursed and a transgressor of the law." The Man with the Withered Hand 35 And on another sabbath he entered the synagogue, and a man came to him who had a withered hand. 36And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 37So Jesus said to them, "I will ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent. 38And he looked around at them in anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored, as sound as the other. 39And Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is lord of the sabbath." 40But they were filled with fury and considered with one another how to destroy him. The Choosing of the Twelve 41 Now in those days he went up on the mountain, and called to him his disciples. 42And he appointed twelve of them, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach 43and to have power to heal the sick and authority to cast out demons: 44Simon the son of Jonah, whom he surnamed Peter, and Andrew his brother; 45and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, whom together he called the Baneregez; 46and Matthew, and Thaddaeus, and Philip, and Nathanael the son of Talmai,

and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 47And he gathered them at the house of Simon Peter, and said to them, "I desire you to be my apostles, a witness to Israel." III. The Sermon on the Lake The Sermon on the Lake

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And Jesus went with his disciples and withdrew to the lake of Gennesaret, and there gathered about him many people from Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem and from about Tyre and Sidon, 2for they came to him to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. 3And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, for they pressed upon him that they might hear the word of God and that power might come forth from him upon them. 4And getting into the boat, he asked the disciples to put out a little from the land. 5And he sat down, and from the boat he taught the crowd which was beside the lake upon the land, and in his teaching he said to them: 1

The Beatitudes 6 "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 7But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. 8Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. 9But woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. 10Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. 11But woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 12 Blessed are you who serve as slaves now, for you shall rule in righteousness. 13But woe to you who hold dominion now, for you shall be brought down. 14Blessed shall you be when men hate you, and when they revile you and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! 15 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 16But woe to you, when all men speak well of you! Cry out, and call to the mountains to fall and cover you; for so their fathers did to the false prophets. On Love of One's Enemies 17 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 18bless those who curse you, pray on behalf of those who abuse you. 19Reprove one another not in wrath but in peace, for you will never be glad until you look upon your brother with love. 20Do not resist one who is evil, but to him who strikes you on the right cheek, offer the left also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your

shirt; 21and with him who forces you to carry a burden one mile, carry it two miles. 22And as you wish that men would do to you, do so yourself to them. 23If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 24And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive twice as much again. 25But love your enemies, and give to every one who begs from you, expecting nothing in return. 26Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches, and neither moth nor mildew destroys. 27For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also; 28and you will be sons of my Father who is in the heavens. For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. On Judging 29 "Show mercy that you may receive mercy; forgive that it may be forgiven unto you. 30As you judge so shall you be judged; and as you are kind so shall kindness be done to you. 31For the measure you give will be the same measure you get back, and still more will be given you." 32And he told them parables. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 33A disciple is not above his teacher, but let him when he is fully taught be like his teacher. 34How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when behold, there is a log in your own eye? 35You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye. On Profaning the Holy 36 "So give away all that you possess; but let your alms sweat into your palms until you know to whom you give. 37Do not give dogs what is holy, lest they cast it down upon a dungheap; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn again and rend you with their tusks." "By their Fruits..." 38 And he said: "Grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor are figs plucked from camel's thorn. They give no fruit. 39But a good man brings forth good from his treasure. 40A wicked man brings forth evil from his evil treasure which is in his heart, and says evil things; for from the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil things. The Tower Built Upon the Rock

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and say that you are united with me in my bosom, and yet you do not do what I tell you? 42Every one who hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 43he is like a man building a tower, who dug deep, and laid the foundations upon rock; and the rain fell, and a flood arose, and the sea broke against that tower, and could not shake it, because it had been founded upon the rock. 44But he who hears my words and does not do them is like a man who built a tower on the ground without a foundation, and the sea broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that tower was great." 41

The Parable of the Sower 45 And he told them more parables. "A sower went out to sow. 46And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds of the heavens devoured it. 47And other seed fell on rocky ground, and immediately it sprang up; 48and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 49Other seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it. 50And other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, and yielded thirtyfold and sixtyfold and one hundred twenty fold. The Parable of the Lamp 51 "Now, is a lamp lit to be put under a bushel, or in a cellar, and not on a stand? 52Your eye is the lamp of your body; so when your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. 53There is light within the sons of light, and it illuminates the whole world; if it does not illuminate it, it is darkness. 54For nothing is hid, except to be made manifest; nor anything secret, except to come to light. "Let Him Who Has Ears to Hear..." 55 "Let him who has ears, hear! Take heed then what you hear; 56for to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The Kingdom Is in Your Midst 57 And he said to them: "If they who lead you say to you, 'Behold, the kingdom of God is in the heavens,' then the birds of the heavens will precede you. 58If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. And if they say, 'It is upon the earth,' then the cattle upon the hills will precede you. 59But the kingdom is in your midst, and it is drawing nigh upon you. 60Now you do not know my Father, but in that day which is to come you shall be known, and you shall know that you

are children of my Father who is in heaven. 61But you are in poverty, and indeed you are poverty, unless all men know you as children of my Father on account of your love." IV. Jesus' Ministry in Galilee Continued Healings at Gennesaret

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And after he had said all these things, the people were amazed. And he got out of the boat. 2And they brought sick people on their pallets to him, and besought him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well. 3And the unclean spirits fell down before him and cried out; and he strictly ordered them not to make him known, for they knew him to be the Son of God. 1

Stilling the Storm 4 Seeing that evening had come, he said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side of the lake." 5And leaving the crowd, they set out in the boat, and as they sailed he fell asleep. 6And a great storm of wind came down on the lake, and the waves beat into the boat, and they were filling with water. 7But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and James the son of Zebedee awoke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" 8And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 9 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Where is your faith?" 10And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands, and even sea and wind obey him?" The Centurion of Capernaum 11 And so they came again to Capernaum. Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. 12When he heard of Jesus, he sent word to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. 13And he asked Jesus earnestly, and Jesus went with them. 14When he was not far from the house, the centurion himself came out to him, saying, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But only say the word, and let my servant be healed. 15For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Come,' and he comes; and to another, 'Go,' and he goes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 16When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, never in Israel have I found such faith." 17And when the centurion returned to his house, he found the slave well.

The Widow's Son at Nain 18 Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain, and his disciples went with him. 19As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city came along with her. 20And when Jesus saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 21And he came and touched the bier, and asked the bearers to stand still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 22And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 23Fear seized them all; and this report concerning him spread throughout all the surrounding country. The Woman with the Ointment 24 And two days later as he sat at table in the house of Matthew, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. 25And a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment, and weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet. 26Now when the Pharisees saw it, they said to themselves, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 27And then she broke the flask, and anointed his feet with ointment. And again they said to themselves indignantly, "Why was this ointment thus wasted? 28For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." 29And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; for I came to call to repentance not the righteous, but sinners." 30And then Jesus said to them, "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 31And when they could not pay he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?" 32One of the Pharisees answered him, "The one to whom he forgave more." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly. 33And therefore I tell you, much is forgiven her, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." 34Then turning toward the woman he said, "Your sins are forgiven." 35 Then the Pharisees began to murmur among themselves, saying, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" 36And he said to her, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Jesus' True Kindred 37 Then he went home; and the next day a crowd came together again, so that he and his disciples could not eat. 38And when his mother and his brothers heard it, they went out to seize him, for they said, "He is beside

himself." 39And they came to him, but not being able to reach him for the crowd, they called him. 40And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are standing outside, asking for you." 41And he answered and said to them, "Who are my mother or brothers?" 42And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "These who do the will of my Father are my brothers and mother and sisters." The Walking on the Water 43 At evening, his disciples went down to the sea, where he made them get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida. 44And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 45 And when evening came, it was dark, and the boat was already out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 46And he saw that they were distressed in rowing, for the wind was greatly against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 47He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking upon the sea they thought it was a ghost, and they all cried out; 48for they saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, have no fear; it is I." 49And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly amazed. The Gergesene Demoniac

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They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gergesenes. 2And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man from the city with an unclean spirit, 3who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; 4for he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces, and he was driven by the unclean spirit into the desert. 5And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down and worshiped him; 6and said with a loud voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." 7For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" 8And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." 9And they begged him not to send them out of the country. 10Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them." 11So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. 12When the herdsmen saw it, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people went out to see what had happened. 13And they came to Jesus, and saw the man who had had 1

the legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 14And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. 15And they urged Jesus to depart from their neighborhood, for they were seized with great fear. 16And as he was getting into the boat, the man from whom the unclean spirits had gone begged that he might be with him. 17But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you." 18And he went away, proclaiming throughout the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. Jairus' Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage 19 Now Jesus and his disciples crossed again in the boat to the side; and a great crowd gathered about him beside the sea. 20Then came a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue; and he fell at his feet, 21and besought him, saying, "My little daughter is dying. Come and touch her with your hands, so that she may be made well, and live." 22As he went, a great crowd pressed round him. 23And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had spent all that she had on many physicians and could not be healed, said to herself, "If I touch even the garments of this Jesus, I shall be made well." 24So she came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased, and she was healed. 25And Jesus, also perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately said, "Who touched the blue of the fringe of my garment?" 26And Peter said to him, "Teacher, you see the crowd pressing round you." 27But Jesus said, "Some one touched the blue of the fringe," and he looked around to see who had done it. 28But the woman, seeing and hearing this, came in fear and fell down before him trembling, and declared to him the whole truth. 29And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." 30 While he was still speaking, a man came from the ruler's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 31But overhearing this, Jesus answered the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 32And he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and James and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 33And when they came to the house, they saw people weeping and wailing. 34 And he said to them, "Do not make a tumult and weep; for the child is not dead but sleeping." 35And they laughed at him. But he threw them all out, and taking those whom he had called to be with him, he went in where the child was. 36And taking her by the hand he called to her, saying, "Talitha cumi"; which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." 37 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were amazed. 38And he directed them to give her

something to eat, and strictly charged them that no one should know this. Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth 39 And Jesus went away from there with his disciples, and came to Nazareth, to his own country. 40And on the sabbath day he taught in the synagogue, and he stood up to read. 41And many who heard him were astonished at his teaching, and they said, "Whence is the wisdom that is given to this man? What mighty works are wrought by his hands! 42Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Jude and Joseph and Simon, and are not his sisters Deborah and Ruth and Rachel here with us?" 43And they stumbled at him; and he said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin. Will you quote to me this proverb, 'No physician is able to heal himself'? 44Truly, I say to you, if the peace of God is rejected by those who are near, it shall be proclaimed and heard and accepted among those who stand far off. This is the word of the Lord." 45And they were furious. And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. 46And marveling because of their unbelief, he went his way among the villages teaching. Commissioning the Twelve

7

And he called the twelve together and gave them authority over the unclean spirits, and power to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. 3And he charged them saying, "Take nothing for your journey except a staff; no bread, nor bag, nor money; but wear sandals and do not put on two tunics. 4And wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave a place. 5And wherever they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them; 6and it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah at the last day than for that town." 7So they went out two by two through the villages and preached repentance. 8And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them. 1

The Return of the Apostles 9 And on their return, the apostles told Jesus all that they had done and taught. 10And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves for a while, and rest in a lonely place." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. Five Thousand are Fed 11 And they went up into the boat to a lonely place by themselves. 12Now

many saw them going, and they ran there on foot, and got there ahead of them. 13And as Jesus went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them about the kingdom of God. 14And when it grew late, the twelve came to him and said, "The hour is now late, and this is a lonely place; 15send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and get themselves lodging and provisions." 16But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." The other Simon, not Peter, said, "Shall we go and buy food for all these people? For we have no more than seven loaves and two fish." 17Then Jesus commanded the crowd to sit down upon the green grass, by companies of fifty and companies of a hundred. 18And taking the seven loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 19And they all ate and were satisfied. 20And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 21And those who ate were five thousand men. Defilement-- Traditional and Real 22 Now some of the Pharisees and scribes came up from Jerusalem, and asked him to sit at table and dine with them. 23And they were astonished to see that Jesus and his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. 24For the Jews do not eat unless first they wash their hands, observing the traditions of the elders; and there are many other traditions which they observe. 25And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do you and your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?" 26And he said to them, "You leave the commandments of God, and hold fast the traditions of men. 27 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die'; 28but you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, The Corban is what you will gain from me'-- 29then you do not permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 30And you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness. 31You fools! Did not he who made the inside make the outside also? 32How will you find the kingdom, unless you fast to this evil age? 33And how will you see my Father, unless you sabbatize the sabbath? 34But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything will be clean for you." 35 And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: 36there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him, for it enters not his heart but his stomach, and so is evacuated into the sewer; 37but what comes out of a man is what

defiles him, for it comes out of his heart. 38If any man has ears to hear, let him hear!" The Canaanite Woman

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And from there he arose and went away to the region around Tyre. And a woman, whose daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet. 2Now the woman was a Gentile. And she begged him to cast the unclean spirit out of her daughter. 3And he refused, saying to her, "It is not right to take the children's bread and meat and throw it to the dogs." 4But she answered him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table are fed with the children's scraps." 5And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." 6And when she went home, she found her daughter well, and the unclean spirit gone. 1

Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute 7 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. 8And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hands upon him. 9And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into the ears of the deaf man, and he spat and touched his tongue; 10and looking up to the heavens, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." 11And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 12And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak." A Blind Man is Healed at Bethsaida 13 And he came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man, and begged him to touch him. 14And he took the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" 15 And he looked up and said, "I see men; but they look like trees, walking." 16Then again he placed his hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and saw everything clearly. 17And he sent him away saying, "Go your way, enter your home, and say nothing about it to any one in the town." V. The Way to the Cross Peter's Confession

And Jesus went on with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, "Who do men say that I am?" 19And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, like one of the prophets." 20And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered him, "You are the Christ of God." 21And he charged them to tell this to no one. 18

Jesus Foretells His Passion 22 And from then on he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 23And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him angrily. 24But he turned and rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." "If Any Man would Come after Me..." 25 And he said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 26For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 27 For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his own life? 28For what can a man give in return for his life? 29For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this evil age, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes with the angelic host in the glory of the Father. 30But truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power." The Transfiguration 31 And six days after this, Jesus took with him Cephas and the sons of Zebedee, and led them up onto a great mountain in Galilee. 32And when they had come to the top, he was transfigured brightly before them, and his garments became blinding, shining white, so that they were stricken with terror. 33And behold, two men stood in glory on the mountain, talking with Jesus. 34And Cephas, turning about in fear, said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is well that we are here; let three booths be set up, one for you and one for each of these men." 35And then a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice spoke from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son, who shall reign on earth as in heaven; listen to him!" 36And then they saw Jesus only standing with them; and they asked him, "Were these angels with whom you were talking?" 37And he said to them, "No, but Moses and Elijah were manifest here to bear witness to the Son of man for your sake; for I am come to fulfill in my witness all the law and the prophets."

And in those days they feared greatly, and told no one what they had seen; for Jesus said to them, "Do not speak about this until the Son of man rises from the dead." 38

The Coming of Elijah

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And they asked him, "Why do the Pharisees and the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" 2And he answered and said to them, "If Elijah comes first to restore all things, of the Son of man it is written that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt. 3But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him." 1

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by a Spirit 4 And a great crowd met him, and a man from the crowd cried, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; 5and it seizes him and he cries out and it dashed him down and it convulses him. 6And I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." 7And Jesus answered, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?" 8And the father of the child cried out with tears and said, "I believe; help my unbelief! If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!" 9And Jesus said, "Bring your son to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy. 10But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and commanded it to come out of him and never to enter him again. 11And Jesus lifted up the boy who had been healed by the hand, and gave him back to his father. 12And his disciples asked him, "Why could we not cast it out?" 13And he said to them, "All things are possible to him who believes. But this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." Jesus Foretells His Passion Again 14 As they went on from there they were passing secretly through Galilee, and Jesus said to his disciples, 15"The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up." 16But they did not understand this saying, and they were afraid to ask him. The Strange Exorcist 17 John said to him, "Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." 18But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him: for he who does a mighty work in my name will not be able soon after to speak evil of me; 19and he who today is far away will tomorrow be near me."

John the Baptist's Question and Jesus' Answer 20 Now John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus, saying, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" 21And when they came and asked Jesus, he was curing many of diseases and plagues and unclean spirits, and on many that were blind he was bestowing sight. 22 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what your eyes have seen and what your ears have heard: 23the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 24And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." Jesus' Witness Concerning John 25 When the messengers of John had gone, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? 26What then did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 27What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 28I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 30They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, 'We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.' 31 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, 'He has a demon.' 32The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 33Yet wisdom is justified by all her children." Opinions Regarding Jesus 34 Now King Herod heard of it; for Jesus' name had become known. And he said, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him." 35But some said, "Elijah has appeared," and others said, "One of the prophets of old has risen." 36And Herod said, "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" The Death of John the Baptist 37 For Herod had been reproved by John for Herodias, his brother's wife, and so he shut John up in prison. 38And Herod feared John, but Herodias sought his death. 39So at a festival she had her daughter beguile Herod and extract from him an oath, that he should give her the gift she requested. 40And the girl requested of Herod the head of John upon a

bronze platter; and Herod lamented, but he was bound by his oath. 41So when John had been beheaded, his disciples came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb. The Kingdom Plundered 42 And when Jesus heard of it, he said, "The law and the prophets were until John; but now the kingdom of God is plundered, and every one enters it by force." VI. The Journey to Jerusalem Decision to Go to Jerusalem

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And knowing that the season had drawn near for him to be handed over, Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem. 1

Jesus Is Rejected by Samaritans 2 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him; 3but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 4And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them, as Elijah did?" 5But he turned and rebuked them, saying, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of man came not to destroy men's lives but to save them." 6And they went on to another village. On Following Jesus 7 As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 8And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 9 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 10But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, follow me." 11Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 12Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." 13And after this, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you not see? Many are near the well, but few are in the well. 14For he who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom of God." Commissioning the Seventy-Two 15 Then Jesus appointed seventy-two, and sent them out two by two, man

and sister wife, into the towns of Galilee; 16and he breathed a share of his Spirit upon them. 17And he spoke and said to them, "The plain is white; the harvest is come. 18Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers while it is the month of harvest. 19Go your way; carry no purse, no bag, no staff; 20but when you come to a village, enter saying, 'Peace be to this house of peace!' 21And if a son of peace truly is there, your peace shall rest upon his head; but if not, it shall return to you. 22And remain in the same house while you remain in the village, eating the bread they provide and drinking the wine they provide; for the laborer deserves his wages. 23And heal the sick and cast out demons in the town, saying to the people, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 24But if they do not receive you, say in the streets, 'Even the dust that clings to our feet, we wipe it off; nevertheless, hear this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' Woes Pronounced on Galilean Cities 25 "Woe to you, Chorazin and Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 26But it shall be more tolerable in that day for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 27And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to the heavens, you shall be brought down to Hades! "He Who Hears You, Hears Me" 28 "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who hears me hears him who sent me." The Return of the Seventy-Two 29 The seventy-two returned in awe, saying, "Lord, we laid our hands on the sick, and they have recovered; 30and neither serpent nor any deadly thing can hurt us; 31and even the demons we cast out in your name!" 32 And Jesus said to them, "I saw Satan fall like a shooting star from the heavens into the darkness of the sea. 33Behold, I have given you great authority; 34nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the unclean spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in the book which stands before the throne." Jesus' Thanksgiving to the Father, and the Blessedness of the Disciples 35 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before thee." 36And turning to the

disciples he said, "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 37 Blessed are the ears which hear what you hear! 38For I tell you that many prophets and angels desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." The Lawyer's Question 39 And a certain lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, which commandment is the first of all?" 40And Jesus answered and said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. 41And all the other commandments are commentary on these." 42And the lawyer said to him, "You are right, Teacher; for to love God and to love your neighbor, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 43But after that no one dared to ask him any question. The Parable of the Good Samaritan 44 And then Jesus, to show them who is their neighbor in the kingdom of God, told them a parable. 45"A man was journeying in the countryside, but he did not keep to the way, and he fell into a great ditch, so that he lay there half-dead. 46Now a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 47So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 48But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 49and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 50And the next day he took out seven denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 51 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell into the ditch?" 52He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Mary and Martha 53 Now it happened that as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. 54And Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 55But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that Mary has left me to serve alone, and that she sits at your feet and asks you when the kingdom will come, while I toil?" 56And

the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; 57but when the kingdom of God comes, two shall be as one, and the heights shall fathom the depths, and the woman shall be with the man, the man and the woman together in the Spirit. 58But in this age there shall be factions and divisions." The Lord's Prayer

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And Jesus was praying, and when he ceased for a little while, Andrew said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." 2And he said to them, "Whenever you pray, say, 'Our Father, our King, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 3Thy kingdom come, thy Holy Spirit descend upon us and cleanse us. 4Give us today thy continual bread. 5And forgive us our trespasses, for we ourselves forgive every one against whom we hold anything. And lead us not into tribulation.' 1

Encouragement to Pray 6 "And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 7For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. 8For what father among you, if his son asks for a bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion; 9or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? 10If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give a good gift to those who ask him!" The Beelzebul Controversy 11 Now scribes came down from Jerusalem and found him casting out demons. 12And they said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and he casts out demons by the prince of demons." 13But he called them to him, and said to them, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 14Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no house divided against itself will be able to stand. 15And if Satan also is divided against himself, then he cannot stand, but his kingdom is coming to an end. 16And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? 17But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 18But no one can enter a strong man's palace and plunder his goods, unless he first overcomes and binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. 19He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. The Return of the Evil Spirit

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes into waterless places, through hill and dale, seeking rest. 21But finding none he says, I will return to my house from which I came. 22And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 23Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. 24 So when you are cleansed, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and give thanks to my Father who is in heaven." 20

The Sign of Jonah 25 Then the scribes and Pharisees, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 26They said to him, "Show us a sign of this kingdom, so that we may see, and believe you." 27He said to them, "You test the face of the heavens and the earth, and you do not know what is before you, and you cannot test this time. 28When you see a red sky in the evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather'; and when you see a yellow sky in the evening, you say, 'It will be stormy.' 29And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; but you do not know how to interpret the present time. 30You hypocrites! No sign shall be given to this evil generation except the sign of Jonah. 31And I say to you, the queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." The Leaven of the Pharisees 33 And turning to his disciples, he said, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Exhortation to Fearless Confession 34 And Jesus said to them, "Everything that is not before you will be revealed to you, for there is nothing hid which will not be revealed; nor buried, which will not be raised. 35Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in your inner room shall be proclaimed from the rooftops. 36I tell you, you shall be as lambs in the midst of wolves; But fear not, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 37And Peter answered and said to him, "But Lord, what if the wolves tear the lambs?" 38And Jesus said to him, "Let not the lambs after they are dead fear the wolves. 39For I tell you, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing to

you. 40But fear him who, after you are dead, has authority over soul and body to cast into the Gehenna of fire; yes, I tell you, fear him! 41Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yes, and not one of them is forgotten before God. 42Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. So fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. 43And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 44but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. The Sin Against the Holy Spirit 45 "And I say to you, every sin will be forgiven, and every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." Warning Against Avarice

12

And one of the multitude came and said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." 2But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge over you?" 3And turning to his disciples, Jesus asked them, "Am I a divider?" 4And he said to the crowd, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 1

The Parable of the Rich Fool 5 And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; 6and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' 7And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 8And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; so take your ease."' 9But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' 10So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Let him who has ears to hear, hear!" Anxieties About Earthly Things 11 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not take care from morning to evening or from evening to morning, for your clothes, what you shall put on, nor for your food, what you shall eat. 12For you are far better than the lilies, which neither spin nor weave; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 13But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, he himself will give you your garment, O men of little faith! 14And having one garment, what do you lack? 15Or consider the birds of the

heavens; they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 16Who can add to his span of life, or to his stature? 17If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 18For all the nations of the earth seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. 19Instead, seek the kingdom of God, and these things shall be yours as well." Division in Households 20 And Jesus said to the multitudes, "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and how I am constrained until it is kindled! 21Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; 22for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; 23they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Agreement with One's Accuser 24 "So judge for yourselves what is right. 25As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 26I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper." Repentance or Destruction 27 There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 28And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? 29I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 30Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? 31I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." The Parable of the Vintner 32 And he said to them, "There was a vintner who advanced ten thousand denarii to the owner of a vineyard. 33And the vintner said to him, 'Pay me in new wine at the appointed season.' 34But when that day came, the owner of the vineyard could not pay his debt; for although some of the vines in his vineyard had borne grapes abundantly, others had borne no fruit at all. 35So he went in fear and shame to the vintner, and pleaded

with him for clemency. 36He said to him, 'I can pay you only three thousand denarii, for some of my vines bore no fruit.' 37And the vintner answered the owner and said, 'So be it. Turn over to me every cluster and every grape which you have, that they may be trodden out in the winepress, and I will forgive your debt. 38But I am sending my servants through the vineyard, and they shall uproot every vine which bore no fruit, and cast it into the fire.'" Saulasau, Caulacau, Zeersam

13

And as they were walking along the banks of the River Jordan, Thomas asked him, "Teacher, how shall we recognize the coming of the kingdom of God?" 2And Jesus answered him and said, "Thomas, Thomas, is it not written, 'Saulasau, Caulacau, Zeersam'?-- 3That is, order upon order, canon upon canon, a little here, a little there? 4So measure straight, and cut once, and let not your eye watch where your hand cuts; 5 for the coming of the kingdom of God is tribulation upon tribulation, and hope upon hope, yet a little, yet a little. 6But these things I tell you, that you may read the signs, and reading you may hope, and hoping you may keep watch." 1

The Parable of the Seed Growing by Itself 7 And Jesus spoke to the disciples in parables, saying, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, 8and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. 9The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 10But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. 11And he has grain enough to eat plentifully, and grain enough left over to scatter seeds again." The Parable of the Mustard Seed 12 And he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 13It is like a grain of mustard seed, which is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 14yet when a man took and sowed it in his garden, it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. 15For if you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to the sycamine tree, 'Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you." The Parable of the Leaven 16 And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 17It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it

was all leavened." The Parable of the Mill 18 And he said to them, "The kingdom of God is like a mill to which men brought their grain to have it threshed and ground. 19And they asked the miller for their flour; and he answered and said to them, 'The chaff is still being flailed from the wheat upon the threshing floor.' 20And they asked the miller again; and again he answered and said, 'The oxen are still treading it out.' 21And a third time they asked, and the miller said, 'The millstone is grinding it exceedingly fine.' 22And at last he delivered the flour to them, and when it was baked the bread was raised up twentyfold and fortyfold and eightyfold." The Parable of the Small Seed in a Hidden Place 23 And Jesus asked and said to them, "When a husbandman has enclosed a small seed in a hidden place, so that it is invisibly buried, how does its abundance become immeasurable?" 24And when they were perplexed at this, then Jesus, as he walked, stood still upon the verge of the River Jordan. 25And stretching forth his right hand, he filled it with water and sprinkled it upon the shore; and thereupon the sprinkled water made the ground moist, and it was watered before them, and brought forth fruit. The Olive Tree and the Tribulation

14

Now when Jesus and the disciples came to Pella, they went into the city, and he sat and taught the people alongside the spring. 2And a young man from the crowd asked him and said, "Rabbi, what if the tribulation should break out tomorrow? 3Why should I arise early and work until the sun sets, if tomorrow the work of my hands will be consumed in fire?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Even if it were revealed to you that tomorrow the wrath should come, still you shoul 1

The Discovery of the Gospel of Thaddaeus Near Alexandria, at a site known as Tel-al-Faron, a Russian archaeological team in 1997 uncovered a cache of ancient codices and

scrolls which rivals in importance the historic finds at Qûmran near the Dead Sea. These Tel-al-Faron documents turned out to be a collection of discarded and duplicate texts from the famed library of Alexandria, which had been set aside in a remote storage chamber, and so escaped the general sack and burning of the library in the 7th century A.D. The attention of the scholarly world was immediately drawn when among the first documents published by Yu. Grigoriev and his team were two until-now lost tragedies of the Greek playwright Aeschylus. Among the other documents eventually to see publication was the partial text of a hitherto unknown apocryphal gospel. This document, designated Fa197, was an incomplete early 3rd century codex in a fair-to-poor state of preservation. The Greek uncial text was inscribed According to Jude Thaddaeus. Biblical scholars began rapidly to suspect that they had on their hands an unprecedented find, as internal indications pointed toward an extremely early origin for the work, perhaps in the first half of the second century. But because of the incompleteness of the text, work on the Gospel of Thaddaeus proceeded slowly. In 2003, a joint British-American archaeological team began to excavate the site of the ancient city of Edessa, which now lies in the middle of the United Nations administered Red Zone comprising former territories out of Syria, Turkey, Greater Armenia, Kurdistan, and Iraq. The conclusion of the Balkan War and the Turkish-Armenian War made it possible, for the first time in almost a decade, to enlist the support of the Turkish government in reaching and excavating this site. Academician Grigoriev was soon called in from the University of St. Petersburg to the Edessa site to consult on the find of a complete Edessene uncial codex inscribed Kata Thaddaion, According to Thaddaeus. This codex, which was designated θ, proved to be a complete copy of that text, about a third of which was also contained in Fa197. θ was in an excellent state of preservation, and Grigoriev began an immediate critical study and translation of the text. While he was engaged in this project, the team at Edessa unearthed fragments of four other copies of the Thaddaean text. These fragments, designated θ1, θ2, θ3, and θ4, were all of them in a poor state of preservation, and none of them contained much more than a tenth of the whole. But together they provided some supplemental help to Grigoriev's

critical work; θ4, in particular, seems to be by a slim margin the oldest of the texts, followed by the complete codex θ. Yu. Grigoriev labored under the difficult conditions of a direct UN military administration. It was difficult to impossible to obtain permission to bring archaeological finds out of the Red Zone. And regulations designed to prevent importation of a nanovirus limited Grigoriev and the Edessene team to that computer hardware and software which could be obtained locally. This meant that work had to proceed on an ancient Intel 8088 processor, with a long-obsolete dot-matrix printer. The limited availability of soft fonts forced the adoption of a less-thanideal Greek uncial font. UN anti-nanovirus regulations also forbid export of any electronic media, so that the fruit of Grigoriev's labor-in-progress has had to be brought out through UN checkpoints by a courier in hardcopy form. It is a direct photofacsimile of this hard copy which is here provided to the academic community for the first time. It is hoped that a proper printing will be quickly available, as soon as Academician Grigoriev is able to leave his work in the Red Zone, and supervise the edition himself. The present translation of the Gospel of Thaddaeus is based largely on the codex θ, with critical comparison where appropriate to the other manuscripts. But these fragments add little to our knowledge of the text, so that it would be small loss if our knowledge were based on θ alone. Hence, this present preliminary English translation omits Grigoriev's full textual apparatus, which will appear with the forthcoming revised edition. Grigoriev's critical Greek text will also be supplied in the revised edition, along with a full critical commentary on the Thaddaean text. The accompanying pericope-by-pericope English translation in the present edition is Grigoriev's, as revised by his graduate assistant, and brought into line, as far as is practicable, with the RSV text of the UBS GreekEnglish Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum, 3rd edn. The footnotes are Grigoriev's own abridgment of his fuller textual commentary in preparation. The availability at the Edessene site of a CDROM peripheral has provided on-site access to the full Migne texts of the PL and PG. However, the slowness of the primitive facilities has prohibited anything like an exhaustive search of relevant passages in the patristic literature.

The Gospel of Thaddaeus has excited some interest among the general public ever since Grigoriev's original find at Tel-al-Faron seven years ago. Indeed, not since the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls has an archaeological find of religious texts generated comparable curiosity and controversy. Yu. Grigoriev has provided a brief essay on the historical and critical significance of the Gospel of Thaddaeus, making full use of his insights gained during the ongoing work at Edessa. We present here, for the first time, an English translation of his remarks in full.

Brief Remarks Concerning the Gospel of Thaddaeus In the work superscribed KATA THADDAION, "According to Thaddaeus," we have an apocryphal gospel of the first importance, dating back to the subapostolic era. This so-called Gospel of Thaddaeus, first known to us in an incomplete text, the Faronic Greek uncial Fa197, is now available in full in the Edessene Greek uncial codex θ. The brief Edessene fragments θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4, though they add little to our critical understanding of the text, demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that this work did originate from an early Christian community at Edessa. The Gospel of Thaddaeus is the earliest complete apocryphal gospel we have, earlier even by some years than the gnostic Gospel of Thomas, a complete Coptic text of which was found near Nag Hammadi in 1946. The Thaddaean text must have been published some time in the first quarter of the second century of the present era, perhaps about the year 115. The codex θ, which is in an excellent state of preservation, seems to have been written shortly after the middle of the second century. The fragment θ4, which contains only portions of three chapters, may be slightly older even than this. Although we cannot draw extensive textcritical conclusions from the Thaddaean text, yet when used with caution, this text may due to its very early date have some light to shed on an early form of the Western text of Mk and Lk. I would continue to dissent from the judgment of my colleague, P. Afanasiev, who assigns the publication of Thaddaeus to the final years of

the first century. But still, it must now be recognized that we are dealing here with a text which originated little more than a generation later than the first and third gospels, and (though it stands in quite another lineage) not too many years after the Johannine writings. Thaddaeus is quite unique among the non-canonical gospels, of which we possess several in whole or in part, in that it emanates from a community close to the mainstream of the early Christian traditions. Unlike the Gospel of Thomas, unlike the fragmentary Gospel of Peter, or those gospels "according to the Hebrews" and "according to the Egyptians" which we know only by patristic quotation or from a few stray leaves, Thaddaeus is quite free of gnosticizing or docetizing tendencies. And unlike the many later "infancy gospels," Thaddaeus displays a remarkable sobriety and restraint. Indeed, Thaddaeus belongs to the same general stream as our three canonical synoptic gospels. We can only speculate what set of circumstances led to its early disappearance from circulation, and indeed its complete oblivion, after an early career in the church at Edessa, and a dissemination which brought at least one copy as far afield as the famed library of Alexandria. The old Syriac literature from Edessa contains no hint of an earlier Thaddaean gospel, despite the traditional linkage of the name of the Apostle Jude Thaddaeus with the Edessene Abgar tradition, and despite the not inconsiderable body of apocryphal literature extant in Syriac, much of it of a relatively early date, which originates from Edessa. We can only conclude that the Gospel of Thaddaeus, like Jude the Obscure under whose pseudonym it was circulated, vanished early into an obscurity both dark and complete. It must have suffered a total eclipse in its place of origin well before the end of the second century: no trace of its influence can be found in the Diatessaron of Tatian (ca 170), long so popular in the Syriac church. Indeed, on one point the discovery of the Gospel of Thaddaeus forces us to an historical reassessment. On the basis of admittedly tenuous evidence, it has long been the consensus of the scholarly community that the church at Edessa originated about the middle of the second century. This origin must now be assigned a terminus ad quem close to the beginning of that century. The unknown writer and redactor of Thaddaeus was clearly drawing on

copious earlier traditions: he must have had copies of both Mk and Lk at hand, and makes full use of them; Mt, on the other hand (to say nothing of the fourth gospel) was almost certainly unknown to him. Yet Td displays considerable redactorial restraint in drawing upon his sources, and does not often expand upon them. At the same time, he sometimes exercises a certain measure of editorial boldness, which leads one to suspect that, even where Td more or less follows Mk or Lk, he is often not altogether dependent on them. For Td was redacted at the extreme point in the subapostolic era when there was still a substantial extra-synoptic oral and written tradition available to draw upon. Some of this has also come down to us through other apocryphal gospels, or via patristic citation; and some of the pericopes which have thus been preserved, are parallelled in Td, as for example the parable of the assassin, the parable of the woman and the jar of meal, the exhortations to "be skilful bankers" and to "become passers-by," or Jesus' dispute with the official in the temple. Interestingly, a not insignificant fraction of this material has parallels, often indirect, with logia in the gnostic Gospel of Thomas. But this material, as it appears in Td, is quite free of the gnosticizing redaction which, a generation later, it has undergone in GTh. The Thaddaean version seems without exception to represent a more primitive, pregnostic stratum of this tradition. Overall it seems easier to hypothesize that each of these apocryphal gospels, Td and GTh, was drawing independently on a common stream of older tradition, than that one of them directly or even indirectly influenced the other. Since recent scholarship has tended to locate the composition of GTh in Edessa ca 140, the Thaddaean finds at Edessa reopen the question of where GTh was written. There seem to be three possibilities. (1) GTh was composed at Edessa, and its early career overlaps with the later career of Td. This leaves unexplained how GTh could have flourished shoulder-to-shoulder with the very different Td; but an analogous problem obtains for either gospel relative to the Diatessaron. (2) GTh was composed at another city in the Osrhoene, such as Samosata or Carrhae, and its career and that of Td were independent. Despite the a priori geography of some biblical scholars, this is hardly impossible. (3) Or, to return to an older hypothesis, GTh was composed, or at least received its final redaction, in Egypt. But Td also seems to have yet other oral and written sources at his

disposal. Some sayings and parables in Td-- such as the parable of the anvil, the parable of the vintner, or the lapidary little parable of the two plowmen-- we find nowhere else outside of Td. It is yet open to question whether we can speak of a single homogeneous T source; one "preThomas, pre-Thaddaeus" T1 source, and another pre-Thaddaean T2 source; or whether we are dealing here with several distinct strands of written and oral tradition. Another clear example of an additional source can be found in Td's passion narrative. Mk and Lk have made an obvious impact on Td's account of the passion. But order, wording, and detail make it abundantly clear that Td is drawing primarily-- not on Mk or Lk-- but rather on a third, not dissimilar, but quite distinctive and independent passion narrative. (Indeed, the initial lines of Td's account of the triumphal entry read much like the opening of a free-standing text! If anything of the sort ever stood in the sources behind the Marcan and Lucan accounts, it was effaced in Mk and Lk by redactional sandpaper.) Still another example is the idiosyncratic "Johannine symposium," a summary of Thaddaean spirituality in chapter 19 of Td which seems to be drawing on leaves from an older dialogue gospel. This older source may underlie, not only this non-synoptic intrusion into the text of Td, but also certain passages in chapters 5 and 8 of Jn. And yet another example would be Td's brief infancy narrative, really much more restrained than that in either Mt or Lk, which seems to draw on a written annunciation tradition of considerable antiquity, which Td may well share in common with Lk. That Td relies on this older tradition, when he has the much more expansive account of Lk in front of him, typifies his editorial restraint. The kind of recklessness which was finding its way into the surviving independent oral tradition by this time (as witness even some of the fragments of Papias which have come down to us) seldom finds its way past the editorial judgment of Td. Thus, though Td seldom really extends the historical purchase we gain through the synoptics, when he does depart from or extend their scope, the Thaddaean text is sometimes not unworthy of consideration. For example, in an otherwise unattested addition to the pericopes concerning the call of the first disciples, Td recounts the call of Thaddaeus. The inclusion, not to say the invention, of this incident would be amply accounted for by the association of the apostle with the Edessene Abgar legends, and the founding of the church at Edessa. The naming of him as

"Thaddaeus, that is, Lebbaeus" excites further critical suspicion as an evident conflation, even though, as is well known, "Lebbaios" is a hellenization of the Aramaic cognate to the Greek "Thaddaios." But the critic is brought up short by the casual remark of Td that Thaddaeus was a wheelwright, who was called by Jesus "while mending a wheel" in his shop. It is hard to see why the author of Td should have invented such an odd and otherwise unattested detail, unless it were founded at the least on a very old tradition, but for this passage now lost to us. As a redactor, Td displays great freedom in locating within the text such traditions which he is drawing neither from Mk nor from Lk: such pericopes are found scattered throughout his text, often alongside material with a similar theme or key words. But their distribution is uneven. In the Galilean ministry, outside the Sermon on the Lake and a few scattered pericopes, these non-Markan, non-Lucan traditions make their presence felt in a verse here, a change in wording there. Much of this section of Td-- chapters 2 through 9-- gives the impression of a very fine parquet-work of Marcan and Lucan materials, with an occasional detail or accent from other sources. It has been remarked that, in the journey to Jerusalem, Lk opens the meandering stream of Mk out into a wide river through the wholesale insertion of special Lucan material. We might well say that Td even further broadens Lk's river into a flood plain. In this section of Td-chapters 10 through 20-- Td inserts numerous pericopes, and indeed entire chapters, from his special Thaddaean material. Td displays a liking for grouping material of similar theme, or similar key words, into chapter-length symposia: chapter 13, a symposium on the growth of the kingdom; chapter 14, the Pellan symposium; chapter 16, a symposium on discipleship; chapter 18, a symposium on children; and chapter 19, the already-mentioned idiosyncratic Johannine symposium. As a table of gospel parallels will show, outside the opening and closing sections of his gospel, Td generally follows the overall order of Lk when he can. However, he does not hesitate to relocate Lucan material when it suits his purpose, e.g. the call of Levi, which he splits up and uses in two separate places; or the sayings and incidents relating to children, all of which Td gathers together in one place. Occasionally Td omits Lucan

material, e.g. the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. And in two sections, Td follows Mk instead of Lk: the sayings from Mk 4, which Lk scatters throughout, are gathered together and included in the Sermon on the Lake; and Mk 6:45-8:26, which Lk omits but much of which Td includes toward the end of the Galilean ministry. Even a preliminary historical-critical analysis of Td is a task which lies yet in the future. For the moment, we must content ourselves with the foregoing, quite tentative outline. And for the present we must also be content with a brief sketch of some of the salient and distinctive themes and motifs of Td. Throughout Td, both on a large and on a small scale, there is a striking motif of interchange between word and deed. Of course, the broad-scale contrast between the more act-oriented Galilean ministry and the more discursive journey toward Jerusalem is inherited by Td from Mk and Lk. But we also find throughout Td little touches such as the editorial remark at the opening of the Sermon on the Lake (4:3) that the people "pressed upon [Jesus] that they might hear the word of God and that power might come forth from him upon them." Or again, the act of cleansing the Temple (21:29-33) is immediately followed by Jesus' discursive dispute with a chief priest in the Temple (21:34-42), an incident without parallel in the synoptics. Examples could be multiplied almost indefinitely. We have but to read a few verses further (21:46) to discover the chief priests and scribes conspiring against Jesus: "For they said to one another, 'You see how the people are following after his teaching and his signs.'" Also prominent in Td is a stress on election and call. In the Thaddaean account of the raising of Jairus' daughter, Td redacts the text to read, "And taking those whom he had called to be with him, [Jesus] went in where the child was." (6:36) This motif, as developed by Td, binds up within itself elements, not only of the priority of God within the divine-human relationship, but also a focus on the mission of the Thaddaean community; the universal thrust of the kingdom; and the grace of God. Already within Td's annunciation story (1:7) we read, "And he will save his people Israel, all whom God calls." At the end of Td's gospel, in a logion which finds a parallel in the Epistle of Barnabas, the risen Christ tells his disciples, "I pray earnestly that you not be found many called but few chosen." (26:44) Perhaps the

characteristic note of the Thaddaean notion of call is to be found in a redactional comment which Td appends to a saying also found, in a much more gnosticized form, in divers patristic sources: "Split wood: the kingdom of God is there. Lift up the stone, and there you will find it. For the Spirit of God is moving in the midst of you, and whoever is known and called by my Father will find the kingdom." (17:21-22) Not altogether unconnected with this vision of call is another peculiar trait of the Thaddaean text, namely, the personalization of the Twelve. In Td, as in the canonical gospels, Peter is the leading figure of the Twelve; but the other disciples are mentioned by name more often, and stand forth as individuals much more sharply, than in the synoptics. Indeed, each of the Twelve, in the course of Td's gospel, has at least one "speaking part." And in Td the figure of Mary Magdalene is noticeably more prominent than in the synoptics. Jesus' exorcism of her, merely alluded to in Mk 16:9 and Lk 8:2, is recounted in Td 3:1-4. In 10:53-58, Td so redacts the text that the Magdalene displaces the sister of Martha! In the Johannine symposium, Mary poses a question to Jesus, on a par with the other disciples (19:24). And in a passage which may represent the pseudonymous writer's signature (cf. the fleeing neaniskos of Mk 14:51), when Peter reproves Mary after she returns from the empty tomb, Thaddaeus (instead of, as in another apocryphal account, Matthew) intervenes: "If the Lord has called her to be a worthy witness, who are you to reject her? For truly the Lord has loved her." (26:12) It was the triumph of Conzelmann to lay forth the realized eschatology of Luke's gospel, in contrast with the tone of imminent expectation in Mk. If Mk is to be dated about the year 65, and Lk about 80, then Td might be dated, very roughly and tentatively, around the year 115. In Td there is what we might call an eschatological "restringing of the bow": even more time has passed for Td than for Lk, and still no parousia. Td's solution to this, quite the opposite of Lk's (although apparently in reaction against a solution not unlike the Lucan), is to heighten the tension between the Lord's promise and the Lord's tarrying, the "already" and the "not yet" of the Thaddaean community's experience and expectation. Each term of the dialectic is stressed all the more. The bow of eschatological expectation is restrung, and in the restringing it is stretched taut. It is in this light that we are to view the favorite Thaddaean theme of the coming tribulation, as even in Td's version of the Lord's Prayer (11:5).

Along with the expectation of tribulation, there is also a repeated command to watch and wait, as in the unparalleled dominical logion in 13:5, "These things I tell you, that you may read the signs, and reading you may hope, and hoping you may keep watch." In Td's version of the parable of the woman and the jar of meal (17:25-28), we find a detail not attested in the parallel in GTh 97: the woman did not notice the jar leaking, "for she was not watching." And Td includes among the last words of the risen Christ, before his exaltation to heaven: "So keep watch, and proclaim the gospel... for the kingdom of God is at hand." This theme of watching and waiting bears in it the seeds of a quietism, often with an emphasis on immersion in the worship life of the community of faith. Td tells us that the disciples were instructed to make the Upper Room ready for the Last Supper, and then to "watch and wait" there for their Lord: "So they prepared as he had instructed them, and awaited his coming." (24:12-13) And in the Thaddaean eschatological discourse, Christ exhorts his followers, "So come together often, anticipating the great feast which is to come... So again I say unto you, watch and wait!" (23:49,55) In connection with this eschatological perspective, we may note that Td, like Lk, also heightens the tension between mercy and judgment; but that, in Td, this tension is accompanied by a tendency toward draining judgment of specific content. The hearers are to flee from the wrath to come, but this wrath is portrayed in a pinpoint of white light, rather than on a broad and colorful canvas. This is not to say that Td eschews color-- quite the contrary! For perhaps the most characteristic motif of all in Td-- we might almost call it a tone or a tint which pervades the whole-- is a stress on something not unlike the aesthetic. This dimension of Td is difficult to sketch in the limited space here at our disposal, but it leaps out at the reader from every chapter of the text. Td sees with the eye of an artist, with the keen sense almost of an aesthete. This comes out only in part in Td's love of the just-so detail: Td could do no other than take over from Mk, in his account of the feeding of the five thousand, that Jesus had the multitude sit "on the green grass." (7:17) Nor are we really surprised-- we are, but it is so characteristically Thaddaean-- when we are told, in an unparalleled turn of phrase, that the woman who suffered from a hemorrhage touched, not just the fringe of Jesus' cloak, but "the blue of the fringe": "Who touched the blue of the

fringe of my garment?" asks Jesus. (6:25) Td delights in the world of the senses, in what seems like an earthy mysticism. His evaluation of the body is fundamentally positive: one wonders whether this accounts for the omission from his gospel of the dispute with the Sadducees over the resurrection (Mt 22:23-33, Mk 12:18-27, Lk 20:27-40). He holds on to all those "rough touches" in Mk which Lk smooths over, and adds to them others. But Td's aesthetic slant comes forth even more strongly on an abstract plane. One gets the impression that, for Td, the aesthetic is often close to assimilating itself to the numinous, the prerational and amoral pole of the holy. Or perhaps it is the other way around. It is in this light, rather than in view of any incipient gnosticism, that we ought to read the Johannine symposium in chapter 19 of Td; or the opening of the first symposium in chapter 13, where Thomas asks, "Teacher, how shall we recognize the coming of the kingdom of God?", and is answered by Jesus with the cryptic syllables from Isaiah 28: "Saulasau, Caulacau, Zeersam." The dominical commentary which Td immediately supplies draws us back from any gnostic abyss: these three enigmatic words are explained, first in terms of their literal meaning in Hebrew, and then in terms of their somewhat otherwise rendering in the Greek Septuagint! Needless to say, the effect is still rather uncanny, and the two competing meanings are each-- one might say fortuitously but felicitously-- altogether apt to what Td has framed as the issue at hand! (The reader may almost be forgiven if this passage in Td calls to mind a textually and theologically quite disparate passage from the Gospel of Thomas, logion 13: "And [Jesus] took [Thomas], withdrew, and spoke to him three words. Now when Thomas came back to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say to you? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.") This technique of aesthetic framing, by which Td makes his source materials serve his purposes, points up Td's often formidable skill as a redactor. To return once again to the Johannine symposium, Td has here woven together three highly diverse sources into a unified whole. A variant of the account of the Samaritan and the lamb (19:1-7) is to be found in GTh 60, and the saying on seeking and finding (19:8) appears in variant forms as a frequent dominical agraphon in the church fathers.

Likewise, as we have already mentioned, in much of what follows (19:930), Td seems to be drawing on leaves from an early dialogue gospel, which may also be reflected in some of the "synoptic-like sayings" in Jn 5 and 8. Nowhere other than in Td do these three elements appear together, and yet in Td they are not just juxtaposed, they are seamlessly integrated into a capstone summary of the typical Thaddaean spirituality. This aesthetic framing, and the concomitant redaction, show themselves from another angle in the immediately following chapter 20, where Td draws out the threefold implication of this spirituality for the life of faith. A threefold rhythm: being, knowing, and doing. First, on the level of being, Jesus raises Azariah of Bethany up from the dead, in an account which bears only the most distant echoes of the raising of Lazarus in Jn 11. Secondly, on the level of knowing, Jesus restores sight to a blind man. And thirdly, on the level of doing, we encounter something very like Td's aestheticism spilling over into the domain of the ethical, in the parable of the shekels. This parable is clearly parallel to the parable of the talents in Mt, and the parable of the pounds in Lk. In each case, three servants are entrusted by their master with varying sums. But in Mt and Lk, two of the servants are faithful, and are rewarded; while the third servant buries his money, and is cast out. Td, by contrast, reminds one of the variant in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, where one servant was faithful, and was rewarded; another buried his money, and was reproved but forgiven; and a third servant wasted his money in profligacy, and was cast out. However, Td inverts the fates of these latter two servants. Td has the first servant faithful, and rewarded. The second is profligate, and reproved but forgiven. Only the third, who buries his money, is cast out. Here Td comes perilously close to saying, with an aesthetic eye, that faithfulness is better than profligacy, but that action of any sort, even if it go astray, is preferable to inanition. Comment on the christology presupposed in Td would require a book in itself, which will perhaps be one day forthcoming. To permit ourselves only the briefest of thumbnail sketches, we may say that the unknown Thaddaean author, and the early second-century Edessene Christian community to which he belonged, were apparently operating with a fairly "high" christology, and yet one which retains certain vigorous and

relatively undeveloped features. To put the matter in source-critical terms, the portrait of Jesus which emerges from Td resembles in some ways the "high christological" and yet very human and compassionate picture of him in Lk; but in Td this image is painted often in colorful, bold, and even rough strokes more reminiscent of Mk. And Td is not without little touches that are peculiarly his own: for example, he puts the free citation of the LXX Prov 30:4-5 in the opening of his gospel to very apt christological use. But such a use of this text, strangely, is conspicuous by its absence from the church fathers prior to the sixth century. The reader will rapidly note that Td favors certain christological titles. "The Son of man" is much more common than "the Son of God." The title "Lord" appears often enough as a term of address, but not that frequently (outside of scriptural citations) in the third person outside of the resurrection narratives; and the term "Lord Jesus" appears precisely twice, in the last few verses of Td, in connection with the exaltation and expected coming of the risen Christ. The characteristic Thaddaean christological title, though, is "the Christ of God," which appears already in 1:1, and is ubiquitous throughout. Even at its first appearance, it is linked with a key christological theme in Td, the motif of ascent and descent, of which Td independently makes quite different use than does Jn. For Td, ascent and descent are correlate with Christ's offices as priest and king, as mediator of divine mercy, as well as bearer of God's sovereign power. This comes forth strikingly in Td's passion account, where the lifting up of Christ on the cross is interpreted as his universal enthronement through a citation from Ps 96: "Proclaim to the nations, 'The Lord reigns from the wood.'" (The curious reading ek xylou is also attested in Justin Martyr.) Christ is presented as dying with a quotation on his lips, not from Ps 31 as in Lk, but rather with a further citation from Ps 96: "Father, I ascribe to thee the glory due thy name." And, as the veil of the Temple is rent and the threshold of the Temple shaken, Christ's death on the altar of the cross is then interpreted as the death of one who is both priest-sacrificiant and lamb-sacrifice, via a free citation from Amos: "I saw the Lord upon the altar, and he said: 'Smite the capitals until the thresholds shake.'" As I write these words, night has fallen over our work site at Edessa. But

for the call of the insects, the air is still. And I have before me a yellowed scrap of paper which I have carried with me in all my travels. I no longer recall when or how I first ran across it, only it has been among my papers now for many years. It is from a periodical, no doubt long defunct, called The War Cry. The issue was dated February 5, 1949. The item was a filler piece, run at the bottom of page four. But the most insignificant and ephemeral of writings sometimes exercise over us a disproportionate force. For no good reason I can name, this little filler piece has given this biblical scholar many a pause to think, as if it came from the pen of some notable or worthy. And now I ponder it again, in a night hour, and as if it were a slide rule of sorts, I try it out to reckon upon it a writing titled kata Thaddaion. The little filler, in four tidy columns, tells me that Matthew "Presents Christ as... The Mighty King"; Mark, as the Lowly Servant; Luke, as the Ideal Man; John, as the Divine Son. Like the C and D and CI and CF scales on a slide rule, the piece tells me that Matthew "Was written for" the Jews; Mark, for the Romans; Luke, for the Greeks; John, for the Church. CIF and DI and DF scales... The "Chief characteristic" of Matthew is that it is Prophetical; Mark, Practical; Luke, Historical; and John, Spiritual. A and B scales, and K scale, and L scale... Matthew "Deals mainly with" the Past; Mark, with the Present; Luke, with the Future; John, with Eternity. And ST and T and S scales, and those log-log scales which I could never fathom... Matthew "Emphasizes Christ as" Power; Mark, as Endurance; Luke, as Sympathy; John, as Glory. Forgive a not-so-old scholar if I confess in all candor that this little piece exercises over me a quite unreasonable attraction, rather like that of Irenaeus' old argument which likened the four gospels to the four winds, the four elements, the four humors, the four arms of the cross. For all its brevity, it is apt: more apt than my uncle, who once told a pop-eyed assistant professor of a nephew that, among the gospels, he preferred Matthew and John, because "John is realistic, and Matthew direct." And if I slide the slipstick back and forth, and adjust the cursor thus and

so, I seem to read off that Thaddaeus Presents Christ as the Numinous Priest-King; Was written for Those Outside the Empire; its Chief characteristic, that it is Aesthetical; it Deals mainly with Time Shot through with Eternity; and Emphasizes Christ as the Beauty of Holiness. All this is but a jeu d'esprit on a moonlit night, though I do not beg the reader's indulgence, for it is a game that bears within it an earnest reminder that we do not live by scholarship alone. However, even a first-order evaluation of the import of the Gospel of Thaddaeus for NT studies will be a task for scholarly debate for many years to come. Foremost among the questions with which to grapple is surely the following: why did such an early example of the gospel genre, emanating from a not insignificant church of the subapostolic era, and comparatively close in its content to the mainstream of the synoptic traditions, drop so rapidly and so thoroughly from sight, until it was yielded up to the archaeologist's spade at the dawn of the third millennium of the Christian era? [