In Trouble and In Wonder: A Spiritual Commentary on the Gospel of Thomas

The full commentary of the Gospel of Thomas (Logion 1-114) is available with new indexes and other guidelines to help the serious seeker of this important, early Christian text. It is now understood that this collection of sayings found in Thomas’ Gospel is an early, oriental and independent stream that came from the communities that received the teaching of Yeshua through his student, Thomas. Because fifty percent of the sayings are new to us they afford us a fresh approach to the teachings of the wisdom Master. This commentary provides an in-depth examination of that wisdom stream. It is meant to provide support for both individuals and groups who seek a more complete understanding.

The entire text of the Gospel of Thomas is explored through this in-depth, spiritual commentary that looks not only at the historical-critical issues, but more importantly at the contribution that Thomas makes to the early wisdom traditions of Christianity, and particularly those streams of wisdom that flowed from the lips of Yeshua and his followers and East into the Oriental and Aramaic speaking worlds.

It is clear that Thomas the Apostle listened deeply to the words and wisdom of Yeshua and stored in his own memory those sayings that were of utmost importance to him. That independent oral collection was then carried into the lands and communities of the East which treasured the Thomas tradition all the way to India and China and influenced all the communities in-between from the Syrians to the Persians, and then including the Kingdoms of Northern and Southern India, Nepal and Tibet, and on into the western lands of China.

Yeshua’s wisdom is fresh and living, and comes to us anew through these sayings, half of which are new to western Christianity. Each Logion in this volume is supported not only by the commentary, but by questions for personal and group inquiry and reflection, as well as material across traditions which address the sapiential teachings of these sayings. The effect is a multi-layered hyper-text much in the same tradition of commentaries like the Talmud which allow multiple insights and interpretations to live side by side to encourage further exploration and reflection.