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Carivaggio painted the moment when Pilot called out to the crowd: "Ecce Homo" Behold, the man! Jesus had been scourged and beaten and was now to be sentenced. Think about the man that faced the crowd that day; that faced Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor who was granted absolute control over Jerusalem by the Senate and People of Rome. In that context let us talk about Jesus, post-Christ.
ECCE HOMO
Jesus was a man to be sure. He had a family, which we know was part of and connected to the religion, which followed in the wake of his death. We know from the New Testament that Jesus had at least three brothers and likely two sisters: James, Simeon, Judas Thomas, Mariamme and Salome. His father’s name may have been Cleophas however, Joseph was common enough. It is also clear that sometime after the death of James in 62 c.e. and most likely, after the end of the Jewish War in 70 c.e., the Christian Church, Greek in language and Roman in outlook formed before the death of Paul. Part of the phoenix rising from the ashes, was a concerted effort to de-emphasis the authority of James and the family of Jesus, in favor of the authority of the Roman Church. The primacy of the pope, developed at the beginning of the Christian faith, which started at the end of the Jewish state, there can be no doubt. The story started with John Mark a close associate of Paul. After the death of Jesus, James took over. Sometime around 50 c.e., Judas Thomas, known as the twin of our Lord due to his physical appearance, wrote the Gospel of Thomas. There may have been some corruption in the text from Gnostic traditions or Judas Thomas may have proffered a Gnostic understanding of his brother’s message, but the Scholar’s version of the five gospels published by the Jesus Seminar, suggests that the Judas Thomas’ gospel, populated throughout the east to the southern shores of India, where Judas Thomas’ message and church exist to this day, was an original source, equal in time but independent of the “Q” sayings gospel. Mark, written as early as 50 c.e., perhaps in response to Thomas and as late as 70 c.e., followed by Luke and Matthew, which were likely written from 80 c.e., to 120 c.e., were likely the revenge of the Gentiles, to the popularity among the laity of the Gospel of Thomas and even the Judas gospel recently published by National Geographic. There are other gospels, or rather, original sources which we may turn to in our search for the original Jesus. Those works include the Gospel of Thomas previously mentioned, the Signs Gospel which is contained within the Gospel of John and the Edgerton Gospel, with fragments as old perhaps as 125 c.e. Edgerton contains some stories including a few fragments of the Gospel of John; healing the leaper; a tax debate; and Jesus performing miracles on the River Jordan. There is also Mark, Luke’s source as Luke is derivative of the first generation, Matthew’s source as neither of them had access to the special source of the other, and the ubiquitous “Q.”
A brief history of the gospels which Christians so vaunt: There are two major theories, one known as the Two-Source Theory, holds that Matthew and Luke took from Mark, written a generation earlier and the hypothetical “Q” document which is acknowledged as a sayings gospel, just like the Gospel of Thomas. The other theory is known as the Four-Source Theory which holds based on a careful reading of the gospels, which Luke had a source which Matthew did not have; and Matthew had a source unavailable to Luke. So the Four-Source Theory calls for a Special Matthew known as “M” and a Special Luke known as “L”, with them both sharing access to Mark and “Q” as the basis for their respective gospels, which are clearly from the school of Paul. In addition there are other very early sources including Special Mark which is thought to be a very early version of Mark and the Didache which is called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which I find similar the Community Rule of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which likely contain a few books from the Jerusalem Assembly including the War Scroll and MMT. That issue will be the subject of a different letter. In time scholars will have translated the Book of Judas Thomas and that survivor should shed new light on this time. What I want to point out is the concept the Christian gospels are the Word of God or the message of Jesus is simply wrong thinking. There was extreme politics swirling around Jerusalem, not least of all the fact that James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem Assembly, the church which formed in the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion. The house of James is likely the room in which Jesus had his last meal. It is now consumed in the Church of the Apostles, on the Mount Zion. After James was assassinated what was a tender level of peace in Jerusalem, swelling into the Jewish War. By 70 c.e. it was all over. Few buildings remained; oddly the home of James, the Cenacle, remained. Simeon bar Cleophas, younger than James and older than Judas Thomas, built the first Church of the Apostles on that site. After there was no Jerusalem, Paul took over.
Paul was concerned with authority. He links himself early in his writings to the “pillars of the church” of which James was clearly the leader, their Zaddik, the Righteous One. Never afraid to trade on an opportunity, Paul needed to pull the entire Eastern Church, the vast majority of the population Greek speaking, to Rome, where he was establishing the church along Roman standards of organization. Paul’s bishops ran the Christian community populating parishes with Gentile priests speaking Greek; the structure of the Roman Church to this day is a creation of Paul. All of this held in check by James from the conversion of Paul to the death of James. Paul even submitted to taking an oath to appease James, promising to first make Gentiles convert to Judaism, through the adult circumcision of Greek speaking men. Nevertheless, he bided his time. Paul waited and steadily built his church along side the church commanded by the Jerusalem Assembly, the congress that governed the leadership of the faithful, from the death of Jesus to the death of James. From 62 c.e., the year James was stoned to death in Jerusalem, to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 c.e., Paul built his church from his house arrest in Rome.
Now how do we know if Paul’s vision of the Christian Church is what Jesus intended? One could argue, because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to convert Paul on the Emmaus Road. Paul’s conversion speaks for itself. He became a new apostle of Jesus Christ and proceeded to create the Roman Church whose bedrock was the synoptic gospels. The synoptic gospels, created the Jesus myth. The history of the event gave way to the authority of Paul. After the destruction of Jerusalem, there was no one to rival his supremacy, spreading the Christian faith into the house of Nero and the house of the Flavians after Nero’s fall. Paul won by default. Nevertheless, Jesus converted Paul because he knew that Paul would convert the Gentiles with a Greek thinking religion and not an overly zealous Judeo/Christian faith that required male circumcision. God wanted Paul to win. When the Jerusalem Assembly, the original Apostles and the directives of James, no longer held him in check Paul rewrote history and forever tarred the memory of the family of Jesus. Judas Thomas became Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of the Lord, James the brother of Jesus became James the Less. Simon bar Cleophas, another brother of Jesus became a stranger in the crowd when he assisted his brother in carrying his cross along the Via Dolorosa. By St. Jerome, Mary becomes ever virgin and never had children other than Jesus. Jesus knew that the religion of James would never survive the first generation of the faithful, if the circumcision of adult males premised admittance to the synagogue by Gentiles. My purpose in telling you all this is to petition that the conversion of Paul on the Emmaus Road is the most tangible example of God’s interaction in human events.
Historically, Paul is the genesis of the Christian faith. When Paul moved to Rome, or rather was brought to Rome as a prison of Caesar to be judge before his Imperial throne, Paul played a trump card that none of the original apostles could have played; Paul was a freeborn Roman citizen. There is no reason to doubt Paul’s veracity on this point as it was his “get out of Jerusalem free card.” There is some historical evidence to surmise that Paul was a Herodian, descended through Salome, the sister of Herod the Great, who married Costobarus. Paul was a cousin of Julius Archaelus, who saved his life on more than one occasion. Paul was the ablest man of an able age. We laud our Founding Fathers of Western Civilization as the epiphany of the Enlightenment. The men who lived in and after the days of Jesus were able to preach the Word of Jesus; but it was Paul that commanded the attention and respect of Rome as well. That is why Paul is the true founder of Christianity. The father of Herod was granted Roman citizenship when Julius Caesar himself awarded Roman citizenship upon Antipater, as a reward and example, for going to battle for Caesar to relieve a siege forced by Cleopatra’s brother, Ptolemy IX. From that moment on, the family of Herod was forever proclaimed to be citizens of Rome, in addition to their titular holdings of Judea and Jerusalem, granted at the benevolence of Julius Caesar himself. Paul survived the destruction of Jerusalem, I believe, to pick up the pieces wrought in the flames of Jerusalem from its fiery destruction by Titus. James was dead in 62 c.e., by assassination which was likely the cause of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 c.e. It was not beyond the power, ability or desire of the Sicarii to make Rome suffer for the death of the Zaddik of Jerusalem. By the destruction of Jerusalem after the Jewish War, little mention is made of the original apostles. They had all perished by martyrdom or age, but their generation passed from this earth. Peter, an interesting man for his appellation as the rock of the church, likely wanted to integrate Paul and his mission to the Gentiles into the fabric of the Jerusalem Assembly. We know this because James publicly censured Peter for his table fellowship with Roman soldiers and their ilk. The fact that the Catholic Church basis its authority on Peter is also curious, as Paul was the true father of the church. I believe that Paul co-opted Peter and the organization he formed in Rome, after the death of Peter, who had no benefactors of sufficient social status or wealth to save him. After Peter was crucified, only Paul remained. He won by default as he was all that was left. It is the prodigy of Paul then that Christians really follow. The gospel of the New Testament is essentially a Pauline work. Matthew was likely Jewish and of the old tradition. He was likely related to Paul through Helcias the Temple Treasurer. Matthew was also likely the father of Josephus, who wrote the Jewish War to great acclaim during the reign of the Flavians.
So when we speak of the “gospels” what we are really discussing is the writings of Paul and his cohorts, who intentionally sought to forge the disparate congregations left in the wake of the Jewish War, into one cohesive religion. Fine, this is the turn of history. Jesus called Paul because he knew that the faith as left in the hands of James was doomed. It would be abhorrent today if adult males were required to undergo circumcision as part of fellowship with Christians. This concept was abhorrent to the Greek mind as well; that is why Jesus called Paul. The Pauline gospels are superimposed over whatever church was left that had been developed and nurtured by the original apostles. This means that they are derivative of the original faith, which was based squarely on Mosaic Law. So when the Catholic Church declares its primacy based upon the gospels derived from Paul, and gloms onto the story that Jesus left his faithful to Peter, they build their house on sand. Peter was not the leader of the Jerusalem Assembly, James was. It did not matter how much spin the Pauline Church put on the oral traditions that eventually found their way into the written form of the gospels of the New Testament, James was acknowledged a “pillar” of the church by none other than Paul. Paul took an oath and submitted to a ritual cleansing in order to satisfy James and incur his tolerance, if not his blessing. James’ problem was that Paul would do or say anything to advance his mission which was to preach the Word of Jesus to the Gentiles. Mind you, the Word of Jesus did not embrace necessarily the actual words Jesus spoke, but the religion that Paul created around the image of the cross and the death of Jesus on the cross. Eternal resurrection of our corporeal selves is a powerful message even in our own day. Indeed, there is ample evidence to conclude that Paul took the very images of the Old Testament, which the Jerusalem Assembly strictly adhered to, and turned them on their head. Instead of discussing the Cup of the Wrath of the Father, Paul turned it into the Cup of the Blood of Christ, the Salvation of mankind. Paul was a very competent servant of the Lord’s when he went about turning a religion that would have died on the vine, into the faith which Christians worship to this day. But Paul’s message in creating the Christ was not the message of Jesus. As the Catholic Church asserts its primacy and orthodoxy on a nebulous passage, bereft of historical accuracy or even internally consistent with other gospel writings, so too does the modern evangelical Christian movement build its foundation on a sandy shore. They have merely replaced the authority of the Bishop of Rome with the authority of the gospels as we know them today. Just as the authority of Rome is suspect, so too is the authority of the New Testament.
Not being one to throw the baby out with the bathwater, I believe that the New Testament books do contain the kernel of knowledge, the essence of Jesus’ philosophy, the gnosis of Jesus, which we should now look at anew; with fresh eyes and open minds. Certainly we can all agree to disagree on many of the finer points of dogma, which are more an historical development than the benign Grace of the Holy Spirit. Cast aside that which divides and prevents you from understanding, not what Paul meant the Christian faith to be; but, what Jesus the man wanted you to learn and know about God the Father. That Jesus is the man who was an itinerate preacher; who drew crowds of many and who performed miracles and spoke to us in parables and obscure stories. By all accounts he was enjoyable company. He could tell a tale at dinner as effectively as he could command the attention of the crowds. No doubt he laughed, he cried, he was as human as you or I. Why think of God as a king on a throne. It’s not only offensive to be locked into world view of God as a king because as Americans, it robs us of a true relationship with God. Why not instead look at Jesus as the prototype of the perfect human, the first Adam, the Standing One who has come to redeem our future lives in God. The smiling face of Jesus is what you should see when you image God, not a king on a throne. Look not to the Wrath of the Father, but to the salvation of the Son. Jesus called himself the Son of Man; take him at his word. Accept the hand of God the Father, which he has extended through the life of Jesus the man; and think of God not as a king on a throne, but as a man smiling at dinner, ever instructing, ever teaching about the true nature of God.
It is a reality that so many people base their salvation on their understanding of the Christian religion through the gospels. That is fine, I am sure God has made provision for the Pauline Christians in his house with many rooms. But I don’t think I want to stay in that wing of God’s house. Perhaps a room with a view please, if I may request such lodgings in advance. Understand that while Jesus may have called Paul to his mission, the Church as you know it is the child of Paul, not Jesus. The teachings of Jesus vastly differ in tone and time, than the teachings of Paul, a man intent of creating a lasting religion. In the 1990’s a group of biblical scholars got together for a seminar. The hundreds of scholars who showed up called themselves the Jesus Seminar. They took every word in the New Testament and added to it every word in the Gospel of Thomas, a book which Irenaeus banished to obscurity. It is a good thing that God preserved the Gospel of Thomas, so that we may be enriched by its wealth. The Jesus Seminar voted on the sentences of the gospels and in the end, after they applied their scholarly methodology and cast pebbles of red, pink, gray and black; they voted on everything and came up with what they felt was the most likely texts which are original to Jesus. The entire wisdom of Jesus the man was voted on to include but 91 sayings. Now if we agree for the sake of argument, that those 91 sayings of Jesus are the only true words which may be attributed to him, then we may separate the religion of Christianity as created by Paul, into the knowledge of Jesus which he himself left to humankind and future generations. If you feel compelled to read the Word and include all the words in the gospels, know this, all but 91 sayings are derivative of another man’s thought and intent. All of Christianity as it is known and taught today is derivative of someone, other than Jesus. So if we can at least agree to disagree on the sum of the derivative works of Christianity, we certainly should be able to agree on those 91 sayings of Jesus as authentic and representative of Jesus’ teachings. And if we let go of the prejudice of the Pauline Church, with its intent and desire to mold the faithful who followed Jesus either Jew or Gentile into one faith, we are free to explore what Jesus himself meant for each of us to know about God the Father, and God’s Imperial Rule.
Below is a listing of the 91 sayings of Jesus as determined by the Jesus Seminar. Whether or not you choose to accept them as the original sayings of Jesus largely depends on how much faith you place in the gospels. If you believe that every word of the gospel is written by the authority of the Holy Spirit, then you must accept for the sake of argument alone that the 91 sayings of Jesus are true and accurate. And if you would indulge my eccentricity and accept that I give credence to only the 91 sayings of Jesus to determine what Jesus the man meant to teach us, then we may debate the meaning of Jesus, without reference to the derivative works of Paul. So the rules of the debate are this, you may argue anything you want about what you believe the meaning of Jesus to be; but, you may only use the 91 sayings of Jesus as determined by the Jesus Seminar as your authority. The debate then has only one authority and that is the essential teachings of Jesus, sans Paul, sans James, sans Peter and the two thousand years of Christianity since. Red carries the most weight as the majority of the scholars thought red most accurately reflects what Jesus actually said; pink represents something that likely carries the meaning of what Jesus said, if not the actual words; gray is less than 50%, so its just as likely as not that Jesus said it; black is generally believed to be not authentic to Jesus. So in this context and in this context alone, let the debate begin.
INDEX OF RED & PINK LETTER SAYINGS
Title Av. Rank Color
1. Other cheek (Q)
Matt 5:39 .92 1 Red
Luke 6:29a .92 1 Red
2. Coat & shirt (Q)
Matt 5:40 .92 1 Red
Luke 6:29b .90 3 Red
3. Congratulations, poor! (Q, Thomas)
Luke 6:20 .91 2 Red
Thomas 54 .90 3 Red
Matt 5:3 .63 22 Pink
4. Second mile (Q)
Matt 5:41 .90 3 Red
5. Love of enemies (Q)
Luke 6:27b .84 4 Red
Matt 5:44ba .77 9 Red
Luke 6:32, 35a .56 29 Pink
6. Leaven (Q, Thomas)
Luke 13:20-21 .83 5 Red
Matt 13:33a .83 5 Red
Thom 96:1-2 .65 20 Pink
7. Emperor & God (Thomas, Mark)
Thom 100:2b .82 6 Red
Mark 12:17b .82 6 Red
Luke 20:25b .82 6 Red
Matt 22:21 c .82 6 Red
8. Give to beggars (Q)
Matt 5.42a .81 7 Red
9. The Samaritan (L)
Luke 10:30-35 .81 7 Red
10. Congratulations, hungry! (Q, Thomas)
Luke 6:21a .79 8 Red
Matt 5:6 .59 26 Pink
Thom 69:2 .53 32 Pink
11. Congratulations, sad! (Q)
Luke 6:21b .79 8 Red
Matt 5:4 .73 13 Pink
12. Shrewd manager (L)
Luke 16:1-8a .77 9 Red
13. Vineyard laborers (M)
Matt 20:1-15 .77 9 Red
14. Abba, Father (Q)
Luke 11:2b .77 9 Red
Matt 6:9b .77 9 Red
Matt 6:9c .17 68 Black
15. Mustard seed (Thomas, Mark,Q)
Thom 20:2-4 .76 10 Red
Mark 4:30-32 .74 12 Pink
Luke 13:18-19 .69 17 Pink
Matt 13:31-32 .67 19 Pink
16. 0n anxieties: don't fret (Thomas, Q)
Thom 36:1 .75 11 Pink
Luke 12:22-23 .75 11 Pink
Matt 6:25 .75 11 Pink
17. Lost Coin (L)
Luke 15:8-9 .75 11 Pink
Matt 12:35 .31 54 Gray
Thom 45:2-3 .31 54 Gray
Thom 45: lb .26 59 Gray
Thom 45:4 .24 57 Black
Matt 12:34 .24 57 Black
Luke 6:45b .24 57 Black
18. Foxes have dens (Q, Thomas)
Luke 9:58 .74 12 Pink
Matt 8:20 .74 12 Pink
Thom 86:1-2 .67 19 Pink
19. No respect at home (Thomas, John, Mark)
Thom 31:1 .74 12 Pink
Luke 4:24 .71 15 Pink
John 4:44 .67 19 Pink
Matt 13:57 .60 25 Pink
Mark 6:4 .58 27 Pink
20. Friend at midnight (L)
Luke 11:5-8 .72 14 Pink
21. Two masters (Q, Thomas)
Luke 16:13a .72 14 Pink
Matt 6:24a .72 14 Pink
Thom 47:2 .65 20 Pink
Luke 16:13b .59 26 Pink
Matt 6:24b .59 26 Pink
22. Treasure (M, Thomas)
Matt 13:44 .71 15 Pink
Thom 109:1-3 .54 31 Pink
23. Lost sheep (Q, Thomas)
Luke 15:4-6 .70 16 Pink
Matt 18:12-13 .67 19 Pink
Thom 107:1-3 .48 37 Gray
24. What goes in (Mark, Thomas)
Mark 7:14-15 .70 16 Pink
Thom 14:5 .67 19 Pink
Matt 15:10-11 .63 22 Pink
25. Corrupt judge (L)
Luke 18:2-5 .70 16 Pink
26. Prodigal son (L)
Luke 15:11-32 .70 16 Pink
27. Leave the dead (Q)
Matt 8:22 .70 16 Pink
Luke 9:59-60 .69 17 Pink
28. Castration for Heaven (M)
Matt 19:12a .70 16 Pink
29. By their fruit (Q, Thomas)
Matt 7:16b .69 17 Pink
Thom 45: la .69 17 Pink
Luke 6:44b .56 29 Pink
Matt 12:33a .44 41 Gray
Matt 7:17-18 .44 41 Gray
Luke 6:43 .44 41 Gray
Matt 7:20 .33 52 Gray
Matt 12:33b .33 52 Gray
Matt 7:16a .33 52 Gray
Luke 6:44a .33 52 Gray
Luke 6:45a .31 54 Gray
30. The dinner party,
The wedding celebration (Thomas, Q)
Thom 64:1-11 .69 17 Pink
Luke 14:16-23 .56 29 Pink
Matt 22:2-13 .26 59 Gray
Luke 14:24 .00 85 Black
Thom 64:12 .00 85 Black
31. On anxieties: lilies (Q, Thomas)
Luke 12:27-28 .68 18 Pink
Matt 6:28b-30 .68 18 Pink
Thom 36:2 .68 18 Pink
32. Pearl (Thomas, M)
Thom 76:1-2 .68 18 Pink
Matt 13:45-46 .68 18 Pink
33. On anxieties: birds (Q)
Luke 12:24 .67 19 Pink
Matt 6:26 .67 19 Pink
34. Eye of a needle (Mark)
Matt 19:24 .67 19 Pink
Luke 18:25 .65 20 Pink
Mark 10:25 .64 21 Pink
35. Lord's prayer: revere name (Q)
Luke 11:2d .67 19 Pink
Matt 6:9d .67 19 Pink
36. Lord's prayer: impose rule (Q)
Luke 11:2e .67 19 Pink
Matt 6: l0a .58 27 Pink
37. Mountain city (M, Thomas)
Matt 5:14b .67 19 Pink
Thomas 32 .54 31 Pink
38. Satan's fall (L)
Luke 10:18 .67 19 Pink
39. Sly as a snake (M, Thomas)
Matt 10:16b .67 19 Pink
Thom 39:3 .67 19 Pink
40. The assassin (Thomas)
Thom 98:1-3 .65 20 Pink
41. Lend without return (Thomas, Q)
Thomas 95:1-2 .65 24 Pink
Matt 5:42b .51 34 Pink
Luke 6:34 .44 41 Gray
Luke 6:35c .27 58 Gray
Matt 10:29-31 .56 29 Pink
Luke 21:18 .27 58 Gray
42. Demons by the finger of God
(by God's spirit) (Q)
Luke 11:19-20 .64 21 Pink
Matt 12:27-28 .56 29 Pink
43. Placing the lamp, Lamp & bushel
(Q, Mark, Thomas)
Luke 8:16 .63 22 Pink
Luke 11:33 .63 22 Pink
Mark 4:21 .63 22 Pink
Matt 5:15 .63 22 Pink
Thom 33:2-3 .63 22 Pink
44. Seed & harvest (Mark, Thomas)
Mark 4:26-29 .63 22 Pink
Thom 21:9 .46 39 Gray
45. Unforgiving slave (M)
Matt 18:23-34 .63 22 Pink
46. On anxieties: clothing (Q)
Matt 6:28a .62 23 Pink
47. Scholars' privileges (Q, Mark)
Luke 20:46 .61 24 Pink
Mark 12:38-39 .61 24 Pink
Matt 23:5-7 .53 32 Pink
Luke 11:43 .53 32 Pink
48. The leased vineyard (Thomas, Mark)
Thom 65:1-7 .61 24 Pink
Thomas 66 .00 85 Black
Mark 12:1-8 .27 58 Gray
Mark 12:9-11 .00 85 Black
Matt 21:33-39 .27 58 Gray
Matt 21:40-43 .00 85 Black
Luke 20:9-15a .27 58 Gray
Luke 20:15b-18 .00 85 Black
49. Left & right hands (M, Thomas)
Matt 6:3 .60 25 Pink
Thom 62:2 .60 25 Pink
50. Sliver & timber (Thomas, Q)
Thom 26:1-2 .60 25 Pink
Matt 7:3-5 .56 29 Pink
Luke 6:41-42 .54 31 Pink
51. True relatives (Mark, Thomas)
Matt 12:48-50 .60 25 Pink
Thom 99:2 .52 33 Pink
Luke 8:21 .50 35 Gray
Mark 3:33-35 .43 42 Gray
Thom 99:3 .27 58 Gray
52. Lord's prayer: bread (Q)
Matt 6:11 .60 25 Pink
Luke 11:3 .35 50 Gray
53. God & sparrows (Q)
Luke 12:6-7 .60 25 Pink
Luke 8:17 .54 31 Pink
Thom 6:6 .50 35 Gray
Mark 4:22 .38 47 Gray
Thom 5:3 (Greek) .00 85 Black
Thom 6:4 .00 85 BIack
Matt 10:26a .00 85 Black
54. Rich farmer, Rich investor (Thomas, L)
Thom 63:1-6 .60 25 Pink
Luke 12:16-20 .59 26 Pink
55. Money in trust (Q)
Luke 19:13, 15-24 .59 26 Pink
Matt 25:14-28 .59 26 Pink
56. Coming of God's imperial rule (Thomas, Q)
Thom 113:2-4 .59 26 Pink
Luke 17:20-21 .57 28 Pink
Thom 51:2 .00 85 Black
57. Good gifts (Q)
Matt 7:9-11 .59 26 Pink
Luke 11:11-13 .43 42 Gray
58. Powerful man (Mark, Q, Thomas)
Mark 3:27 .59 26 Pink
Matt 12:29 .59 26 Pink
Thorn 35:1-2 .59 26 Pink
Luke 11:21-22 .57 28 Pink.
59. First & last (Q, Thomas, Mark)
Matt 20:16 .58 27 Pink
Mark 10:31 .50 35 Gray
Matt 19:30 .50 35 Gray
Luke 13:30 .47 38 Gray
Thom 4:2 .45 40 Gray
Thom 4:3 .00 85 Black
60. Salting the salt (Mark, Q)
Mark 9:50a .58 27 Pink
Luke 14:34-35a .58 27 Pink
Matt 5:13b .53 32 Pink
61. Pharisee & toll collector (L)
Luke 18:10-14a .58 27 Pink
62. Lord's prayer: debts (Q)
Matt 6:12 .58 27 Pink
Luke 11:4a-b .35 50 Gray
63. Forgiveness for forgiveness (Mark)
Luke 6:37c .57 28 Pink
Mark 11:25 .50 35 Gray
Matt 6:14-15 .45 40 Gray
64. Satan divided (Q, Mark)
Luke 11:17-18 .57 28 Pink
Matt 12:25-26 .50 35 Gray
Mark 3:23-26 .44 41 Gray
65. Hidden & revealed, Veiled & unveiled
(Thomas, Q, Mark)
Thom 5.2 .51 28 Pink
Thom 6:5 .55 30 Pink
Luke 12:2 .55 30 Pink
Matt 10:26b .54 31 Pink
Matt 5:25-26 .52 33 Pink
66. Inside & outside
Thom 89:1-2 .57 28 Pink
Matt 23:25-26 .35 50 Gray
Luke 11:39-41 .32 53 Gray
67. Fasting & wedding (Mark, Thomas)
Mark 2:19 .56 29 Pink
Matt 9:15a .56 29 Pink
Luke 5:34 .56 29 Pink
Thom 104:2 .16 69 Black
Thom 104:3 .13 72 Black
Luke 5:35 .04 81 Black
Mark 2:20 .04 81 Black
Matt 9:15b .04 81 Black
68. Better than sinners: love (Q)
Luke 6:32 .56 29 Pink
Matt 5:46 .53 32 Pink
69. Hating one's family (Q, Thomas)
Luke 14:26 .56 29 Pink
Thom 55:1-2a .49 36 Gray
Matt 10:37 .39 46 Gray
Thom 101:1-3 .20 65 Black
70. Narrow door (Q)
Luke 13:24 .56 29 Pink
Matt 7:13-14 .37 48 Gray
71. Lord of the sabbath (Mark)
Mark 2:27-28 .55 30. Pink
Matt 12:8 .37 48 Gray
Luke 6:5 .37 48 Gray
72. Difficult with money (Mark)
Mark 10:23 .55 30 Pink
Luke 18:24 .52 33 Pink
Matt 19:23 .51 34 Pink
73. Barren tree (L)
Luke 13:6-9 .54 31 Pink
74. Sower (Mark, Thomas)
Mark 43-8 .54 31 Pink
Matt 13:3-8 .53 32 Pink
Thom 9:1-5 .52 33 Pink
Luke 8:5-8a .50 35 Pink
75. On anxieties: one hour (Q)
Luke 12:25 .54 31 Pink
Matt 6:27 .54 31 Pink
76. Before the judge (Q)
Luke 12:58-59 .53 32 Pink
Matt 5:25-26 .52 33 Pink
77. Empty jar (Thomas)
Thom 97:1-4 .53 32 Pink
78. Better than sinners: sunrise (Q)
Matt 5:45b .53 32 Pink
79. Into the wilderness (Q,Thomas)
Matt 11:7-8 .52 33 Pink
Thom 78:1-2 .51 34 Pink
Luke 7:24-25 .50 35 Pink
Thom 78:3 .32 53 Gray
80. Wineskins (Thomas, Mark)
Thom 47:4 .52 33 Pink
Luke 5:37-38 .52 33 Pink
Mark 2:22 .52 33 Pink
Matt 9:17 .49 36 Gray
81 .Instructions for the road house (Q)
Luke 10:7a .52 33 Pink
82. Children in God's domain (Mark, Thomas)
Mark 10:14b .52 33 Pink
Matt 19:14 .52 33 Pink
Luke 18:16 .52 33 Pink
83. Return of evil spirit (Q)
Luke 11:24-26 .52 33 Pink
Matt 12:43-45 .43 42 Gray
84. Fire on earth (Thomas, Q)
Thom 10 .52 33 Pink
Luke 12:49 .36 49 Gray
85. Saving one's life (Q, Mark, John)
Luke 17:33 .52 33 Pink
Matt 16:25 .39 46 Gray
Matt 10:39 .39 46 Gray
Luke 9:24 .39 46 Gray
John 12:25 .30 55 Gray
Mark 8:35 .24 61 Black
86. Ask, seek, knock (Q, Thomas)
Matt 7:7-8 .51 34 Pink
87. Aged wine (L, Thomas)
Luke 5:39a .51 34 Pink
Thom 47:3 .51 34 Pink
Luke 5:39b .23 62 Black
88. Able-bodied & sick
(Gospel Fragment 1224, Mark)
GosFr 1224 5:2 .51 34 Pink
Matt 9:12 .51 34 Pink
Mark 2:17a .51 34 Pink
Luke 5:31 .51 34 Pink
89. Have & have not (Thomas, Mark, Q)
Thom 41:1-2 .51 34 Pink
Mark 4:25 .51 34 Pink
Luke 8:18b .51 34 Pink
Matt 25:29 .49 36 Gray
Matt 13:12 .49 36 Gray
Luke 19:26 .49 36 Gray
90. Instructions for the road: eat (Thomas, Q)
Thom 14:4a .51 34 Pink
Luke 10:8 .51 34 Pink
91. Become passersby (Thomas)
Thomas 42 .50 35 Gray
(This is the only saying on which the Seminar was evenly divided: The same number of Fellows voted red and pink as voted gray and black)
