gospel of Thomas 13

Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell me whom I am like."

Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel."

Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher."

Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like."

Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out." And he took him and withdrew, and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?"

Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up."

This is an intriguing little story. What do we make of it? Jesus asked his disciples to compare him to someone and tell him who he was like. Well, here Jesus is being a bit playful. He is testing his disciples. Compare me – you see, we are incomparable. Actually, everyone is incomparable. No one can be compared to another, meaningfully.

And the enlightened ones, including Jesus, of course, feel this at the core of their being. Because to reach enlightenment, we have to touch the absolute that is present within us. And the absolute is shared between all. It is not a personal thing at all. And something that is common to the whole has nothing to be compared against. That's why it is the absolute, not a relative thing at all.

And the beautiful thing about dwelling in the absolute, is that the manifest world – of duality, of variety, of uniqueness – the manifest world, which is so relative in its very nature, becomes greatly appreciated, just as it is. And there's no need to compare anything in it. That tendency to compare comes from the unenlightened mind, as it thrashes around in its ignorance, trying to find truth. It tries to find truth by comparison. From the comparison come value judgements, prejudices. The whole way normal people operate in the world is based on comparing. And this has to go, if our spiritual flowering is to happen.

Jesus knows this, of course, and he's testing his disciples: compare me. It's a trick question. Simon Peter falls for it totally: You are like a righteous angel. Well, what's he doing here? He's saying, yes, he appreciates Jesus. You're righteous. You're an angel. It's true. But Simon Peter is also just trying to impress Jesus, hoping that Jesus will like him and like his answer. You know all this crazy game that goes on between people. So Simon Peter fails the test totally.

Next comes Matthew: You are like a wise philosopher. Oh, this is even worse: a philosopher. No, you've missed the point totally. Yes, Jesus is wise. But the wisdom, the teachings, are not philosophy. They are from a lived experience, moment to moment, day by day, reality. The teachings of Jesus are an expression of something that is alive, not some dull philosophy of the mind. So Matthew fails even more totally than Simon Peter had.

Next comes Thomas. Now we have to be a bit careful because this is the Gospel of Thomas. I don't know if it's the same Thomas or not. But if it is the same Thomas, then who knows whether his record of this little test is accurate. But I think it must be. Because look at what Thomas said: Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like. Beautiful. He may also be just trying to impress the master, saying you're so far above me that I can't even think of who you are like. I can't say anything about it. That's one possible interpretation.

But something else is possible here. Thomas has seen that Jesus is incomparable, cannot be compared. And when we see something like that in the master, if we are really attentive, and bold, we can suddenly apply it to ourself, and everything else. Remember, what we see in the master is a reflection of something in ourself, always. So Thomas may have seen that Jesus could not be compared. And in that moment he may have realised: I, Thomas, also, cannot be compared. There is no point in comparing. The whole comparing mind may have dropped away at that moment.

And this seems quite likely, because next Jesus said, firstly, I am not your master. This is really important for masters to keep saying. I am not your master. It's paradoxical, isn't it? Jesus is a master, yes. But he's not somebody's master. He doesn't relate to somebody from that mastership. It's just what he is, a master. Not a master over somebody. He doesn't want disciples. This is what he's saying. I'm not your master.

Although there's another possibility and it may be that he had seen that Thomas had had such a breakthrough, that Thomas himself had become enlightened in that moment. I don't think that's what had happened, but it's a possible interpretation. In which case, even if Jesus had been the master of Thomas a moment before, that's no longer the case. When one reaches enlightenment, the relationship with a master dissolves. It's no longer needed. There is no longer a master disciple relationship. So that's another possibility here.

And now such a beautiful sentence: Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. Ah, yes. Existence is a bubbling spring. Its vitalising waters are bubbling up over us the whole time, especially in the teachings of a master like Jesus. Jesus has measured out this vitalising water from the bubbling spring. The bubbling spring is existence. Ah, forever fresh. Always so vital.

And of course, if we receive that bubbling water, if we are open to it, then we become intoxicated by it. Has it ever happened to you? Just seeing a butterfly, you feel drunk with ecstasy. So much beauty, just fluttering by without one asking for it, without one searching for it – just a gift from existence. So this is the way when we are open to life. We become intoxicated, by everything, everything in existence. And certainly by the teachings of a master like Jesus. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated. Yes, beautiful.

Next, Jesus took Thomas aside and told him three things. Wow, we don't actually get to find out what these three things are. And then watch the mind. It wants to know. It starts guessing. Maybe Jesus said this. Maybe he said that. And of course, the other disciples were also interested: What did Jesus say to you?

Well, Thomas, in his reply, begins to show something of paradox. It's a good sign too. A sign that his mind had really shifted into a different space. Thomas replied, if I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me. Wow, what would cause such friends to do that? They've been so close.

But of course, if disciples are unenlightened, and one becomes enlightened, and the master confirms it, then the other disciples are so jealous, so envious, they can't accept it. They want to kill that person who's become enlightened. The day before, he was an equal. And now it's as if he's become the favoured one in the master's eyes. It's not like that at all – the master doesn't favour anyone, enlightened or unenlightened. But for the unenlightened ones, everything is a competitive business. Even the spiritual search.

So it could be that Jesus had confirmed a transformation in Thomas. And Thomas has realised, wow, I can't even tell my friends about this, or they're going to kill me.

And Thomas goes on – and these words have something of a master about them – a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up. Ah, yes, ah, yes. Just in that expression of anger, something would happen. It's a bit like Jesus being nailed to the cross. What a disaster for humanity. And yet at the same time, Christians have been taking solace in that, saying that he died for their sins. They have been getting relief from it.

And with Thomas, if his friends had stoned him, stoned him to death perhaps, then in the very act, the anger coming out of the disciples would have burnt something in them – would have burnt up their ego perhaps. This is the fire, the fire that would have come out of the stones. It's the fire within oneself that comes when anger and competitiveness is being expressed. Of course, usually it doesn't have a positive effect. Sometimes, sometimes it can, in a strange, roundabout way.

So this saying from the Gospel of Thomas seems to be good news for Thomas. Something has happened to him here. Something beautiful.