gospel of Thomas 39

Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge (gnosis) and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

This saying of Jesus serves as a warning – a warning against the establishment, the effects of an organised religion. The Pharisees were a sect within Judaism. Remember, Jesus was a Jew. Judaism was his world. And at that time, there was something of a power struggle going on between various sections of Judaism. And the Pharisees had come to dominate.

This always happens: once a religion has become established, orthodox, then the little power struggles start. People with slightly different interpretations of teachings get all worked up about that interpretation and get angry at other people, who have a different interpretation. And then followers group together behind one interpretation or another. And before you know it, there is something like a battle going on. And religion has turned from something sublime and intimate into a nightmare.

And this is the peculiar ability of the unenlightened mind: to turn anything into a disaster. Things that should be bringing us great joy can be turned into the worst possible scenario. It happens with sex, and it happens with religion, to mention just two examples.

For one who has found the truth for himself, the organised religions begin to look horrific. And this was the case for Jesus. An enlightened one is the worst possible thing in the eyes of unenlightened people whose business is religion. The enlightened one is a great threat to their business. Their business may be for financial profit. But more likely, it's for psychological power. A priest has great power over his flock.

And so it was in the time of Jesus, as it still is today. And of course, most priests are not enlightened. They have not seen the truth for themselves. They are merely reading scriptures, without any depth of understanding from their own experience. They have not yet met God. And they should not be teaching. But alas, the organised religions need priests. And that's the way it goes. The whole thing decays into a farce.

So Jesus was no fan of the Pharisees, and here he speaks against them. And the scribes – the scribes write things down. This is another important point to understand: that a few thousand years ago, everything was passed orally, by the spoken word. People remembered it and passed it on, but nobody wrote anything down. And then writing came along, and just a few people knew how to read and write. And that was a business. They became scribes. And with this written record, something is lost. The written word is more stale than even the spoken word. The spoken word can carry emotional energy. It can hint at that which is beyond words. But once teachings are written down, they become dry, dead.

So Jesus says, The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and hidden them. The Pharisees and the scribes have claimed authority in religious matters. They've disempowered the people. And all organised religions do this, even if unintentionally. It's their business. They rely on having religious authority. They take it, even if it is not given. And in this way, the ordinary people feel that they cannot attain their own truth. The best they can do is go to a priest and ask him to connect them to God in some way.

But you cannot meet God through an intermediary. It's not possible. The only way to meet God is to go inside yourself, and find him there; find that you are him. You yourself are God. You're not the whole of God, of course. God is all that is. But that includes you, exactly as you are.

Anyway, Jesus laments the fact that the Pharisees and the scribes have made it impossible for people to reach the truth for themselves. These Pharisees and the scribes have hidden the keys of knowledge, of gnosis. But Jesus goes on, the Pharisees and the scribes themselves have not entered. They are holding the keys, not allowing anyone else to enter. And they themselves have not entered.

Once you have entered the kingdom of heaven, once you have passed over, then life is completely different. Then you cannot wield power in the same way over other people. There is no urge to do so. And you cannot make a business out of religious teachings. Again, there is no urge to do so. And yet, it is only when one has entered, that one is really in a space to teach, to pass something on to others. And in fact, it is really a case of encouraging others to find the truth for themselves.

So here Jesus is giving us a warning. Be wary of the organised religions. That's rarely the way to come home to yourself, to find the truth, to come to live in the light.

And Jesus finishes with this lovely sentence: You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Here Jesus is using two of the ancient symbols that have popped up in many different cultures. Be as wise as serpents. After the time of Jesus, a bit later on in Christianity, the serpent began to have a very negative image, because of its role in seducing Eve into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge, in the garden of Eden. But at the time Jesus was talking, the serpent wasn't seen as evil, it had nothing to do with the devil.

The serpent symbolised wisdom – wisdom and knowledge. That's why the serpent was the one that could encourage Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent was a wise one. And here Jesus is saying, you also be wise. That is, have some discernment in your religious endeavour. Don't just fall for what the Pharisees and the scribes are telling you. Rely on your own innate wisdom. That will be a more faithful guide for you.

And be as innocent as doves. The dove, again, is symbolic – symbolic of purity and of innocence. And innocence is one of the characteristics of our true nature, of our original self. We are all innocent, as innocent as a newborn babe; as pure as a newborn. And Jesus is reminding us to be that, to be innocent. For it is all too easy to become jaded, cynical, in the modern sense of the word, and lose the feeling of innocence.

So Jesus is saying, despite the Pharisees and the scribes, don't give up on your spirituality. Don't give up on the search for truth. Be open and be innocent in this endeavour. It will lead you home, without the need of the priest to stand between you and God.