Texts in Conversation
Luke has Jesus speak of two people in one bed on that night, one taken and the other left. In the Gospel of Thomas the two rest on a couch and one dies while the other lives, with nothing said about the end of the age.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Luke 17:34
New Testament
33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
Gospel of Thomas 1:61
Nag Hammadi
60 They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, “Why is that man carrying the lamb?” They said to him, “So that he may kill it and eat it.” He said to them, “While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse.” They said, “Otherwise he cannot do it.” He said to them, “So also with you: seek for yourselves a place of rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.” 61 Jesus said, “Two will rest on a couch; one will die, one will live.” Salome said, “Who are you, man? As if from One, you have ascended onto my couch and eaten at my table.” Jesus said, “I am he who comes from the one who is whole. I was given from my Father’s things.” Salome said, “I am your disciple.” Jesus said, “For this reason I say, if one is whole, he will be filled with light; but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness.” 62 Jesus said, “I speak my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
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Notes and References
“... On the other hand, several logia in Thomas lack the catastrophic eschatological overtones of their canonical counterparts. [...] The dialogue between Jesus and Salome in Thomas 61 lacks any of the eschatological themes that surround the Q parallel to logion 61:1 (Q2 17:23-4, 26-30, 34-5, 37), and it may well be that the traditional division of Thomas into logia is misleading here; it is possible (even probable) that 61:2-5 was set in the collection after 61:1 merely because of the Coptic catchword bed/couch [...]. As it stands, however, Thomas 61 develops the statement of 61:1 into a protological rather than an eschatological discourse. In Q the saying is set within a lengthy discourse about the tribulations accompanying the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew and Luke intensify the apocalyptic character of the discourse. Luke inserts an otherwise freely-circulating reversal saying (17:33: “Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it”). ...”
Marshall, John W.
"The Gospel of Thomas and the Cynic Jesus" in Arnal, William E., and Michel Desjardins (eds.) Whose Historical Jesus?
(p. 54) Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1997
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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