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Didache

About this book
Does the Didache Represent a Torah Observant Christian Faction? Debated

Closing Advice on the Two Ways

Chapter 6

1 Be careful that no one leads you astray from this Way of teaching, for those who do so are teaching you without God. 2 If you can bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect;⁠ but if you cannot, do what you can.⁠ 3 Regarding food, eat what you can tolerate, but always avoid food that has been offered to idols, as it represents the worship of lifeless gods.

Texts in conversation

Compare Didache 6:2 and Gospel of Thomas 67

Early Christian · Nag Hammadi

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Summary

The Didache allows people who cannot meet every demand to do what they can. Jesus allows no such compromise in the Gospel of Thomas, where knowing everything is still worthless if something is missing within the person.

Passages

Didache 6:2

Early Christian
1 Be careful that no one leads you astray from this Way of teaching, for those who do so are teaching you without God. 2 If you can bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you cannot, do what you can. 3 Regarding food, eat what you can tolerate, but always avoid food that has been offered to idols, as it represents the worship of lifeless gods.
90–120 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Didache

Gospel of Thomas 67

Nag Hammadi
66 Jesus said, “Show me the stone that the builders rejected; that is the cornerstone.” 67 Jesus said, “Whoever knows all but lacks within himself lacks everything.” 68 Jesus said, “Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. But wherever they have persecuted you, they will find no place.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... The saying makes the point that only complete knowledge is valid for the true disciple; it is not possible to select some elements of Thomasine knowledge and reject others. Presumably this might be a temptation for those who want to belong both to the Thomas movement as well as to other religious groups, or the saying is a warning against the kind of provision for imperfection attested in the Didache: ‘for if you are able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you cannot, do what you can’ (Did. 6.2). A polemic against a particular rival group laying claim to knowledge falsely so-called is also possible. ...”
Simon Gathercole, The Gospel of Thomas: Introduction and Commentary (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 467–468.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Didache 6:2 and Gospel of Thomas 67

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