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Sophia of Jesus Christ

About this book

Mother Sophia and Yaldabaoth

Chapter 10

Mary asked him: “Holy Lord, from where did your disciples originate, and to where are they going, and how should they act here?”⁠ The perfect Savior said to them: “I desire that you know that Sophia, the Mother of the World and the consort, by herself, without her male (counterpart), wanted to bring these into existence. However, by the will of the Father of the World, so that his ungraspable benevolence could be manifested, he created the curtain between the immortals and those that arrived thereafter, that the result could follow that [...] [...] and breath, and could from two become one, just as it was from the beginning, that you could produce much fruit and ascend to He Who Is from the beginning, in unspeakable joy and glory, and [honor and] the gift of [the Father of the World]. [Consequently], whoever knows [the Father in perfect] knowledge [will go] to the Father [and repose in] the unbegotten [Father]. However, [whoever knows him imperfectly] will go [to the deficiency] and the repose [of the Ogdoad]. [Now], whoever silently knows the immortal [Spirit] of light, by reflecting and agreeing with the truth, if he gives to me signs of the Invisible One, he will become a light in the silent Spirit. Whoever knows the Son of Man in knowledge and love, if he gives me a sign of the Son of Man, he can go to the dwelling-places of those in the Ogdoad.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sophia of Jesus Christ 10:1 and Gospel of Thomas 21

Nag Hammadi

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Summary

Mary asks where the disciples came from and what they should do in the Sophia dialogue. In the Gospel of Thomas, she asks what they are like, so her questions again introduce Jesus' teaching about the disciples, but on a different subject.

Passages

Sophia of Jesus Christ 10:1

Nag Hammadi
Mary asked him: “Holy Lord, from where did your disciples originate, and to where are they going, and how should they act here?” The perfect Savior said to them: “I desire that you know that Sophia, the Mother of the World and the consort, by herself, without her male (counterpart), wanted to bring these into existence. However, by the will of the Father of the World, so that his ungraspable benevolence could be manifested, he created the curtain between the immortals and those that arrived thereafter, that the result could follow that [...]
50–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Sophia of Jesus Christ

Gospel of Thomas 21

Nag Hammadi
20 The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.” He said to them, “It is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds; but when it falls on plowed soil it produces a great plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky.” 21 Mary said to Jesus, “Whom are your disciples like?” He said, “They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, ‘Give our field back to us.’ They take off their clothes in front of them to give it back and return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owner of a house knows that a thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes and will not let him break into the house of his kingdom and steal his goods. So you should keep watch against the world; gird your loins with great strength so that the robbers do not find a way to come to you, for the difficulties you expect will arise. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the crop ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.”
135–200 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Gospel of Thomas

References

“... Mary Magdalene and Salome are not depicted as the ones who misunderstand, but as the ones who at least do not yet understand enough. They do not seem to have attained a level of perception similar to that of Thomas. Both of them are involved in a discussion which elucidates the nature of discipleship. [...] It looks as if one can be a disciple in one sense without being a disciple in the Thomasine sense. The same seems to be true in logion 21. Logion 21 begins with Mary Magdalene's question about the characteristics of the disciples. [...] Clearly, the question implies that [...] she wants and needs to get more information about this matter. [...] In the Sophia of Jesus Christ Mary [...] also asks a question about the disciples (III/4 114,8-12). However, [...] Gos. Thom. 21 the focus of Mary's question is on the essence of discipleship, whereas in Soph. Jes. Chr. III/4 114,8-12 she seeks to know where the disciples come from, where they will go, and what their task is on the earth. ...”
Antti Marjanen, The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents, NHMS 40 (Leiden: Brill, 1996), 41–42.

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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Sophia of Jesus Christ 10:1 and Gospel of Thomas 21

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