Texts in Conversation
In Mark, two becoming one describes husband and wife. In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus includes inside and outside, above and below, extending language about marriage to other divisions that must also disappear.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Mark 10:8
New Testament
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts. 6 But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, 8 and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Gospel of Thomas 22
Nag Hammadi
22 Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.” They said to him, “Then shall we enter the kingdom as little ones?” Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same—so that the male will not be male and the female not be female—when you fashion eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].” 23 Jesus said, “I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one.”
Search:
Notes and References
“... 22.4 Jesus said to them, ‘When you make the two one.’ This is central to Jesus’ mission according to Thomas (GTh 11; 72; 106, though cf. 16), where he is concerned with inculcating unity. There is some focus here on the reversal of the division of humanity into male and female, with the language resembling that of marriage (Mk 10.8; Matt. 19.5–6; cf. Gen. 2.24). The point is broader, however, because other elements are mentioned before the reference to gender in 22.5 (cf. the different context of ‘making the two one’ in Eph. 2.14–16). ...”
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,