Why the Gospel of Thomas Didn’t Make It Into the Bible
The Gospel of Thomas is a famous apocryphal text discovered in 1945 as part of the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt. Unlike the canonical Gospels, it contains no narrative about Jesus’ life, death, or resurrection. Instead, it is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. This different format and its theological content were key reasons for its exclusion from the biblical canon.
Here is a list of reasons why the Gospel of Thomas was not included in the Bible.
- (❌) Late Date and Gnostic Association: Scholars believe the Gospel of Thomas was written in the 2nd century, significantly later than the canonical Gospels. More importantly, it is considered a key text of Gnosticism, a religious movement that the early Church rejected as heresy. Its late date and association with a non-mainstream theological group meant it was not accepted as a legitimate account of Jesus’ teachings.
- (❌) Lack of a Passion Narrative: The canonical Gospels are united by their focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Thomas, however, completely omits this central passion narrative. From a biblical perspective, the cross and the empty tomb are the core of the Christian faith, and any text that ignores them cannot be considered an authentic Gospel.
- (❌) A Different View of Salvation: The Gospel of Thomas teaches that salvation comes from gaining secret knowledge (known as gnosis) about one’s divine origin, a key Gnostic belief. This stands in direct opposition to the biblical teaching that salvation is a free gift received through faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning death and his resurrection.
- (❌) Contradictory Teachings: Some of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas are enigmatic or directly contradict the teachings in the New Testament. For example, in saying 114, Jesus says, “For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.” This kind of esoteric and counter-intuitive teaching was inconsistent with the clear, public message of Jesus found in the canonical books.
In summary, the Gospel of Thomas was excluded from the Bible because it was a late text tied to a heretical movement, it lacked the core narrative of the crucifixion and resurrection, and it presented a concept of salvation based on secret knowledge rather than faith.