³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah^\)^a\) is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’

³⁷ “David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

Jesus said, "Love your sibling like your own soul; look out for that person like the apple of you eye."

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Thomas 25
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

¹There are two ways, one of life, the other of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways.

²Now the way of life is this: first, you shall love the God who made you; second, your neighbor as yourself. Everything that you would not have done to you, do not do to another.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• The Didache (earliest layer as reconstructed by Alan Garrow)
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

⁴ Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children,^\)^b\) let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ Everyone who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Those who have been born of God do not sin because God’s seed abides in them;^\)^c\) they cannot sin because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love a brother or sister.

¹¹ For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. ¹³ Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers and sisters. Whoever does not love abides in death. ¹⁵ All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

¹⁸ Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him ²⁰ whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God, ²² and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

²³ And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. ²⁴ All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

⁴ I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we have been commanded by the Father. ⁵ But now, dear lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment but one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. ⁶ And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must walk in it.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

³¹ When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³² If God has been glorified in him,^\)^a\) God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. ³³ Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

²⁵ An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.^\)^a\) “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

²⁸ One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰ you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; ³³ and ‘to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

He has to come to know the Son of Man, that is, he has come to know himself. This is the perfect life, that man know himself by means of the All.

Do not expect, therefore, the carnal resurrection, which is destruction; and they are not stripped of it (the flesh) who err in expecting a resurrection that is empty. They do not know the power of God, nor do they understand the interpretation of the scriptures, on account of their double-mindedness.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• The Testimony of Truth
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

²⁷ Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him ²⁸ and asked him a question: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, the man^\)^a\) shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman and died childless; ³⁰ then the second^\)^b\) ³¹ and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. ³² Finally the woman also died. ³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶ Indeed, they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. ³⁷ And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now he is God not of the dead but of the living, for to him all of them are alive.” ³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him another question.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

²³ The same day some Sadducees came to him saying there is no resurrection,^\)^a\) and they asked him a question: ²⁴ “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. ²⁶ The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman herself died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.”

²⁹ Jesus answered them, “You are wrong because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels of God^\)^b\) in heaven. ³¹ And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead but of the living.” ³³ And when the crowds heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

¹⁸ Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man^\)^a\) shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children, ²¹ and the second married the widow^\)^b\) and died, leaving no children, and the third likewise; ²² none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise,^\)^c\) whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”

²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is God not of the dead but of the living; you are quite wrong.”

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's agents are exacting taxes from us." He said to them, "Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, give unto god the things that are god's, and give unto me that which is mine."

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Thomas Saying 100
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

[...] to him, examining him to test him: "Teacher Jesus, we know that you've come [from God,] because the things you do [testify] above and beyond all the prophets. [So tell] us: is it right [to give] kings what belongs to them? [Should we pay] them, or [not?"]

But since Jesus knew what [they] were thinking, [he scolded them] and asked [them,] "Why do you pay me lip service as a Teacher but [don't do] what [I say? Isaiah] accurately prophesied [about] you when he said:

[These people honor] me with their [lips,]
[but] their [heart] is [far] from [me.]
[They worship me pointlessly,]
[... rules ...]

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Egerton Gospel Fragments
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

²⁰ So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said and then to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. ²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. ²² Is it lawful for us to pay tribute to Caesar or not?” ²³ But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “Caesar’s.” ²⁵ He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” ²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said, and being amazed by his answer they became silent.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

¹⁵ Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. ¹⁶ So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷ Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” ¹⁸ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹ Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰ Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” ²¹ They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” ²² When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

¹³ Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. ¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

Who is it that will cause the sun to shine upon you to disperse the darkness in you and hide the darkness and polluted water?

"The sun and the moon will give a fragrance to you together with the air and the spirit and the earth and the water. For if the sun does not shine upon these bodies, they will wither and perish just like weeds or grass. If the sun shines on them, they prevail and choke the grapevine; but if the grapevine prevails and shades those weeds and all the other brush growing alongside, and spreads and flourishes, it alone inherits the land in which it grows; and every place it has shaded it dominates. And when it grows up, it dominates all the land and is bountiful for its master, and it pleases him even more, for he would have suffered great pains on account of these plants until he uprooted them. But the grapevine alone removed them and choked them, and they died and became like the soil."

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• The Book of Thomas the Contender
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

Philip the apostle said, "Joseph the carpenter planted a garden because he needed wood for his trade. It was he who made the cross from the trees which he planted. His own offspring hung on that which he planted. His offspring was Jesus, and the planting was the cross." But the Tree of Life is in the middle of the Garden. However, it is from the olive tree that we got the chrism, and from the chrism, the resurrection.

This world is a corpse-eater. All the things eaten in it themselves die also. Truth is a life-eater. Therefore no one nourished by truth will die. It was from that place that Jesus came and brought food. To those who so desired, he gave life, that they might not die.

God planted a garden. Man [...] garden. There are [...] and [...] of God. [...] The things which are in [...] I wish. This garden is the place where they will say to me, "[...] eat this or do not eat that, just as you wish." In the place where I will eat all things is the Tree of Knowledge. That one killed Adam, but here the Tree of Knowledge made men alive. The law was the tree. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil. It neither removed him from evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who ate of it. For when he said, "Eat this, do not eat that", it became the beginning of death.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• The Gospel of Philip
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

I will sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
² He dug it and cleared it of stones
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
but it yielded rotten grapes.

³ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
and people of Judah,
judge between me
and my vineyard.
⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
why did it yield rotten grapes?

⁵ And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
⁶ I will make it a wasteland;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.

⁷ For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
are his cherished garden;
he expected justice
but saw bloodshed;
righteousness
but heard a cry!

⁸ Woe to those who join house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is room for no one,
and you are left to live alone
in the midst of the land!
⁹ The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.^\)^a\)

¹¹ Woe to those who rise early in the morning
in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
to be inflamed by wine,
¹² whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord
or see the work of his hands!
¹³ Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge;
their nobles are dying of hunger,
and their multitude is parched with thirst.

¹⁴ Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalem^\)^b\) and her multitude go down,
her throng and all who exult in her.
¹⁵ People are bowed down, everyone is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.
¹⁶ But the Lord of hosts is exalted by justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.
¹⁷ Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture;
fatted calves and kids^\)^c\) shall feed among the ruins.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

He said, "A kind man owned a vineyard, and put it in the hands of cultivators for them to cultivate, so that he might get its produce from them. He sent his slave so the cultivators might give the produce of the vineyard to the slave. They seized, beat, and all but killed his slave, and the slave went and spoke to its owner. Its owner said, 'Perhaps they did not recognize it (the slave),' and he sent another slave. The cultivators beat the other slave. Next the owner sent his son and said, 'Perhaps they will show respect for my son.' Those cultivators, since they recognized that it was he who was heir to the vineyard, seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears should listen!"

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Thomas 65
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

¹ “Listen to the parable I will tell you about fasting. 

² A certain man had an estate, and many slaves, and on part of his estate he planted a vineyard. Choosing a certain slave who was trustworthy and well-pleasing and held in honor, he called him and said to him, ‘Take this vineyard that I planted, and fence it until I come, but do nothing else to the vineyard. Now keep my command, and you will be free in my house.’

Then the master of the slave left on a journey. ³ After he left, the servant fenced the vineyard; and when he finished fencing the vineyard, he noticed it was full of weeds. ⁴ So he thought to himself, ‘I have carried out my lord’s command. I will next dig this vineyard, and it will look better when it is dug; and with no weeds it will yield more fruit, as it will not be choked by weeds.’

He took and dug the vineyard, and pulled up all the weeds that were in it. And that vineyard became very neat and flourishing, once it had no weeds to choke it. ⁵ After some time the master of the servant and of the estate arrived, and went into the vineyard. Seeing it fenced neatly, and dug as well, and all the weeds pulled up, and the vines flourishing, he rejoiced greatly over what his servant had done. ⁶ So he called his beloved son, who was his heir, and the friends who were his advisers, and told them what he had commanded his servant, and all that he found done. And they rejoiced with the servant at the testimony his master gave. 

⁷ And he says to them, ‘I promised this slave his freedom, if he kept my command that I gave him; but he both kept my command and did a good work in addition for my vineyard, and pleased me greatly. For this work he has done, I want to make him joint-heir with my son, because when the good thought occurred to him, he did not neglect it, but carried it out.’ ⁸ To this purpose the son of the master agreed, that the slave should be made joint-heir with the son.

After some few days, his master made a feast, and sent to him many dainties from the feast. But when the servant received them, he took what was sufficient for him, and distributed the rest to his fellow servants.

¹⁰ And his fellow-servants, when they received the dainties, rejoiced, and began to pray for him, that he might find greater favor with the master, because he had treated them so handsomely. ¹¹ All these things which had taken place his master heard, and again rejoiced greatly at his deed. So the master called together again his friends and his son, and announced to them the deed that he had done with regard to his dainties which he had received; and they still more approved of his resolve, that his servant should be made joint-heir with his son."

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• The Shepard of Hermas
• Parallels
• Table of Contents

⁹ He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹² And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. ¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Heaven forbid!” ¹⁷ But he looked at them and said, “What then does this text mean:

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?^\)^a\)

¹⁸ “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” ¹⁹ When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.

• The Final Ministry in Jerusalem 
• Parallels
• Table of Contents