The Woman, the Assassin, and Jesus’ Family

Reading Thomas 97–99 forward and backward

Most readings of the Gospel of Thomas proceed one saying at a time.

A saying is quoted.

A meaning is proposed.

Then the reader moves on.

But some sequences seem to invite a different approach.

Thomas 97–99 is one of them.

Read forward, the sayings appear to present three separate lessons.

Read backward, they begin to look like a story.

Not a complete story.

A hidden one.

The Sayings

Saying 97

Jesus said:

“What the kingdom of the father resembles is a woman who was conveying a jar full of meal. When she had traveled far along the road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled out after her along the road. She was not aware of the fact; she had not understood how to toil. When she reached home she put down the jar and found it empty.”

Saying 98

Jesus said:

“What the kingdom of the father resembles is a man who wanted to assassinate a member of court. At home, he drew the dagger and stabbed it into the wall in order to know whether his hand would be firm. Next, he murdered the member of court.”

Saying 99

The disciples said to him:

“Your brothers and your mother are standing outside.”

He said to them:

“It is those who are here and who do the will of my father that are my siblings and my mother. It is they who will enter the kingdom of my father.”

Reading Forward

The forward reading is relatively straightforward.

The woman believes she is carrying meal safely home.

She is not.

The handle breaks.

The meal spills out behind her.

Only when she reaches home does she discover the truth.

The lesson appears to concern ignorance.

Or perhaps unnoticed loss.

The next saying shifts from ignorance to preparation.

The assassin does not leave success to chance.

Before undertaking his mission, he tests himself.

He verifies that his hand is steady.

Then he acts.

The final saying appears to explain the previous two.

Those who do the will of the Father are Jesus’ true family.

Read this way, the sequence concerns awareness, preparation, and obedience.

There is nothing especially strange about it.

Which is perhaps why most readers stop there.

Reading Backward

But Thomas often behaves differently when read in reverse.

Suppose we begin with the final saying.

Jesus identifies his true family:

“Those here who do the will of my father are my brothers and my mother.”

The saying creates two categories.

Mother.

Brothers.

Then we move backward.

The first person we encounter is a man.

A man preparing to kill a powerful figure.

A brother.

Moving backward again, we encounter a woman.

A mother.

The sequence has changed.

The final saying no longer concludes the movement.

It introduces it.

The woman and the assassin are suddenly transformed from examples into identities.

The Brother

The brother is easy enough to understand.

Everything about the saying emphasizes intention.

He has a target.

He prepares carefully.

He tests his hand.

Then he acts.

Nothing is accidental.

Nothing is left to chance.

The kingdom is compared to purposeful action.

The brother does the Father’s will.

The Mother

The mother is more difficult.

The text insists she is innocent.

The handle broke.

The meal spilled.

She did not know.

She did not understand.

The saying works surprisingly hard to establish her lack of awareness.

Yet something remains odd.

The meal does not simply disappear.

It leaves a trail.

A visible line stretching along the road.

The woman believes she is transporting something from one place to another.

Instead, she marks her path behind her.

Anyone following the road could trace where she has been.

The result is useful.

The text assures us it was accidental.

The question is whether we are meant to accept that assurance.

A Curious Family

The brother prepares for an operation.

The mother leaves a trail.

Then Jesus identifies those who do the Father’s will as his true family.

The three sayings suddenly begin to resemble one another.

Not because they teach the same lesson.

Because they appear to describe people engaged in the same enterprise.

The brother’s role is obvious.

The mother’s role is concealed beneath a story of carelessness.

One acts openly.

One appears harmless.

One prepares.

One provides access.

Both serve the Father’s purpose.

The Puzzle Thomas Leaves Behind

Most readers encounter a woman, an assassin, and a saying about family.

Three unrelated teachings.

But Thomas frequently places sayings side by side in ways that create meanings unavailable when read separately.

Read forward, Thomas 97–99 presents a lesson.

Read backward, it presents a cast of characters.

A mother.

A brother.

And a final identification by Jesus himself.

“Those who do the will of my father are my brothers and my mother.”

Whether this hidden reading was intended is impossible to prove.

But once the sequence is reversed, it becomes difficult not to notice the pattern.

The mother leaves traces.

The brother prepares to strike.

And only afterward does Jesus tell us who they are.

All art by the author and AI.

Feuilleton of Independent Arts.