To continue on with the Gospel of the Savior, we start at page 108, which continues the narrative from the previous page. This page is fragmented thus disrupts the flow of text. Here are some highlights. Jesus speaks of the plan against him and that he is a stranger to him. The person he is referring to is unknown due to a missing section. Jesus then states “Therefore now, behold, I suffer because of the sins of the world. But I rejoice over you for you have continued well in the world.” After this, the text really fragments and we get select pieces here and there for half a column. When the text stabilizes, Jesus announces joy for the world and not to weep, but rather rejoice. He has overcome the world and not to let it overcome you. He has become free from the world, and you will become free from it as well. Jesus also mentions that he will be pierced on his side and he who sees it, let him bear true in his witness.
Now the text really comes apart (literally). The next two pages have a decent amount of content with the remainder of the gospel being fragmented pieces. Page 113 has what best describes as some sort of vision the apostles have. The text states that the apostles witness the world becoming dark before them, and then they became “as those among the Aeons of glory.” To me, this reads with a gnostic slant as obviously it is referring to the divine beings that are called Aeons in the gnostic mythos. The text mentions the apostles seeing their savior after he attained to the fourth heaven. Again, another gnostic reference. Traditionally there are not four (or more) heavens in mainstream Christian thought, but there is in gnostic cosmology (“Gospel of Mary” and “Books of Jeu” quickly come to mind). The text now gets really fragmented and with what remains, it mentions angels and archangels fleeing. Cherubim are mentioned but not what they do. When a more coherent fragment resumes, it states “they cast their crowns down at the front of the throne of the Father. All the holy ones received their robes…..” There’s a break in the text until it resumes with a passage of someone weeping and distressed so that the angelic host is disturbed.
Page 114 is our last page with a lot of text before we come to fragmented tidbits. The first column of the page is missing quite a bit, but it has Jesus speaking to the Father. The second column, particularly the first half, remains mostly intact. It has Jesus saying “…to die with joy and pour out my blood upon the human race. Yet I weep only for my beloved, who are Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, that they may be able to stand in the day of judgment. I will sit upon my throne and I will judge the world. They will say to me that……” The remainder of the column is missing quite a bit but still has Jesus speaking to the Father.
The book lists pages 115, 116, 121 and 122. All these are various fragments. 122 has a section that states “in three days, and I will take you to heaven with me, and teach you. Since your desire….” Obviously, this is Jesus speaking, but to whom? The rest of the book has fragments that belong to no particular page and have no context. I will not list them all but will pull out a few select examples.
Fragment 5F: “A little longer, O cross, and that which is lacking is perfected, and that which is diminished is full. A little longer, O cross, and that which fell arises. A little longer, O cross, and all the pleroma is perfected.“
Fragment 19F: “They will not remember his generation, since his wife will be widowed and his children will be fatherless.“
Fragment 19H: “…it (feminine) gives milk, another one (fem.) gives honey. As for you, rest yourselves by the spring of the water of life.“
I may revisit this gospel in a future post once I get the Ehrman translation. It will be interesting to see how similar (or different) it is to this one. Be sure to pick up the Hedrick / Mirecki book of the Gospel of the Savior. They offer up facsimiles of the papyrus, a commentary and history of the text.
bP
Culmination of Wisdom 