Saying 49: Blessed Are the Solitary
Blessed are the solitary and the chosen, for you will find the kingdom; you came from it, and you will go back there.
Commentary
The Coptic word is *monachos*, “single one” — the term that would later give us “monk”. Origin and destination are identical, as in saying 18.
Parallels
This saying has no close parallel in the canonical gospels. Roughly half of the Gospel of Thomas is material of this kind, found nowhere else in the early Christian record.
Sayings on the same themes
- Saying 82 Saying 82: Whoever Is Near Me Is Near the Fire Whoever is close to me is close to the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom.
- Saying 98 Saying 98: The Assassin The kingdom is like a man who wanted to kill someone powerful. At home he drew his sword and drove it into…
- Saying 54 Saying 54: Blessed Are the Poor Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of heaven is yours.
- Saying 97 Saying 97: The Jar of Meal The kingdom is like a woman carrying a jar of meal. The handle broke on the road and the meal spilled out…
- Saying 30 Saying 30: Where There Are Three Where there are three deities they are divine; where there are two or one, I am with that one.
- Saying 3 Saying 3: The Kingdom Within and Without If your leaders say the kingdom is in the sky the birds will get there first; if in the sea, the fish.…