You Are the Perfect Day and Within You Dwells the Light
Chapter 17 begins with a familiar parable of the “Good” shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one who has strayed away, but then quickly takes a sudden twist away from the expected ending to focus on the incompleteness of the ninety-nine without the one who was lost.
“He is the shepherd who left behind the ninety-nine sheep that had not strayed and went and searched for the one who had gone astray. He rejoiced when he found it, for ninety-nine is a number in the left hand which holds it. When the one is found, the whole number moves to the right hand. In this way, what is in need of one – that is, the whole right hand – draws that which it needs and takes it from the left hand and moves it to the right so the number becomes one hundred. This is the sign [symbol] of the sound of the numbers. This is the Father.” [17: 1-4]
The imagery here suggests an inherent pull between every sheep to return to an original form of completion – the one hundred. So, the complete number of wholeness is what must be restored at all costs.
“This is the sign [or the symbol] of the sound of the numbers,” the author explains.
The sound is wholeness. The symbol is completeness. And this restored unity when all of the sheep are once again brought together into oneness is not only the way things ought to be, this reality is, in itself, “the Father” himself as we become one in his Oneness.
“Even on the sabbath he worked for the sheep he found fallen in the pit. He saved the life of the sheep – he brought it up from the pit. Understand this in your hearts, children of the heart’s knowledge. For what is the sabbath? A day on which it is inappropriate for salvation to be idle.” [17: 5-9]
From there, the author recalls how Jesus often did his miraculous work on the sabbath day, to the consternation of the religious elite of his day. They were bound by the Law that exploited humanity and were blind to the reality that “the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.” In other words, the sabbath was meant to give humanity rest and peace and strength. It was not meant to bind us up in legalism. So, the author corrects this misunderstanding by explaining that the sabbath is ”a day on which it is inappropriate for salvation to be idle.” Why? Because the sabbath was invented as a means of our salvation, not as a tool of our oppression.
“Speak of the day from above which has no night and of the perfect light that does not set [or go out]. Say then from the heart that you are the perfect day and which you dwells the light that never ends.” [17:10-11]
Once again, the poetic language of this Gospel expresses something transcendent about our identity as children of the Father. We “speak of the day from above which has no night” [or in whom there is no darkness at all], and of “the perfect light which does not go out,” and then we are encouraged to “say…from the heart, that [we] are the perfect day” and that this “light that never ends” dwells within us all.
Next, we are encouraged to speak and to strengthen and to feed and to give rest to those who are weary:
“Speak of the truth with those who seek it and of knowledge with those who have sinned in their error. Strengthen the feet of those who stumble and stretch your hands to those who are weak. Feed those who are hungry and give rest to the weary. Raise those who wish to arise and awaken those who sleep – for you all are understanding drawn forth [or, “you are this understanding that seizes you,” or “you are the understanding that is unsheathed.”].” [17:12-17]
So, now that we realize that we are the perfect day and that the eternal light dwells within us, what do we do next? We become ambassadors of this light. We become those who speak the truth and we begin to strengthen those who are weak. We feed the hungry. We awaken those who are asleep. Why? Because we “are understanding…unsheathed.” We are the sword of truth that gleams in the sunlight and cuts every rope that enslaves.
“If the strong follow these things, they become stronger.” [17:16]
Next, we are encouraged to focus ourselves on the reality and not the illusion:
“Be concerned with yourselves. Do not be concerned with things you have cast from yourselves. Do not return to eat what you have vomited. Do not be rotten. Do not be worms for you have already shaken it off. Do not become a place for the devil, for you have already left him barren [empty, or “have destroyed him”]. Do not strengthen barriers [or “your last obstacles”] that are falling away [“for that is reprehensible”]. For the lawless one is nothing. [He harms himself more than the law]. For the lawless person does his work as a lawless one and the just person does his work among others. Do then what the Father desires, for you are from him.” [18:1-11]
In other words, we are admonished not to concern ourselves with what others are doing, or not doing. This advice is reminiscent of what we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 where Paul says:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Where this Gospel goes further is to remind us that our biggest obstacle or challenge is to remain awake and to not become distracted by what we see and experience in the world around us.
The world reflects an illusion to us through our senses, but the reality is we are the one flock made up of every sheep, regardless of whether one or more of us go astray.
Inevitably, the shepherd is the one who will restore the unity of our oneness because the Father is Oneness we are of the Father. Our task is to remain connected to the Father and to one another and to restore, heal, serve and strengthen the other sheep of our fold, which is the whole world made complete in the Father.
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The newest book from Keith Giles, “The Quantum Sayings of Jesus: Decoding the Lost Gospel of Thomas” is available now on Amazon. Order HERE>
Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.”
He co-hosts The God Squad podcast, and the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.
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