The Infancy Gospel of Thomas Overview

• Original Names: The Account of Thomas the Israelite Philosopher concerning the childhood of the Lord; The Childhood of Jesus according to Thomas; The Book of the holy apostle Thomas concerning the life and childhood of the Lord; The Childhood of our Lord Jesus (Christ) (The original title seems to try to distinguish the work from an actual canonical gospel in calling itself paidika [“childhood events”])

• Not the same as the Gospel of Thomas found at Nag Hammadi

• Manuscripts vary:

  • some lack the beginning and end

  • some reverse the order of miracles and abridge some accounts

pgs. 75-83 & https://www.gospels.net/infancythomas

1. Thomas supposedly announces Jesus’ mighty childhood deeds starting when he was 5 years old. Thomas's title “Didymus” is often understood to mean “twin”; this led to the assumption that he was Jesus’ twin and would have known him as a child. This might also explain why some manuscripts have James instead, since he was Jesus’ brother.

Latin 1. (Latin: When Jesus is two, an angel tells Joseph to flee to Egypt until Herod is dead, so they leave for Egypt. On their way through a cornfield, Jesus takes some corn, sets them on fire, and eats them. When he is three and in the middle of the city, he throws some corn around a teacher, and some birds fight over the teacher and fall in his lap. Jesus laughs at the teacher and explains what he did, and the angry teacher casts him and his mother out of the city. An angel then tells Mary to go with her family to Nazareth). This is the same story found in Matthew, but with a childish Jesus who is extremely powerful and egotistical.

Latin 3. (Latin: An angel tells Mary to go to Nazareth, where her father has a house [some manuscripts say it is Joseph’s father’s house]). It might have been that Mary or Joseph’s parents had a home in Jerusalem, and Joseph had a home in Bethlehem, and so they moved quickly between the two places in his youth.

2. Young Jesus miraculously makes some pools of water clean and uses clay to turn them into sparrows, but it is on the Sabbath. Some other kid snitches to Joseph, his father, and Jesus shoes away the birds. In this gospel, Jesus uses his power for whatever he pleases. As a child, he used it for childish desires.

3. Some son of the scribe Annas (Annas being a high priest [with Caiaphus] that accuses Jesus and has him crucified) places branches from a willow in the water Jesus cleans miraculously, and Jesus curses him out and says he will wither up and die like the branch he pulled apart—and he does. The parents then go and ask Joseph what type of kid he has. Here, Jesus angrily attacks people for insignificant annoyances. Also, Annas’ son dies by Jesus either because Annas will be a principal agent in accusing Jesus to put him to death, or Annas ends up being angrier and ready to accuse Jesus so that he should die because of him killing his son when he was young.

4. A child runs and knocks Jesus on his shoulder, and so Jesus tells him he won’t go any further, and the kid falls and dies. Jesus curses kids over everything.

5. Joseph asks Jesus why he did everything he did, and Jesus simply says that Joseph’s words aren’t his own, so he won’t say anything but that the people got their just punishments; then, all the parents who accused Jesus become blind. Joseph pulls Jesus by the ear angrily, and Jesus warns him not to make him angry. In contrast to the canonical accounts, Jesus resists authority angrily.

6-7. Zacchaeus sees Jesus rebuking Joseph and calls him clever, but tells Joseph to let him teach him the Greek alphabet. Jesus reprimands Zacchaeus for not understanding alpha, even though he tries to teach him beta. Zacchaeus then says that Jesus explained a lot of allegories based on the letter alpha (Greek B: Jesus tells Zacchaeus that he knows more than him because he created the world and was before the ages. He tells him that if he thinks that’s incredible, when he sees his cross, he will believe him). Zacchaeus says, “Woe am I”, and asks Joseph to take him away. He says that Jesus is powerful and might have even been born before the creation of the world. In this narrative, Jesus is a pre-creation god who wants to reveal esoteric knowledge.

8. The Jews console Zacchaeus, but Jesus laughs aloud and says, “Now let those who are yours bear fruit, and let the blind in heart see. I have come from above to curse them and to call them to the things above, as he who sent me ordained for your sakes.” Then, everyone who had been cursed by Jesus is healed.

9. Jesus plays with some kids in the upper room of a house, and a kid accidentally falls off and dies. The parents accuse Jesus of doing it, so Jesus jumps out of the building to ask the kid if he threw him down the building, and the kid says Jesus actually raised him up. The parents worship Jesus.  Jesus does some good in this text, but to prove petty things like that he did not accidentally shove some kid off the edge of a building.

19. When Jesus was 12, he and his parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover, but Jesus went back to Jerusalem as his parents traveled home. His parents see that he is lost after traveling for a day and search for him. They find him in Jerusalem listening to the teachers and asking questions that impress them. A Pharisee tells Mary that she is blessed among women because of him. Adding on to the canonical story, this text has a Pharisee praising Jesus to his parents.