Eye Exam (The Gospel of Thomas)

This episode is on saying 26 in the Gospel of Thomas. Jesus said, "You see the sliver in your friend's eye, but you don't see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend's eye."

This saying in the Gospel of Thomas has a famous parallel in the Gospel of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

The differences between the canonical and noncanonical versions are few but important. They are the difference between duality and nonduality.

View Marshall's books here:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marshall-Davis/author/B001K8Y0RU

Transcript

This episode is on saying 26 in the Gospel of Thomas. Jesus said, "You see the sliver in your friend's eye, but you don't see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend's eye." Some other translations use other terms like mote and beam or splinter and log, but otherwise they are basically the same. 

This saying in the Gospel of Thomas has a famous parallel in the Gospel of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

The differences between the canonical and noncanonical versions are few but important. One obvious difference is the addition in Matthew of an extra sentence. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite.” That addition tell us a couple of things. 

First it is more evidence that Thomas’ version is older than Matthew’s. It is well-known in biblical criticism that as sayings are transmitted orally or in written form, there is a tendency to expand upon them. Words are inserted and verses are added, and in that way the amended gospels become longer. So we see in the NT synoptic gospels, Mark is the earliest and the shortest. Then comes Matthew, which is longer, and the longest and latest is Luke. The shortest versions tend to be the more authentic.

We also see that there is a decidedly confrontational feel to Matthew’s version of this saying that we do not find in Thomas’ version. In Matthew’s version Jesus seems to be speaking about people who are accusing each other of being unable to see. It feels more like an argument between Jesus and the Pharisees, rather than a teaching to his disciples.

In Matthew a person is offering to take the speck out of his opponent’s eyes while clueless of the fact he has a plank in his own eye. Jesus calls this person a “hypocrite.” That is a word Jesus often uses for the Pharisees, who are the antagonists in Matthew’s gospel. 

In Thomas’ gospel we do not have any of that. In Thomas’s version it has a more cooperative feel rather than a confrontational feel. The person is even called a friend in one of the translations, rather than a brother, which normally means a fellow Jew in the gospels. 

These are two friends – we could say they are fellow pilgrims on the spiritual journey - trying to help each other see. I read this saying as the spiritual discipline of self-inquiry. More importantly, it has to do with self-inquiry as a communal discipline rather than a solitary practice. 

In non-dual circles we tend to see self-inquiry as a solitary practice. Something the spiritual seeker does by themselves, perhaps under the direction of a spiritual director or advisor or spiritual teacher. But here Jesus is talking about it as something done in community. It reminds me of the saying in the Letter of James: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”  

In the canonical gospel, people are pointing out each other’s faults in an argumentative way. In Thomas’s gospel we have two friends assisting each other on their spiritual journey. The setting seems to be a supportive spiritual community rather than a confrontation encounter between religious rivals. The tone in Thomas encourages humility, which is the point of the saying. 

Let’s hear it again: Jesus says, “You see the splinter in your friend's eye, but you do not see the log that is in your own eye. Remove the log from your own eye and then you can clearly see to remove the splinter from your friend’s eye.” 

Jesus is saying that one of the best ways we can help our spiritual companions – as well as facilitate our own spiritual awakening - is by taking the log out of our own eye. This is the first century equivalent to an airline flight attendant instructing us to put our own oxygen mask on first before helping a child or someone else who needs assistance. 

That attitude of interconnectedness can be expanded beyond our spiritual community to the whole world. It is true globally. The best way we can help the world amid social, national, international and environmental crises is to clarify our vision. 

We live in a world of misinformation and disinformation. Lies and liars are everywhere. It is only getting worse with the introduction of AI, which can produce videos that look and sound like someone is really saying something when they are not. We live in an Orwellian time where people allow themselves to be deceived, and believe their own lies and deceive others.

Jesus is saying that the best thing we can do for truth and love and justice in our world is to focus on ourselves first – to spiritually wake up. As the song says, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Then maybe we can help the world. The best thing we can do to help the world is to help ourselves, and those immediately around us. 

The best thing we can do for society is to focus on spirituality. If we want to help in the liberation of the world, we need to be liberated. If we want to help other people see things clearly, we need to be able to see. So it is not a choice between outer and inner. To address the outer we need to tend to the inner. This saying is about our inner vision, spiritual vision, which is then transmitted to others.

Another thing Jesus is saying here is that sometimes things are too close to see. The person in the story has a log – or a plank, timber, beam – in his eye and does not even notice it! The image is intentionally humorous ... and spiritually true. We do not see what is right in front of our eyes – or in this case we do not see what is in our eyes. That is how close it is. 

The Kingdom of God is so close that people do not see it! That is how close the Kingdom of God is! People spend their lives searching here and there and everywhere. Going from teacher to teacher. Going from country to country, thinking they will find the answer in India or Tibet or the Holy Land of Israel. Jesus says in many different ways that it is right here. It is at hand. It is within us. The Quran says it is closer than our jugular vein. 

It is so close people do not see it.  It is behind our eyes. That which is seeing is that which we are looking for. That is how close! It is an open secret. That closeness is blocking our vision because it is closer to us than we are to ourselves. When we get out of ourselves, then we can see. Then maybe we can help others see.