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The Secret Book of James—also referred to as the Apocryphon of James
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—is a Christian text with wise sayings and utterances of Jesus, who is in dialogue with his students, particularly Peter and James. It is said in the text that when the twelve students were gathered together, reminiscing about what Jesus had said to them and composing their books, James was doing the same. The sayings incorporated into the Secret Book of James include statements of good fortune and woe, parables and stories, and discourses on being filled and lacking. Many of these sayings recall themes familiar from gnostic sources, and a number of scholars suggest that the Secret Book of James may reflect Valentinian themes. Thus, the text affirms, salvation and the kingdom of heaven may be acquired by being filled with spirit—and by attaining knowledge.
In the selection of the Secret Book of James presented here, the name Yeshua is used for Jesus, Yaakov for James, and Kefa for Cephas (that is, Peter), and the city of Jerusalem is named Yerushalayim.
Yeshua Addresses Kefa and Yaakov
Now, the twelve students were all sitting together, recalling what the savior had said to each of them, whether in a hidden or an open manner, and organizing it in books. I was writing what is in my book. Look, the savior appeared, after he had left us, while we were watching for him.
Five hundred fifty days after he rose from the dead, we said to him, “Did you depart and leave us?”
Yeshua said, “No, but I shall return to the place from which I came. If you want to come with me, come.”
They all answered and said, “If you order us, we shall come.”
He said, “I tell you the truth, no one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven because I ordered it, but rather because you yourselves are filled. Leave Yaakov and Kefa to me that I may fill them.”
When he called the two of them, he took them aside and commanded the rest to keep doing what they were doing.
The savior said, “You have been treated kindly.
Do you not want to be filled?
Your hearts are drunk.
Do you not want to be sober?
You ought to be ashamed.
“From now on, awake or asleep, remember that you have seen the human son and have spoken with him and have listened to him.
“Shame on those who have seen the human son.
“Blessings will be on you who have not seen him, or associated with him, or spoken with him, or listened to anything from him. Yours is life.
“So I tell you: Be filled and leave no space in you empty, or he who is coming will mock you.
”
Being Filled and Lacking
Then Kefa answered, “Look, three times you have told us, ‘Be filled,’ but we are filled.”
The savior answered and said, “For this reason I have told you, ‘Be filled,’ that you may not lack. Those who lack will not be saved. To be filled is good and to lack is bad. Yet since it is also good for you to lack but bad for you to be filled, whoever is filled also lacks. So you should lack when you can fill yourselves and be filled when you lack, that you may be able to fill yourselves more. Be filled with spirit but lack in reason, for reason is of the soul. It is soul.”
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Be Eager for the Word
Then I
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asked him, “Master, can we prophesy to those who ask us to prophesy to them? There are many who bring a request to us and look to us to hear our pronouncement.”
The master said, “First I spoke with you in parables, and you did not understand. Now I am speaking with you openly, and you do not grasp it. Nevertheless, you were for me a parable among parables and a disclosure among things revealed.
“Be eager to be saved without being urged. Rather, be fervent on your own and, if possible, outdo even me, for this is how the father will love you.
“Be eager for the word. The first aspect of the word is faith, the second is love, the third is works, and from these comes life.
“The word is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, he had faith in it, and when it sprouted, he loved it, because he saw many grains instead of just one. And after he worked, he was saved because he prepared it as food and he still kept some out to sow.
“This is also how you can acquire the kingdom of heaven for
yourselves. Unless you acquire it through knowledge, you will not be able to find it.”
Shame on You
“You wretches! You poor devils! You pretenders to truth! You falsifiers of knowledge! You sinners against the spirit! Do you still dare to listen when from the beginning you should have been speaking? Do you still dare to sleep when from the beginning you should have been awake so that the kingdom of heaven might receive you? I tell you the truth, it is easier for a holy person to sink into defilement, and for an enlightened person to sink into darkness, than for you to reign—or not to reign.
“I remember your tears, your mourning, and your grief. They are far from us. You who are outside the father’s inheritance, weep when you should, mourn, and preach what is good. As is proper, the son is ascending.
“I tell you the truth, if I had been sent to those who would listen to me and had spoken with them, I would never have come down to earth. Now be ashamed.
“Look, I shall be leaving you and go away. I do not want to stay with you any longer just as you yourselves have not wanted this. Follow me quickly. I tell you, for you I came down. You are loved ones. You will bring life to many people. Invoke the father, pray to god frequently, and he will be generous with you.”
Know Yourselves
When we heard this, we became sad. But when he saw that we were sad, he said, “I say this to you that you may know yourselves.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a head of grain that sprouted in a field. And when it was ripe, it scattered its seed, and again it filled the field with heads of grain for another year. So with you, be eager to
harvest for yourselves a head of the grain of life that you may be filled with the kingdom.
“Do not let the kingdom of heaven become a desert within you. Do not be proud because of the light that enlightens. Rather, act toward yourselves as I myself have toward you. I have put myself under a curse for you to save you.”
The Last Word
Kefa responded to these comments and said, “Sometimes you urge us on toward the kingdom of heaven, but at other times you turn us away, master. Sometimes you encourage us, draw us toward faith, and promise us life, but at other times you drive us away from the kingdom of heaven.”
The master answered and said to us, “You, through faith and knowledge, have received life. So disregard rejection when you hear it, but when you hear about the promise, be joyful all the more.
“I have spoken my last word to you; I shall depart from you, for a chariot of spirit has carried me up, and from now on I shall strip that I may be clothed.”
The Messengers Disperse
When he said this, he left. We knelt down, Kefa and I, and gave thanks and sent our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our ears and saw with our eyes the noise of wars, a trumpet blast, and great turmoil.
When we passed beyond that place, we sent our minds up further. We saw with our eyes and heard with our ears hymns, angelic praises and angelic rejoicing. Heavenly majesties were singing hymns, and we rejoiced too.
Again after this we wished to send our spirits up to the majesty. When we ascended, we were not allowed to see or hear anything. The
other students called to us and asked us, “What did you hear from the teacher
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? What did he tell you? Where did he go?”
We answered them, “He ascended. He gave us his right hand, and promised all of us life. He showed us children coming after us, having commanded us to love them, since we are to be saved for their sakes.”
When they heard this, they believed the revelation, but they were angry about those who would be born. Not wishing to give them reason to take offense, I sent each of them to a different location. I myself went up to Yerushalayim, praying that I might acquire a share with the loved ones who are to come.
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I pray that the beginning may come from you. This is how I can be saved. They will be enlightened through me, by my faith, and through another’s that is better than mine. I wish mine to be the lesser.
Do your best to be like them, and pray that you may acquire a share with them. Beyond what I have said, the savior did not disclose any revelation to us on their behalf. We proclaim a share with those for whom the message was proclaimed, those whom the lord has made his children.
