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Gospel of Thomas · 100 of 114 · tr. Thomas O. Lambdin

Logion 100

They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's men demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine."
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Themes
Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] The passage establishes a clear distinction between the worldly authority of Caesar and the divine authority of God and Jesus.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

[auto] This logion modifies a canonical saying to reveal an esoteric claim about Jesus' unique authority over the believer.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The instruction to give God what belongs to Him implies a personal deity with active claims on human allegiance.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The addition of 'give me what is mine' creates a triad that destabilizes the standard Caesar/God binary and challenges ordinary understanding.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
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Shared concept: Paradox As Teaching — Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight. (derived)