Jesus in the Nag Hamadi Writings

List of Names of Jesus in the Nag Hamadi

Titles/descriptions used of Jesus once only, or more than once but only within a single text:

Pr. Paul

• Lord of Lords

Gos. Truth

• The hidden mystery
• The merciful one
• The faithful one

Treat. Res.

• The solution

Tri. Trac.

• Lord of all
• Lord of glory (1)?
• King of the universe

Names ascribed to the Saviour:

• The Redemption of the angles of the Father
• The knowledge of all that which is thought of
• The treasure
• The addition for the increase of knowledge
• The revelation of those things which were known at first
• The path toward harmony and toward the pre-existent one

Gos. Thom.

• The living one
• Son of the living one

Gos. Phil.

• Messiah (3)
• The Nazarene (6)
• The perfect man (4)
• The heavenly man
• Pharisatha

Soph. Jes. Chr.

• The holy one

1 Apoc. Jas.

• Rabbi (9)

Treat. Seth

• The Son of Light
• The perfect blessed one (of the eternal and incomprehensible Father and the infinite Light)
• A Christ (2)

Teach. Silv.

• King (5)
• Sun of life
• The tree of life
• The Life (3)
• The idea (NOHCIC) of incorruptibility
• The narrow way
• Wisdom (of God) (3)
• The (great) power (2)
• The door
• The angel
• The good shepherd
• The (faithful) friend
• Great goodness of God
• Great one of the heavens
• A great glory
• Judge
• The hand of the Lord/Father (2)
• The mother of all
• Image of the Father

Titles used specifically in relation to the Logos:

• The first-born
• The wisdom (2)
• The prototype
• Light of the eternal light
• Spotless mirror of the working of God
• The image of his goodness
• The eye which loks at the invisible Father
• Life
• King of faith
• The sharp sword

Ep. Pet. Phil.

• The holy child
• Christ of immortality
• Saviour of the whole world
• Son of the immesurable glory of the Father
• Son of life
• Son of immortality
• The one who is in the light
• Our illuminator

Interp. Know.

• Teacher of immortality
• The shape (2)
• The reproached one/the one who was reproached (6)
• The humiliated one (2)
• The one who was redeemed
• The head (8)

Quotes

"Judas said: 'Why... does one live and die?' And the Lord said: 'He who is born of the Truth does not die; he who is born of woman dies.'"

We now turn again to the Gospels of Philip (No. 38) and Thomas (No. 37) and to the Secret Sayings told by the Saviour to Jude-Thomas and recorded by Matthias (No. 42) - this last also called the Book of Thomas. Their titles alone indicate that these three writings must have been of capital importance. They also constitute an actual trilogy; for, if we are to believe a passage in the Pistis-Sophia, it was to Philip, Thomas and Matthew (or rather Matthias, as Zahn as justly pointed out) that Jesus confided the task of committing his most precious teachings to writing.

Jesus the Moon as healer

The Sogdian text So. 18,224 (TM 389d) tells the story of Gabryab, disciple of Mani, who called on Jesus as he rose (as the moon) to heal a girl:

"Then Gabryab, with his [disciples?], stood [in prayer and praise on] the fourteenth day of the month, and around the evening, when Jesus (the moon) rose, Gabryab continued to praise Jesus and said, 'You are a true God and a vivifier of souls; help me this time, beneficient Lord! Bring better health to this girl through my hand, so that your divinity may become manifest before all the people, and that (it may become clear) that we are the ones who are truly obedient to your commandments.'"