Gospel of Thomas Saying 41

Saying 41 (41) Jesus said, "The person who possesses will be given more. And the person who does not have will be deprived of even the little that that person has."


When he had uttered this parable of the sower and the seed, “The disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” The answer seemed abrupt and unsympathetic—“Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Why not? “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath” (Matt. 13:11, 12). A certain class would turn the logic of these sayings just the other way. They would say if a man have not, it is a reason why something should be given to him, and not taken away; and if a man have, it is superfluous to give him “more abundance.” There is a certain common-sense smartness, no doubt, about this kind of criticism, but it has no application to the subject in hand. It might apply to food or clothes or money; but it does not apply to those spiritually-enlightened moral and intellectual attainments which commend a man to God. If a man lack these, there is nothing to work on to lift him higher. But if he have them, the tendency is for him to increase in attainment and in acceptability with God and man. When, in addition to this, we take into account the judicial element underlying the case, any remaining mist entirely disappears.
“To him that hath shall be given” (Luke 19:26), “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it” (Matt. 19:12), “Ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep” (John 10:26), “No man can come unto me except the Father who hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44).

41) Jesus said, "Whoever has something in his hand [a little power to grasp the concept of the spirit of of the Law and the Prophets] will receive more [faith and thereby more keys, revelations, truths, power etc..], and whoever has nothing [no spiritual insight - this one is in poverty] will be deprived of even the little he has [what's left of his faith, power etc.. will dry up]."