David Wilhite: Jesus in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Thomas "the Israelite" and the God of Israel

In recent studies of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the IGT is read as problematic, because the text depicts the young Jesus as shaming, cursing, and killing in an apparent arbitrary manner (van Aarde 2006; Aasgard 2009; Whitenton 2015; Eastman 2015; Cousland 2018). In response, these scholars offer to solve the problem by showing specific contextual elements from late antiquity that can explain certain facets of Jesus depicted in the IGT. In light of the ancient context, it is claimed that there is no problem to be solved; the text’s own thought-world has simply been misunderstood. In my paper, I will argue that the portrayal of Jesus in the IGT is still problematic, but the problem is not created by the IGT itself: instead of claiming that the IGT’s Jesus is incompatible with the canonical picture of Jesus, I argue that the canonical Gospels’ depiction of Jesus is–to some ancient readers–incompatible with the character of the God of Israel depicted in the Jewish scriptures. The IGT dissolves this tension by depicting “the Lord (Kurios)” of Israel as having become a fully human child, who then grows in character and learns “to bless and not to curse” (IGT 4.2), that is, he “grows in wisdom” (IGT 17.5//Luke 2.52). In short, aside from the insights gained in recent studies that focus on the late antique setting, the primary backdrop for explaining Jesus’ character in the IGT is found in the God worshipped by the “Israelite” (IGT 1.1).