English
Jesus said, ‘Look on the Living One while you are alive, in case you die and then seek to see him and are unable to see him.’
Interpretation
Disciples must, through wisdom, come to ‘see’ the ‘(son of) the Living One’ in order to be saved. This must happen in the present life, before the earthly world is left behind for the spiritual world. The notion that a person is permanently barred from salvation if they die before acquiring it became widespread in Christianity, probably due to the ethical dualism and cosmology in its apocalyptic roots. The similarities with Sayings 37 and 52 suggest this one came from a somewhat later stage in the book’s development.
Parallels
Hebrews
9.27 It is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment.
John
14.19 ‘In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.’
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