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The Gospel of Judas

The Gospel of Judas provides a radical new version of the story of Judas Iscariot. The text portrays Judas as the only Apostle who truly understood Jesus. It reveals Judas as a hero for carrying out the betrayal that freed the Christ within the garment of Jesus. Those opposing that view undoubtedly destroyed the original text, but farmers in Middle Egypt discovered the Coptic copy of the papyrus codex in the 1970s. Later, antiquities traders bought and sold it. Experts have translated the fragile document from the Coptic into English.

A Divergent View of Jesus' Betrayer

Written sometime in the second century, the Gospel of Judas opens with Jesus' twelve disciples piously offering a prayer over bread. Jesus sees them and laughs. The disciples don't understand why their teacher is laughing. They tell him that they are doing (what they believe) is right. Jesus explains that they aren't performing the prayer through their own will, but by their actions their god receives praise. He tells them that they are praying to the creator god of the physical world. This god is an inferior deity. They still don't understand because they think that they know him and that he is the son of their god. When Jesus tells them that no one among them really knows him, they become angry. He asks them what provoked their anger and tells them that their god, who is within them, has done it. He invites whoever is strong enough to stand before him. The others hold back while Judas alone dares remain. He does not look at Jesus (perhaps out of respect) but says that he knows who Jesus is and from where he has come. Jesus, he says, is from the immortal realm of Barbelo (thereby acknowledging Jesus' divinity).

How did Jesus know that Judas truly understood who he was?

Judas told Jesus he was from the immortal realm of Barbelo. The gospel writer's Jesus and Judas would have understood that Barbelo was the androgynous Mother-Father. She was the pronoia, or forethought, of the Infinite Father, according to Sethian Gnostic belief. All creation in the divine realm took place because of her co-action with the Father.

This initial image of Judas being the only one of the disciples who recognizes Jesus and who finds the strength to stand before Jesus contrasts with the conservative or Catholic view of Judas as being traitorous and greedy. The Gospel of Judas , edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst with commentary by Bart D. Ehrman, is an excellent source for the study of this lost gospel; not only is the translation clear and presented with plenty of footnotes, but the book contains the story of the Codex Tchacos with fascinating commentary by the translators and scholars studying the Gospel of Judas.

The Canonical Version of the Betrayal

At the Last Supper, Jesus announced to his disciples that one of them would betray him. The disciples, of course, became bewildered and asked aloud which one of them would do such a thing. Judas's name was not spoken. Jesus, however, whispered to John that it was the one to whom he would give the honorary morsel (piece of food given to the host of a feast). “When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon” (John 13:21–26).

Judas Iscariot served as the group's treasurer. The New Testament portrays him as greedy, treacherous, and deceitful. He criticized Mary's anointing of Jesus with a pound of expensive spikenard, asking why the ointment was not sold for 300 pence and given to the poor (John 12:4–8). Iscariot is also similar to Sicarii, dagger-bearing assassins who belonged to the Zealots (a Jewish sect advocating violent overthrow of Roman rule).

Judas was responsible for handling the group's moneybox. When the soldiers of the High Priest Caiaphas went looking for Jesus in order to hand him over to the Roman authorities (who would then crucify him), Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. For his part, Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver. The orthodox Christian view was that Judas's action was one of free will and that he alone was responsible for what he did. The gospels say that Jesus knew that Judas would betray him and yet still showed him love, patience, and compassion. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, he also washed Judas's feet.

Jesus saith to him [Simon Peter], He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. — John 13:10–11.

The canonical Gospel of Matthew portrays Judas Iscariot as someone whom Jesus condemns. Mark's portrayal of Judas seems more ambiguous because he does not mention the one who betrayed Jesus by name. John said that Satan entered Judas at the Last Supper. How did the early church fathers portray Judas in their writings?

Judas Iscariot's Portrayal in Church Writings

Irenaeus mentions Judas in his writings in conjunction with his polemic against the Gnostic views put forth in a certain Gospel of Judas, which troubled him. The emerging orthodox church believed in one God, so the notion of many gods as revealed in the Gospel of Judas would be troubling for a bishop such as Irenaeus, who believed in the supreme Almighty, the one God, the maker of all that existed. Origen, another early church father, knew about a tradition that acknowledged that a group of Jesus' disciples betrayed him, but did not specifically name Judas. Celsus, a pagan whose written works have not survived but were mentioned in the writings of Origen (who wrote a refutation against Celsus's ideas in the third century), claimed it was unthinkable to believe literally in the betrayal story, since Jesus knew in advance about the act, announced it to all the disciples at the Last Supper, identified his traitor with the morsel, and made no attempt to avert the betrayal. Interestingly, Celsus also believed that Jesus claimed to be a god on the strength of magical abilities that he had acquired in Egypt.

Jesus Reveals Wisdom, Makes a Request

Jesus tells Judas to leave the others. He desires to reveal to Judas the divine mysteries in the kingdom of heaven. But first, Judas must understand that to reach the kingdom, he will have to grieve and be replaced in the circle of disciples. This section of the Gospel of Judas suggests that Jesus already knows that a betrayal must occur as a necessary act that leads to his crucifixion and death, and that the disciples will elect Matthias to replace Judas. As they converse privately, Judas asks Jesus when he plans to reveal all the mysteries of the kingdom of God and when the superior generation of beings will be glorified. No response comes from Jesus as he suddenly departs.

When Jesus returns, the disciples want to know where he went and what he did there. Jesus discourses on visiting a realm of spiritually superior beings whom the disciples will never see and with whom mortals can never associate. He reminds the disciples that they themselves are of a generation of human beings who are mortal. Perhaps he meant for them to understand that the other generation of beings he visited were immortal or incorruptible as opposed to humans. Again, the disciples felt disconcerted and stopped talking.

The Disciples' Vision

In the next section of the Gospel of Judas, the disciples discuss with Jesus a troubling vision they have had in which they visit the Jerusalem Temple. They tell Jesus that in the vision they see a house with a large altar where twelve men who are the priests invoke “your name.” They tell Jesus that they are kept waiting by the priests. At that juncture of the story the Gnostic bias against the orthodox point of view starts to seep in, for the disciples tell Jesus that priests are sinful and lawless.

King Solomon built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem during his reign, and when he inaugurated it, he offered prayer and sacrifice. Four hundred years later in 586 B.C. , the Babylonians destroyed the temple, but within seventy years the temple was rebuilt. During Herod's reign, the temple was enlarged. Sacrifices were again offered.

Jesus reveals that the individuals that the disciples saw accepting offers at the altar are the disciples themselves. They serve the same god as the Temple priests in their vision. This must have been difficult for the disciples to hear, but the text does not say how the disciples reacted. Jesus expounds further upon the vision, telling the disciples to stop sacrificing. The sacrificial cattle, he tells them, are the people that have been led astray by those (the orthodox priests) invoking Jesus' name. Just as the cattle die, so, too, will those led by the emerging dominant church leaders experience spiritual death. Those priests, Jesus tells them, are working with the creator god of the material world. The text continues in that vein with Jesus suggesting that the priests' time will end and they will have to answer for their actions.

Meaning of Judas's Vision

Judas inquires about the fruit produced by the human generation. Jesus answers Judas by saying that all the souls of humans perish whereas the souls of the spiritual generation remain alive and are taken up once their bodies die. Jesus explains that seeds cast upon rocks do not grow (the result of Sophia's fall from grace). This passage is similar to the Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13:1–23. Jesus again departs.

The Gospel of Judas picks up once more with Judas recounting a vision in which the other disciples were stoning him. Jesus laughs and calls him the thirteenth (spirit or demon). The translators put the word in as “spirit” but in the footnote they also offer the word “demon” and explain it is because the Coptic word they have translated is from the Greek daimōn . Jesus tells Judas that he will ascend to the realm of the spiritual generation. Judas will be exalted and will rule over the other disciples, but they will curse him.

Sethian Gnostic Teaching

The gospel states that Jesus invited Judas to receive a secret teaching about the generation of the cosmos, the great invisible Spirit, and the emergence of the Divine “Self-Generated.” Jesus discussed with Judas how the Self Generated emerged first from a cloud and how, later, four angels also emerged to be the Supreme Being's attendants. Numerous other angels came into being. Finally, Adamas (an enlightened being, the exalted alternate version of the human Adam, also comes forth to begat the incorruptible race of Seth. Adamas emanates seventy-two luminaries and they bring forth 360 more of the incorruptible race. Many more beings are emanated along with heavens for the luminaries. At this point in the narrative, Judas perceives the world of the immortals, the cosmos, and the underworld. The rulers include Seth (also referred to as Christ), Harmathoth, Galila, Yobel, and Adonaios. Judas learns that the angels or luminaries are the ones who created humans and he desires to know if humans have immortal spirits. Jesus' reply seems to suggest that the “breath” of life that animates humans comes through the angel Michael as a loan (so humans can offer service) but for others, “the great generation,” the spirit and soul come as gifts through the angel Gabriel.

What Jesus Saw in the Stars

The text of the Gospel of Judas breaks and then resumes with Jesus discussing what will happen to the irredeemable generations of humanity. Jesus laughs and answers that the stars will guide them and their rulers to their completion and ultimate destruction. Jesus refers to the stars as “wandering,” which may mean the planets that the ancients saw moving through the heavens. They believed the planets exerted influence over human life. Astrology was studied in the Greek-speaking world and showed up in Platonic, Stoic, and other traditions. The ancients studied the heavens and knew about astronomy and astrology; they performed calculations, making predictions based on their findings. As mentioned in Chapter 14, the Gnostics may have named some of their archons after planets bearing Babylonian names.

After Jesus' discussion about the stars, Judas asks him what the Christians (those baptized in the name of Christ) will do. The Gospel of Judas text is then missing about nine lines but continues when Jesus declares that Judas will be exalted above all of them because Judas will sacrifice the body that clothes the Christ. In other words, Judas will enable Christ to discard what he has put on (the fleshly body that is Jesus) and the Christ, the Divine Self, will live on.

Jesus instructs Judas to look up at a cloud that had light with stars around it. Judas did as he was told and entered the cloud. Afterwards, a voice speaks from the cloud but the text becomes again corrupted by a lacuna, so no one knows what the voice said.

What heavenly images did the Babylonian astrologers observe to make their divinations?

Although the two brightest objects in the sky — the sun and moon — were most important, the Babylonian astrologers also considered the phases of the moon, stormy or clear skies, a halo around the moon, any eclipses, and even strikes of lightning and eruptions of thunder. They also used known cycles and seasons to make their divinations.

The Gospel of Judas concludes with the high priests speaking in hushed tones while Judas retreats to pray in the guest room, possibly the same guest room where the Last Supper was taking place. Judas, the text says, was being watched by scribes desiring to arrest him. When they asked him why he was there, declaring him Jesus' disciple, Judas tells them what they want to know. Judas then takes the money and betrays Jesus. There is no mention of the torture, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, since that is not the point of this Gnostic text.

Gnosis Is the Point

As with other Gnostic texts, the Gospel of Judas shows how the Gnostics developed their own traditions and stories that often conflicted with the more familiar material. Their gospels and other sacred texts offered a distinctly different lens from orthodox Christianity for viewing the events and people in the life of Jesus as well as his teachings. The Gnostics taught their followers that God could be directly accessed in the most intimate way, within themselves, and without the need of an intermediary such as an authoritative member of the clergy. They affirmed transcendence through gnosis from a world that they perceived as dark, evil, and impermanent. That belief permeated Gnostic writings.

The Gospel of Judas suggests that those with knowledge of God are the “seeds” of Seth, the Beings of Light, the Incorruptible Ones. After Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain murdered his younger brother Abel (Genesis 4:1–8), God marked Cain and banished him from Eden. Adam and Eve conceived again and the child was called Seth.

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also, there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord. — Genesis 4:25–26

Seth appears in many Gnostic texts as the father of a new race of humans, those that “call upon the name of the Lord,” or, in other words, those who are spiritual beings. Jesus in the Gospel of Judas does not say he comes to die for the sins of humanity, but rather comes as a bringer of knowledge, someone to point the way out of ignorance and erroneous thought.

A Brief History of This Gospel

In circa A.D. 180, Irenaeus mentioned in his work Against Heresies a Gospel of Judas as a fictitious account that involved the mystery of Judas's betrayal of Christ. Scholars, therefore, set a possible date for the original composition of the gospel between A.D. 130 and A.D. 170. It remains to be seen, however, whether or not scholars can definitively declare that the early church father was referring to this particular gospel. The Gospel of Judas contains a Gnostic polemic against the orthodox leaders of its time. The priests that the disciples described to Jesus engaged in all kinds of unsavory, immoral, and impious activities. The gospel declares that the solution to rectifying the problem of ignorance (not sin) that humanity faces is to replace ignorance with knowledge.

The Coptic copy of the incomplete Gospel of Judas dates to roughly the end of the third century and was discovered as the third text in an ancient book called the Codex Tchacos. Scholar Rodolphe Kasser writes in The Gospel of Judas that he first saw the papyrus Codex on the evening of July 24, 2001. He describes in heart-wrenching detail the condition of the fragile book that had been brought to him for examination. The Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art currently owns the codex; they engaged an individual named Herb Krosney to try and reconstruct the history of the codex, which he did. Krosney subsequently wrote a book about his findings in The Lost Gospel . The short explanation of why the codex was in such terrible condition is this: before it ended up in the possession of the Maecenas Foundation, it endured the temperature variations of a safe-deposit box in a New York bank, including numerous humid summers and an episode of being frozen that caused the pages to darken. Plans are for the codex to be permanently placed in the Coptic Museum of Cairo.

Within its sixty-six pages, the codex contains three other tractates in addition to the Gospel of Judas. They include a Letter of Peter to Philip (pages 1 through 9). Another copy of this letter also was found in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi materials. A manuscript with the title of James supplements the version of the First Revelation of James in Codex V in the Nag Hammadi texts. Finally, The Book of Allogenes, a previously unknown manuscript, was the fourth tractate in Codex Tchacos.

Radical Departure from Orthodox Christianity's Judas

Gnostic theological interpretation veered sharply away from the conventional orthodox tale of Judas's betrayal of Jesus after the Last Supper. The Gnostics seemed to have asserted that Jesus knew about the betrayal beforehand and that Jesus worked with Judas to carry it out at the right time. But even in the canonical Gospel of John 13:27, Jesus tells Judas to quickly do that which he had to do. While the orthodox version paints a picture of a despicable and treacherous act, the Gnostics treat it as the loving act of the only disciple who truly knew Jesus, the friend who helped his Master throw off his human body and thereby release the eternal Divine Spirit of Christ. Of course, to the orthodox Christians, that act of a friend assisting in a death wish would have been reprehensible.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Judas tries to give back the silver, but the priests consider it tainted money and decide that it cannot be placed in the Temple Treasury. They use the money to purchase the Potter's Field, which will become a burial ground for strangers.

And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, the field of blood, unto this day. — Matthew 27:6–8

The purchase by the priests of the Potter's Field is said to fulfill prophecy of Zechariah found in the Hebrew scriptures, “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:12–13). So the prophecy in Zechariah was fulfilled. Judas, overcome with guilt, commits suicide by hanging himself from a tree, according to Christian tradition. After the Savior's Passion and ascension into heaven, the disciples meet to select a replacement for Judas. The fate of Judas is thus revealed. “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, the Field of Blood.” (Acts of the Apostles 1:16–19).

The hanging of Judas appeared as a suicide, but the gut-bursting mess seems more in keeping with a divine act of retribution. Interestingly, Mark, Luke, and John do not mention Judas's death. The canonical scriptures do show Judas to be a treacherous character who loved money and that, in the end, was his undoing. Judas, from the orthodox viewpoint, could have seen Jesus as a political leader in a Jewish holy war to bring down Roman occupation. It was known that Zealots (members of a Jewish political sect advocating militaristic overthrow of Roman rule) were among Jesus' followers. Perhaps this worldly-minded Judas desired a role in the government of Jesus. When he finally realized that Jesus had come to liberate the spirit rather than the Hebrew race of people, Judas sold out for thirty pieces of silver.

Troubling Questions about the Orthodox View of Judas

The Romans, Jewish priests, and elders were aware of Jesus and his ministry. They almost assuredly knew not only who he was but also what he looked like. So why was Judas paid thirty pieces of silver to reveal Jesus' identity? The betrayal and arrest story of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew makes note that many people not only knew Jesus but had seen him in the temple.

In the same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. — Matthew 26:55

If Judas was such a villain (as bad as the devil himself, some would say), why did he not receive any mention in the writings of first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus? Or, for that matter, in the writings of Philo Judaeus, or other historians of the period? Why did his name and wicked deed not appear in the earliest New Testament writings of Paul, the Didache (sometimes called The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles and considered one of the oldest surviving pieces of non-canonical literature), the Sayings Gospel Q, or the Gospel of Thomas?

The Gospel of Matthew says that Judas was overcome with remorse and shame and hanged himself, but Acts states that his guts exploded. The discrepancy between the two canonical texts begs the question of which version of Judas's death was correct.

Who Was Missing at the Gathering?

One final question bears asking about Judas. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples gathered behind closed doors on the first day of the week. At the gathering, one disciple was missing; the obvious conclusion is that it was Judas. However, it appears to have been Thomas, not Judas, so wouldn't that suggest that if both Judas and Thomas were absent, there would have been ten disciples present, not eleven? Was Judas still alive, among the twelve, and still participating? According to scriptural accounts, Judas was alive after Jesus had risen.

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you.…And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. — John 20:21–24

The Gospel of John does not clearly say that Judas and Thomas were absent. The Gospel of Luke does not shed any light either, except to say that the disciples had gathered together and there were eleven of them.

And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you (Luke 24:33–36) .

The Gospel of Judas does not answer these questions either, but it treats Judas differently, showing him to be a worthy disciple of Jesus who carried out an important role as the life of Jesus came to its prophetic end. The secrets contained in that Gnostic gospel, condemned as heresy, would have remained secret if not for the Egyptian farmers finding the only surviving copy. It adds to the body of knowledge that scholars have pieced together about the diversity of ideas, opinions, and theology that developed during the earliest beginnings of Christianity.