What is the Gospel of
Judas?
Does
this writing provide reliable, additional information about Jesus? Was this
document suppressed by the early church and edited from the Bible in the fourth
century? These are legitimate questions that need to be seriously considered.
It is critical that we determine if the information concerning Jesus Christ as
portrayed in the canonical gospels in the Bible is reliable or if other, different
or alternative, facts may also be true.
Origin and dating
In
the 1970s, a leather-bound 66-page codex, written in Coptic, containing a copy
of the Gospel of Judas was discovered
near El Minya, Egypt. It is the only known copy. The document had deteriorated
and a painstaking restoration process by a National Geographic Society
international team has reconstructed and translated approximately 90%. It was
dated to approximately A.D. 220 to 340 by several methods: radiocarbon,
multispectral analysis, ink analysis, paleography, and contextual evidence.[1] The copy appears to be genuinely
written around the third or fourth century and it also appears there was a real
Gospel of Judas written prior to 180.
That being said, it does not mean the original contained factual information
about Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot.
Content
The
Gospel of Judas allegedly contains an
account of secret conversations between Jesus and Judas held during the week
prior to the celebration of the Passover. Jesus spoke of mysteries that are
beyond this world and, apart from the other disciples, provided to Judas
mysteries of the kingdom and how to reach it. Much of the content of this
writing is indicative of Gnosticism, such as the pervasive use of secret
knowledge and terms such as Sophia, twelve aeons, and 72 heavens. The portions
that were salvaged can be read in about five minutes or so and the disparity
between this and the authentic historical accounts found in the four canonical
gospels is striking.
Claims of authenticity
As
one might expect, soon after the Gospel
of Judas became public, claims arose that the document is on par with the
canonical accounts in the Bible. Others asserted that it was likely censored by
Emperor Constantine in the fourth century as he chose only those gospel
accounts that fit his theological preconceptions. Bart Ehrman remarked, “We're confident this is genuine
ancient Christian literature…”[2] Elaine Pagels, Professor
of Religion at Princeton, stated, “"These discoveries are exploding the
myth of a monolithic religion, and demonstrating how diverse — and fascinating
— the early Christian movement really was."[3] The point being made by
Ehrman and Pagels is not that Judas actually wrote this, but that there was
much diversity of belief among early Christians and one gospel account was not
necessarily better or more correct than another.
Irenaeus
The
first known mention of the Gospel of
Judas was around 180 AD in Against
Heresies, written by church father Irenaeus, who stated:
“They declare that Judas the traitor
was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the
truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all
things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce
a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.”[4]
It
cannot be stated with absolute certainty this copy found near El Minya is the
same document Irenaeus mentioned; however, because of the time proximity and
the fact that we have no records of another Gospel of Judas, it likely is the
same.
Is it authentic?
The
evidence indicates the copy restored by the National Geographic Society was
actually written around 300 AD. Also, the original from which the copy was made
likely predated 180 AD. However, neither of these facts is probative concerning
whether Judas actually wrote this document or whether it contains accurate
historical information. Irenaeus quickly dismissed this work as a “fictitious
history” and we know of no other church father who even mentioned it. Early
church fathers extensively quoted Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. First century
Christians – who had seen Jesus or the apostles – immediately accepted the four
canonical gospels, but there is no known mention of the Gospel of Judas. If it
was authentic, one would expect to receive better treatment. Craig A. Evans,
PhD, Biblical Studies from Claremont Graduate University, stated there is
“Probably not” anything historical about Jesus and Judas in this document, but
it “tells us something about second-century Gnosticism and perhaps a group
called the Cainites, who are a bit mysterious to us.”[5]
Should
the Gospel of Judas be in the Bible?
Other
than the title of the document, there is no evidence it was written by Judas
Iscariot or that it contains any legitimate historical information. It appears
to be a second-century Gnostic pseudepigraphal gospel. The value of the
readable portions of this document is in the background historical information
they provides concerning off-shoots of Christianity, much like we have today,
which are not orthodox in their beliefs. See articles on this website
concerning the Bible for information on the acceptance of the four canonical
gospels.
For
more in depth study related to the acceptance of the canonical gospel accounts,
see:
·
The Canon of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger
·
The Canon of Scripture by F. F. Bruce
(Biblical
references are from the NASB version.)
[1]
National Geographic, The Lost Gospel of
Judas, May 2006, accessed 28 Jul 2008, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/authentication.html.
[2]Dan
Vergano and Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA
Today, 4/06/2006.
[3]
John Noble Wilford and Laurie Goldstein, The
New York Times, April 6, 2006.
[4]
Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 1,
Chapter XXXI, paragraph 1.
[5]
Craig Evans, quoted by Lee Strobel, The
Case for the Real Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2007), 55.
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