Newly-Released Document Offers New Take on Judas' Betrayal of Jesus

A recently released ancient text, "The Gospel of Judas," suggests that Judas was not the greedy turncoat 2,000 years of Christianity has protrayed him to be. Rather, this new text suggests, Judas was actually a secret confident of Jesus and betrayed Jesus to the authorities at Jesus own request. The book suggests that Jesus so instructed Judas so that the prophesies of the Messiah's execution could be fulfilled. The new gospel also says that Judas was privy to Jesus' secret teachings, suggesting that Judas knew the full story, something the rest of Christianity has not yet received.

A group of Biblical scholars have been working for 35 years to decipher and translate the pieces of the Gospel of Judas, found in the Middle East in 1970. Various testing methods show the document to have been written around the 3rd or 4th century A.D., but it appears to be a copy of an earlier document. In 180 A.D. Ireanus, bishop of Lyons, France, and among the most important of the church's early theologians, mentioned the Gospel of Judas, dismissing it as false teaching.

The official position of all major branches of Christianity since the time of Ireanus has rejected the notion of "secret teaching" by Jesus.

While in the Gospel of John, the author tells us that the Bible does not contain all of the teachings and words of Christ, most Christian churches hold the Bible to be infallible in that the teachings in the Bible will point to the true Christ. Clearly the Gospel of Judas makes claims that are at odds with the Judas account in the Bible's four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

According to the Bible, at some point Satan enters Judas and he makes a deal with the local authorities - he will deliver Jesus unto them in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.

Here's a basic primer on who Judas was and what he did:

The Judas Fact File

NAME: Judas Iscariot

FATHER'S NAME: Simon

BIRTHPLACE: In Hebrew, Iscariot means " "a man of Kerioth" (or "Carioth). Kerioth is a city in Judah. Note that all 11 of the other disciples were from Galilee, where Jesus grew up.

FREQUENCY 1: Judas was a fairly common name in Jesus' era. Note that two of the apostles are named Judas: (Luke 6: 13-16): Simon, (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

FREQUENCY 2: Judas Iscariot is mentioned about 30 times in the Four Gospel accounts.

CALL: Unlike the stories of how Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Nathanel and Matthew (also called Levi) to come and be his disciples, the Bible doesn't tell us how Jesus called or met Judas.

FRIENDS: Jesus is the only one that Judas directly refers to by the word "Friend." Matthew 26:49-50: Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. Jesus replied, "Friend, do what you came for."

ART: In Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" an overturned salt container lies in front of Judas (a reference to the superstition that spilling salt is bad luck?).

JOB/PROFESSION: Treasurer for the Disciples/Jesus. (John 12)

DEVIL: Did the Devil make Judas do it?
John 6:71-72 "Jesus answered them: Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil? Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same was about to betray him whereas he was one of the twelve"
Luke 22:3: "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve."

30 PIECES OF SILVER: In 1st Century Palestine, 30 pieces of Silver is the going price to buy a slave. After the betrayal, Judas returns the money to the high priests. They use the money to buy the "Field of Blood" where the dead Judas ended up

DEATH: According to St. Matthew, after Judas betrays Jesus, but before Jesus is executed, Judas hangs himself. In the book of Acts, we learn that Judas "intestines spilled out" into the Field of Blood. It is likely that after he was cut done, Judas dead, bloated body was taken to the field, where it eventually "burst open."

JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA: "That Jesus should have shown so little foresight in the choice of an apostle naturally caused great perplexity to his followers; and consequently the Gospels present the facts of the betrayal as well as the character of Judas from partizan points of view and in different ways."

CATHOLIC ENCYLOPEDIA 1: "In a very true sense, all sin is a mystery. And the difficulty is greater with the greatness of the guilt, with the smallness of the motive for doing wrong, and with the measure of the knowledge and graces vouchsafed to the offender. In every way the treachery of Judas would seem to be the most mysterious and unintelligible of sins. For how could one chosen as a disciple, and enjoying the grace of the Apostolate and the privilege of intimate friendship with the Divine Master, be tempted to such gross ingratitude for such a paltry price?"

CATHOLIC ENCYLOPEDIA 2: "The examples of the saints are lost on us if we think of them as being of another order without our human weaknesses. And in the same way it is a grave mistake to think of Judas as a demon without any elements of goodness and grace. In his fall is left a warning that even the great grace of the Apostolate and the familiar friendship of Jesus may be of no avail to one who is unfaithful."

Sources: New International Version, Holy Bible; New Advent.org (Catholic Encyclopedia); JewishEncyclopedia.com