The Gospel of Judas

by Pastor Ronald Boelte

I have had some people ask me about this new gospel of Judas that the media and television programs have been talking about these last few days.

The Bible researchers have know from some earlier writings from Irenaeus that this manuscript existed. Since Irenaeus wrote his manuscript in 180AD many think the gospel of Judas could have been written between 150-170AD. We know for certain that Judas Iscariot was not the writer, but they do not know who did write it. The manuscript is considered by some to be a Cainite work, a sect of the gnostic group. It does not contain that much about Jesus when he walked this earth, and it is dramatically different from the four gospels found in the Bible. This manuscript supposedly provides a secret account of what happened between Jesus and Judas that night of betrayal, and that Jesus did not tell to the other disciples about his plans.

It is thus a miscomprehension of the media and other people to think that The Gospel of Judas represents an original Christian message. On the contrary The Gospel of Judas was written against the Christian tradition bringing into its text the gnostic point of view. Paul in his writings often speaks out against this sect and their beliefs as being misleading and against what Jesus taught.

One of the things that is going on with the media is that they are leaving out a lot of information that would put this document in a bad light. They are trying to make it more than it is. Irenaeus in his writings about this book condemned it as being non- Christian, and containing many false beliefs against the teaching of Jesus and the church of his time. My own conclusion is the same as Irenaeus, the gospel of Judas is not some new teaching of Jesus, but does contains many false beliefs and teachings about Jesus. The gospel of Judas while a manuscript from early times is not something that will add to our knowledge and belief in Jesus.