The Gospel of Judas (Part 2)
Why is Judas exalted so highly in the gospel that bears his name? We find out as we continue to consider important observations from the Gnostic work written within 100 years from the close of the inspired New Testament. First, however, some other fanciful events occur. It is claimed that Jesus will teach Judas secrets that no person has ever seen.
Apparently, there was a time (far in the past) when a luminous cloud appeared (not unlike on the Mount of Transfiguration), and the Great Invisible Spirit said, “Let an angel come into being as my attendant” (34). What happened next is described in the text:
A great angel, the enlightened divine Self-Generated, emerged from the cloud. Because of him, four other angels came into being from another cloud, and they became attendants for angelic Self-Generated (34).
All right. Let’s see if we can get this straight: The Great Invisible Spirit needs an attendant; therefore, He calls forth an angel out of a luminous cloud. Then that angel brings forth from another cloud four more to be attendants for him. Eventually myriads without number come into being (34). The main question is, “If he calls forth the creation of an angel out of a cloud, then in what sense is that angel Self-Generated?” If He was Self-Existent, He would have already existed. In the Scriptures, anyone Self-Existent is eternal. Clearly, the Gospel of Judas disagrees with the Scriptures. More is said on this matter, but it is even more confusing.
This section, for example, talks about “twelve aeons of the twelve luminaries” … “with six heavens for each aeon, so that there are seventy-two heavens for the seventy-two luminaries…” (36). These words and phrases constitute gibberish for Bible students. Whoever the author of The Gospel of Judas is, he either made up a new vocabulary or borrowed it from other writers who were making it up as they went along.
The Underworld
The story continues with twelve angels coming into being to “rule over chaos and the [underworld].” One angel’s “face flashed with fire,” and his appearance “was defiled with blood.” This person has a name, Nebro, which means “rebel.” He has another name by which he is called—Yaldabaoth (37). According to the footnote, he is a demiurge (whatever that is) and has the appearance of “a snake with the face of a lion, and his eyes are like flashing bolts of lightning.”
All in all, five angels “rule over the underworld, and first of all over chaos” (37). So, why refer to all of these things that are so outlandish and foreign to the Scriptures? The point is to show that, when we get to the material about Judas, it is just as nonsensical.
The Creation and Destiny of Man
Nebro (Yaldabaoth) created angels to be his assistants, including Saklas (whose name means “fool”) (100). Interestingly, Saklas said to his angels (wait for it), “Let us create a human being after the likeness and after the image” (39). We are asked to believe, then, that a rebel angel (created from another angel) created his own set of angels, one of which created man. No wonder man is so messed up! But man is created in the likeness and the image of what: God or Nebro? Obviously, these names are nowhere to be found in the Bible, nor does this account agree with the actual Creation, where God is the only Creator over a Creation that is very good (Gen. 1:31).
According to The Gospel of Judas, Saklas fashioned Adam and his wife, Eve, who is called Zoe. This is the Greek word for life (since Eve is the mother of all living). The Septuagint translated Eve’s name as Zoe.
Judas asks Jesus about the future and is told; “Truly I say to you, for all of them the stars bring matters to completion” (41). Whatever that means is anybody’s guess, but there is yet more about the stars. Judas asks Jesus why he is laughing at them; the reply is:
“I am not laughing [at you] but at the error of the stars, because these six stars wander about with these five combatants, and they all will be destroyed along with their creatures” (42).
A footnote explains that these wandering stars are probably Mercury, Venus, our moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Astrology teaches that these heavenly bodies “can rule over us and influence our lives in unpleasant ways” (42).
The Greatness of Judas
All of these are interesting subjects along the way, but now we come to the explanation for Jesus being so close to Judas (allegedly) and the reason for him being exalted. That explanation is: “For you will sacrifice the man who clothes me.” The footnote asserts further: “The death of Jesus, with the assistance of Judas, is taken to be the liberation of the spiritual person within” (43). Therefore, because Judas was willing to betray Him, thus bringing about His death, for this reason he is to be honored and exalted.
Talk about calling good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20)! This is an even greater con than the idea that smoking cigarettes makes a person look cool. How do we know that Judas’ betrayal was not an act of love?
Jesus did not need any help in being sacrificed. When He went into the synagogue at His home town of Nazareth, He stood up and read from Isaiah. When He finished, He closed the book, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. Then he said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” They all marveled at the gracious words He spoke, saying, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:16-22). But then He spoke a little longer, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country” (4:24).
Then He pointed out that, in the days of great famine, Elijah helped out two Gentile women with food (4:25-26). Finally, he added, “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian” (4:27). This information was true and factual, but the multitude despised hearing it. They were “filled with wrath” and tried to throw Him over a cliff—unsuccessfully (4:28-30).
Later, Jesus made the statement concerning His eternality: “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” The response was swift and definite; they understood exactly what Jesus said: “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by (John 8:58-59).
The Jews demonstrated an identical response when Jesus declared to them, “I and My Father are one.” They “took up stones again to stone Him” (John 10:30-31). He kept reasoning with them but made no headway. They tried to seize Him, but He escaped again (10:39). At least these three times Jesus had to dodge the Jews and their malicious intent to kill Him. The idea that He needed Judas to betray Him is laughable.
2. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). Jesus voluntarily took upon Himself a body of flesh. Concerning that body, He later said that no one could take His life from Him: “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:18). Does this sound like an individual who needed Judas’ help?
3. Jesus specifically warned Judas not to betray Him. At the Last Supper, Jesus made it clear: “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matt. 26:24). Most people who heard that condemnation would probably have chills running down their spine. Some men might have repented and asked Jesus for forgiveness. But not Judas! Helping or assisting Jesus was the furthest thing on his mind.
4. Not once in the Gospel of Judas (so far as we can tell) does Jesus say He is going to be the sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He does not even give Judas that motivation. How odd!
One Final Reference
As The Gospel of Judas ends, the last thing that Jesus says to him is: “Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star.” It is recorded that Judas lifted up his eyes, saw the cloud, and entered it. A voice spoke out of the cloud, but the lines are lost at this point
The book closes with Judas then betraying Jesus; the last sentence states: “And he received some money and handed him over to them.” Perhaps the reader is underwhelmed. Perhaps he thought the book would possess some cleverness. No, it is dull and inexplicable.
We agree with Gary Young’s assessment: “Certainly there is no evidence whatever that The Gospel of Judas ever received any acceptance beyond the narrow and rather strange Cainite sect.”
More on Jesus and His Body
In commenting on Jesus’ death, Bart Ehrman (the agnostic atheist) makes this statement:
Jesus only appears to have a real flesh-and-blood body for his time here on earth in human form. He needs to escape this mortal coil to return to his heavenly home (109).
Um, if Jesus only appears to have a flesh-and-blood body, why does He need help escaping it? Was Jesus so weak that He could not depart from a fake body without Judas’ help? Are we to believe that He had to be crucified by Roman soldiers to dispense with a body that only appeared to be flesh-and-blood? And weren’t the soldiers smart enough to notice that no blood came forth from His pretend body when they drove in the nails? No, the fact is that both blood and water came forth when the spear was cast into His side (John 19:34).
It should be obvious to Christians, if not to others, that there was no conspiracy to keep The Gospel of Judas out of the New Testament. So much of it is human invention that it becomes embarrassing to read it. And the premise that it was denied legitimacy because of the “secrets” it reveals does not even make good nonsense. It was rejected because it is obviously false. As Gary Young said:
While it may appeal to conspiracy theorists to imagine that the church has suppressed an equally valid alternative history, the fact is that the Gospel of Judas was rejected by the early church because it was just what Irenaeus said it was—an unhistorical, late, and entirely imagined document which was produced by and served the interests of a small and highly unusual heretical sect of the second century AD. In no way should it cause any Christian to reject Biblical truth, because it is evidently inferior in every way to the genuine history of the canonical gospel accounts.