Judas: The Gnostics and the Critics
In 2001, the invaluable Codex Tchacos finally found it’s way into the hands of a team of experts intent on decoding it’s contents. The Codex had been discovered over 30 years earlier but had only now come into the hands of a team that was ready to assemble the countless fragments and translate what they believed to be the ancient document known as the Gospel of Judas. The process was highly exclusive, with the entire project being kept under lock and key by National Geographic. In a controversial (albeit, highly profitable) move, NG decided to keep the entire document and it’s scans out of the public sphere, thus preventing any real scholarly discussion or analysis outside of their handpicked team. This, along with the sensationalist assertions of an irresponsible media, inevitably led to intense controversy and disagreement over the translation between scholars. The Church responded immediately. Aggressively denying any assertions of historicity, figures such as N.T. Wright and Rowan Williams of the Anglican Church argued that the Gospel’s popularity was the result of a public hungry for conspiracy. As Wright stated, “the enthusiasm for this new ‘Gospel’ lays bare the real agenda which has been driving both what we might call the scholarly ‘Quest for an Alternative Jesus’ and also the popular eagerness for such sensational material that we find in books like Dan Brown’s The Davinci Code.” However, the debate extended far beyond mere dismissal, with scholars such as April DeConick releasing an alternate translation of the Gospel while accusing National Geographic of deliberate mistranslation in an attempt to further their own agendas. In this essay, I will attempt to reaccess the overall goals and results of National Geographic’s mission in light of much unnecessary and, ironically, sensationalist criticism. To begin I will discuss the content and nature of the Gospel itself before proceeding to analyze the contemporary debate surrounding the text. National Geographic’s efforts were a legitimate, admittedly imperfect attempt at releasing the Gospel of Judas to the public and the aggressive criticism they have faced is unwarranted.
The Gospel of Judas was first referenced by St. Iranaeus in his book Against Heresies in the year 180 A.D. In the book Iranaeus discusses it’s association with the so-called “Gnostic Gospels” and it’s heretical content. Gnosticism was an offshoot of Christianity that infused Christian beliefs with popular Greek (primarily Platonic) thought of the day. It is a line of thought found in other popular 2nd century texts including The Gospel of Thomas and possibly represents the position of certain influential figures such as Paul’s opponents in 1st Corinthians. It focuses heavily on the dichotomy between flesh and spirit, proposing that the physical world as we know it was created by an inferior, cruel god: the god revealed in the Old Testament. Although Gnosticism has it’s roots far earlier than the origins of Christianity, the particularly Christian element of most 2nd Century Gnosticism focused around Christ’s “secret knowledge” that he taught to his followers. This knowledge allowed those who had the “spark of divinity” in them to escape the physical realm and ascend to the realm from whence the came: The Upper Realm of the true God. The Gnostic practices included sexual abstinence, personal poverty, and philanthropy in light of their distaste for the physical world. These beliefs represent the majority of 2nd Century Gnostic communities from which the Gospel of Judas emerged. The Gospel itself reflects some unique thoughts and beliefs that set it apart from other gnostic texts but, due to the wide and diverse nature of Gnosticism during the time period, it is still considered to be firmly within the Gnostic world and mindset.
The Gospel of Judas opens with Jesus and the disciples sharing a meal together. As the disciples pray, Jesus begins to laugh. When his disciples question his behaviour, Jesus explains that he is not laughing at them, but at the ignorance of which they are victims. They still worship the Hebrew god, not knowing that he is a fraud. When Jesus observes their anger at his comments, he challenges his disciples to stand up and face him. A task none of them are capable of fulfilling except for Judas. Instead, Judas declares, “You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo” (A Gnostic goddess of the higher realm). It is at this point that Jesus recognizes Judas the ideal disciple and calls him away to reveal to him the “secret mysteries”. On another day, the disciples come to Jesus with a series of visions, which Jesus interprets to reveal to his followers that they are stuck in darkness and are leading people astray with their teachings. The gospel proceeds after a large, choppy portion of missing lines and fragments to a discussion where Jesus gives the primary Gnostic exposition in the text. He continues to explain to Judas the deep and complex Gnostic mythos and Judas's place within this world. He tells Judas that Judas will "sacrifice the man that clothes me." After hearing this, a luminous cloud appears to Judas which he then enters. The Gospel ends with Judas turning Jesus over to the Scribes. the final sequence is an extremely Gnostic piece of storytelling. When Jesus tells Judas that he will "sacrifice the man that clothes me." It is implying that Judas will be the one to release Jesus from his physical bonds. In Gnostic Christianity, Jesus is almost always a divine figure that comes down to Earth in order to bring the secret knowledge of salvation to those who have the spark of divinity in them., so Judas is really playing the hero in this story by freeing Jesus from his flesh now that his mission on Earth is finished (it is assumed).
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