Gospel of Judas

By Wendell Tenison

Introduction:

What else is new that comes along designed to confuse people? However, the masses nowadays are like the philosophers and strangers of Athens who spent all of their time either to tell or hear some new thing.

Acts 17:21 "(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)"

The confusion bred into religious circles results as a distortion of the truth of God as not absolute, but divided into conservative and liberal opinons so as to render the meaning of God's word as unknown.

According to an article published in the Tulsa World, Sunday, April 16, 2006, several quotes by individuals are made to illustrate just how many "scholars" stray from the truth of God's word in order to subvert the minds of the masses.

The Gospel of Judas was supposedly found in a cave thirty years ago, but never brought to the publics attention until recently. According to the article, some scholars portray Judas not as scandalous but as a favored disciple of Christ.

According to the Tulsa World article, one person is said to have agreed with other scholars that the Gospel of Judas will help Christians better understand the early centuries of the church. The apostle Judas died before Christ and the establishment of the Lord's church. How could Judas know anything about the early centuries of the church having died before it was established? Judas was not a Christian, but died under Jewish law. It wasn't until Jesus died that the law of Moses was nailed to his cross.

Col 2:14 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;"

Another is quoted in the article as saying, "instead of an evil Jew, Judas was trying to do the right thing."

Does God have anything to say about those who would make evil good and good evil?

Isa 5:20 "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

Now let us hear from God and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Mat 26:14-16 "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,.....And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver......And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."

Up to this time Judas had no intention of betraying our Lord.

Mat 26:20-25 "Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve......And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me......And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?.....And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me......The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born......Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said."

Does this sound as if Judas was a favored disciple? Judas knew very well it was he who would betray his Lord. This rings a bell from the apostle Peter.

2 Pet 2:20-22 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning......For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them......But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."

Mat 26:47-50 "And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people......Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast......And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him......And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him."

Was the kiss of death good or evil?

Luke 22:1-6 "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover......And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people......Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve......And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them......And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money......And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude."

As it was common in those days for Satan and his evil spirits to enter the people, so now was Judas under the complete control of Satan.

Luke 22:21-23 "But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table......And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!.....And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing."

Upon his return from the chief priests and captains, Satan was still in total control over the betrayers thoughts and actions.

John 6:64 "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him."

Was a non-believer considerd to be a favored disciple? Since Jesus was God in the flesh, he knew all things from the beginning, especially he knew who would betray him.

1 Tim 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Heb 1:8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."

John 6:70-71 "Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?.....He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve."

The popular belief now is that Judas was only doing God's will and therefore, will be saved. Now all of a sudden is God saving devils?

Mat 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"

Judas was called a devil by Jesus. Was Judas good or evil? Did Jesus lie?

John 12:3-6 "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment......Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,.....Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?.....This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."

Now we are getting to the heart of the problem. Judas was not a writer, but a thief. Money was his bottom line. Good or evil?

John 13:2 "And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

Now the scripture is being very specific that Satan was into the heart of Judas. We could just blame it on the devil and let Judas off the hook. The apostle James says differently.

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

John 13:11 "For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean."

Who was not clean? Judas or some of the others? Good or evil? Judas for sure.

John 13:18 "I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me."

Who lifted up his heel against our Lord? Good or evil?

John 13:21-30 "When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me......Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake......Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved......Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake......He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?.....Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon......And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly......Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him......For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor......He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night."

Did our Lord make a request of Judas to betray him that we might have salvation? I vehemently deny that! If that were the case, Jesus had all power as God in the flesh to give such a command to Judas to do the act. But, to the contrary, Judas was the prize of Satan.

John 17:12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."

What is perdition? The only other time the phrase son of perditon is used in the new testament is 2Thess.2:3.

Thayer's rendition of perdition: The destruction which consists in the loss of eternal life, eternal misery, perdition, the lot of those excluded from the kingdom of God.
2. b. in particular, passively, a perishing, ruin, destruction"

Jesus labeled Judas as the "son of perdition." Was this label a sign of a favored disciple? On the other hand, had the "son of perdition" been the favored disciple, Jesus would have been confederate with a thief, conspirator and devil. This sounds like Jesus made the same comparison of Judas to the devil as he did to the Scribes and Pharisees.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Mat 27:1-10 "When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:.....And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor......Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,.....Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that......And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself......And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood......And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in......Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day......Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;.....And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."

Be not deceived, Satan's rewards to his subjects are never in their best interest.

Psa 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

Did the prophecy come to pass? Absolutely.

Acts 1:18-20 "Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out......And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood......For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take."

Yes, it would have been better if that man had not been born.

Conclusion:

Not very many can agree to the exact time the inspired gospels were written, but nearly all will agree they were written between A.D.40-100. The dates given below are not intended to be exact.

Matthew A.D. 55-65; Mark A.D. 50-70; Luke A.D. 40-60; John A.D. 95-100

The so-called Gospel of Judas was written from other Greek writings ca 130-170 A.D. by Gnostic writers. It is said, that they loved to re-wright Greek writings. Jesus told his disciples that after his departure, the Holy Spirit of Promise would teach and bring to their remembrance all things that he had told them. Judas did not qualify seeing that he died before Jesus did.

John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

The Wikipedia free encyclopedia has a most complete background inventory of the so-called Gospel of Judas. It is said in this work that Irenaeus, an anti-Gnostic writer who wrote a piece called Adversus Haereses, in about 180 A.D., where he classed the Gospel of Judas as a production of fictional history.

To sum it up briefly, the Gospel of Judas is a hoax to deceive the masses and better yet, sell a great many copies. Money is usually the bottom line to all fraud.

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