The Gospel of Judas

There have been a large number of gospels that weren't included in the Bible. One of those gospels was the Gospel of Judas.

Page 33 suggests that this is a Gnostic text. The concept of a "secret message" and "mysteries" is incredibly Gnostic. Gnostics have survived to this day. The mention of Passover reminds us of the Jewish context of Jesus Christ.

Jesus laughs here. This is not the last time that he does this in the text. The Gospel of Judas provides a new view of Jesus. When Jesus says "your God" it makes one think of the implications. Is the Savior in this story alienating himself from his Hebrew heritage? Or, is there some other mystery here? Jesus' talking style is very similar to that found in the Bible. On this page, we discover the first mention of the generations.

On this page, there is finally a mention of Judas Iscariot. Judas is shown as being braver than the other disciples. But, even Judas couldn't look the Master in his eyes. Barbelo is mentioned, which is also very Gnostic. The claim that Judas makes about not being worthy reminds me of the Gospel of Thomas logion 13. Jesus takes Judas away to talk about "mysteries".

It is interesting to note the prophecy that occurs here. Jesus' ability to travel to other places is touched on here. Jesus even laughs again on this page.

What the Savior means by "generation" is a mystery to me. Jesus is shown as able to silence the disciples. Dreams seem to have been important to the Jews. Near the end of this page, we can see that.

The disciples begin to describe a dream they had. A number of sinful acts are mentioned. Jesus, here, explains the dream to some extent. Was the dream a kind of prophesy?

It appears that Jesus is asking for an end to sacrifice. This portion of the Gospel of Judas reminds me of the book of Hosea 6:6. One can compare Judas 41 and Hosea 6:6 to Matthew 9:13.

The disciples ask for their salvation. There appears to be another astronomical reference. The stars were often very important to the ancients. Remember that Jesus' birth was heralded by a star. Jesus takes Judas with him again.

The immortality of the soul seems to be touched upon. Jesus gives a parable that appears very familiar to me. The Savior laughs yet again. Judas describes a vision that could be a prophecy of sorts. There is more talk of the stars.

The "Self-Begotten" is talked about. This reminds me of certain Islamic teachings of G-d. The beginning of page 48 is similar to the beginning of Genesis, the first book of Moses. Much of page 49 is a mystery to me. Another mystery is the "virgin spirits" which are mentioned.

Yaldabaoth is mentioned here, once again cementing the idea of Gnosticism in the text. Page 52 can be compared to Genesis 1:26. However, it appears to be Saklas and other angels who create the first human beings. Of course, as "Elohim" is plural, an argument can be made.

Michael and Gabriel are mentioned. Judas asks Jesus a question (and, not for the first time in this text). Reading about Jesus laughing again makes me smile. Jesus gives another prophecy. There is more on page 57 that remains a mystery to me.

Judas' actions which lead to Jesus' discovery is mentioned here. This seems an appropriate place to end Judas' gospel.