Reflections on the Gospel of Judas (Part 3)

(continued from last week)

The Gospel of Judas and the New Testament

Having examined the text we can now focus on the question that everyone will be asking: how does the Gospel of Judas relate to the New Testament? Was it "removed" from the New Testament? Is there some truth in it that is trying to be hidden by Christians?

These same questions have been asked regarding the Gnostic documents found at Nag Hammadi and even more so since the popularity of The da Vinci Code, and the answers remain the same.

Christians of the second through fourth centuries, when determining for themselves what works were inspired and thus canonical and what were not, used very straightforward guidelines, and most "orthodox" Christians came to similar conclusions. To be inspired, and thus profitable for understanding per 2 Timothy 3:16-17, a book had to have apostolic certification by being written by an apostle or the direct associate of an apostle. With the exception of a few radical scholars in regards to the Gospel of Thomas, there is unanimity that all the Gnostic works were written after the demise of the Apostles and their associates; they have no claim to inspired authenticity. The Gospel of Judas falls into this category: no one believes that it was written by Judas Iscariot or any other apostle.

We can see, therefore, that the Gospel of Judas was never considered a part of the New Testament, and if even ever considered, would have been rejected on the basis of not bearing the imprint of inspiration alone.

Many, however, desire to believe that Gnosticism has some truth in it and that Gnosticism should be considered an "alternative Christianity," one that could have the same claim to truth as the New Testament. While people can certainly believe that Gnosticism is correct if they so desire, such does not mean that Gnosticism is really a form of Christianity and certainly does not mean that its claims of truth would stand scrutiny. While many postmodern scholars would like to take a bit from the Gospels in the New Testament and a bit from the Gnostic works and try to paint a portrait of the "historical Jesus," the result is terribly unsatisfying: both groups did not accept one another. Both groups thought the other was wrong. The modern attempt to create some form of harmonization between Christianity and Gnosticism is misguided: the result is a belief system to which no one in the ancient world adhered.

In the end, one must either believe in the Gnostic gospels or the Bible; one cannot have both. The two are diametrically opposed. While the Gospel of Judas would claim that the god who created the world is a lower god and not really connected to Jesus, the Bible portrays God as a benevolent Creator, and Jesus as His Son, working with the Father in the creation, one with the Father, sent to do His will (Genesis 1, John 1:1-3, John 4:34, John 10:30). While the Gospel of Judas would posit the existence of many gods, the Bible speaks only of one (Deuteronomy 6:4, James 2:19). While the Gospel of Judas would proclaim Judas to be the only real disciple of God, reminiscent in many ways of the movie The Last Temptation of the Christ, the New Testament reveals Judas to be the thieving, traitorous betrayer who killed himself on account of his deeds (John 12:4, 13:2; Matthew 27:3-5). While the Gospel of Judas would revel in secret knowledge, Paul warns Timothy to not be seduced by the knowledge (gnosis) falsely so called (1 Timothy 6:20). It is manifest, then, that one either believes in the God of the Bible or the gods of the Gnostics; the two do not meet.

Conclusion

It is my hope that this material has helped you gain a better understanding of the Gospel of Judas and will help you be able to defend the hope that is in you in Christ Jesus (1 Peter 3:15). If you would like more information, the best place is to visit the National Geographic website and look at their material at http://www.nationalgeographic.com.

For more information on Gnosticism and the New Testament, please visit http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/denominations/gnosticism.html

Let us not be disturbed in faith by the discovery of more Gnostic documents that are sensationalized in the media, yet let us take the opportunities given to us to allow the truth of the Gospel to shine in the midst of such darkness. For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. Look to yourselves, that ye lose not the things which we have wrought, but that ye receive a full reward, (2 John 1:7-8).

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Handling Rightly the Word of Truth

How often do we see people believe that many things are in the Bible that simply are not there?

Consider the following questions:
1. What was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:3)?
2. How many wise men were there (Matthew 2:1-12)?
3. What should not be added to or taken away from (Rev. 22:18-19)?

Bible students will know that neither the fruit of the tree nor the number of wise men is ever revealed in the Bible; Revelations 22:18-19 refers to the book of Revelation proper, yet many people yet think that Adam and Eve ate an apple, there were three wise men, and Revelation 22:18-19 refer to the whole Bible. Let us make sure that we are always reading our Bibles accurately.

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2006 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!