Gospel of Barnabas

Introduction

A word of honesty before you begin: the book you are about to read is not an ancient gospel, and it was not written by the companion of the Apostle Paul whose name it bears. It is a forgery — one of the most famous and fascinating in the history of religion — composed many centuries after the events it claims to describe.

This is the Gospel of Barnabas, and it must not be confused with the genuinely early Epistle of Barnabas, a separate and authentic work of the second-century Church (presented elsewhere in this collection). The Gospel of Barnabas is a far later creation: the surviving text dates from the late Middle Ages, most likely the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, and survives chiefly in an Italian manuscript translated into English by Lonsdale and Laura Ragg in 1907.

What makes it remarkable is its content. This is a life of Jesus retold to fit a thoroughly Islamic frame: here Jesus expressly denies being the Son of God and denies being the Messiah; he foretells the coming of Muhammad as the true Messenger of God; and the crucifixion never happens to him at all — Judas is transformed to resemble him and is crucified in his place. Scattered through the narrative are details no first-century writer could have known: ritual ablutions, the doctrine of the divine unity as later Islam would frame it, the elevation of Ishmael over Isaac, and a reference to a Jubilee proclaimed every hundred years — a practice instituted by Pope Boniface VIII in the year 1300, which alone betrays the book's medieval origin.

We include it not as scripture and not as history, but as what it truly is: a singular and influential artifact of interfaith polemic, a window into how the story of Jesus was reimagined across the boundary between Christendom and Islam. Read with that understanding, it is one of the most extraordinary documents the centuries have left us.

A Forgery and Why It Matters

Forgeries are not always worthless. A clumsy fake tells us little, but a brilliant and sustained one — and the Gospel of Barnabas runs to two hundred and twenty-two chapters of confident, detailed narrative — tells us a great deal about the mind that made it and the world it was made for.

Scholars have long debated its exact origin. Some see the hand of a Christian convert to Islam, perhaps in Spain or Italy in the late medieval or early modern period, fluent enough in the Gospels to imitate their cadence while bending every episode toward a new theological end. Whoever the author was, he knew the canonical Gospels intimately and rewrote them with patience and skill, producing not a crude parody but a complete and internally consistent alternative life of Jesus.

The book has had a long afterlife. Since its rediscovery and publication it has been embraced in some quarters as a suppressed 'true gospel' and rejected by historians as a demonstrable medieval composition. Both reactions are part of its story. It is a case study in how texts acquire authority, how the longing for a hidden truth can outrun the evidence, and how the figure of Jesus has been claimed and reshaped by traditions far beyond the one that first remembered him.

To read it well is to hold two things at once: appreciation for its craft and ambition, and clarity about what it is and is not. It belongs in a serious library of religious literature — shelved, honestly, among the great pseudepigrapha rather than among the gospels it imitates.

How to Read This Text

Read it, first, as literature and as polemic — not as a report of events. Every time the narrative departs strikingly from the familiar Gospels, you are watching the author make an argument, and the interest lies in seeing how and why he reshapes the inherited story.

Watch in particular for the great reversals: the denials of divinity and messiahship placed in Jesus's own mouth, the prophecies of a prophet yet to come, and above all the substitution at the cross. These are the load-bearing pillars of the whole construction, and the rest of the book is built to support them.

Keep the dating clues in mind as you go. The medieval and Islamic fingerprints — the hundred-year Jubilee, the ablutions, the theological vocabulary — are not incidental slips but the very seams where a later world shows through an ancient costume. Noticing them is part of reading the book honestly.

Approach it, finally, with curiosity rather than alarm. A forgery this accomplished is a genuine historical treasure of a different kind: not a witness to the first century, but a vivid witness to the long, contested afterlife of the story of Jesus.

The Gospel of Barnabas

Chapter 1

The True Gospel of Jesus, called Christ, a new Prophet sent by God to the world: according to the description of Barnabas his apostle.

Barnabas, apostle of Jesus the Nazarene, called Christ, to all who dwell upon the earth: peace and consolation.

Dearly beloved, the great and wonderful God has in these past days visited us by his prophet Jesus Christ in great mercy of teaching and miracles. Because of this, many have been deceived by Satan and, under the pretense of piety, are preaching most impious doctrine — calling Jesus the Son of God, repudiating the circumcision ordained by God forever, and permitting every unclean meat. Among these Paul too has been deceived, which I speak of not without grief. For this reason I am writing down the truth which I have seen and heard in my time with Jesus, so that you may be saved and not be deceived by Satan and perish in the judgment of God. Therefore beware of everyone who preaches to you new doctrine contrary to what I write, so that you may be saved eternally.

May the great God be with you and guard you from Satan and from every evil. Amen.

In these last years a virgin called Mary, of the lineage of David, of the tribe of Judah, was visited by the angel Gabriel from God. This virgin lived in all holiness without any offense, blameless and devoted to prayer and fasting. One day, while she was alone, the angel Gabriel entered her chamber and greeted her, saying: "God be with you, O Mary."

The virgin was frightened at the appearance of the angel, but the angel comforted her, saying: "Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God, who has chosen you to be the mother of a prophet whom he will send to the people of Israel, so that they may walk in his laws with truth of heart." The virgin answered: "How shall I bring forth a son, seeing I know not a man?" The angel answered: "O Mary, God who made man without a man is able to bring forth in you a man without a man, because with him nothing is impossible." Mary answered: "I know that God is almighty; therefore let his will be done." The angel answered: "Now is conceived in you the prophet, whom you shall name Jesus. You shall keep him from wine and from strong drink and from every unclean meat, because the child is a holy one of God." Mary bowed herself in humility, saying: "Behold the handmaid of God; let it be done according to your word." The angel departed, and the virgin glorified God, saying: "Know, O my soul, the greatness of God, and exult, my spirit, in God my Savior; for he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden, so that I shall be called blessed by all the nations, for he that is mighty has made me great, and blessed be his holy name. His mercy extends from generation to generation upon those who fear him. Mighty has he made his hand, and he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their seat and has exalted the humble. Those who were hungry he has filled with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. For he keeps in memory the promises made to Abraham and to his son forever."

Mary, knowing the will of God, feared the people lest they take offense at her being with child and stone her as guilty of fornication. She therefore chose a companion of her own lineage, a man named Joseph, of blameless life; for he was a righteous man who feared God and served him with fastings and prayers, living by the work of his hands, for he was a carpenter. Knowing such a man, the virgin chose him for her companion and revealed to him the divine counsel.

Joseph was a righteous man, and when he perceived that Mary was with child he was minded to put her away, because he feared God. But while he slept, the angel of God rebuked him, saying: "O Joseph, why are you minded to put away Mary your wife? Know that everything that has been wrought in her has been done by the will of God. The virgin shall bring forth a son whom you shall call by the name Jesus. You shall keep him from wine and strong drink and from every unclean meat, because he is a holy one of God from his mother's womb. He is a prophet of God sent to the people of Israel, so that he may turn Judah back to his heart, and that Israel may walk in the law of the Lord, as it is written in the law of Moses. He shall come with great power, which God shall give him, and shall work great miracles, whereby many shall be saved."

Joseph, arising from sleep, gave thanks to God and remained with Mary all his life, serving God with all sincerity.

At that time Herod reigned in Judaea by decree of Caesar Augustus, and Pilate was governor in the priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas. By decree of Augustus all the world was to be enrolled; therefore each one went to his own country, and they presented themselves by their own tribes to be registered. Joseph accordingly departed from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, with Mary his wife, who was with child, to go to Bethlehem, so that he might be enrolled according to the decree of Caesar. When Joseph arrived at Bethlehem, the city was small and the multitude of strangers was great, and he found no place to stay; so he took lodging outside the city in a shelter made for shepherds. While Joseph abode there the days were fulfilled for Mary to give birth. The virgin was surrounded by an exceeding bright light and brought forth her son without pain. She took him in her arms and, wrapping him in swaddling clothes, laid him in the manger, because there was no room in the inn. A great multitude of angels came with gladness to the inn, blessing God and proclaiming peace to those who fear him. Mary and Joseph praised the Lord for the birth of Jesus and nurtured him with the greatest joy.

At that time the shepherds were watching over their flocks, as was their custom. Suddenly they were surrounded by an exceedingly bright light, and out of that light an angel appeared to them and blessed God. The shepherds were filled with fear at the sudden brilliance and the appearance of the angel. The angel said: "Behold, I announce to you a great joy, for there is born in the city of David a child who is a prophet of the Lord, and who brings great salvation to the house of Israel. You will find the child in the manger with his mother, who blesses God." When he had said this, a great multitude of angels appeared, blessing God and proclaiming peace to all people of good will. When the angels had departed, the shepherds said to one another: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing which God has announced to us through his angel." Many shepherds came to Bethlehem seeking the newborn child, and outside the city they found him lying in the manger, just as the angel had said. They knelt before him and gave to his mother what they had, telling her everything they had heard and seen. Mary kept all these things in her heart, and Joseph gave thanks to God. The shepherds returned to their flocks, telling everyone they met what great things they had seen. And so the whole hill-country of Judaea was filled with wonder, and every person treasured this word in their heart, saying: "What, do you think, will this child become?"

When the eight days were fulfilled according to the law of the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses, they took the child and carried him to the temple to circumcise him. They circumcised the child and gave him the name Jesus, as the angel of the Lord had said before he was conceived in the womb. Mary and Joseph understood that this child was destined to bring salvation and also to be a cause of ruin for many. For this reason they feared God and raised the child in the fear of God.

In the reign of Herod, king of Judaea, when Jesus was born, three magi in the eastern lands were observing the stars of heaven. A star of great brightness appeared to them, and after consulting among themselves they set out for Judaea, guided by the star, which went before them. Arriving at Jerusalem, they asked where the King of the Jews had been born. When Herod heard this he was frightened, and all the city was troubled. Herod summoned the priests and the scribes and asked them: "Where is Christ to be born?" They answered that he was to be born in Bethlehem, for so it is written by the prophet: "And you, Bethlehem, are not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a leader who shall guide my people Israel."

Herod then called the magi together and questioned them about their journey. They answered that they had seen a star in the east which had guided them there, and that they wished to bring gifts and worship this new king whom his star had revealed.

Then Herod said: "Go to Bethlehem and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, come back and tell me, for I too would come and worship him." But he said this deceitfully.

The magi departed from Jerusalem, and the star that had appeared to them in the east went before them. When they saw the star they were filled with joy. Coming to Bethlehem, outside the city, they saw the star standing still above the inn where Jesus had been born. The magi went there, and entering the dwelling they found the child with his mother. They knelt down and did him obeisance. Then they presented to him spices, silver, and gold, and told the virgin everything they had seen.

While they slept, the child warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. So they departed by another road and went back to their own country, telling everyone what they had seen in Judaea.

When Herod saw that the magi did not return, he concluded that they had mocked him, and he resolved to put the child to death. But while Joseph was sleeping, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: "Rise quickly, take the child and his mother, and go into Egypt, for Herod intends to kill him." Joseph rose in great fear, took Mary and the child, and they went into Egypt, where they remained until the death of Herod. Herod, believing himself deceived by the magi, sent his soldiers to kill all the newborn children in Bethlehem. The soldiers came and slew all the children there, as Herod had commanded. In this way were fulfilled the words of the prophet: "Lamentation and great weeping are heard in Ramah; Rachel mourns for her sons, and will not be consoled, for they are no more."

After Herod died, the angel of the Lord appeared again in a dream to Joseph and said: "Return to Judaea, for those who sought the child's life are dead." Joseph took the child and Mary and returned to Judaea. But hearing that Archelaus, son of Herod, was now reigning in Judaea, he was afraid to stay there, and they went instead to Galilee and settled in Nazareth.

The child grew in grace and wisdom before God and before men.

When Jesus had reached the age of twelve, he went up with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem to worship there, according to the law of the Lord written in the book of Moses. When their prayers were finished they set out for home, not realizing that Jesus had stayed behind, for they supposed he had joined their relatives on the journey. Mary and Joseph turned back to Jerusalem and searched for him among their kinsfolk and neighbors. On the third day they found the child in the temple, sitting among the teachers, disputing with them about the law. Everyone who heard him was astonished at his questions and his answers, and they said: "How can there be such learning in him, when he is so young and has never been taught to read?"

Mary reproved him, saying: "Son, what have you done to us? Your father and I have been searching for you for three days in great sorrow." Jesus answered: "Did you not know that the service of God must come before father and mother?" Jesus then went down with his mother and Joseph to Nazareth, and was subject to them with humility and reverence.

Jesus, having come to the age of thirty years, as he himself told me, went up to Mount Olives with his mother to gather olives. Then at midday, as he was praying, when he came to the words "Lord, with mercy," he was surrounded by an exceedingly bright light and by an infinite multitude of angels, who were saying: "Blessed be God." The angel Gabriel presented to him, as it were a shining mirror, a book, which descended into the heart of Jesus, in which he had knowledge of what God has done, what God has said, and what God wills, so that everything was laid bare and open to him. As he said to me: "Believe, Barnabas, that I know every prophet and every prophecy, so that whatever I say has all come forth from that book."

Jesus, having received this vision, and knowing that he was a prophet sent to the house of Israel, revealed everything to Mary his mother, telling her that he must suffer great persecution for the honor of God, and that he could no longer remain with her to serve her. When Mary heard this, she answered: "Son, before you were born all of this was announced to me; therefore blessed be the holy name of God." Jesus departed that day from his mother to attend to his prophetic office.

Jesus, descending from the mountain to come into Jerusalem, met a leper who, by divine inspiration, knew Jesus to be a prophet. Therefore, with tears, he prayed to him, saying: "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus answered: "What do you want me to do for you, brother?"

The leper answered: "Lord, give me health."

Jesus reproved him, saying: "You are foolish. Pray to God who created you, and he will give you health, for I am a man as you are." The leper answered: "I know that you, Lord, are a man, but a holy one of the Lord. Pray therefore to God, and he will give me health." Then Jesus, sighing, said: "Lord God Almighty, for the love of your holy prophets, give health to this sick man." Having said this, he touched the sick man with his hands in the name of God, saying: "Brother, receive your health!" And when he had said this, the leprosy was cleansed, so that the flesh of the leper became like that of a child. Seeing that he was healed, the leper cried out with a loud voice: "Come, Israel, to receive the prophet whom God sends to you!" Jesus begged him, saying: "Brother, be quiet and say nothing," but the more he was begged, the more he cried out, saying: "Behold the prophet! Behold the holy one of God!" At these words, many who were leaving Jerusalem turned back, and entered the city with Jesus, recounting what God had done for the leper through Jesus.

The whole city of Jerusalem was stirred by these words, and everyone ran to the temple to see Jesus, who had entered it to pray, so that the place could scarcely contain them. The priests therefore besought Jesus, saying: "This people desires to see you and hear you; ascend therefore to the pinnacle, and if God gives you a word, speak it in the name of the Lord."

Then Jesus ascended to the place from which the scribes were accustomed to speak. Having beckoned with his hand for silence, he opened his mouth and said: "Blessed be the holy name of God, who of his goodness and mercy willed to create his creatures that they might glorify him. Blessed be the holy name of God, who created the splendor of all the saints and prophets before all things, to send him for the salvation of the world, as he spoke through his servant David, saying: 'Before Lucifer, in the brightness of the saints, I created you.' Blessed be the holy name of God, who created the angels that they might serve him. And blessed be God, who punished and cast out Satan and his followers, who would not reverence him whom God willed to be reverenced. Blessed be the holy name of God, who created man out of the clay of the earth and set him over all his works. Blessed be the holy name of God, who drove man out of paradise for having transgressed his holy commandment. Blessed be the holy name of God, who looked with mercy upon the tears of Adam and Eve, the first parents of the human race. Blessed be the holy name of God, who justly punished Cain the fratricide, sent the flood upon the earth, burned up three wicked cities, scourged Egypt, overwhelmed Pharaoh in the Red Sea, scattered the enemies of his people, chastised the unbelievers, and punished the impenitent. Blessed be the holy name of God, who looked with mercy upon his creatures, and therefore sent them his holy prophets, that they might walk in truth and righteousness before him; who delivered his servants from every evil, and gave them this land, as he promised to our father Abraham and to his son forever. Then through his servant Moses he gave us his holy law, that Satan should not deceive us; and he exalted us above all other peoples.

"But, brothers, what are we doing today, that we may not be punished for our sins?"

Then Jesus with the greatest vehemence rebuked the people for having forgotten the word of God and given themselves over entirely to vanity. He rebuked the priests for their negligence in God's service and for their worldly greed. He rebuked the scribes because they preached empty doctrine and forsook the law of God. He rebuked the doctors because they made the law of God of no effect through their traditions. And Jesus spoke to the people in such a way that all wept, from the least to the greatest, crying for mercy and begging Jesus to pray for them — all, that is, except the priests and leaders, who on that day conceived a hatred for Jesus because of what he had said against the priests, scribes, and doctors. They plotted his death, but for fear of the people, who had received him as a prophet of God, they said nothing.

Jesus raised his hands to the Lord God and prayed, and the people wept, saying: "So be it, O Lord, so be it." When the prayer was ended, Jesus came down from the temple, and that day he departed from Jerusalem, with many following him.

And the priests spoke evil of Jesus among themselves.

Some days later, Jesus, perceiving in his spirit the desire of the priests, went up to the Mount of Olives to pray. Having spent the whole night in prayer, he prayed in the morning, saying: "O Lord, I know that the scribes hate me and the priests intend to kill me, your servant. Therefore, Lord God, almighty and merciful, hear in your mercy the prayers of your servant, and save me from their snares, for you are my salvation. You know, Lord, that I your servant seek you alone, O Lord, and speak your word; for your word is truth, which endures forever."