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What if the disciple known for betrayal is the one Jesus chooses for his most secret teachings?
The Gospel of Judas presents private conversations between Jesus and Judas Iscariot in the days before Passover. According to the text, the other disciples fail to understand who Jesus is. Judas stands apart, receiving teachings about a spiritual reality beyond the visible world. But what does this knowledge mean for his place among them?
This early Christian text belongs to the writings scholars call Gnostic, particularly the Sethian stream. Its account moves from Jesus laughing at his disciples to visions and a vast realm of light. The surviving Coptic manuscript has gaps, and scholars still debate its meaning, including whether its portrait of Judas makes him a hero or something more troubling.
What you’ll discover
- A different Judas Meet a disciple whose private exchanges with Jesus unsettle the familiar story of betrayal.
- Disciples under challenge Explore scenes where Jesus questions his followers and exposes the limits of their understanding.
- Beyond the visible world Enter the text’s strange cosmos of light, lesser powers, and saving spiritual knowledge.
- A house in a vision Follow Judas as he describes a great house he longs to enter.
- Questions without easy answers Consider why this account leaves scholars debating Judas’s role and the meaning of his knowledge.
Is it for you?
This is for readers curious about early Christian diversity, the Gnostic writings, and how ancient manuscripts are found and read. It suits students of religion and history. If you want a plain narrative like the New Testament gospels, you may find it dense and puzzling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lost gospel comes back to light
- Jesus laughs at his disciples
- Only Judas can stand before him
- The cosmos behind the visible world
- Judas is told he will surpass them all
- Hero or villain, and why it stands outside the Bible
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The Gospel of Judas
by Attributed to early Gnostic Christians· 150
Jesus speaks with Judas about hidden knowledge and spiritual worlds.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A lost gospel comes back to light
The Gospel of Judas was known by name long before anyone could read it. Around the year 180, Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon, wrote a large work against groups he thought were teaching error. He mentions a group who used a writing called the Gospel of Judas, and he says they honored Judas for his part in handing Jesus over. For almost 1,800 years that was nearly all anyone knew.
The manuscript that now carries the text was found in Egypt, in the 1970s, probably in a tomb near the town of Al Minya. It is a codex, which is an early form of book with pages bound along one side, and it is written on papyrus in the Coptic language. Coptic is the last stage of the Egyptian language, written mostly in Greek letters. The codex passed through the hands of dealers and sat for years in poor storage, including a bank vault in the United States, and it suffered badly.
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What is the Gospel of Judas about?
It records private teachings of Jesus to Judas Iscariot. Jesus laughs at the disciples, singles out Judas, and explains a higher divine realm, lesser rulers, and the stars. It also tells Judas he will suffer and be cursed.
When was the Gospel of Judas written?
Scholars place the Greek original in the second century, since Irenaeus mentioned it around 180. The surviving Coptic copy is later, dated by radiocarbon testing to roughly the third or fourth century.
Where was the Gospel of Judas found?
It was found in Egypt in the 1970s, probably near Al Minya, as part of Codex Tchacos. After years of poor storage and sales, it was restored and published in 2006.
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