What Scripture says
The Gospels present Judas as the disciple who betrayed Jesus for money (Matthew 26:14–16, ESV), whom Satan entered (Luke 22:3, John 13:27), and who later regretted it and died (Matthew 27:3–5, Acts 1:18). Jesus says of the betrayer, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24).
What the evidence says
History
The discovery
The Gospel of Judas was rediscovered in a leather-bound Coptic manuscript, now called Codex Tchacos, found in Egypt in the 1970s. It passed through dealers’ hands for decades, deteriorating badly, before being restored and published by the National Geographic Society in 2006 with great publicity. Radiocarbon dating places the manuscript around AD 280.
The original
The original was written in Greek in the 2nd century, probably around AD 150. Irenaeus, writing around AD 180, already knew and rejected a “Gospel of Judas” used by a Gnostic group that honoured biblical villains such as Cain.
What it says
The text presents secret teaching that Jesus gives Judas alone, “three days before he celebrated Passover”. It reflects Sethian Gnosticism, a form of Gnostic belief:
- The God of the Old Testament is a lesser, ignorant being, not the true God.
- The other disciples worship this lesser god, and Jesus laughs at them.
- Salvation is escape from the material world.
- In its most famous line, Jesus tells Judas, “you will exceed all of them, for you will sacrifice the man that clothes me”, meaning the body.
Hero or villain?
When it was first published in 2006, National Geographic presented it as making Judas the hero, the only disciple who understood Jesus and helped him escape his body.
Other scholars soon disagreed. April DeConick, a specialist in early Christian texts, re-translated key passages and argued the first team had made errors, for example translating a word as “spirit” where it should be “demon”, and reading a damaged passage as saying Judas would ascend when it more likely says he would not. On her reading, the text portrays Judas as a demon serving the lesser god: a parody, not a tribute. Scholars still debate it.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| When was it written? | c. AD 150 (manuscript c. AD 280) |
| Who rejected it first? | Irenaeus, c. AD 180 |
| Is Judas the hero? | Disputed; many scholars now say no |
Where they meet
Whatever its view of Judas, the text comes from the 2nd century, long after the events, and teaches Gnostic beliefs that contradict the earlier Gospels: a different God, a different salvation, a Jesus who mocks his disciples’ worship. The church rejected it as soon as it was known.
What’s still open
Whether the text portrays Judas positively or negatively.
Bottom line
The Gospel of Judas is a 2nd-century Gnostic text that was presented, when published, as making Judas the hero. Irenaeus already rejected it around AD 180, so leaving it out is rated Settled.