The Gospel of Judas

There has been a lot of sensationalism about the publication of the Gospel of Judas. Here is the deal:

It is a second century Gnostic text which claims that Judas was the only disciple who really understood Jesus teachings and that Jesus asked Judas to turn him over to be crucified so that he could escape from his physical body and return to the heavens.

This document raises and interesting idea. Even in the New Testament Judas is doing what he is supposed to do by turning in Jesus. According to the New Testament, Judas is simply following God's plan for salvation.

This gospel, like the other Gnostic gospels, doesn't tell us anything new about Jesus or in this case, Judas. It is an important discovery because it tells us more about diversity in early Christianity. We knew that there was a Gospel of Judas, now we have a copy. This document helps us understand more about Gnostic Christianity.

The Gospel of Judas comes from a group of four Gnostic Christian texts which were found in Egypt. Three of the documents were also found at Nag Hammadi, but the fourth is the Gospel of Judas.

Here is the website from National Geographic where you can download and English translation:

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/document.html

Here is the main page where you can find out more about the Gospel of Judas, Gnostic Christianity, and diversity in early Christianity. There are even videos with some excellent scholars:

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/index.html