Who Wrote The Gospel Of Judas?

Judas Iscariot is a very interesting character in Christian history, not only because he is one of the direct disciples of Jesus -peace be upon him-, but also because, unlike the rest, he was accused of the infamous “Betrayal”.

But have you ever wondered what is his side of the story? It’s only fair if we are to judge someone, by listening to him first, right? But how?
Well, we might have a chance to do that by looking at this document attributed to him:
The Gospel of Judas

This doesn’t only concern the character Judas but also the events it speaks of which are the foundation for modern Christianity and the picture drawn by a supposed eyewitness. This may completely change what you think is a fact. 

What is the The Gospel Of Judas in the Bible?

The Gospel of Judas is not part of the traditional Christian Bible. Instead, it is an ancient Gnostic text that was discovered in the 1970s in Egypt. The gospel is attributed to Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. Unlike the canonical Gospels found in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the Gospel of Judas presents a unique perspective on the events surrounding Jesus’ life and betrayal.

In this Gnostic gospel, Judas is portrayed in a different light compared to the traditional narrative. Instead of being vilified for betraying Jesus, Judas is depicted as someone who plays a crucial role in facilitating Jesus’ divine plan. According to the text, Jesus and Judas have a secret understanding, and Judas’s betrayal is seen as a necessary step for Jesus to fulfill his mission and achieve salvation for humanity.

It’s important to note that the Gospel of Judas is considered a non-canonical and apocryphal text. Gnostic literature often contains distinctive theological perspectives that were not accepted by mainstream Christian communities. The canonical Gospels found in the New Testament are the widely accepted accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings within traditional Christian theology. The Gospel of Judas provides insights into the diversity of early Christian thought and the range of beliefs held by different groups in the ancient world.

Was there a gospel of Judas?

Yes! Many early sources talk about a document called the gospel of Judas, but it wasn’t discovered until very recently.

Its first English translation only came out in 2006. Yet many Christians still know little about it. 

The reason why this isn’t very popular goes back to two things: the negative opinion of the character itself and the fact the document casts doubts over the foundation of mainstream Christianity: The Crucifixion of Jesus -peace be upon him-. 

When was the gospel of Judas written?

The Exact date and location of writing the Gospel of Judas is unknown.
Its mention in other resources may go back to 180 CE, making it a very old document and suggesting that the original is even older.  

The recently discovered document is very old going back to the second to third century, and is in Coptic, translated from Greek.

Many Gospels in the first century 

This recent discovery highlights the fact that in the early days of Christianity, there were many documents named “The Gospel”, like the lost gospels of Mariam and Judas.

The writer of Luke’s Gospel mentions: “Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,”
Suggesting that in the very early first centuries, there were (Many) accounts for “The gospel”, yet only one or two (Mark and Mathew) that Christians have today and which were written before Luke.

Luke1:1

Research suggests that more than 30 documents are named (The Gospel), and many of which have been lost or yet to be discovered.

Who wrote the gospel of Judas

No one really knows! Just like all other Gospels in and out of the Bible!!

This Gospel title claims to speak on the authority of Judas Iscariot, who was a close disciple and direct eyewitness of Jesus -peace be upon him-. 

Yet, when asked “who wrote the book of Judas in the Bible”, academic studies could not confirm anything, and it is left to speculations.

This is – shockingly- the same case for the canonical gospels like (Mark, and John)!

Is the gospel of Judas authentic? 

No, because of the gospel’s unknown origin. That doesn’t mean it cannot be beneficial in some ways as a historical text.

Why was the gospel of Judas excluded?

“Because of its unknown origins” that’s how Mainstream Christianity answers

But that just puts more emphasis on the question rather than answering it! 

In that regard, the gospel of Judas isn’t different from the rest of “the gospels” in the Bible, which are also of unknown origin! 

Just like the Gospel of Judas, the gospels of Mark, Mathew, Luke, and John are shrouded in mystery! 

All five gospels’ writers are unknown, dates and places are unknown and no original copies exist. 

So, why was the gospel of Judas excluded? 

Really…..?

Read more:   What does the Quran say about the Bible?

Judas Apocrypha VS Bible Canon 

Apocrypha is defined as biblical-related documents that are not considered genuine and of doubtful origin. 

This gives the layman a false idea that the documents in the biblical canon are different. Upon simple research, we find out this is not the case! 

The anonymity of the authors is a very common thing in biblical books, both Old and New Testaments!
And the most important books of it: The four gospels, aren’t that different in terms of authenticity from (the gospel of Judas) or the rest of the (Gospels) that were all being circled around in the early Christian days! 

The writer, time of writing, and place of writing are all unknown.

The “gospels” that modern Christianity accepts, are accepted because they validate their belief not because it is valid.
While the gospel of Judas and the rest of the gospels are rejected not because they are doubtful but rather because it doesn’t validate the Christian belief! 

Objectively speaking, the biblical canon isn’t different from (Apocrypha).
Not in that they are both authoritative and authentic, but rather that they both are doubtful and cannot be considered authentic or authoritative!
Read more : 5 Questions Explaining Muslims’ Belief In The Bible

What does the gospel of Judas say?

The Gospel of Judas says that Jesus was never harmed and was not the one Crucified.

The ending of the Gospel of Judas says that Jesus went up to heaven before all the events happened and Judas didn’t see him after Jesus told him (no hand would touch him).
Then, Judas handed over (someone) to the Jews as the document abruptly ended without any mention of crucifixion. 

The Gospel of Judas (Read here) is in clear clash with the message of the four gospels: It shows Judas as a good guy and says he never betrayed Jesus as Jesus wasn’t crucified!

Key takeaways from the gospel of Judas: 

• Jesus would often disappear from his disciples and come in different shapes.
• Jesus said to Judas: (Truly I say to you, No hands of mortal man will fall upon me; You will sacrifice the human that bears me).
• Judas didn’t see Jesus anymore after saying that and entering the “luminous sky”,  but afterwards Judas handed over (someone) to the Jews who gave him money for it.
• Ends without any mention of Crucifixion.

A big portion of the document is damaged since it’s a very old copy, and went over two translations, Yet,  the ending is what causes a major controversy over the crucifixion event.

Contradiction of the Crucifixion

The belief in salvation by Crucifixion has a massive contradiction in it – highlighted by the character of Judas Iscariot… 

The contradiction becomes apparent when asking: “Was that event a good thing or a bad thing?” 

The crucifixion can either be the worst of evils or the epitome of righteousness, but not both! Those are Polar Opposites!
They are contradictions that cannot be combined.
Yet, in Mainstream Christianity, they do! 

Muslims and Crucifixion

Muslims believe that Jesus Christ -peace be upon him- was NOT crucified. 

Allah says :  (and for boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him.(157) Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.(158))

Surat (Al-Nisaa)

This often comes as a shock to Christians because it undermines an event that all of their faith is built on!
If there is no crucifixion, then the salvation they preach never happened!
That’s why Christians try so much to look the other way and not talk about this Islamic belief. 

Islam teaches that salvation is simply by Worshiping God sincerely, repenting to Him, and getting closer to Him. That certainly sounds more reasonable, True, and Godly than the shaky narrative of Christianity.

Christians would try to run away from  this by saying: “How can someone take a historical account after 600 years from the event?”

Two points: 

1- Muslims didn’t say they believe in this based on a (Historical account) but rather on a (Divine account).

2- For those who don’t believe in the divine Islamic account, there are actually many (Historical accounts) way older than Islam and Muslims that date back to the early days of Christianity documenting similar beliefs.

The gospel of Judas is an example of a very early historical account attributed to direct eyewitnesses, even a main character in the event, saying that Jesus -peace be upon him- was never crucified. And there are many other accounts for those who made the research.

The fact is, one can never say with certainty, that the man on the cross was actually Jesus son of Mary, not a look-alike, a man mistaken to be him or a man with just a similar name.
These simple facts cast great doubt about the event that’s at the center of Christian belief which they take as a symbol.

Final conclusion

The story of Judas and his gospel are quite interesting from many angles: 

1. It exposes how similarly shrouded in mystery canonical biblical text is to Apocrypha.
2. It reveals the major contradiction in the heart of the Crucifixion narrative: Is it the worst or the best thing that happened on earth?! 
3. It shows that many early Christians believed that Jesus -peace be upon him- wasn’t crucified at all! 

Give a chance to learn and know more about what Islam teaches and you will find salvation in it.