It was rather interesting that the recent (or perhaps not so recent - see below) developments regarding Judas came out just prior to Easter. I may be a little late, but I just came across this and thought you may be interested.
Judas: Hero or Traitor?
A very old manuscript was published recently. It was discovered during the 1970s in Egypt and is known as The gospel of Judas. We have only four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Many more manuscripts have appeared, some of which are called gospels. However, measured with the standard of our gospels they do not deserve that name. For that reason the early Christian church refused to recognize them as gospels. These writings were left to gather dust. This is what also happened to the gospel of Judas.
In his book Against Heresies (around 180 A.D.), Irenaeus called this gospel gibberish. In this gospel, Judas is portrayed not as the betrayer of Jesus, but as the hero among the disciples, for Jesus says to him: “You will surpass all the other disciples. You must sacrifice the earthly body with which I am clothed.”
Mystical language.
This manner of writing is an indication we are dealing with a Gnostic manuscript that uses mystical language. The “earthly body” is Jesus’ exterior. The real Jesus is His soul. This soul has to be freed from His body. Now, who offered the greatest contribution? Judas! He delivered Jesus to be crucified and through that action, Jesus was freed from His “earthly body” enabling Him to go to the realm of light. Here Judas is not the betrayer of Jesus, but His willing assistant helping to affect God’s plan of salvation.
Certainly, this booklet will attract attention from the news media and find a ready market.
Most buyers, however, will find it difficult to read. The esoteric language is hard to understand.
With Irenaeus we can call it gibberish, even though today the use of such language will not make you popular. Nowadays, foolish opinions are popular. Think of the Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. This book is filled with nonsense but has sold 40 million copies. In this book, Jesus has a relationship with Mary Magdalene. This is asserted with an appeal to false gospels. So also today there is a new hype about Jesus’ intimate relationship with Judas who did not betray Him with a kiss but set Him free.
A connection.
An attempt is made to make a connection with the gospels in the Bible. Although these false gospels deviate from our four gospels, heretics and their defenders love to take the opportunity to tell us that we do not read the gospels properly. Look at the Greek word that is used in the New Testament for the betrayal by Judas. Professor Oord, from Nijmegen, tells us that the word Paradidomai does not mean “betray”, but “handed over” or “delivered.” Consequently, Judas is not the betrayer, but the assistant working out God’s plan of redemption. At a later date, however, the church made Judas the money hungry betrayer of Jesus.
Has the church really deceived us? No! When we read the four gospels and Acts, we receive a very negative picture of Judas’ deeds. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Satan had taken possession of him (John 13: 2, 27). It was the hour of the power of darkness (Luke 22: 53).
To turn darkness and the work of the devil into a normal, liberating activity requires a lot of acrobatic skills.
The Greek word paradidomai can indeed be used in other situations. Money and goods, talents and words can be “handed over” or “delivered” (Matthew 25: 14). Paul also “delivered” the words for the institution of the Lord’s Supper to the Corinthians. However, the New Testament tells us that Judas delivered Jesus, not as a servant of the Lord, but as a servant of the devil.
The words of Jesus also make it clear when He speaks about the man through whom the Son of Man is betrayed: “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26: 24). This was also on the disciples’ mind when they replaced Judas (Acts 1: 25).
God’s plan
It is amazing, however, that the evil design of man is subservient to God’s plan of redemption. In all four gospels, Judas is the betrayer. Nevertheless, all four gospels make it clear that God continues His redeeming work in spite of this evil. The Scriptures must be fulfilled (Mark 14: 49). Jesus knew exactly what was to happen to Him (John 18: 4). We cannot solve the mystery of human betrayal that paved the way to redemption. Darkness and light work together, but we must be careful not to call white black—also in our own lives. In remembering Christ’s death on the cross, we realize that we, with Judas, are guilty of the bitter suffering of Jesus Christ.
Dr. J. Douma
Kampen, the Netherlands
Original in Dutch - Translation by Leo van Huizen
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