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A review by kevin_shepherd
The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed by Bart D. Ehrman
4.0
Some time in the middle to late 1970s an ancient papyrus codex, still bound in its original leather, was discovered in a desert tomb near El Minya, Egypt. Although its significance wouldn’t be confirmed until years later, it now stands as an authenticated Coptic translation of a Greek “gnostic” gospel dating from the second to third century; the infamous once-lost-now-found Gospel of Judas Iscariot.
Author Bart Ehrman begins his biblical recounting of storied history with various well known (and lesser known) accounts of Judas’ life and death, starting with the books of the New Testament and then broadening his scope to non-canonical sources. Ehrman emphasizes that nothing written anywhere about Judas is dispassionate or objectively verifiable. That’s not to say that everything we know about Judas is false, but much of it is so contradictory, so mutually exclusive, that it is emphatically impossible for all of it to be true.
“…it is enough to know that when early Christians told stories about the followers of Jesus, even his betrayer, they did so in light of their own views, perspectives, and theological investments.”
Take for instance the accounts of Judas Iscariot’s death. Matthew 27:3 tells us that Judas was so remorseful over the condemnation of Jesus that he hung himself. Acts 1:18 says that Judas fell headlong in a field and “his entrails gushed out.” My personal favorite comes from the writings of Papias, a Greek Apostolic Father (60-130 CE):
“Judas walked about as an example of godlessness in this world, having been bloated so much in the flesh that he could not go through where a chariot goes easily, indeed not even his swollen head by itself. For the lids of his eyes, they say, were so puffed up that he could not see the light, and his own eyes could not be seen, not even by a physician with optics, such depth had they from the outer apparent surface. And his genitalia appeared more disgusting and greater than all formlessness, and he bore through them from his whole body flowing pus and worms, and to his shame these things alone were forced [out]. And after many tortures and torments, they say, when he had come to his end in his own place, the place became deserted and uninhabited until now from the stench…” -The Fourth Book of Papias
For all practical purposes the only thing about Judas that all the different sources agreed upon was that he betrayed Jesus, that he was the enemy of Christ. There was no text anywhere that truly portrayed Judas in a positive light—that is, until now.
[SPOILERS REMOVED]
___________________________________
Thinking on a “divine level” (which is difficult for a skeptical pragmatist like myself), was not Judas’ betrayal of Jesus simply a fulfillment of prophecy? If Christ had to die for the sins of the world and Judas (and the Jews) made that possible, is that not a good thing? Granted, those committed to antisemitic propaganda have depicted Judas as the prototypical Jew and Christ killer, but what if he was more hero than villain? Let’s face it, if he hadn’t betrayed Jesus and collected his thirty pieces of silver would Christianity still be a thing? If Jesus had died not on a cross but, for example, of old age then what would today’s followers wear around their necks? Tiny little rocking chairs?
Author Bart Ehrman begins his biblical recounting of storied history with various well known (and lesser known) accounts of Judas’ life and death, starting with the books of the New Testament and then broadening his scope to non-canonical sources. Ehrman emphasizes that nothing written anywhere about Judas is dispassionate or objectively verifiable. That’s not to say that everything we know about Judas is false, but much of it is so contradictory, so mutually exclusive, that it is emphatically impossible for all of it to be true.
“…it is enough to know that when early Christians told stories about the followers of Jesus, even his betrayer, they did so in light of their own views, perspectives, and theological investments.”
Take for instance the accounts of Judas Iscariot’s death. Matthew 27:3 tells us that Judas was so remorseful over the condemnation of Jesus that he hung himself. Acts 1:18 says that Judas fell headlong in a field and “his entrails gushed out.” My personal favorite comes from the writings of Papias, a Greek Apostolic Father (60-130 CE):
“Judas walked about as an example of godlessness in this world, having been bloated so much in the flesh that he could not go through where a chariot goes easily, indeed not even his swollen head by itself. For the lids of his eyes, they say, were so puffed up that he could not see the light, and his own eyes could not be seen, not even by a physician with optics, such depth had they from the outer apparent surface. And his genitalia appeared more disgusting and greater than all formlessness, and he bore through them from his whole body flowing pus and worms, and to his shame these things alone were forced [out]. And after many tortures and torments, they say, when he had come to his end in his own place, the place became deserted and uninhabited until now from the stench…” -The Fourth Book of Papias
For all practical purposes the only thing about Judas that all the different sources agreed upon was that he betrayed Jesus, that he was the enemy of Christ. There was no text anywhere that truly portrayed Judas in a positive light—that is, until now.
[SPOILERS REMOVED]
___________________________________
Thinking on a “divine level” (which is difficult for a skeptical pragmatist like myself), was not Judas’ betrayal of Jesus simply a fulfillment of prophecy? If Christ had to die for the sins of the world and Judas (and the Jews) made that possible, is that not a good thing? Granted, those committed to antisemitic propaganda have depicted Judas as the prototypical Jew and Christ killer, but what if he was more hero than villain? Let’s face it, if he hadn’t betrayed Jesus and collected his thirty pieces of silver would Christianity still be a thing? If Jesus had died not on a cross but, for example, of old age then what would today’s followers wear around their necks? Tiny little rocking chairs?