The Gospel of Judas contains a scene where Jesus reveals secrets to Judas that have been kept hidden from the rest of humanity including the defining statement, “but you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”
Strong Gnosticism is seen in this statement where Jesus is claimed to reveal the secret knowledge of his fate and requests Judas to help him escape from his physical body and releasing him as spirit.
Moreover, as Mohler noted, the message that Jesus died on the cross in place of humanity and thus redeemed mankind is “completely missing from The Gospel of Judas.”
As a result, the text was rejected by the early church leaders and deemed heretical by Irenaeus, a major early Christian figure, in his writing at about year 180.Simon Gathercole, a New Testament professor at Aberdeen University, has also voiced that although the text is authentic, it has no significant impact on the Gospel.
“It is certainly an ancient text, but not ancient enough to tell us anything new,” explained Gathercole, according to Mohler. “It contains themes which are alien to the first-century world of Jesus and Judas, but which became popular later.”
“Indeed, those Gnostic ideas did become popular later, and they are becoming increasingly popular now,” concluded Mohler.
“The truth of the Gospel stands, and Christians will retain firm confidence in the authenticity of the New Testament and, in particular, of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,” he continued.
“Informed Christians will be watchful and aware when confronting churches or institutions that present spurious writings, rejected as heretical by the early church, on the same plane as the New Testament.”
[Editor's Note: Jennifer Riley reported from Washington DC, USA for this article.]
Jennifer Riley
Christian Today Correspondent
