April 15, 2006
Good Friday And The Gospel of Judas
It was Good Friday yesterday, where christians all over the world remembered Jesus being crucified more than 2000 yeras ago. Most are familiar with the crucifixion story and the betrayal by one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot and he, Judas, is probably the ultimate bad guy of all times.
Recently I learnt of the discovery of the Gospel of Judas from National Geograhic presentation on TV. The said gospel is actually a copy written in Coptic, an ancient Egyptian language. According to the Gospel of Judas it stated that it is Jesus who asked Judas to sell him out to the authorities who later crucified him. Jesus is asking Judas to do this because this would help him( Jesus) to get rid of his physical flesh and to liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within him (Jesus).
Anyway after watching the presentation it got me reflecting on the significant of this find. However I think that even tought this is an important find, I believe that there will not be anything dramatic that would change or undermine traditional understanding of the Bible. However the discovery of the text does gives new insights and perhaps a new interesting chapter to the crucifixion story. Perhaps after this our present view of Judas Iscariot being the ultimate bad guy may also change.
Well for the time being, I am anxiously waiting for the print issue of National Geographic for May 2006 which Gospel of Judas is the main story.
Here is the National Geograhic link on the Gospel of Judas :-
The Lost Gospel of Judas–Photos, Time Line, Maps–National Geographic
The Gospel of Judas gives a different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
More on the Gospel of Judas from New York Times.
‘Gospel of Judas’ Surfaces After 1,700 Years - New York Times
“So what does that make Judas? Is he the betrayer, or the facilitator of salvation, the guy who makes the crucifixion possible?”
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