The “Gospel of Judas” is doubtlessly an interesting historical and archaeological discovery—in so far as any fourth- or fifth-century Gnostic document is valuable in providing information regarding theological beliefs of this marginal heterodox group.

The manuscript—though now seriously damaged from age and neglect—was by all accounts copied sometime around AD 300 to 400, and in that sense is a genuine artifact of the ancient world, especially the world of Gnosticism.

The “Gospel of Judas” reflects typical Gnostic thought of that time. Gnosticism, a form of heretical Christianity, believed in a dualistic world in which the material world was evil and one was rescued from it through special knowledge. An entire worldview—and the literature to go with it—was created around this perspective.

The “Gospel of Judas” is very similar in perspective to many of the Gnostic documents found at the nearby Egyptian site of Nag Hammadi in 1945.

For example, the “Gospel of Judas” mentions such standard features of Gnosticism as Barbelo (the first emanation from God in Gnostic cosmology, and almost a female god), Sophia (another of the emanations from God), Seth (Genesis 4:25; Adam’s son, the supposed founder of Gnosticism), aeons (further emanations), angels and stars, among others.

There is dualistic talk of spirit versus flesh, and the place of special knowledge enlightening people and things.

Many of these Gnostic ideas may have originated in the second century AD, which was apparently a productive time for a number of fringe groups. As a result, some scholars want to see our “Gospel of Judas” as a later Coptic version of the “Gospel of Judas” referred to by Irenaeus of Lyons, the second-century church father, who wrote a massive work entitled Against Heresies.

“Rehabilitation literature”

Rather than having vied for a position in the canon of the New Testament or providing reliable historical information, the “Gospel of Judas” is derivative and later, reflecting wording and episodes from the canonical Gospels in our New Testament, as well as other Gnostic ideas and documents, such as infancy Gospels.

Instead of being early, the “Gospel of Judas” is what I prefer to call “rehabilitation literature,” typical of Gnosticism. Gnosticism seems to have been concerned to rehabilitate those who were on the fringes of the biblical documents, or those who were outside of the mainstream.

Perhaps this was a form of apologetic for the Gnostics, knowing that they too were outside the mainstream of Christian belief. Hence, they claimed to follow in the path of Cain or Seth, and wrote gospels of Philip and Thomas among other works, and now we also have a “Gospel of Judas.”

Those who are not central to the New Testament are given their own, later works in an attempt to rehabilitate them.

As part of its rehabilitation of Judas, this gospel depicts Judas as having a private conversation with Jesus where Judas

As one scholar has rightly stated, the “Gospel of Judas” does not provide reliable or factual information about the historical Jesus or the historical Judas. It is merely a later attempt to rehabilitate Judas.

Stanley Porter is president and dean, and professor of New Testament, at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario.