Radical Departure from Orthodox Christianity's Judas
Gnostic theological interpretation veered sharply away from the conventional orthodox tale of Judas's betrayal of Jesus after the Last Supper. The Gnostics seemed to have asserted that Jesus knew about the betrayal beforehand and that Jesus worked with Judas to carry it out at the right time. But even in the canonical Gospel of John 13:27, Jesus tells Judas to quickly do that which he had to do. While the orthodox version paints a picture of a despicable and treacherous act, the Gnostics treat it as the loving act of the only disciple who truly knew Jesus, the friend who helped his Master throw off his human body and thereby release the eternal Divine Spirit of Christ. Of course, to the orthodox Christians, that act of a friend assisting in a death wish would have been reprehensible.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Judas tries to give back the silver, but the priests consider it tainted money and decide that it cannot be placed in the Temple Treasury. They use the money to purchase the Potter's Field, which will become a burial ground for strangers.
And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, the field of blood, unto this day. — Matthew 27:6–8
The purchase by the priests of the Potter's Field is said to fulfill prophecy of Zechariah found in the Hebrew scriptures, “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (Zechariah 11:12–13). So the prophecy in Zechariah was fulfilled. Judas, overcome with guilt, commits suicide by hanging himself from a tree, according to Christian tradition. After the Savior's Passion and ascension into heaven, the disciples meet to select a replacement for Judas. The fate of Judas is thus revealed. “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, the Field of Blood.” (Acts of the Apostles 1:16–19).
The hanging of Judas appeared as a suicide, but the gut-bursting mess seems more in keeping with a divine act of retribution. Interestingly, Mark, Luke, and John do not mention Judas's death. The canonical scriptures do show Judas to be a treacherous character who loved money and that, in the end, was his undoing. Judas, from the orthodox viewpoint, could have seen Jesus as a political leader in a Jewish holy war to bring down Roman occupation. It was known that Zealots (members of a Jewish political sect advocating militaristic overthrow of Roman rule) were among Jesus' followers. Perhaps this worldly-minded Judas desired a role in the government of Jesus. When he finally realized that Jesus had come to liberate the spirit rather than the Hebrew race of people, Judas sold out for thirty pieces of silver.
Troubling Questions about the Orthodox View of Judas
The Romans, Jewish priests, and elders were aware of Jesus and his ministry. They almost assuredly knew not only who he was but also what he looked like. So why was Judas paid thirty pieces of silver to reveal Jesus' identity? The betrayal and arrest story of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew makes note that many people not only knew Jesus but had seen him in the temple.
In the same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. — Matthew 26:55
If Judas was such a villain (as bad as the devil himself, some would say), why did he not receive any mention in the writings of first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus? Or, for that matter, in the writings of Philo Judaeus, or other historians of the period? Why did his name and wicked deed not appear in the earliest New Testament writings of Paul, the Didache (sometimes called The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles and considered one of the oldest surviving pieces of non-canonical literature), the Sayings Gospel Q, or the Gospel of Thomas?
The Gospel of Matthew says that Judas was overcome with remorse and shame and hanged himself, but Acts states that his guts exploded. The discrepancy between the two canonical texts begs the question of which version of Judas's death was correct.
Who Was Missing at the Gathering?
One final question bears asking about Judas. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples gathered behind closed doors on the first day of the week. At the gathering, one disciple was missing; the obvious conclusion is that it was Judas. However, it appears to have been Thomas, not Judas, so wouldn't that suggest that if both Judas and Thomas were absent, there would have been ten disciples present, not eleven? Was Judas still alive, among the twelve, and still participating? According to scriptural accounts, Judas was alive after Jesus had risen.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you.… And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. — John 20:21–24
The Gospel of John does not clearly say that Judas and Thomas were absent. The Gospel of Luke does not shed any light either, except to say that the disciples had gathered together and there were eleven of them.
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you (Luke 24:33–36).
The Gospel of Judas does not answer these questions either, but it treats Judas differently, showing him to be a worthy disciple of Jesus who carried out an important role as the life of Jesus came to its prophetic end. The secrets contained in that Gnostic gospel, condemned as heresy, would have remained secret if not for the Egyptian farmers finding the only surviving copy. It adds to the body of knowledge that scholars have pieced together about the diversity of ideas, opinions, and theology that developed during the earliest beginnings of Christianity.
