Revelations contained in the Gospel of Judas suggest a different take on his role. But does it really make a difference?
Replayed over and over again in our Lord’s Passion is that fateful kiss given by Judas to Jesus in the garden at Gethsemane. Now it seems that that kiss wasn’t so much a betrayal as a fulfillment of a command by Jesus himself.
The so-called Gospel of Judas as part of the Gnostic gospels has been studied for decades. The National Geographic Channel has aired a special on what the documents contain.
The most sensational revelation is that Jesus may have instructed Judas to turn Him over to the authorities. If that’s the case, will Judas’ role in the death of our Lord change our faith?
Probably not.
Because Jesus was Human and God at the same time, He knew that He would suffer and die. What difference to us does it make if He waited for events to play out or if He was the initiator?
Of course something more profound than that is at stake here. If it is true, than the Gnostics are correct in that Jesus shared a secret with Judas, substantiating the claims of there being “secret” knowledge. In a news story for Catholic News Service Cindy Wooden interviewed Jesuit Father Gerald O’Collins who said that the Judas manuscript does not rise to the level of Gospel in that it exalts Judas instead of Jesus.
While the nuances will be debated by theologians, for the faithful it shouldn’t change much. Our opinion of Judas perhaps may change, but our focus has always been not so much on the peripheral players but on the star, the Lord Jesus Christ.
