The gospel of Judas: A Catholic Response (Jesus Christ, ritual, reject)

[Victor]

Is the so-called "gospel of Judas" an authentic document? Is it a Gospel with implications for Christianity?
The release of the text of the gospel of Judas has been widely reported by the secular media. Though mentioned by St. Irenaeus in the second century, the gospel of Judas disappeared from the record. This is likely due to its rejection by the Church, as its contents were not in accord with the authentic Christian faith. A copy of it surfaced in the latter half of the 20th century, and it has been undergoing translation and preparation for publication in the last few years.
The National Geographic Society released the document April 6, including English translations of portions of the text (see www.nationalgeographic.com).
The gospel of Judas is likely a genuine ancient document. However, the gospel of Judas was not written by Judas. Further, it does not preserve authentic historical information about Judas or his relationship with Jesus, and it does not provide reliable information about Christianity.
Indeed, the "gospel" is not really a gospel in the biblical sense. The word "gospel" means "good news," and the benchmark was established by Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. The Gospels focus on the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. The gospel of Judas, on the other hand, contributes more to an understanding of heretical Gnosticism than of authentic Christianity. The release of the document is an occasion for Christians to better understand this ancient heresy.
The "gospel" of Judas portrays Judas Iscariot in a significantly different light than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For example, Jesus is portrayed as telling Judas that He will share with Judas alone "the mysteries of the kingdom." The Gnostics claimed that salvation comes by secret knowledge (gnosis = "knowledge"), as the above passage reflects. This idea directly opposes the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is to be proclaimed to the whole world (cf. Mt. 28:19-20, Mk. 16: 15, and Lk. 24:47).
As is typical of Gnostic writings, the gospel of Judas reinterprets biblical events and their significance in a dualistic fashion (where matter is set against spirit). In the gospel of Judas, Jesus asks Judas to hand Him over to the authorities so that His body can be sacrificed. Jesus tells Judas that he "will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me." "The man that clothes me" refers to Jesus’ body. This reflects the Gnostic idea that the body is evil and the spirit must be set free from it. The soul is the (spiritual) essence of the person and is trapped inside the physical body. The gospel of Judas, then, portrays Judas as a liberator of a gnostic Jesus. The meaning of the crucifixion is radically altered, and betrayal is reinterpreted as liberation.
Furthermore, like the other Gnostic "gospels," the Gospel of Judas was written well after the canonical Gospels and does not provide a reliable history of Jesus’ life.
In his famous work, Against Heresies (c. 180 A.D.), St. Irenaeus makes reference to a "gospel of Judas," which seems to be the same or a related document:

[The Cainites] declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas (Bk. 1, Ch. 31, no. 1, emphasis added).

This gospel of Judas and many other Gnostic writings were rejected by the early Church, as they did not reflect the lived faith received from the apostles and expressed in the authentic canonical Gospels. As scripture scholar Fr. Joseph Ponessa explains:

Neither the Holy Spirit nor Judas himself is responsible for this piece of fiction. Judas committed suicide, and a hundred years later somebody tried to imagine what must have gone through his mind. The Bishops and Fathers of the Church rejected the document, and theirs is the definitive judgment. (For the full article, click here)