This comes from an email sent to me by my church friend who is a deacon in my church. I watched the same show on NGC few weeks ago but got bored so i changed channel, anyway the points discussed here sounds interesting so i thought i just post it here. any comments r welcome.

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Dear friends,In early April 2006, the National Geographic released the manuscript of the so-called "Gospel of Judas". This was widely reported in the news and followed by a one-sided and highly sensationalized documentary on the National Geographic channel.

Many Christians and non-Christians have been confused (or should I say 'deceived') by these reports. Below is my personal and researched response to this issue. Feel free to forward this mail, publish it on the web and put up on your blog so that people will know the truth.Yours in Christ,Jer Shih

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The "Gospel of Judas" announced by the National Geographic is a 4th century manuscript written in Coptic, believed to be copied and translated from an original work produced in the 2nd century in Greek. This manuscript records supposedly secret teachings of Jesus given to Judas alone, who is portrayed as Jesus favorite and most enlightened disciple. It also records Jesus instructing Judas to betray Him, so that His spirit can be freed from the body, making Judas a hero rather than a villain.

While there is no value in vilifying Judas and no harm in making him a hero, this controversial account of Jesus and Judas, if accepted, throws doubt on the historical accuracy of the Christian gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). If indeed the role of Judas was misrepresented, then one wonders what else is also questionable. It is imperative therefore to understand the relevance of the discovery of the Gospel of Judasto the Christian faith.

National Geographic claims that this manuscript is "authentic". What this means is that this manuscript has been proven to be an authentic ancient document dating to the 4th century (i.e. it is not a modern-day forgery). But this in no way proves that it contains accurate historical facts about Jesus or Judas.

In fact, it is impossible to prove that this 4th century manuscript is an accurate copy and translation of the original 2nd century work. The original work has never been found and no other copy or translation of that work exists today.

Even if this manuscript accurately reflects the original work, it is highly unlikely that it contains true historical facts concerning Jesus or Judas. In fact, I have no doubt that the contents of this document were fabricated.

1. Although called the Gospel of Judas, it was not written by Judas Iscariot, the former disciple of Christ. This is because the original document was composed, at the earliest, in the 2nd century, when all eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus were no longer around.

2. Whoever wrote the Gospel of Judaspseudonymously had no way of knowing what secret teachings Jesus had given to Judas, since these were spoken to Judas alone. In the same way, the writer could not have known that it was Jesus who had instructed Judas to betray him, since Judas had committed suicide the very next day after the betrayal. That Judas committed suicide was a publicly known and attested fact: the 30 pieces of silver, which he returned to the Jewish leaders, was used to buy the Potters Field, which was renamed the Field of Blood and used as a burial place for foreigners (Matt 27:3-10).

3. If Jesus did actually instruct Judas to betray Him, Judas would not have been filled with regret and guilt, nor would he have committed suicide. Rather, he would have felt a sense of satisfaction, reveling in the knowledge that he had done Jesus a favor and has attained supremacy over the other disciples.

4. No other document, from antiquity till now, anywhere in the world, corroborates the story presented in this one source. On the contrary, the betrayal of Judas and his suicide was publicly known, well documented and widely accepted since the 1st century.

5. Church father Irenaeus (c 180 AD), bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of Polycarp, who was in turn a disciple of the Apostle John, was possibly aware of the existence of this gospelbut had rejected its authority, considering it a heretical work by the Gnostics.

6. The obvious motive for producing this work was to support the teachings among the Gnostics of the 2nd century. They taught the attainment of secret knowledge as the means of salvation and the dualism of spirit as good and matter as evil. Which is why it records Jesus asking Judas to free his spirit (good) from his body (evil) and omits the account his bodily resurrection.

7. That the Gnostics believed in their ability to attain secret knowledge directly from God much accounts for the total disregard of known facts in this version of the Gospel of Judas.


In conclusion, the Gospel of Judasis a valuable archeological find, an authentic ancient document, which sheds light on the beliefs of the Gnostics in the 2nd century. However, its contents are, without doubt, entirely fictional, adding nothing to our understanding of the historical Jesus or Judas, and posing no real challenge to the weight of historical evidence supporting the accuracy the four Christian gospel accounts.

Dr Chen Jer Shih, MBBS, MA(Min)Medical doctor and church deacon