Bible stories are the most studied part of world literature, yet they continue to attract attention and cause heated debate. The hero of our review is the apostle Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus Christ. The name of Iscariot as a synonym for betrayal and hypocrisy has long become a household name, but is this accusation fair? Ask any Christian: "Judas - who is this?" They will answer you: “This is a man guilty of the martyrdom of Christ.”
A name is not a sentence
We have long been accustomed to the fact that Judas is a traitor. The personality of this character is odious and indisputable. As for the name, Judah is a very common Hebrew name, and these days it is often called sons. In Hebrew, it means "praise be to the Lord." Among the followers of Christ there are several people with this name, therefore, to associate it with treachery is at least tactless.
The story of Judas in the New Testament
In the New Testament, the story of how Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ is presented very simply. On a dark night in the Garden of Gethsemane, hepointed to Him to the servants of the high priests, received thirty silver coins for this, and when he realized the horror of what he had done, he could not stand the torments of conscience and strangled himself.
For the story of the period of the Savior's earthly life, the hierarchs of the Christian church selected only four writings, the authors of which were Luke, Matthew, John and Mark.
The first in the Bible is the Gospel attributed to one of the twelve closest disciples of Christ - the publican Matthew.
Mark was one of the seventy apostles, and his gospel dates back to the middle of the first century. Luke was not among the disciples of Christ, but presumably lived at the same time as Him. His gospel is attributed to the second half of the first century.
Last comes the Gospel of John. It was written later than the others, but contains information that is missing in the first three, but from it we learn the most information about the hero of our story, an apostle named Judas. This work, like the previous ones, was selected by the Church Fathers from over thirty other Gospels. Unrecognized texts began to be called Apocrypha.
All four Books can be called parables, or memoirs of unknown authors, since it is not established for certain who wrote them, or when it was done. The authorship of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke is questioned by researchers. The fact is that there were at least thirty Gospels, but they were not included in the canonical Collection of Holy Scriptures. It is assumed that some of them were destroyed during the formation of the Christian religion, while others are kept in strict secrecy. In the writings of the hierarchsin the Christian church there are references to them, in particular, Irenaeus of Lyons and Epiphanius of Cyprus, who lived in the second or third centuries, speak of the Gospel of Judas.
The reason for the rejection of the Apocryphal Gospels is the Gnosticism of their authors
Irenaeus of Lyon is a famous apologist, that is, a defender and in many ways the founder of the emerging Christian doctrine. He owns the establishment of the most basic dogmas of Christianity, such as: the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as well as the primacy of the Pope as the successor of the Apostle Peter.
He expressed the following opinion regarding the personality of Judas Iscariot: Judas is a person who adhered to orthodox views on faith in God. Iscariot, as Irenaeus of Lyon believed, was afraid that with the blessing of Christ, faith and the establishment of the fathers, that is, the Laws of Moses, would be abolished, and therefore became an accomplice in the arrest of the Teacher. Of the twelve apostles, only Judas was from Judea, for this reason it is assumed that he professed the faith of the Jews. The rest of the apostles are Galileans.
The authority of the personality of Irenaeus of Lyon is beyond doubt. In his writings there is criticism of the writings about Christ that existed at that time. In his "Refutation of Heresies" (175-185) he also writes about the Gospel of Judas as a Gnostic work, that is, one that cannot be recognized by the Church. Gnosticism is a way of knowing based on facts and real evidence, and faith is a phenomenon from the category of the unknowable. The Church demands obedience without analytical reflection, that is, an agnostic attitude towards oneself, towardssacraments and to God Himself, for God is a priori unknowable.
Sensational document
In 1978, during excavations in Egypt, a burial was discovered, where, among other things, there was a papyrus scroll with a text signed as the "Gospel of Judas." The authenticity of the document is not in doubt. All possible studies, including textual and radiocarbon methods, concluded that the document was written in the period from the third to the fourth century AD. Based on the above facts, it is concluded that the found document is a list from the Gospel of Judas, about which Irenaeus of Lyon writes. Of course, its author is not a disciple of Christ, the apostle Judas Iscariot, but some other Judas, who knew the history of the Son of the Lord well. In this gospel, the personality of Judas Iscariot is more clearly represented. Some events present in the canonical Gospels are supplemented with details in this manuscript.
New facts
According to the found text, it turns out that the Apostle Judas Iscariot is a holy man, and by no means a scoundrel, who insinuated himself into the trust of the Messiah in order to enrich himself or become famous. He was loved by Christ and devoted to him almost more than the other disciples. It was Judas who revealed all the mysteries of Heaven. In the "Gospel of Judas", for example, it is written that people were not created by the Lord God Himself, but by the spirit of Saklas, the helper of a fallen angel, who has a formidable fiery appearance, defiled by blood. Such a revelation was contrary to the basic doctrines, which were consistent with the opinion of the Fathers of the Christian Church. Unfortunately, the path of the unique document before it got intocareful hands of scientists, was too long and thorny. Most of the papyrus was destroyed.
The myth of Judas is a gross insinuation
The formation of Christianity is truly a mystery with seven seals. The constant fierce struggle against heresy does not paint the founders of the world religion. What is heresy in the understanding of priests? This is an opinion contrary to the opinion of those who have power and power, and in those days the power and power were in the hands of the papacy.
The first images of Judas were commissioned by church officials to decorate temples. It was they who dictated how Judas Iscariot should look like. Photos of frescoes by Giotto di Bondone and Cimabue depicting the kiss of Judas are presented in the article. Judas on them looks like a low, insignificant and most disgusting type, the personification of all the most vile manifestations of the human personality. But is it possible to imagine such a person among the Savior's closest friends?
Judas cast out demons and healed the sick
We know well that Jesus Christ healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons. The canonical Gospels say that He taught His disciples the same thing (Judas Iscariot is no exception) and ordered them to help all those in need and not take any offerings for this. The demons were afraid of Christ and at His appearance they left the bodies of the people tormented by them. How did it happen that the demons of greed, hypocrisy, betrayal and other vices enslaved Judas if he was constantly near the Teacher?
First doubts
Question: "Who is Judas: a treacherous traitor or the very first Christian saint awaiting rehabilitation?" asked themselves by millions of people throughout the history of Christianity. But if in the Middle Ages an auto-da-fé was inevitably due for voicing this question, then today we have the opportunity to get to the truth.
In 1905-1908. The Theological Bulletin published a series of articles by the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox theologian Mitrofan Dmitrievich Muretov. They were called "Judas the traitor".
In them, the professor expressed doubts that Judas, believing in the divinity of Jesus, could betray Him. After all, even in the canonical Gospels there is no complete agreement regarding the love of money of the apostle. The story of thirty pieces of silver looks unconvincing both from the point of view of the amount of money and from the point of view of the apostle's love of money - he parted with them too easily. If the craving for money was his vice, then other disciples of Christ would hardly have entrusted him with managing the treasury. Having the money of the community in his hands, Judas could take it away and leave his comrades. And what are the thirty pieces of silver he received from the chief priests? Is it a lot or a little? If there are many, then why did the greedy Judas not go with them, and if there were few, then why did he take them at all? Muretov is sure that the love of money was not the main motive for Judas' actions. Most likely, the professor believes, Judas could betray his Teacher because of disappointment in His Teachings.
Austrian philosopher and psychologist Franz Brentano (1838-1917), regardless ofMuretov, made a similar judgment.
Jorge Luis Borges and Anatole France in the actions of Judas saw self-sacrifice and submission to the will of God.
The coming of the Messiah according to the Old Testament
There are prophecies in the Old Testament that tell how the coming of the Messiah will be - He will be rejected by the priesthood, betrayed for thirty coins, crucified, resurrected, and then a new Church will arise in His name.
Someone had to deliver the Son of God into the hands of the Pharisees for thirty coins. That man was Judas Iscariot. He knew the Scriptures and could not help but understand what he was doing. Having accomplished what was commanded by God and sealed by the prophets in the books of the Old Testament, Judas accomplished a great feat. It is quite possible that he discussed the future with the Lord in advance, and the kiss is not only a sign to the servants of the high priests, but also a farewell to the Teacher.
Being the closest and most trusted disciple of Christ, Judas took on the mission of being the one whose name would be forever damned. It turns out that the Gospel shows us two sacrifices - the Lord sent His Son to the people so that He would take upon Himself the sins of mankind and wash them away with His blood, and Judas sacrificed himself to the Lord so that what was spoken through the Old Testament prophets would be fulfilled. Someone had to complete this mission!
Any believer will say that, confessing faith in the Triune God, it is impossible to imagine a person who felt the Grace of the Lord and remained untransformed. Judas is a man, not a fallen angel or demon, so he could not be the unfortunate exception.
The story of Christ and Judas in Islam. Foundation of the Christian Church
In the Koran the story of Jesus Christ is presented differently than in the canonical Gospels. There is no crucifixion of the Son of God. The main book of Muslims states that someone else assumed the form of Jesus. This someone was executed instead of the Lord. In medieval publications, it is said that Judas assumed the form of Jesus. In one of the apocrypha there is a story in which the future apostle Judas Iscariot appears. His biography, according to this testimony, from childhood was intertwined with the life of Christ.
Little Judas was very sick, and when Jesus approached him, the boy bit him on the side, on the same side, which was subsequently pierced with a spear by one of the soldiers guarding those crucified on the crosses.
Islam considers Christ a prophet whose teaching was distorted. This is very similar to the truth, but the Lord Jesus foresaw this state of affairs. Once He told his disciple Simon: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it…” We know that Peter denied Jesus Christ three times, in fact, betrayed Him three times. Why did He choose this man to found His Church? Who is the greater traitor - Judas or Peter, who could have saved Jesus with his word, but refused to do so three times?
The gospel of Judas cannot deprive true believers of the love of Jesus Christ
Believing people who have experienced the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is difficult to accept that Christ was not crucified. Is it possible to worship the cross if facts are revealed that contradictrecorded in the four gospels? How to relate to the sacrament of the Eucharist, during which believers partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord, who was martyred on the cross in the name of saving people, if there was no painful death of the Savior on the cross?
"Blessed are those who have not seen and believed," said Jesus Christ.
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ know that He is real, that He hears them and answers all prayers. This is the main thing. And God continues to love and save people, even despite the fact that in the temples again, as in the time of Christ, there are shops of merchants offering to buy sacrificial candles and other items for the so-called recommended donation, which is many times higher than the cost of the items sold. Slyly compiled price tags evoke a feeling of closeness of the Pharisees who put the Son of God on trial. However, it is not worth waiting for Christ to come to earth again and drive the merchants out of His Father's House with a stick, as He did more than two thousand years ago with the merchants of sacrificial pigeons and lambs. It is better to believe in the Providence of God and not fall into the sin of condemnation, but accept everything as a gift from God for the salvation of immortal human souls. After all, it is no coincidence that He commanded the foundation of His Church to a triple traitor.
Time for change
Probably the discovery of an artifact known as the Codex Chakos with the Gospel of Judas is the beginning of the end of the legend of the evil Judas. The time has come to reconsider the attitude of Christians towards this man. After all, it was hatred for him that gave rise tosuch a disgusting phenomenon as anti-Semitism.
The Torah and the Koran were written by people not attached to Christianity. For them, the story of Jesus of Nazareth is only an episode from the spiritual life of mankind, and not the most significant one. Is the hatred of Christians towards Jews and Muslims (details about the Crusades make one horrified by the cruelty and greed of the knights of the cross) is compatible with their main commandment: “Yes, love one another!”?
Torah, Koran and famous, respected Christian scholars do not condemn Judas. Neither will we. After all, the Apostle Judas Iscariot, whose life we briefly touched upon, is no worse than other disciples of Christ, the same Apostle Peter, for example.
The future belongs to renewed Christianity
The great Russian philosopher Nikolai Fedorovich Fedorov, the founder of Russian cosmism, who gave impetus to the development of all modern sciences (cosmonautics, genetics, molecular biology and chemistry, ecology, and others) was a deeply believing Orthodox Christian and believed that the future of mankind and its salvation - precisely in the Christian faith. We should not condemn the past sins of Christians, but strive not to commit new ones, to be kinder and more merciful to all people.
