One can see why Judas Iscariot stood staunchly at odds with the earliest Christian church. But what was Judas' message for mankind - for worshipping God? Reading Judas claims the Savior took him aside for intimate, personal instruction before his crucifixion. Jesus told Judas that our world is “... a kind of primeval darkness and disorder” similar to that mentioned in the Bible’s opening verses.
In order to rise above darkness, people must follow the teachings of Jesus because “... the image of God they carry deep within makes them superior to the rulers of chaos” (Judas 13:16-17). By following Christ’s exemplary life and his teachings each person "turns upward to the holy race” (Judas 9:26-30). When death comes naturally, the body will die, but the soul will join God in eternity.
Reading Judas is a highly controversial work, not because of its authors, but because of Judas' words. It begins by explaining how Judas was deigned to betray Jesus as part of a divine plan. Yet Judas’ gospel reveals over and over his disbelief that a Divine God would request blood sacrifice of any human being, particularly an incarnate son. Since Judas’ gospel “... ends as he hands Jesus over to the enemies who will kill him,” one wonders about this vicious circle of reasoning.
I would highly recommend Reading Judas to any reader, Bible believer or not, looking for a mind-provoking book, one that will cause some consternation of thought about historical Christianity and its earliest apostles, disciples and gospel writers. It is well written and easy to follow.
For those readers tolerant of religious history beyond the more accepted, traditional gospels, Reading Judas raises issues about the nature of God, Jesus’ incarnation, his death, and the terrible sacrificial deaths of martyrs at the hands of Christian persecutors. No doubt The Gospel of Judas exists, but its words might trouble a reader trying to reconcile how any god could set up a man as sensitive as Judas for a demonic traitor.
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