The Gospel of Judas

[zengrifter]

Book Review/NY Review of Books

The Betrayer's Gospel

By Eduard Iricinschi, Lance Jenott, Philippa Townsend
The Gospel of Judas from Codex Tchacos
edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst

National Geographic, 185 pp., $22.00

1. Knowing that Judas was reflecting upon something that was exalted, Jesus said to him, "Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal."

In the newly published Gospel of Judas, the arch-villain of the traditional story is transformed into Jesus' most loyal disciple. The reader of the New Testament will notice that the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as complicit in his own betrayal, as he exhorts Judas to "do quickly what you are about to do." The Gospel of Judas tells how this happened. Here, Jesus chooses Judas to be the recipient of secret revelations, and he commissions Judas to hand him over to his death.

...continued here - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19031