Editing Judas Iscariot (section)

==Role in apocrypha==
Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects. [[Irenaeus]] records the beliefs of one Gnostic sect, the [[Cainites]], who believed that Judas was an instrument of the [[Sophia (wisdom)|Sophia]], Divine Wisdom, thus earning the hatred of the [[Demiurge]]. His betrayal of Jesus thus was a victory over the materialist world. The Cainites later split into two groups, disagreeing over the ultimate significance of Jesus in their cosmology.

===Syriac Infancy Gospel===
The [[Syriac Infancy Gospel]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0806.htm/ |title=CHURCH FATHERS: The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy of the Saviour |translator-first1=Alexander |translator-last1=Walker |work=Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 8 |via=New Advent |access-date=2018-10-26 |archive-date=2018-10-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191754/http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0806.htm}}</ref> borrows from some of the different versions of the [[Infancy Gospel of Thomas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-books/noncanonical-literature/noncanonical-literature-gospels/the-first-gospel-of-the-infancy-of-jesus-christ/ |title=The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ |work=The Apocraphal Books of the New Testament |orig-date=1901 |editor-first1=Joshua |editor-last1=Williams |date=1995 |publisher=The Wesley Center Online |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-date=30 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830105636/http://wesley.nnu.edu/sermons-essays-books/noncanonical-literature/noncanonical-literature-gospels/the-first-gospel-of-the-infancy-of-jesus-christ |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, it adds many of its own tales, probably from local legends, including one of Judas. This pseudepigraphic work tells how Judas, as a boy, was possessed by Satan, who caused him to bite himself or anyone else present. In one of these attacks, Judas bit the young Jesus in the side; and, by touching Him, Satan was exorcised. It further states that the side which Judas supposedly bit was the same side that was pierced by the [[Holy Lance]] at the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|Crucifixion]].<ref>[http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=John+19:31%E2%80%9337&version=nrsv John 19:31–37]</ref>

===Gospel of Judas===
{{Main article|Gospel of Judas}}
[[File:Codex Tchacos p33.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|First page of the Gospel of Judas (Page 33 of [[Codex Tchacos]])]]

During the 1970s, a [[Coptic language|Coptic]] [[papyrus]] [[codex]] (book) was discovered near Beni Masah, [[Egypt]]. It appeared to be a 3rd- or 4th-century-AD copy of a 2nd-century original,<ref>[http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/timeline.html Timeline of early Christianity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060408052440/http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/timeline.html |date=8 April 2006}} at ''National Geographic''</ref><ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4882420.stm Judas 'helped Jesus save mankind'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107090829/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4882420.stm |date=2009-01-07}}" BBC News, 7 May 2006 (following ''National Geographic'' publication)</ref> relating a series of conversations in which Jesus and Judas interact and discuss the nature of the universe from a Gnostic viewpoint. The discovery was given dramatic international exposure in April 2006 when the US ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'' magazine published a feature article entitled "The Gospel of Judas" with images of the fragile codex and analytical commentary by relevant experts and interested observers (but not a comprehensive translation). The article's introduction stated: "An ancient text lost for 1,700 years says Christ's betrayer was his truest disciple."<ref>Cockburn A "[http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text.html The Gospel of Judas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810140529/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text.html |date=2013-08-10}}" ''National Geographic'' (USA) May 2006</ref> The article points to some evidence that the original document was extant in the 2nd century: "Around A.D. 180, [[Irenaeus]], Bishop of Lyon in what was then Roman Gaul, wrote a massive treatise called ''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]'' [in which he attacked] a 'fictitious history,' which 'they style the Gospel of Judas.{{' "}}<ref>Cockburn A [http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text/3 at p. 3] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218080221/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/judas-gospel/cockburn-text/3 |date=18 December 2009}}</ref>

Before the magazine's edition was circulated, other news media gave exposure to the story, abridging and selectively reporting it.<ref name="foxnews.com"/>

In December 2007, [[April DeConick]] asserted that the ''National Geographic''{{'}}s translation is badly flawed: "For example, in one instance the ''National Geographic'' transcription refers to Judas as a 'daimon,' which the society's experts have translated as 'spirit.' However, the universally accepted word for 'spirit' is 'pneuma'—in Gnostic literature "daimon" is always taken to mean 'demon.{{' "}}<ref>Deconick A D "[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/opinion/01deconink.html Gospel Truth] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701003449/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/opinion/01deconink.html |date=2017-07-01}}" ''The New York Times'' 1 December 2007</ref> The National Geographic Society responded that "Virtually all issues April D. DeConick raises about translation choices are addressed in footnotes in both the popular and critical editions."<ref>[https://nationalgeographicpartners.com/press/?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1196944434958 Statement from National Geographic in Response to April DeConick's New York Times Op-Ed "Gospel Truth"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216070514/http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/index.jsp?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1196944434958 |date=16 February 2012}}</ref> In a later review of the issues and relevant publications, critic [[Joan Acocella]] questioned whether ulterior intentions had not begun to supersede historical analysis, e.g., whether publication of The Gospel of Judas could be an attempt to roll back ancient anti-semitic imputations. She concluded that the ongoing clash between scriptural fundamentalism and attempts at revision were childish because of the unreliability of the sources. Therefore, she argued, "People interpret, and cheat. The answer is not to fix the Bible but to fix ourselves."<ref>Acocella J. "[https://newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/08/03/090803crat_atlarge_acocella?currentPage=all Betrayal: Should we hate Judas Iscariot?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831042606/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/08/03/090803crat_atlarge_acocella?currentPage=all |date=2009-08-31}}" ''The New Yorker'' 3&nbsp;August 2009</ref> Other scholars have questioned the initial translation and interpretation of the Gospel of Judas by the ''National Geographic'' team of experts.<ref name="erudit.org"/>

===Gospel of Barnabas===
{{See also|Islamic view of Jesus' death}}

According to [[Middle Ages|medieval]] copies (the earliest copies from the 15th century) of the [[Gospel of Barnabas]] it was Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified on the cross. This work states that Judas's appearance was transformed to that of Jesus, when the former, out of betrayal, led the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus who by then was ascended to the heavens. This transformation of appearance was so identical that the masses, followers of Christ, and even the Mother of Jesus, Mary, initially thought that the one arrested and crucified was Jesus himself. The gospel then mentions that after three days since burial, Judas's body was stolen from his grave, and then the rumors spread of Jesus being risen from the dead. When Jesus was informed in the third heaven about what happened, he prayed to God to be sent back to the earth, and descended and gathered his mother, disciples, and followers, and told them the truth of what happened.  He then ascended back to the heavens, and will come back at the end of times as a just king.

This gospel is considered by the majority of Christians to be late and pseudepigraphical; however, some academics suggest that it may contain some remnants of an earlier apocryphal work (perhaps Gnostic, Ebionite, or [[Diatessaron]]ic), redacted to bring it more in line with Islamic doctrine. Some Muslims consider the surviving versions as transmitting a suppressed apostolic original. Some Islamic organizations cite it in support of the Islamic view of Jesus.