Previously Unknown Gospel Paints Radical New Picture of Jesus and Judas
Cairo, Egypt (AIP)
A team of archaeologists excavating in central Egypt have announced the discovery of a papyrus manuscript that, if taken literally, could rock the foundations of the world’s largest religion. The manuscript, titled The Gospel of Jesus and Judas and dated from the late first century to the early second century AD, was discovered inside a clay jar buried near Minya, Egypt. Most shocking, however, is the way that this previously unknown gospel depicts the relationship between Jesus and the disciple that would ultimately betray him to Roman authorities, Judas Iscariot.
According to team leader and Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Yale, Dr. Wendy-Anna Jones, “This gospel is remarkable not only in that it is represented by an exceptionally well-preserved document from a formative stage in the development of Christianity, but that it shows the relationship between Judas and Jesus as being far more intimate than what anyone could have imagined: as one of lovers.”
The gospel, written in Coptic by an author calling himself “Sebastianos of Alexandria”, is largely identical to the Gospel of Mark, which Biblical scholars generally believe to be the oldest of the four canonical Gospels found in the New Testament. Contained within the Gospel of Jesus and Judas, however, are details which are not to be found in Mark―or any other gospel, for that matter.
“Jesus and Judas contains numerous details regarding Jesus’ personal life which are not to be found anywhere else,” says Dr. Jones. “For instance, we find the following:
And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles…so he appointed…Judas Iscariot, whom he loved most dearly, whom he lay with as husband lays with wife, and who betrayed him.
“The appointing of the Twelve Apostles follows a narrative that is virtually the same as Mark, except for the part telling us that Jesus and Judas were lovers.”
The Gospel of Jesus and Judas goes further, says Jones. “One line states, ‘And the love of Jesus for Judas was wonderful, passing even the love of women,’ echoing a similar line in the Books of Samuel describing the love between King David and Jonathan. Such a reference would have undoubtedly strengthened the connection early Christians sought to make between David and his successor, the Messiah Jesus.”
According to Jones, who describes herself as a practicing, non-denominational Christian, “To early Christians, the romantic relationship between Judas and Jesus would have made Judas’ betrayal that much more evil, and would certainly have increased the value of Jesus’ self-sacrifice in their eyes.”
The discovery of the Gospel of Jesus and Judas will certainly be met with skepticism and possibly hostility by Biblical scholars and believers alike, a likelihood Jones acknowledges. Nonetheless, she argues, that Jesus was gay would not have been at all out of the ordinary in first century Palestine. “The Jews who inhabited the Holy Land in the first century were what historians call ‘Hellenized Jews’, meaning they adopted the Greek language and other Greek customs, including pederasty,” says Jones, referring to the ancient Greek practice in which an older man would provide philosophical guidance to a younger male within the context of what was often a sexual relationship. “In Jesus’ role as a philosopher, this type of behavior would not have been viewed too strangely amongst Hellenized Jews, though it would have raised the ire of the conservative Jewish religious authorities.”
The fact remains, however, that, if the account of the Gospel of Jesus and Judas is true, at some point early in the history of Christianity, evidence of this aspect of Jesus’ life was suppressed. “My belief is that Jesus’ homosexuality, if indeed historical truth, was struck from the historical record so as to make Christianity more appealing to a broader audience. It’s also probably for this reason that this gospel has been so well-hidden for so long.”
And what of the recent, popular theories suggesting that Jesus had a romantic relationship with Mary Magdalene? “Tenuous, as best,” says Dr. Jones. “These theories are supported by liberal translations of vague passages, or, in many cases, the actual insertion of text supporting the theory in places where the manuscript has been damaged. On the other hand, our translation of Jesus and Judas is one based on clear terminology and a nearly complete manuscript. In my view, Mary Magdalene was not Jesus’ lover or the mother of his child, but simply―to use modern terminology―a ‘fag hag’.”
The work of Dr. Jones and her team will be presented in the upcoming issue of Review of Biblical Archaeology, to be published August 23rd.
