Worldwide, and throughout history, people know Judas as a villain. He turned in Jesus and was seen as greedy and selfish but Reading this gospel takes us beyond what is already known to think more in-depth about why Judas did what he did and why he knew it was necessary.
This text highlights Judas’ connection with Jesus in a way we have not seen before. He’s shown as the favorite apostle who truly understands Jesus’ teachings more than the others. There’s a private conversation between the two that leads to Judas being told he is a member of the ‘holy generation. His soul can transcend past his mortal death, unlike the other apostles. He’s asked to release Jesus of his mortal body. “For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”
We know that Judas dies after Jesus gets arrested. He regretted what he did there is one account that Judas committed suicide and a second that says he more spontaneously combusted and points to God as an explanation for that. Both times Judas is guilty and regrets what he did, even though according to the gospel, that is what he was asked to do. Before this text we saw Judas as the sole person responsible for Jesus’ arrest and death. He was a villain in the story that is known worldwide. The discovery of this gospel humanizes Judas as a person who had this ultimate faith that led him to an unfortunate end for him.
