LONG April 2006, staka niuspepa long world storyim sapraesing samting wea samfala savveman faendem. Olketa faendem old raeting wea garem title “Gospel bilong Judas.” Long olketa article long niuspepa, olketa savveman sei datfala old raeting changem tingting bilong iumi abaotem Judas, disaepol wea betrayim Jesus. Olketa savveman mekhae long Judas bikos olketa sei hem savve gud long Jesus and Jesus nao talem hem for givim hem long olketa enemy for killim hem dae.

Waswe, datfala old raeting talem tru samting? Sapos olsem, waswe, hem storyim samting wea no eniwan savve long hem abaotem Judas Iscariot, Jesus Christ, or olketa firstfala Christian? Waswe, hem shud changem hao iumi ting long Christ and olketa teaching bilong hem?

No eniwan really savve hu nao faendem “Gospel bilong Judas” and wea nao olketa faendem. Bat bihaen 1978, samwan laek for salem datwan. Maet samwan faendem long tomb insaed wanfala cave long Egypt long 1978. Hem wanfala long fofala difren raeting insaed wanfala codex (wankaen buk bilong bifor) wea olketa raetem long Coptic (languis long Egypt bifor).

From hem drae climate long Egypt, datwan keepim gud codex hia for staka handred year. Bat bihaen olketa tekem from Egypt, hem start for nogud kwiktaem. Long 1983, samfala savveman lukim datfala codex, bat no eniwan peim bikos price bilong hem hae tumas. Bihaen staka year moa, hem nogud go moa bikos olketa no keepim gud. Long year 2000, wanfala woman long Switzerland wea baem olketa oldfala samting peim datfala codex. Hem givim go long samfala savveman from olketa difren kantri for wakem gud moa. Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and National Geographic Society nao sapotim olketa savveman hia. Olketa mas faendemaot hao long nao codex hia bin stap, transleitim, and talem mining bilong hem.

Olketa savveman duim samfala samting for savve hao long nao codex hia bin stap and  hem luk olsem hem bin stap start long mek-thri or mek-foa century C.E. Bat olketa savveman guessim hao “Gospel bilong Judas” hem transleison from wanfala Greek languis wea old winim Coptic languis. So wanem taem and long wea nao olketa raetem “Gospel bilong Judas”?

Irenaeus, bishop bilong Lyons, hem man for raet wea stap laef klosap long end bilong mek-tu century C.E. Olketa raeting bilong hem nao firstaem story abaotem “Gospel bilong Judas.” Long raeting wea Irenaeus kolem Against Heresies, hem storyim wanfala long staka grup wea hem againstim teaching bilong olketa. Hem sei: “Olketa sei Judas wea betrayim Jesus nomoa . . . savve long tru samting dastawe hem betrayim Jesus. Wanem hem duim mekem evri samting long heven and long earth olobaot nao. Olketa raetem laea story abaotem history olsem diswan and kolem long Gospel bilong Judas.”

Irenaeus laekem tumas for pruvim olketa teaching bilong olketa Gnostic Christian hem no stret. Olketa Gnostic sei olketa garem spesol savve. Staka Gnostic grup stap and each grup garem teaching bilong olketa seleva abaotem wanem olketa tingse hem nao truth. Olketa raeting bilong olketa Gnostic mekhae long teaching bilong olketa and staka raeting hia stap long mek-tu century C.E.

Staka taem olketa Gnostic gospel hia sei olketa aposol bilong Jesus no minim message bilong hem and hao Jesus storyim wanfala secret teaching wea tu-thri aposol nomoa minim. * Samfala Gnostic bilivim disfala world hem wanfala prison. So long tingting bilong olketa, “god wea creatim world” wea olketa Hebrew Scripture storyim hem no winim olketa nambawan god wea olketa bilivim and hem againstim olketa. Olketa bilivim man wea garem spesol savve bae luksavve hem mas trae for go aot from body bilong hemseleva.

“Gospel bilong Judas” followim datwan. Olketa firstfala toktok sei: “Jesus storyim wanfala secret long Judas Iscariot insaed eitfala day, wea datwan finis thrifala day bifor hem celebratem Pasova.”

Waswe, disfala codex nao Irenaeus raet abaotem wea pipol sei hem lus for staka handred year finis? Marvin Meyer, wanfala savveman bilong firstfala grup for lukluk gud long codex hia and transleitim hem sei: “Samting wea [Irenaeus] raetem klosap semsem olsem Coptic transleison wea garem title Gospel bilong Judas.”

“Gospel bilong Judas” sei Jesus laflaf long olketa disaepol taem olketa duim samting wea showimaot olketa no garem savve. Bat olketa sei long 12-fala aposol bilong Jesus, Judas nomoa savve gud long Jesus. So Jesus storyim “olketa secret abaotem kingdom” long hem nomoa.

Samting wea Irenaeus talem affectim transleison bilong olketa savveman wea transleitim “Gospel bilong Judas.” Olketa sei Jesus favorim Judas bikos hem nomoa disaepol wea bae savve long olketa secret and ‘kasem kingdom.’ Olketa aposol bae faendem narawan for changem Judas, bat Judas bae kamap “mek-thirtin spirit” wea bae “kasem gud reward winim [olketa nara disaepol]” bikos Jesus sei Judas “bae helpem hem for go aot from body bilong hemseleva.”

Savveman Bart Ehrman and Elaine Pagels wea  raetem olketa buk savve long teaching bilong olketa firstfala Christian and olketa Gnostic. Tufala raet abaotem tingting bilong tufala abaotem “Gospel bilong Judas” wea klosap semsem witim wanem firstfala grup transleitim. Bat no longtaem bihaen, savveman April DeConick and Birger Pearson talemaot tingting bilong tufala abaotem datwan. Tufala sei National Geographic Society no lukluk gud firstaem long datfala old raeting bikos olketa laekem for olketa nao first wan for pablisim datwan. Tufala sei tu, olketa no followim stretfala wei for reviewim datfala old raeting.

April DeConick lukluk seleva long datfala codex and Birger Pearson tu duim olsem. Bihaen datwan, tufala sei olketa savveman wea transleitim datwan firstaem no transleitim stret samfala main sekson bilong codex hia. April DeConick transleitim datfala old raeting and hem sei Jesus kolem Judas “Mek-thirtin Demon,” and no “mek-thirtin spirit.” * Hem sei Jesus talem stret long Judas hem bae no go insaed long “kingdom.” Judas bae no kasem gud reward winim olketa nara disaepol, bat hem bae kasem bigfala panis bikos hem killim dae Jesus. Long tingting bilong April DeConick, olketa wea raetem “Gospel bilong Judas” mekfani abaotem evri aposol. April DeConick and Birger Pearson sei “Gospel bilong Judas” nating mekhae long Judas olsem gudfala man.

Nomata sapos olketa savveman sei Judas hem man wea duim gud samting or hem wanfala demon, no eniwan long olketa sei “Gospel bilong Judas” storyim tru information abaotem wanem hem happen bifor. Bart Ehrman sei: “Judas no raetem Gospel hia and datfala Gospel no sei Judas nao raetem. . . . Hem no Gospel wea samwan raetem long taem bilong Judas wea savve gud long hem . . . So hem no buk wea storyim olketa nara samting wea happen long laef bilong Jesus.”

“Gospel bilong Judas” hem Gnostic raeting from mek-tu century C.E., wea firstaem samwan raetem long Greek languis. Olketa savveman no sure sapos “Gospel bilong Judas” hem semsem witim wanem Irenaeus storyim. Bat “Gospel bilong Judas” pruvim hao olketa false Christian bifor start garem olketa teaching bilong olketa seleva and datwan mekem olketa for garem olketa difren grup. “Gospel bilong Judas” pruvim samting wea aposol Paul warnim olketa Christian abaotem hem happen. Paul sei long Acts 20:29, 30: “Bihaen mi lusim iufala, mi savve . . . samfala long iufala tu bae talem olketa samting wea no stret for mekem olketa disaepol followim olketa.”