Good Friday and the Gospel of Judas

"Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him" (Mark 14:10-11, NRSV).

Has it ever been so difficult to tell the Good Friday story without interruption? For some Christians, the newly released press about the Gospel of Judas raises questions about the authenticity of historic gospel accounts. What's a pastor to do? Here are a few suggestions:

• Resist the urge to avoid the subject. Members of your congregation may already be discussing the Gospel of Judas along with Dan Brown's DaVinci Code.
• Help members of your congregation develop tools for discerning spiritual truth. Those who know the nature of God and the mission of the church are not easily deceived.
• Engage members of your congregation in the ongoing national conversation about sources of knowledge for the Christian faith. Is Christian faith also informed by "extra-biblical" sources? How does one decide which of these are helpful?
• Finally, put the recent discussions into historical perspective. Conversations about the Gospel of Judas and The DaVinci Code deal with the issue of "secret knowledge," one frequently condemned by the early church. The church has consistently affirmed that the life of Christ and the good news of the gospel are no secret; they are a matter of public record.

Online Resources We provide these links as a service to visitors and urge that you use discernment in checking the quality and adequacy of the content of each site. Please note that the Center for Worship Resourcing does not necessarily endorse any of the links listed on its web pages.

• "Ancient Text Shows Judas in a Different Light" — NPR story from April 6, 2006 with audio links
• "The Judas Gospel" — National Geographic Interactive
• "Not So Secret Gospels" — This commentary from BBC.com points out that there are already a number of "secret gospels" on the dusty shelves of scholars.
• "Did Jesus Ask Judas to Betray Him?" — Article from ABC Primetime
• "Gnostics, Gnostic Gospels and Gnosticism" — From EarlyChristianWritings.com
• "Gnosticism" — From the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia