Does the Gospel of Judas Matter?

Does the Gospel of Judas Matter?

Short answer. No.

The Gospel of Judas is a Coptic Gospel which has recently been in the news. It seems to indicate that Judas didn't really betray Jesus, but did what he did at Jesus' bidding so that everything would go off as 'planned.'

Several points. We have Four Gospels in the Bible. Most credible scholars agree that Mark was written first, and using Mark, Matthew and Luke added to the story. John wrote a different version later on. The early church, in the formation of the Bible, essentially came up with creedal statements and chose the four Gospels we have now out of many

Many people are amazed to learn that there were many 'gospels,' or books which claimed to be or called themselves "gospels." Only four, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were decreed by the early Christian Church to be inspired and only four are in the Bible.

This means that only four of the Gospels were:

Complete.

And consistent with early Christian thinking.

The rejected gospels might not have been complete and were often inconsistent with the early church. Most of them, like the Gospel of Judais, were Gnostic in theology and were rejected.

Does the Gospel of Judas Matter? No, not really. It's interesting to read other insights into Jesus from that era----it's certainly enlightening, and it demonstrates to us that differences of opinion are timeless, but, for the average person, the Gospel of Judas is not something to stress out about.