Since the time of the Gospel events, mankind does not know a name more shameful and lower than the name of Judas Iscariot. The story of how one of Christ's closest disciples, for thirty pieces of silver, betrayed his Divine Teacher to be crucified, is known today even by people who have never read the Bible in their lives. But those who have read the Gospel story of the betrayal of Judas inevitably have a number of questions. Judas's actions are striking with some amazing internal inconsistency. Indeed, even in betrayal there must be a certain logic. And what Judas did is so contradictory and meaningless that it does not even fit into the logic of betrayal. However, up to a certain point, his actions are clear.

Thinking of betraying Christ, Judas goes to the high priests and says: "What will you give me if I betray Him to you?" They offered him thirty pieces of silver; and from that time on he sought an opportunity to betray Christ.

The chance turned up the very next night. Judas leads an armed detachment of soldiers and servants of the high priests to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ and the apostles usually spent the night. “But the one who betrayed Him gave them a sign, saying: Whom I kiss, He is, take Him. And immediately going up to Jesus, he said: Hail, Rabbi! And he kissed Him. But Jesus said to him: Friend, why have you come? "

And here the question arises: why, in order to point to Christ, Judas chose such a defiantly impudent way? After all, usually a traitor is ashamed to even look his victim in the eyes. And here he openly greets Christ, not at all hiding his intentions to give Him into the hands of the servants of the high priests. This behavior could be explained by the complete indifference of Judas to the fate of the Christ betrayed by him. But there is a circumstance that does not allow one to interpret Judas's kiss so simplistically. Because upon learning about the condemnation of Christ to death, Judas hanged himself. This is how the Evangelist Matthew describes it.

“Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, and repented, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying: I have sinned, having betrayed innocent blood. But they said to him: what do we care about? Take a look yourself. And, having thrown the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out, went and hanged himself. "(Matthew 27: 3-5).

Judas Iscariot throwing silver coins

It turns out to be a paradox. If Judas hated Jesus or simply turned to stone in heart and was indifferent to Him, then why did he commit suicide? After all, only the death of the one without whom life loses all meaning can push a person to commit suicide. So Judas loved Christ? But then why did he so easily put Jesus into the hands of those who sentenced Him to death?

The story of paying for betrayal only adds to the bewilderment. The Gospel text unequivocally testifies that Judas betrayed his Teacher for thirty pieces of silver. But if they were the purpose and cause of Judas' betrayal, then why, after the fulfillment of his plan, does he so easily return these pieces of silver back? And if they were not valuable to Judas, then why did he go for the betrayal that cost him his own life?

All these questions arise because betrayal is the secret of a sick soul. A traitor nurtures his criminal plans in his heart and carefully hides them from others. Judas did not reveal his intentions to anyone until his inglorious death. And the Evangelists, of course, could not know exactly what was happening in his soul. The Gospel tells about betrayal very sparingly and this is quite natural, because the Gospel is the story of our salvation, and not the story of Judas' betrayal. Evangelists are interested in Judas only in connection with the Sacrifice of the Savior on the Cross, but not in itself. Therefore, the story of the fall of Judas will forever remain a mystery. However, this mystery has always worried people. Even the apostles at the Last Supper, when the Lord warned that one of them would betray Him, began to excitedly ask each of himself: "Isn't it me?"

Judas leaves the Last Supper

And every Christian reading the Gospel asks this question: "Have I never betrayed Christ with my sins?" The ancient Christian interpreters also turned to the topic of betrayal, but especially often it began to sound in the works of modern theologians and philosophers. This is not surprising, because the time is now "very wrong", traitors are honored, and loyalty is not in vogue.

However, since very little is said about Judas in the Gospel, an attempt to comprehend his betrayal always requires reconstruction of the missing facts with varying degrees of probability. Such an interpretation, of course, cannot claim to be definitive or unambiguous, but some information about Judas given in the Bible can shed light on his dark history. And one most important fact, without knowing which it is impossible to understand the inner motives of Judas, is cited in his Gospel by the Apostle John.

The fact is that Judas was a thief.

... And I will acquire the collected estates ...

Here's what the Bible says about Judas theft: “Mary, taking a pound of pure precious nard ointment, anointed Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the world. Then one of His disciples, Judas Simon Iscariot, who wanted to betray him, said: why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and give it to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. He had a cash drawer with him and carried what was lowered there. "(John 12: 3-6). In the Greek original of the Gospel, this is said even more categorically, because the use of the Greek language makes it possible to understand the word translated as "worn," in the sense of stealing.

Judas was the treasurer of the apostolic community. He had quite significant sums at his disposal, since among the admirers of Jesus there were rich women who were healed by Him from evil spirits and incurable diseases. They all served Christ with their property. But since the Lord was absolutely indifferent to wealth, the donated money was mostly given to the poor, with the exception of small expenses for the sustenance of Christ himself and his disciples. The monetary affairs of the apostles were handled by Judas. The amounts distributed to the beggars were not accountable, no one would be able to check whether Judas distributed the money, or appropriated part of it to himself. This unaccountability, obviously, in an unkind hour, seduced the money-loving Judas. Of course, he could not openly spend the stolen money. Transferring them from a box to your pocket would be stupid and inconvenient. Apparently he had some secluded place where he kept the stolen wealth. This treasure as the reason for the betrayal of Judas is directly spoken of in the liturgical tradition of the Church. This is what the Church sings on Holy and Maundy Thursday in Holy Week in one of the stichera of the morning Divine Service: "Judas, slave and flatterer, disciple and lieutenant, friend and devil, from deeds appeared: follow the Teacher, and listen to the legend against him, verbally: - I will betray Him, and I will acquire the collected property (wealth) ..."

It is impossible to find out exactly when he first put his hand into the apostolic treasury. But there is no doubt that Judas stole from there much more than thirty pieces of silver. It is also clear that Judas could use the stolen wealth only on one condition: if the apostolic community ceases to exist. And he got his way. After the arrest of Christ, even the most faithful and devoted disciples to Him fled in fear in all directions. And here a new series of incongruities arises. Instead of taking the collected treasure, adding to it the payment for the betrayal, and finally heal at his own pleasure, Judas suddenly commits suicide.

This can be explained in different ways. It is only quite obvious that neither the thirty pieces of silver nor the stolen treasure he collected were no longer the main value in life for Judas. But what could devalue in the eyes of a thief the state that he systematically accumulated over the course of three years? The answer suggests itself. More expensive than big money for a thief and a money-lover is only ... - a lot of money.

Tsar's treasurer

The disciples recognized in Christ - the Messiah. But just like all Jews, they saw in the Messiah an earthly ruler who, having come to power, would make Israel the strongest and richest country on earth. The Messiah-king was supposed, according to their ideas, to subjugate all the peoples of the world. And all the numerous parables and explanations of Christ that His Kingdom is not of this world, could not convince the apostles. Until His Ascension, they were sure that the Lord would finally become the earthly king of Israel. The disciples of Christ saw themselves as the closest assistants and co-rulers of the Messiah and even argued about which of them would be more important in the new government of the Kingdom of Israel. Money-loving Judas, of course, was no exception here.

If Christ becomes king, then he, Judas, will become the royal treasurer, that is, the most influential person in Israel after the Messiah. In his dreams, he already imagined how he did not manage the apostolic money box, but the treasury of the richest state in the history of mankind.

Having become a thief, Judas initially made plans to betray Christ in order to acquire the collected money, as the Church sings about it. But the name of Christ became more and more glorious among the people of Israel. After an unprecedented miracle - the resurrection of the dead Lazarus - even those Jews who had previously tried to stone Christ, saw in Him - the Messiah. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the inhabitants of the capital paid Him royal honors by covering His path with their robes. After such a reception, it became simply unprofitable for the practical and greedy Judas to betray the future king for the sake of the stolen money. The love of money and theft burned his soul to ashes. Even the Messiah-king, he was going to use as a means to satisfy his passion for wealth.

AND suddenly it turned out that Christ was not going to reign. Israeli treasury, to which there were only a couple of steps, again became unattainable for Judas. It was necessary to urgently take some kind of decision to rectify the situation. And the decision was made.

And the one whom Christ called - "a murderer from the beginning" prompted him to the traitor. True, Judas did not know then that this prompter would eventually drive him into a noose.

Satan's advice

All interpreters of Holy Scripture unanimously affirm that Judas betrayed the Savior through the direct suggestion of the devil. The Gospel text directly testifies to this: "And Satan entered Judas, who was called Iscariot, one of the Twelve, and he went and spoke with the chief priests and rulers how to deliver Him to them."(Luke 22: 3-4).

In Orthodox asceticism, the effect of the devil on the soul of a person is described as follows. An evil spirit gains access to a person through his passions (that is, sick inclinations of the soul). Mentally, he whispers how best for a person to satisfy his sick desires, and step by step leads his victim to death. Moreover, at first the devil assures the person that the sin, they say, is not so great, but God is merciful and will forgive everything. But then, after committing a sin, an evil spirit plunges a person into an abyss of despair, inspiring him that his sin is immeasurable, and God is inexorable. But what did Satan whisper to Judas, with what promise did he tempt him to betray Christ?

Judas' greatest passion was the love of wealth - the love of money. And the most cherished desire, perhaps, is the post of Minister of Finance in the kingdom of the Messiah, where he could steal such amounts that the most successful thieves in the world never dreamed of. And this cherished goal was already very close.

But Christ was in no hurry to become the religious and political leader of Israel. Arriving in Jerusalem, He did not cast out the high priests and elders in order to rightfully take their place. All plans of Judas collapsed.

In this moment, Satan, obviously, and gave him a thought that prompted him to betray. Judas knew that the chief priests and Pharisees, fearing Jesus, had given the command that "If anyone knew where He would be, then he would declare to take Him." Judas also knew that Christ avoided direct conflict with the authorities.

Judas and Satan

And so, incited by Satan, he decides to betray Christ in order to provoke an open clash between the high priests and the Messiah. Jesus' victory in this conflict does not raise the slightest doubt in him. After all, he saw all the power of the Messiah, saw how the dead were raised at His command, how the storm obeyed Him, how evil spirits obey Him unquestioningly ... Who can kill the Messiah? His word alone is enough, and even the indestructible iron legions of Rome will scatter without a trace, like dry leaves!

Blinded by the thirst for wealth and the whispering of Satan, Judas betrays Christ. But at the same time, even a thought does not admit that He can be killed. After all, in Jesus, who defeated the high priests, there was all his hope, all the hope for the future.

Did Judas want Christ dead? No, because it was not profitable for him. Did Judas Love Christ? No, Jesus was just a means for him to become fabulously rich. With such a motive of betrayal, it becomes clear the strange way chosen by the traitor to point the guards at Christ at night in the Garden of Gethsemane. With a kiss, Judas simply showed his respect to the king who is about to defeat his enemies.

"... and has nothing in Me"

Satan inspired Judas that Christ will certainly accept the challenge, sweep away the high priests, the Roman occupiers, and Himself will reign in Israel.

But he deceived Judas, as he should have deceived the father of lies - an unfortunate man, mired in the swamp of his passions and blinded by the glitter of ghostly treasures. The idea that the Savior will abandon the Feat of the Cross, tempted by the earthly kingdom, is indeed satanic. With this thought, the Devil tempted Christ in the wilderness, before He went out to preach the Gospel. The evil spirit tried to instill the same idea in the Apostle Peter when he began to dissuade Christ from the atoning sufferings, and immediately received from Him a harsh rebuke: “... Get away from me, Satan! You are a temptation to me! Because you think not about what is of God, but what is human. " The Savior knew well who tried to speak to Him through the most devoted disciple.

He also knew and whom Judas believed. Just before the arrival of the traitor with a detachment of guards, Jesus said to his disciples: “It's already a little for me to talk to you; for the prince of this world is coming and has nothing in Me. "The prince of this world Christ called, of course, not Judas, but Satan... Who once again, now through a traitorous disciple, wanted to tempt the Savior with the temptation of earthly dominion. But the Lord walked the Way of the Cross, for the sake of which he came into this world. Satan was left with nothing, and Judas went bankrupt with him.

Christ really threw down the soldiers who had come to take him. But he did this only in order to let go of the disciples, who could also have suffered. And then he allowed himself to be tied up, obediently proceeded to the place of the trial and by the morning, in violation of almost all the norms of Jewish law, he was sentenced to death.

An inglorious end

When Judas learned about the death sentence handed down to Christ, he realized that all his plans had collapsed. He became the culprit in the death of the greatest righteous man, he lost the right to be called a disciple of the Messiah ... But the most terrible loss, probably, was that unfulfilled wealth, which Judas already considered his own. In his dreams, he already distributed the financial flows going to the treasury of the Messiah from all over the world. What, in comparison with this wealth, is the miserable treasure that was accumulated by a thief and a traitor during the years of preaching Christ? And, all the more, thirty pieces of silver ... He took them only in order not to frighten off the high priests, so that they would believe in the sincerity of his desire to give them the Teacher.

Everything ended for Judas, everything for which he lived turned out to be a ghost and a lie, a mocking mockery of the devil. And when in the Gospel we read that Judas repented, one should not be deceived by the noble sound of this word.

The traitor mourned not the Messiah, who was innocently given to his death. He mourned his failed post of treasurer of the Messiah, which, as it seemed to him, he took away from himself, giving Christ to death. He could not survive this loss. But he was incapable of genuine repentance.

I would like to finish the sad story about the betrayal of Judas with the words of St. John Chrysostom: “Notice this, you money-lovers, and think what happened to the traitor? How did he lose money, and sin, and destroy his soul? Such is the tyranny of avarice! I didn’t use the silver, neither the present life, nor the future life, but ... I hanged myself. "

Judas was a beloved disciple of Christ, and his betrayal was an act of faith - this is the interpretation of the ancient apocryphal text known as the Gospel of Judas, presented in Washington by the National Geographic Society. “The Gospel of Judas offers an intriguing alternative vision of the relationship between Jesus and Judas. In the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Judas is a traitor. And this newly revealed Gospel presents Judas as a beloved disciple, a close friend. And he betrayed Christ to be executed by His own will for the sake of the coming salvation ”, - said the representative of the National Geographic Society Terry Garcia.

Artifact discovery

“This document cannot go back to Judas Iscariot simply for the reason that Judas hanged himself on the day of the crucifixion of Christ, and there can be no Gospel of Judas. Most likely, this work was created by one of the Gnostic sects of the III-IV centuries ... ".

Priest Andrey Kuraev,

from an interview with "Interfax"

A papyrus with inscriptions in the Coptic language was discovered in the early 1970s near the town of El Minya (Egypt) by unknown archaeologists. The text belonging to the most famous traitor in world history, according to scientists, is a translation from Greek and dates back to about 300 AD. It is part of a larger collection of documents (according to archaeologists, the original version contained 62 versions of papyrus), which in science is commonly called the Code of Chacos (after the owners of the document). The Code also contains the First Revelation of Jacob, Peter's letter to Philip and some other texts. About 26 pages have come down to us.

The dating of the document and its authenticity are confirmed by a series of studies, including radiocarbon, multispectral, chemical analyzes, paleographic and contextual evidence. The average range of dates is 220 - 340 years. It appears to be a translation of an earlier original, written in Greek and dating from the 2nd century.

The mysterious scroll was bought several times by collectors until it was acquired by the Mekenas Foundation, which undertook to translate it. The work on the manuscript was led by a priest, a former professor at the University of Geneva, Rudolf Kasser, who is considered a major researcher of Coptic culture. After five years of hard work in translation, The Gospel of Judas was presented to the general public.

The most intriguing passage of the text begins with the words: "The secret record of the revelation set forth by Jesus in his conversation with Judas three days before Easter." It contains direct indications that special secrets were entrusted to Judas, Jesus singled him out as a beloved disciple, and literally told him the following: "You will be cursed by descendants and will command them." One of the theologians attending the press conference noted: "The text of the Gospel of Judas turns the act of betraying Judas into an act of obedience."

The New Gospel refutes the story in the New Testament that Judas betrayed the Master (Jesus Christ) out of self-interest. It follows from the text that this disciple was the only one who fully understood the essence of Christ's teaching, and he himself asked to surrender it to the authorities. Nothing is said about what happened after the crucifixion.

Gospel of jude

(33) The secret word that Jesus spoke when speaking with Judas Iscariot in revelation eight days to three days, when He had not yet suffered.

Having come to earth, Jesus worked miracles and great signs for the salvation of mankind. And some walk the path of righteousness, others<же>walk in their crime.

Twelve disciples were called. He began to talk to them about the mysteries that are out of this world and what would happen in the end. Often he appeared to the disciples not in his own guise, but was among them as a child.

Once he was with his disciples in Judea and found them gathered together and sitting in the observance of piety. When he [approached] his disciples, gathered together, and sat and performed a prayer of thanksgiving over the bread, [he] laughed.

The disciples said to [him], "Master, why are you laughing at [our] prayer of thanksgiving? What we are doing is worthy!"

He told them in response: "I am not laughing at you, and not at the fact that you do it of your own free will, but at the fact that your" god "will receive a blessing."

They said, "Master, are you [...] the Son of our God?"

Jesus said to them: "How do you know me? Truly I say to you, not one human race that is among you recognizes me."

Hearing this, the disciples were angry and furious, and they began to blaspheme him in their hearts.

But Jesus, noticing their [lack of understanding, said] to them: "Why did the excitement lead you to anger? Your god, who is within you, and [...] aroused anger [in] your souls. [Let] any of you who are [strong enough] ] among people, will appear as a true man and will stand before my face. "

And everyone said, "We are strong."

But none of them had the courage to stand before [him], except Judas Iscariot. He managed to stand in front of him, but could not look him in the eye and turned away.

Judas said to him: "I know who you are and where you came from. You are from the immortal kingdom of Barbelo. And I am not worthy to pronounce the name of the one who sent you."

Knowing that Judas was thinking about a lofty subject, Jesus told him: “Separate yourself from them. I will tell you the mysteries of the kingdom, for it is possible for you to enter it, but you will be very saddened! (36) After all, another will be in your place, so that the twelve disciples become perfect in their "god". "

And Judas said to him:

"On what day will You tell me this and the great day of the light of the generation will rise [...]"

When he said this, Jesus left him.

And first, when this happened, He appeared to His disciples, and they said to Him:

"Teacher! Where have you gone? What are you doing when you leave us? "

Jesus said to them:

"I was retiring to another great generation, a saint."

His disciples said to Him:

"God! What is this great generation, superior and holy? Is it not in these centuries now? "

And upon hearing this, Jesus laughed. He told them:

“Why do you think in your heart about a strong and holy generation? (37) Amen! - I tell you: all the creatures of this age will not see this generation, and no host of angels of the stars will reign over this generation, and no mortal human offspring can come to it, for this generation does not come [...] there was [...] Generations people who are among you, from the generation of mankind. […] Strength […] other forces. You are the kings among them. "

Hearing this, His disciples rebelled in their spirit; none of them found what to say.

Jesus came to them the next day. They said to Him:

"Teacher! We saw You in a vision, for this night we saw great dreams [...] "

He said:

"Why are you [...] judging yourself?"

(38) They said:

“We saw a huge house and a huge altar in it, and twelve people — we say priests — and a name. The crowd waited until [came out (?)] The priests and accepted the service, but we waited. "

Jesus said to them:

"What do priests look like?"

They said:

“Some […] two weeks; others sacrifice their own children; others - wives, blessing and despising each other; others are homosexuals; others commit murder; others commit many sins and iniquities; and the people standing over the altar are calling on Your name. (39) And in all their deeds of defect the sacrifice [...] is fulfilled. "

And having said this, they fell silent, embarrassed. Jesus said to them:

“Why are you embarrassed? Amen! - I tell you: you are the priests, standing over this altar, calling on My name, - and I also tell you: My name has been written on [...] generations of stars by generations of men. And they have planted fruitless trees in My name. "

And Jesus said to them with shame:

“You are those who have accepted the service of the altar that you saw. This is the "god" you serve; and the twelve people you saw are you; and the sacrificial animals that you saw are the multitude that you have led astray.

(40) On this altar will rise [the archon of this world (?)] And so he will use My name, and the generations of the pious will call upon him. After him, another person will set up fornicators, and another will set up child-killers, another sodomy and fasting, and the rest - uncleanness and lawlessness and delusion.

And those who say: "We are equal to angels," they are stars that do every deed, for it has been said to generations of people: "Behold, God has accepted your sacrifice from the hands of priests, that is, ministers of error; the end of days will put you to shame. "

(41) Jesus said to them:

“Stop sacrificing [...] on the altar. They are higher than your stars and your angels. Having prepared, let them [fight (?)] In front of you and go [...]

[at least 15 lines are missing]

in generations [...] It is impossible for a baker to feed (42) all creation that is under heaven. And [...] them [...] you. AND […]".

Jesus said to them:

“Stop fighting Me! Each of you has his own star, and each [...]

[at least 17 lines are missing]

(43) […] a tree […] of this age […] after the time […] came […] but he came to give drink to the paradise of God and the generation that will endure, for it will not defile the path of this generation, but […] from century to century " ...

Judas said to him:

"Rabbi, what fruit does this generation have?"

Jesus said:

"All human generations - their souls will die, these same, they, when the time of the kingdom is completed, and the Spirit is separated from them, their bodies will die, their souls will be saved and raptured."

Judas said:

"What will the rest of the generations of people do?"

Jesus said:

“It is impossible (44) to sow on a rock and get fruit. So also [...] a kind of bad and perishable wisdom [...] the hand that created a mortal man. Their souls will enter the eons that are in height. Amen! - I tell you: […] angel […] strength. Like this. Those who [...] the holy generation [...] of theirs. "

Having said this, Jesus departed. Judas said:

"Teacher! As you listened to them all, listen to me too, for I saw a great vision. "

But Jesus, hearing, laughed and said to him:

“Stop bothering yourself, thirteenth demon! But tell me, I will tolerate you. "

Judas said to him:

“I saw myself in a vision and the twelve disciples stoned me. They strongly (45) persecuted me, and I again went to the place [...] behind You.

I saw a house - my eyes cannot measure it, and great people surrounded it. And he had a single roof. And in the middle of the house there are many [...] Teacher, accept me and these people! "

Jesus answered, said:

“Your star has led you astray, Judas, because no mortal human offspring is worthy to enter the house that you have seen, for this place protects the saints. A place in which the sun and the moon will not reign for a day, but will always stand in eternity with the holy angels. Behold, I told you the mysteries of the kingdom (46) and taught you about the wandering of the stars and [the twelve archons (?) ...] that are over twelve eons. "

Judas said:

"Master, may my seed never obey the archons!"

Jesus answered, said to him:

"Go [...] you [...], but you will be very sad to see the kingdom and its entire generation."

Hearing this, Judas said to him:

"What benefit did I get that You separated me from this generation?"

Jesus answered, said:

“You will become the thirteenth and will be cursed by the rest of the generations. And you will overcome them. In the last days they will [...] your conversions upward, (47) to the holy generation. "

Jesus said:

“Come, I will teach you about the [secret, which no man has] seen, for there is a great eon and infinite, the measure of which has not been seen by any generation of angels, and the great invisible Spirit in him, He Whom the angel's eye did not see, and the thought of the heart did not contain, and He was not called by any name.

And a bright cloud appeared in that place, and He said: "Let an angel appear to stand before Me!" And the great Self-begotten angel, the God of light, came out of the cloud, and four more luminaries from another cloud appeared from Him, and they appeared in the presence of the Self-begotten angel.

And the Self-begotten said (48): “Let there appear […] and she appeared […]. And He created the first luminary to reign over him, and said:“ Let angels appear to serve him. ”And myriads of innumerable ones appeared.

And He said: "Let an eon of light appear." And he appeared. He set up a second luminary to reign over him, with countless myriads of angels to minister.

And so He created the rest of the eons of light and made them reign over them. And He created for them countless myriads of angels to serve them.

And there was Adamas in the first cloud of light, in that which not a single angel of those whom everyone calls gods has seen.

(49) And […] this […] image […] and in the likeness of these angels. He revealed the incorruptible generation of Seth [...] twelve [...] twenty four [...]

He revealed seventy-two luminaries from the incorruptible generation by the will of the Spirit, and seventy-two luminaries revealed three hundred and sixty luminaries from the incorruptible generation by the will of the Spirit, so that their number would become five for each. And this is their Father.

Twelve aeons of twelve luminaries, and in every eon there are six heavens, so that there are seventy-two heavens of seventy-two luminaries. And in each (50) of them there are five firmaments, so that there would be only three hundred and sixty firmaments. They were given power and a great army of angels, countless for glorification and service [...] more spiritual virgins for glorification and service to all eons and heavens and firmaments.

And all this multitude of immortals was called "the world" - that is, "corruption" - by the Father, and by the seventy-two luminaries, who are with Him, the Self-begotten and His seventy-two eons, the One from Whom the first man and his incorruptible powers came.

The eon, who appeared with his generation, is the one in which the cloud of Knowledge, and the angel called (51) Il [ilith (?)] And [...] eon [...] After that said [...] "Let there appear twelve angels, reigning over the abyss and hell. "

And behold, an angel appeared from the cloud, and his face was effusing in flames, but his appearance was defiled with blood. He has a name - Nebro, he is translated - "apostate", while others - "Jaldabaoth". And yet another angel came out of the cloud - Sakla.

Nebro created six angels - and Sakla - for standing, and they gave birth to twelve angels in heaven, and each took a part in heaven, and said the twelve archons with twelve angels: "Let each of you (52) [...] an angel.

The first is Seth, called Christ; the second is Armathoph, who [...]; the third is Galila; the fourth is Iobil; the fifth is Adonai. These are the five who became kings over hell, and the first over the abyss.

Then Sakla said to his angels: “Let us create man in likeness and in image. They also fashioned Adam and his wife Eve, called Zoe (Life) in the cloud, for under this name all generations are looking for him and each of them calls her by these names.

Sakla did not (53) ordered [...] if not [...] generations [...] this [...]

And the archon said to him: "Your life has become a time for you and your sons."

Judas said to Jesus:

"What is the use that a person will live?"

Jesus said:

"Why are you surprised that Adam and his generation got their time in the place where he received his kingdom along with his archon?"

Judas said to Jesus:

"Is the human spirit dying?"

Jesus said:

“The image is as follows:“ God ”commanded Michael to give the spirit to people on loan, for service; The great one commanded Gabriel to give spirit to the great generation, which did not have a king, spirit and soul. Therefore, the rest of the souls [...]

(54) […] light […] surround […] the spirit in you. You made him dwell in this flesh, a generation of angels. But God forced them to give knowledge to Adam and those who are with Adam, so that the kings of the abyss and hell would not rule over them. "

Judas said to Jesus:

"What will this generation do?"

Jesus said:

“Truly I say to you: the stars are perfect over them all, and when Sakla completes his time assigned for him, a new star and generation will come, and they will complete what has been said. Then they will fornicate in My name and kill their children, (55) and they [...] and [...] My name [...] and he will [...] your star over the thirteenth aeon. "

And then Jesus laughed. Judas said:

"Teacher, […]"

Jesus answered, said:

"I am not laughing at you, but at the delusion of the stars, for these six stars are delusional with these five warriors, and they will all perish with their creation."

Judas said to Jesus:

"And what will those who have been baptized in Your name do?"

Jesus said:

“Truly I say to you: this is baptism (56) [...] My name [...] Me.

Truly I say to you, Judas, that those who sacrifice to Saklay [...] are god [...] that [...] all evil deeds. You will surpass them all, for you will sacrifice the person who bears Me in him.

Already your horn has gone up, and your anger has been filled, and your star has set, and your heart is captured.

(57) Truly I tell you, your last [...]

[at least two lines are missing]

archon, and he dies. And then the image of the great generation of Adam will rise, for this generation dwells up to heaven and earth and angels thanks to eons.

Here, everything has been told to you. Lift your eyes and you will see the cloud and the light that is in it, and the stars that surround it, and the guiding star. This is your star. "

Judas raised his eyes, saw a bright cloud and entered it. Those on the ground heard a voice coming out of the cloud, saying: (58) […] great generation […] image

[at least five lines are missing]

And the high priests murmured that He had entered the room of His prayer. There were some of their scribes, watching to seize Him in prayer, because they were afraid of the people, for He was like a prophet for all of them.

And they met Judas, they said to him:

“What are you doing here ?! You are a disciple of Jesus! "

He answered according to their wishes. And Judas took the money, he gave Him to them.

Andrey DYATLOV


Judas Iscariot did not live long after the crucifixion of Christ. Less than a day. This is well known.

It is even known (at least described) how, in fact, he died. There are two such references in the canonical texts.

In the Gospel of Matthew: "... having thrown the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out, went and hanged himself," and in the Acts of the Apostles: "... and when he fell down, his belly was split open, and all his insides fell out."

(There is also a story in the apocryphal Gospel of Barnabas that at the moment of Christ's arrest, the Lord gave Judas the features and voice of Jesus (he managed to escape), and in fact Judas was crucified. But this is a pure fairy tale.)

But it seems to me that Judas did not commit suicide, but was killed.

The same idea seduces Bulgakov as well. In The Master and Margarita, he "condemns" Judas to death at knives by militants from the secret service of Afranius.

However, in the dialogue between Pontius Pilate and the head of the secret service, Afrania Bulgakov still touches on the version of "suicide". But, I will note how about the spread of a certain rumor:

“- Yes, Afranius, this is what suddenly occurred to me: did he commit suicide?

Oh no, procurator, - even leaning back in surprise in his chair, Aphranius answered, - forgive me, but this is absolutely incredible!

Ah, everything is probable in this city! I would argue that in a very short time, rumors about this will spread throughout the city.

Then Afranius threw his glance at the procurator, thought for a moment and answered:

It could be the procurator. "

It is obvious that Pilate (with the pen of Bulgakov) launches such a rumor to dishonor Judas: in orthodox religions there are only two absolutely indelible sins - blasphemy and suicide - there is no forgiveness for them. And therefore, the rumor spread by Pilate should stigmatize Judas in the eyes of the people, even if his betrayal is by and large a lie. And for Bulgakov, who wrote under Stalin, Judas is more than a traitor. He was not familiar with Yeshua, he is definitely a provocateur, possibly living by this craft, and not only by working in a change shop with a relative, as Afranius reports to the procurator. Why exactly a provocateur?

How does Bulgakov prove that Judas is a provocateur?

Let me digress a little from the death of Judas, because Bulgakov's scene of Yeshua's arrest at Judas is really very curious.

In the canonical Gospels, Judas Iscariot is simply a traitor who brings the guards to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Christ and receives a one-time payment for this one-time action. With Bulgakov, Judas of Kiriath not only surrenders Yeshua, but also fishes out confessions from him, which form the basis of the accusation. Well, like Agent Klaus with Pastor Schlag in Seventeen Moments of Spring.

Here is Pilate interrogating Yeshua about Judas of Kiriath:

“So,” he said, “answer, do you know a certain Judas from Kiriath and what exactly did you say to him, if you spoke, about Caesar?

It was like this, - the prisoner willingly began to tell, - the day before yesterday evening I met a young man near the temple, who called himself Judas from the city of Kiriath. He invited me to his house in the Lower City and treated me to ...

Kind person? - asked Pilate, and a devilish fire flashed in his eyes.

A very kind and inquisitive person, - the prisoner confirmed, - he expressed the greatest interest in my thoughts, received me very cordially ...

I lit the lamps ... - Pilate said through his teeth in tune with the prisoner, and his eyes twinkled at the same time.

Yes, - a little surprised by the awareness of the procurator, continued Yeshua, - he asked me to express my view of the state power. He was extremely interested in this question.

And what did you say? - asked Pilate ...

Among other things, I said, - said the prisoner, - that all power is violence against people and that the time will come when there will be no power of either the Caesars or any other power. A person will pass into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all.

Why does Bulgakov think that this is not a one-time betrayal, but a whole well-prepared provocation? It's all about the lamp, which Pilate spoke about through his teeth. In the time of Jesus, ambushes were arranged to expose the blasphemer. Canonical sources describe it this way: “They bring two young scientists (that is, students of theologians. there is a conversation with a blasphemer. - Author's note); and he sits in the inner room, and they light a lamp for him so that they can see him and hear his voice. So they did to Ben Stada in Lydda: they appointed two young scientists to ambush him, and they brought him to court, and they stoned him ... "

According to Bulgakov, it was in such a conspiracy that Judas participated, and this, of course, was not just a sale of a teacher for money! This is a superbly organized operation with witnesses, with a pre-planned topic of conversation, which clearly brought Yeshua to the death penalty. So it is not for nothing that Bulgakov calls Judas not a traitor, but one of the best spies of the high priest Kaifa. Sexotom ...

About a dispersed womb

But let's leave the literary Judas of Kiriath and return to Judas Iscariot.

So, I will repeat. The version of the traitor's death in the Gospel of Matthew: “Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, and, repenting, returned thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying: I sinned by betraying innocent blood. But they said to him: what do we care about? Take a look yourself. And, having thrown the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out, went and hanged himself. "

But I have already said that, like Bulgakov's, it seems that the word "strangled" here is just a figure of speech, a kind of stigma of shameful death. I am also not inclined to stick to the version of suicide, since many researchers believe that the Gospel of Matthew was not written by an eyewitness (or not by eyewitnesses), although it is attributed to this apostle, who was in the closest circle of Jesus and who was a publican before meeting with Christ, that is, a collector taxes (in Bulgakov, he is Levi Matthew). Much of the Gospel of Matthew is borrowed from the Gospel of Mark. Mark, however, does not say anything about the fate of Judas. I, of course, write "Mark does not report" or "As Matthew says", although we must understand that the nominal authorship of all the canonical Gospels is a pure hypothesis, not yet confirmed by anything. The names of the authors are just speculations.

The version from the Acts of the Apostles seems to be truer to me: "... and when he descended (Judas - Approx. Auth.), His womb opened, and all his insides fell out."

The word "dropped" can be interpreted in different ways. Some believe that Judas nevertheless hanged himself, but the rope broke and he fell and because of this his stomach tore. There are translations of this fragment that interpret this word as "fell head down," that is, they say, Judas fell from some height, from a cliff.

But the point is (I specifically consulted with forensic pathologists) that even when a person falls from an airplane, a person's skull bursts, bones break, but they do not know the cases when the womb would open up! For this, as I was patiently explained, there must be at least a wound in the abdomen. From a bullet, shrapnel, knife or sharp object. Well, it may also be that Judas had dropsy, and his stomach burst on impact, but this is completely unlikely ...

But the "dispersed womb" is no longer a general formula, not a horror story, it is a clear detail. Only those who saw the corpse could describe the death of Judas in this way.

Or the one who took part in the murder!

Whose handiwork?

In the Acts of the Apostles this clear detail is communicated by the Apostle Peter: “... Peter, standing among the disciples, said (there was a congregation of about one hundred and twenty people): brothers! It was to be fulfilled what the Holy Spirit had foretold through the mouth of David in the Scriptures concerning Judas, who was the leader of those who took Jesus; he ... acquired the land with unrighteous payment, and when he fell down, his belly split open, and all his insides fell out; and this became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that that land in their native tongue is called Akeldam, that is, the land of blood. "

Peter seems to report on the work done. And it is very curious that he is talking, for example, not about the broken head of Judas (and this is the most probable injury if Judas had “fallen down” from the cliff onto the stones), but about the “dispersed” - ripped open - womb.

So, maybe he was the one who executed Judas?

Isn't it a version?

And much, besides this speech of Peter, indicates that this is very likely ...

Who benefits from?

Knowingly killing requires a motive. Who would benefit from Judas' death?

Judas himself? Unlikely. He was an extremely stingy person. Keeper of the box with the money of the community, who allowed himself to grumble even at Christ for too unreasonable, in the opinion of Judas, spending. Usually such people (and human psychology has changed little even over the centuries) cherish and love themselves, are endowed with healthy cynicism and, to the last, hold on to life without sentimentality and remorse. It seems to me that repentance to Judas is most likely attributed. And it is unlikely that he would have climbed into the noose.

Perhaps Kaifa and the priests were interested in the death of Judas? It is also doubtful. There is no need to cover their tracks, the trial of Jesus was official, and the reward for betraying a blasphemer is a rare thing, but also legalized. In addition, she and Judas were in the calculation: the deed was done, the fee was paid, the contract was closed.

Maybe the robbers slaughtered Judas for money? No. The pieces of silver were not lost, but were somehow returned (according to the Gospel - thrown by Judas) to the priests, and after the death of the apostle they bought the land near the walls of Jerusalem, still known as the Land of Blood. There is now a monastery.

Did Pilate take revenge? This is completely out of the realm of speculation: the trial is over, the hands are washed - what is one of them to the Roman who hated the Jews?

But the apostles ... They just have more than enough motives! The act of their brother resulted in the execution of the head of the community, the teacher. Moreover - for money from the enemies of Christ ...

And it is curious that Peter could have played his role in revenge on Judas, perhaps the main one! Peter is generally a curious figure. A fisherman and the son of a fisherman, he was the brother of the Apostle Andrew, who would later be called the First-Called. That is, the first one who was called by Jesus to be an apostle. But this is not entirely true: Jesus did not call Andrew, but Andrew and Peter, together. Having met the brothers, Christ said: "Follow (that is, both! - Approx. Auth.) For Me, and I will make you (that is, both! - Approx. Auth.) Fishers of people." So Kormiltsev was not quite right in the famous song about the Apostle Andrew and Christ "Walking on the water ...".

And the first disciples are the most faithful and closest. It was not without reason that Jesus took Peter as one of the three bodyguards on his journey to the Garden of Gethsemane. Yes, bodyguards. This is understandable, because of all the apostles, only Peter and the sons of Zebedee - the brothers James and John - had the character traits that real fighters should have. All three are energetic, aggressive, hot-tempered (for which, by the way, Jesus called the brothers "Voanerges" - "Sons of Thunder"). They were also with swords, however, only two, and one of the swords was with Peter.

Peter is clearly the senior in this team of bodyguards. He surpassed the brothers in courage. It was he (which is important for us!) In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was arrested, who drew the sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant Malchus in front of the Roman soldiers! But the Romans forbade the carrying of any weapon by the Jews on pain of immediate death. And he dared!

And, I will especially note, Peter clearly wielded a sword well if he rushed into battle among the legionaries and guards.

If he was already ready for this, then overtaking Judas and ripping open his hot-tempered Peter's belly - perhaps together with the brothers John and James - was a trifling matter. So the version about Peter the Avenger looks more than real.

What if Peter’s words are fiction?

Yes, there is a nuance: the truth of the canonical texts, as you know, is very difficult to confirm. In the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles there are clearly purely literary fragments, fantasies that have nothing to do with the chronicles. So who guarantees that the author of Acts did not attribute his statement to Peter? Moreover, according to legend, Acts is attributed to the Evangelist Luke, who, it seems, did not meet with Peter at all.

But here there is a curious chain - a very short one - along which Luke could have reached the exact words practically at first hand.

She is like that.

In 49, Peter met the new apostle - Paul. They collaborated very closely, and, for example, the Antiochian Orthodox Church leads the patriarchal (episcopal) row from the Apostle Peter, who, according to legend, together with the Apostle Paul, is its founder. But the most faithful disciple of Paul was just the Evangelist Luke! So it is quite possible that the words of Peter in the "closed meeting" were conveyed to Luke by Paul.

And the last ...

The land, which was bought for thirty pieces of silver (according to Peter's version, was bought by Judas), was a clay field, where potters took raw materials for their products (it was called "potter's land"). After the death of Judas, it was decided to make a cemetery for pilgrims there. But let me remind you that Peter already says that this place began to be called Akeldam, that is, "the land of blood." I hardly believe that the inhabitants of Jerusalem were instantly imbued with the tragedy of Christ and the new name arose because the wasteland was bought with "bloody treacherous money." This is somehow overly symbolic, even pathetic ...

This explanation is simpler and therefore, it seems to me, more realistic. The field, which nourished many potters, was drenched in the blood of Judas, and since the “womb was open”, there was a fair amount of blood (as Afrany said in Bulgakov's case: “The blood gushed out in a wave, procurator!”). And they stopped taking clay there, for the place was defiled and became unclean. So much so that they could give him only for the same unclean business - a cemetery.

So, perhaps we now know not only who killed Judas, but also where exactly he was killed ...


Illustration - Suicide of Judas, 12th century bas-relief, France

Name Judas is a common noun for every modern person - that was the name of the New Testament traitor, thanks to whom the founder of Christianity was captured by the Romans and subsequently executed.

And throughout the history of Christianity, Judas has been branded as a murderer of Christ. Although in fact we know very, very little about Judas ...

Judas in the Gospels bears the additional name Iscariot. In Russian, this is unambiguously translated as Judas from Cariot, therefore, Cariot is such a place or such a city. But no Cariot, as historians say, did not exist then. The only town that fits at least in consonance is Krayot in Judea, but whether it is the birthplace of Judas is an open question. In addition to the place of birth, the Hebrew "ish-keriyot" can also be translated as "husband from the suburbs", because "keriyot" is a suburb. So our Judas could not have come from an unknown Cariot, but simply from a village near Jerusalem.

Official history

In the same New Testament, besides Judas Iscariot, there is also Judas Simonov. And some scholars believe that our Judas Iscariot is Judas Simonov. True, who this Simon is is just as dark - either a father or an older brother.

One thing is certain about Judas: he is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and part-time treasurer of this small community. This is where the use of the respectful “husband” to Judas becomes clear: the treasurer is a responsible position and was not appointed so simply. It is also known that Judas was thrifty and spoke badly about useless or unreasonable spending, he knew the value of money.

Jesus' disciples hardly liked it, they reproached him for being stingy, and then a legend was born that Judas steals from the general treasury. Most likely, this is not true: a thief would not have held the position of treasurer with Jesus alive. And the fact that he did not like extravagance is quite understandable: the students were not rich people, they fed for charity fees.

The official history of Judas is very short. It is not known how and where he came to be Jesus 'disciples, we immediately see him as a treasurer and even become witnesses of his reproaches to Mary of Bethany for wastefulness when she anointed Jesus' feet with peace for 300 denarii, which can be used to feed the poor.

Another time, Judas is presented to us during the Last Supper, when they eat at a common table and dip bread in a common dish, and Jesus utters his sacramental phrase that one of the disciples sitting at this table will betray him, and he is the one, who, together with Jesus, dipped bread into this dish. As everyone dipped it, general confusion reigned.

The further fate of Judas is ambiguous: according to one version, he received money for the betrayal and returned it, repenting of his deed, and then hanged himself, a friend - he received money, bought himself a field on them, which is called the field of the potter, because it was previously owned by the potter, and either died of an accident, or hanged himself.

Since the first version was not related to the purchase of the field, the Gospel texts quickly corrected this: the Sanhedrin members bought the field with the money returned and began to use it as a graveyard for pilgrims. And Judas's death was arranged beautifully: he thrust his head into the noose, the rope of his weight could not withstand (obviously, indeed, the “husband” and the man was strong), he collapsed and his insides fell out.
But everything in the story with Judas is extremely confusing.

Indistinct details

Firstly, the very amount of 30 pieces of silver is not clear, as it is not even clear what kind of money it was. If they meant an ordinary small silver coin, which was calculated in the time of Jesus, then it was impossible to buy even such a wretched field for 30 such coins. If these are the so-called Tyrian tickles, then - alas! - also impossible. So the field is strange, and so is the cost.

Secondly, Judas hanged himself from a tree (this was considered by the Jews a shameful death). But which one? The New Testament in the Russian translation gives unequivocally an aspen. And he even points out that after that, the aspen developed a peculiarity to tremble from the experience of fear. But where do aspen trees grow in Judea? Nowhere. Therefore, for the role of a tree for Judas (and in the text it is not an aspen, but a Judas tree), Christians selected different trees based on the domestic landscape - birch, elderberry, mountain ash, etc.

Thirdly, either he hurt himself and “the stomach opened, and he himself was swollen,” or he committed suicide. But if he died of illness, then he did not kill himself. If he committed suicide - why did the insides fall out? This death with the entrails falling out leads to one strange circumstance of the matter: under what damage can the entrails fall out? Yes, only in one case: if the body was ripped open from the groin to the throat, that is, if Judas was killed with a dagger and hanged, and then the rope could not stand it!

But did Judas hang himself? Or was he hanged? Or neither?

Non-canon biography

According to the non-canonical version, Judas was born on the most unlucky day of the year - April 1, and before his birth, his mother had a terrible dream that this child would bring death to her family, therefore, without thinking twice, she put the newborn in the ark and threw it into the nearest river. Judas did not die and exactly fulfilled the prediction: he grew up on the island of Carioth (here is Caryoth for you!), Returned home and, like the hero of the Greek tragedy Oedipus, killed his father and entered into an incestuous relationship with his mother. When the unfortunate man found out what sins he had committed (without being guilty of it), then for thirty-three years every day he walked up the mountain with water in his mouth and watered a dry stick there until it was covered with leaves. After that, he became a disciple of Jesus.

According to another legend, Judas and Jesus were neighbors in childhood, and, since the boy was sickly, his mother brought him to little Jesus, about whom fame as a healer had already gone. Jesus began to heal Judas, to which the latter became angry and bit his savior on the side so that he left a scar forever, and the place where Judas bit him became the place where the Roman legionary drove his spear. But Judas was healed and became a disciple of Jesus when he grew up. According to this version, Judas was actually the brother of Jesus, and was very jealous of him. According to another version, Jesus was jealous of Judas, and Judas loved his brother so much that he himself did all the miracles, and he gave the glory he gained for this to Jesus.

And according to the version of the newfound Gospel of Judas, where nothing is said about his life before meeting Jesus, Judas did not commit suicide after the death of Jesus and did not die of illness.

The hidden gospel


In this Gospel, Judas is completely different from the traitor and villain that he was for Christians for all two thousand years. Judas is a completely sane person and a worthy student of his teacher. And what looks like betrayal is not. It is to him that Jesus reveals the most secret knowledge about the universe and the fate of mankind. It is he who for Jesus is the most devoted and faithful disciple, and he is entrusted with a terrible mission to betray his teacher so that his destiny may be fulfilled, and to sacrifice his human essence to the Heavenly Father, and Judas fulfills this mission, realizing what will remain for the followers of the new faith a despicable traitor, because the descendants will not understand either this order of Jesus or the essence of the sacrifice.

Jesus allowed Judas to enter the cloud of heavenly glory, see his star and fulfill his destiny. And when Judas entered the cloud of glory and saw his star, he understood everything and went to the high priests, betrayed Jesus and took the money.

It is not for nothing that after the public familiarization with this apocrypha, several high-ranking officials from the Vatican raised the question of revising their attitude towards Judas. True, in addition to restoring justice to the slandered Judas, they set another, more mundane task - by justifying Judas, to put an end to anti-Semitism. Indeed, one of the reasons for anti-Semitism is that Christians accuse Jews precisely of the fact that they have become Christ-sellers.

Scientists were able to prove the authenticity of the "Gospel of Judas"

New research into the Gospel of Judas manuscript with a description of a previously unknown version of biblical events resulted in confirmation of the authenticity of the ancient text.

The Gospel of Judas was discovered by scholars in 2006. The manuscript, written in the ancient Egyptian language, says that Judas Iscariot was not at all a traitor to Christ, but, on the contrary, was his faithful ally in preparation for the resurrection of the Savior. According to this text, Jesus himself asked the authorities to turn to the authorities, hoping for help, which will be provided to him during his ascension to heaven. In this version, neither betrayal nor 30 pieces of silver is mentioned.

To determine the authenticity of the text, a group of American scholars led by Joseph Barabi of Illinois analyzed the ink used to write the Gospel, comparing it to ink on Egyptian marriage certificates and real estate documents dating from the same period.

In those days, the Egyptians used ink, which was previously subjected to special processing, which, in fact, allowed the experts to prove that the Gospel was not a late forgery. And even though the document is fragmented, its authenticity is no longer in doubt.

Barabi specializes in verifying the authenticity of ancient documents, as well as various art objects. They often help the FBI identify fake paintings.