Is the Gospel of Judas in the Bible?
No. It is not in the King James Version or in any Christian canon, and it was condemned as heretical by Irenaeus around AD 180, within a generation of its composition.
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The Gospel of Judas — Free PDF Study Guide
A clear, honest introduction to the Gospel of Judas — the second-century Sethian Gnostic text rediscovered in Codex Tchacos and published in 2006. It presents Judas Iscariot not as a traitor but as the one disciple who understood, and it portrays the God of Israel as a lesser being. This guide explains the manuscript, the teaching, the scholarly debate over its translation, and how it stands against the four Gospels of the King James Bible.
An original Bible Sundays study companion. The Gospel of Judas survives in a single damaged Coptic manuscript (Codex Tchacos, c. AD 280) first published in 2006; the reading of key lines is still debated. Scripture quoted from the King James Version.
What you get
The discovery and condition of Codex Tchacos
What the text actually says about Judas Iscariot
Sethian Gnostic cosmology and the figure of Saklas
Irenaeus's reference to the book around AD 180
Why the church rejected it — and what the Gospels say
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What is the Gospel of Judas?
The Gospel of Judas is a Coptic Gnostic text preserved in a single third-century codex, Codex Tchacos, which surfaced on the antiquities market and was published by National Geographic in 2006. The underlying Greek work is older: Irenaeus of Lyons already condemns a 'Gospel of Judas' around AD 180. It is a dialogue set in the last week before the crucifixion, in which Jesus laughs at the disciples' worship, tells them their God is not the true God, and takes Judas aside for private teaching.
What it claims about Judas
In this text Judas alone recognises where Jesus has come from. Jesus tells him he will 'exceed all of them, for you will sacrifice the man that clothes me' — that is, by handing Jesus over, Judas frees the divine spark from the body. The 2006 translation presented Judas as a hero; a number of Coptic scholars have since argued that key lines were mistranslated and that the text actually makes Judas a demon and the thirteenth, doomed spirit. The manuscript is damaged enough that the debate continues. Either way, the framework is Sethian Gnosticism: the material world is the work of a lower creator called Saklas, and salvation is escape from it.
Why the church rejected it
The Gospel of Judas was not suppressed after the fact — it was rejected almost immediately, by name, in the second century, because it teaches a different God and a different salvation than the apostles preached. It has no connection with Judas Iscariot, who died before any of it was written. The four Gospels tell a harder and better story: Judas was a chosen disciple who betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of silver, was struck with remorse, and perished; and Christ went to the cross freely, in the body, to bear sin. Read this text as evidence of what second-century Gnostics believed, not as a lost witness to Jesus.
Frequently asked questions
Did Judas Iscariot write the Gospel of Judas?
No. The text was written more than a century after his death and attributed to him, as was common in Gnostic literature.
Does the Gospel of Judas say Judas was a hero?
The 2006 translation read it that way — Judas as the one enlightened disciple who obeys Jesus by handing him over. Later scholarship argues that the Coptic actually condemns Judas as a demon. The damaged manuscript keeps the question open.
When was the Gospel of Judas written?
The Greek original was probably composed around AD 130–170. The surviving Coptic copy in Codex Tchacos dates to roughly AD 280.
What is Codex Tchacos?
It is the fragmentary papyrus codex containing the Gospel of Judas along with other Gnostic texts. It was discovered in Egypt, badly damaged by decades of poor handling, and finally conserved and published in 2006.
Does it change what Christians believe about Judas?
No. It offers no historical information about Judas Iscariot. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, written in the first century by or from apostolic witnesses, remain the only reliable accounts.
What is Sethian Gnosticism?
A second-century religious movement that traced true spiritual descent through Seth, taught that the material world was made by an ignorant lower deity, and held that salvation comes through secret knowledge of one's divine origin.
Can I share this study guide?
Yes. This Bible Sundays study guide is free to share for any personal, ministry, or educational purpose.
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Every name below appears in the King James Bible. Each page gives the meaning, the verse it appears in, and who carried it in Scripture.
- JoannaGod is gracious
- JoannaGod is gracious
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- JonahDove
- JonathanThe LORD has given
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