Editor,
Judas - traitor or obedient to the will of God?
I was born in the United States and taken to a Protestant church at an early age. All my relatives were Protestants and claimed to believe what was written in the New Testament of the Bible, even though none of them had read much of what was there.
I was taught that Jesus Christ was sent to Earth by God to be a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
I was also taught that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to the Roman authorities by kissing him on the cheek, and by that act Judas became the most notorious and despised traitor of all time. I was also told that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus, and would have to pay, somehow, for having caused his death.
One day, when I was about 12 years of age, I was meditating - which had become a part of my daily practice - and while doing so I experienced a strange feeling, and a new line of thought entered my mind.
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If the purpose for Jesus coming to Earth was to be a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, then why were the acts of Judas Iscariot and the Jews not seen as being obedient to the will of God? If Jesus was to be a sacrifice for all mankind, it seemed clear to me that someone or some group of people would have to be responsible for his death - and that person or group of people would not be traitors, but, instead, would be doing the will of God.
Every time I tried to share this insight with other people, I was told that my soul would be in trouble if I continued to think this way, so I quit trying to share it. It did not go away, but instead returned to my consciousness every Easter season.
Now that the contents of the gospel of Judas have been released to the public, maybe I will be able to discuss my earlier insight with people without being labeled a heretic.
I hope so.
Robert Gardiner
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