The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot by Jeffrey Archer Page B
Authors: Jeffrey Archer
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spectacular Mount Hermon. The link and subsequent confusion were inspired by the juxtaposition of Hermon and Tabor in Psalm 89:12: âThe north and the south â you created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.â
xxv. J ESUSâ PASSION PREDICTIONS: Jesusâ predictions of his passion during this journey to Jerusalem have developed in the telling. Jesus most likely spoke of his forthcoming death in words very close to: âThe Son of Man will be given into the hands of men and they will kill him.â He probably also spoke, in faith and hope, of his ultimate vindication by God. By the time the Gospels were written, this vindication is expressed in terms of what the early Church believed had actually taken place: resurrection on the third day.
xxvi. T HE STRANGER FROM G ALILEE: At this point the dependence of The Gospel According to Judas on the traditions that formed the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) becomes evident. Jesus comes to Jerusalem for the first time. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is seen regularly in Jerusalem.
xxvii. J ESUS AS A PROPHET: Many historical-critical studies of the âpre-Easter Jesusâ have come to the conclusion that Jesus and his disciples understood him to be a prophet.
xxviii. J ESUS , S ON OF D AVID: Early Christians regarded Jesus as the messianic Son of David (see, for example, Matt 1:1). But in The Gospel According to Judas , Jesus does not identify himself with the Son of David. The curing of Bartimaeus is the only occasion in this Gospel where Jesus does not reject the title. It is widely agreed among scholars that the solitary acceptance by Jesus of the term âSon of Davidâ in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 10:46â52) does not refer to the messianic use of this expression, but to the Jewish tradition that looked back to the historical âson of Davidâ, King Solomon, as a healer. In The Gospel According to Judas , Judas misunderstands blind Bartimaeusâ appeal to Jesus as a healer. His question of Peter shows that he has renewed hope that Jesus is the Son of David in the sense of being the Davidic Messiah.
xxix. J ESUS â ENTRY INTO J ERUSALEM: It is difficult to reconstruct what took place, historically, on the occasion of Jesusâ entry into Jerusalem. The scene as it is described in The Gospel According to Judas depends on John 12:12â16 and Zech 9:9â11.
xxx. S EQUENCE OF EVENTS IN J ERUSALEM : In all four Christian Gospels, the sequence of events is exactly the same: entry, preaching, supper, Gethsemane, Jewish trial, Roman trial, crucifixion, burial, discovery of an empty tomb, resurrection appearances (not found in Mark). But the timing of these events varies from gospel to gospel, as it does in The Gospel According to Judas .
xxxi. T HE S ANHEDRIN: This was the highest tribunal permitted by Rome to prosecute and punish Jews according to Jewish laws. It is difficult to determine exactly who made up this body, or even if there was only one Sanhedrin. According to the Gospels, there is one Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, and it is made up of both Priests and Pharisees, along with their Scribes.
xxxii. M ONEY DEALERS IN THE T EMPLE: The money dealers who sat in the outer court of the Temple were performing a service essential to the purity of the Temple. It was unlawful to enter the sacred precincts of the Temple carrying any coins that bore the effigy of a human being or an animal. Thus, all who entered the Temple handed over their coins to the money dealers. They exchanged any Jewish money for Tyrian coins, which bore no image. On leaving the Temple, the worshipper would retrieve the money bearing these effigies. This detail must be kept in mind when reading The Gospel According to Judas 19:16â19. Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees in the Temple, and asks to see a coin. They show him one bearing the effigy of Caesar. No Jew should have been in possession of such a coin in the Temple.
xxxiii. P
xxv. J ESUSâ PASSION PREDICTIONS: Jesusâ predictions of his passion during this journey to Jerusalem have developed in the telling. Jesus most likely spoke of his forthcoming death in words very close to: âThe Son of Man will be given into the hands of men and they will kill him.â He probably also spoke, in faith and hope, of his ultimate vindication by God. By the time the Gospels were written, this vindication is expressed in terms of what the early Church believed had actually taken place: resurrection on the third day.
xxvi. T HE STRANGER FROM G ALILEE: At this point the dependence of The Gospel According to Judas on the traditions that formed the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) becomes evident. Jesus comes to Jerusalem for the first time. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is seen regularly in Jerusalem.
xxvii. J ESUS AS A PROPHET: Many historical-critical studies of the âpre-Easter Jesusâ have come to the conclusion that Jesus and his disciples understood him to be a prophet.
xxviii. J ESUS , S ON OF D AVID: Early Christians regarded Jesus as the messianic Son of David (see, for example, Matt 1:1). But in The Gospel According to Judas , Jesus does not identify himself with the Son of David. The curing of Bartimaeus is the only occasion in this Gospel where Jesus does not reject the title. It is widely agreed among scholars that the solitary acceptance by Jesus of the term âSon of Davidâ in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 10:46â52) does not refer to the messianic use of this expression, but to the Jewish tradition that looked back to the historical âson of Davidâ, King Solomon, as a healer. In The Gospel According to Judas , Judas misunderstands blind Bartimaeusâ appeal to Jesus as a healer. His question of Peter shows that he has renewed hope that Jesus is the Son of David in the sense of being the Davidic Messiah.
xxix. J ESUS â ENTRY INTO J ERUSALEM: It is difficult to reconstruct what took place, historically, on the occasion of Jesusâ entry into Jerusalem. The scene as it is described in The Gospel According to Judas depends on John 12:12â16 and Zech 9:9â11.
xxx. S EQUENCE OF EVENTS IN J ERUSALEM : In all four Christian Gospels, the sequence of events is exactly the same: entry, preaching, supper, Gethsemane, Jewish trial, Roman trial, crucifixion, burial, discovery of an empty tomb, resurrection appearances (not found in Mark). But the timing of these events varies from gospel to gospel, as it does in The Gospel According to Judas .
xxxi. T HE S ANHEDRIN: This was the highest tribunal permitted by Rome to prosecute and punish Jews according to Jewish laws. It is difficult to determine exactly who made up this body, or even if there was only one Sanhedrin. According to the Gospels, there is one Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, and it is made up of both Priests and Pharisees, along with their Scribes.
xxxii. M ONEY DEALERS IN THE T EMPLE: The money dealers who sat in the outer court of the Temple were performing a service essential to the purity of the Temple. It was unlawful to enter the sacred precincts of the Temple carrying any coins that bore the effigy of a human being or an animal. Thus, all who entered the Temple handed over their coins to the money dealers. They exchanged any Jewish money for Tyrian coins, which bore no image. On leaving the Temple, the worshipper would retrieve the money bearing these effigies. This detail must be kept in mind when reading The Gospel According to Judas 19:16â19. Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees in the Temple, and asks to see a coin. They show him one bearing the effigy of Caesar. No Jew should have been in possession of such a coin in the Temple.
xxxiii. P
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