Strong Medicine, The Gospel of Judas, and The Da Vinci CodeJonathan’s Journals The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an easy message to hear. It is not like sweet-tasting medicine. It requires us to look squarely and plainly at reality, which in a world of fantasy and illusion, can be painful. The gospel requires us to look at ourselves as we truly are: as the good creation of God who have turned inward on ourselves and thus distorted the image of God which we were originally created to bear. In other words: we are broken sinners- in need of God’s redemption. In order for sinners like you and me to be redeemed, we need to acknowledge our sin, repent (that is, turn our lives around), and throw ourselves on the mercy of God, trusting Christ to deliver us. It’s pretty strong medicine, but unlike some medicines, it is free, available to all, and it really works.
So, I’m not too surprised that this gospel should prove itself to be too strong a medicine for all of us to stomach. From the very beginning of the church, there have been those who have wanted to replace this gospel with something a little easier to handle. One such alternative gospel was called gnosticism, and it has resurfaced lately in the form of the so-called “gospel of Judas.” Gnosticism, of which the gospel of Judas is merely one example, is based on the belief that we are saved not by grace through faith, but by “gnosis,” which is translated as “knowledge.” And it is not a knowledge available to all, it is a secret knowledge available only to a select few: thus the opening line in the gospel of Judas: "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot."
In the world of gnosticism, the physical world is bad, and only the spiritual world is good. Jesus “saves us” by giving us the secret knowledge to know how to escape this bad physical world, and enter a spiritual world. (In contrast to this, orthodox Christianity has always taught that the physical world is God’s good creation, as we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth”). So, Judas does Jesus a favor by turning him over to the Romans, so that he can die (be delivered from the physical body) and enter a spiritual realm with no body. In contrast to this, orthodox Christianity insisted that our bodies are good, and so Jesus’ bodily resurrection is essential, as is a belief in a general resurrection for all of us some day.
In the world of gnosticism, there is no sin, and thus no need for repentance. There is only ignorance, and the need for secret knowledge. If you can just find out the ‘secret,’ about how to escape the bad physical world and enter the good spiritual world, everything will be ok. In this way, the gospel of Judas has a lot in common with The Da Vinci Code, even though the gospel of Judas dates from the 2nd Century, and The Da Vinci Code is a modern invention. What they have in common is the belief that Jesus kept lots of secrets, and the church has been trying to ‘cover up’ these secrets for centuries. In particular, The Da Vinci code speculates that there were secrets associated with Mary Magdalene. We know from the New Testament gospels that Mary Magdalene was very important, that she was the first Christian preacher, the first Apostle sent by Jesus to bear witness to the resurrection. As such, she is a hugely important figure in the entire New Testament and in the church. The Da Vinci Code diminishes the role of Mary Magdalene by saying that she is important only because she is Jesus’ secret girlfriend, that she doesn’t have any meaningful identity apart from that. In contrast, the New Testament elevates Mary Magdalene to the place of Apostle to the Apostles, as someone who is commissioned by Jesus to keep no secrets, but to tell everyone about the glorious resurrection of his body.
Of course, the media is currently saturated with stories about the Gospel of Judas and The Da Vinci Code. I don’t blame the media, they are only giving the public what it wants: theological candy. But for those who want to be cured, or at least healed, there is no avoiding the strong medicine of the gospel. It may not be as sweet as candy, but it gives life.
Peace,
Jonathan
ps: I plan to see the Da Vinci Code movie. It’s supposed to be pretty good as far as entertainment goes. And it may be a bridge for us to talk with people about Jesus.
