The newly published Gospel of Judas (National Geographic, April, 2006) shows the source of the betrayal mythology of the orthodox Christian version of Jesus Christ's death. There was no particular meaning or significance of the death of Jesus. One had to be invented to allow sense to be made of how and why the son of God could be killed by anyone. "You will exceed them all, for you will sacrifice the man that bears me" is the climax in the Gospel of Judas. It occurs at 56:19-20. At 36:1 Jesus tells Judas that "someone will replace you", so he won't personally be going into the higher regions. Most scholars think these two passages signify that Judas is a bad person and is being made the instrument of Jesus' execution. Nothing could be more wrong. This is the gospel of JUDAS, not Jesus. The climax is Jesus telling Judas that HE -- JUDAS -- will be the "sacrifice", not himself betrayed. Who 'sacrifices' another, anyway? And your own beloved Master, of all people? No, any mystic practitioner (like me) will tell you that this is Judas relinquishing his lower "self" for the "self" of his Master, Jesus. Jesus will REPLACE him. Likewise, David and Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17, is the Old Testament version of the same story. David goes into battle with only the "Name of the Lord" as his weaponry (his sling stones represent the five holy names fired one after another at the forehead "eye-center" of the ego-self, Goliath). He slays Goliath with Goliath's own sword, to show that only the Lord's weaponry is needed. It is the "Apophasis Logos" of the incipit in "Judas" which is this holy name by which Judas will ascend -- minus his lowly "man"-self, "Judas". Orthodox gospel writers and redactors jumped on the opportunity to write a betrayal story, serving at least three purposes: making 'sense' of his execution, feeding their anitSemitism, and aiding their control of the masses, by eliminating a new, living savior: Judas. He will "rule" from the "Thirteenth" as companion Master to his own Master, Jesus. Only one line -- the last -- mentions any "handing over" of Jesus. This was necessary because the canonical account was by the time of the composition of "Judas" too well known to be left out.
Further reading is at www.RSSB.org (pubs. link)
