Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple and His Lost Gospel

By Howard Sounes

The discovery of a previously lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot has electrified the Christian community. What Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is inconsistent and biased. Therefore, the revelation of an ancient gospel that portrays this despised man as someone who saw his role in the Passion of Christ as integral to a larger plan—a divine plan—brings new clarity to the old story. If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, Jesus would not have been handed over to the authorities, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Could it be that without Judas, the Easter miracle would never have happened?

In The Secrets of Judas, James M. Robinson, an expert historian of early Christianity, examines the Bible and other ancient texts and reveals what we can and cannot know about the life of the historical Judas, his role in Jesus's crucifixion, and whether the Christian church should reevaluate his intentions and possible innocence. Robinson tells the sensational story of the discovery of a gospel attributed to Judas, and shows how this affects Judas's newfound meaning for history and for the Christian faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061751103

Howard Sounes

Howard Sounes is the author of several acclaimed non-fiction books including the bestselling Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan (2001), an equally well-regarded life of the cult writer Charles Bukowski, aswell as the true crime classic Fred & Rose (1995). He lives in London.

Reviews for Secrets of Judas

[willymammoth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At the time of the publication of "The Secrets of Judas," the titular gospel had not yet been published. It was still held in "private archives," undergoing translation, scholarly study, and the fomenting of a massive hurricane of media spin. The main gripe I have about this book is that the it was written primarily--almost blatantly--to cash in upon the great public interest whipped up by the then-unreleased gospel. And therefore, there isn't that much actual substance to the book.Don't get me wrong. I found much of the information interesting, but it lacked meat. Most of it could have been contained in a scholarly journal article, and, because the actual gospel text had not been made public, there was no commentary on the content of the Gospel of Judas, which when I purchased the book was what I was really interested in. The book's content mainly concerns two things: how the manuscript came to be known to the modern world, and a dissection of the character of Judas based on previously known texts. It was all good information, interesting information, but it wasn't enough to justify a book on the subject. The real story was the discovery of a new biblical-era text, and that was missing from the work. Maybe the reason I felt so dissatisfied was the fact that I went into it with different expectations. That's partly my fault, but some of the blame undoubtedly lies with the publisher, who billed this work as more than it really was. That's why I only gave the book two and a half stars. It didn't have all that much information in it, and the process of reading it left me feeling cheated.

[mldavis2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written prior to the National Geographic publication of the translated text of "The Gospel of Judas," this book outlines the questions still surrounding the mystery of Judas, and covers in exhaustive detail the acquisition and significance of this singular Coptic codex. It does not paint a rosy picture of the process during which significant deterioration took place. It also does not deal with the actual translated contents of the codex. It is nevertheless a valuable look at the discovery of yet another ancient document of very early Christian history.