The Gospel of Judas

These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Judas "the Twin" wrote down.

                                  

Chapter 1 
(1) Jesus asked, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not realize that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?"

(2) Jesus said, "I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind."

(3) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."   Jesus replied, "Have you discovered the beginning, then, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there you will find the end. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know, then, the end, and will not experience death."

(4) Jesus said, "The old man will not hesitate to ask a baby about the place of life, and that man will live, for many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same."

(5) Jesus continued, "Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being. If you become my disciples and listen to my words, these stones will minister to you. For there are five trees for you in Paradise which remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever becomes acquainted with them will not experience death."

(6) And he said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."

(7) Then Simon Peter spoke to them, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life."     And Jesus replied, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her like Adam, so that she, too, may become a living spirit resembling Adam. For every woman who will make herself like Adam will enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

(8) He continued, "Adam came into being from a great power and a great wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, he would not have died."

(9) And Jesus said to Simon Peter, "It is to those who are worthy of my mysteries that I tell my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

(10) Jesus continued to them, "Seek and you will find. Yet what you asked me about in former times, and which I did not tell you then, now I desire to tell you, but you do not ask it any more"

(11) He said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will become amazed, and he will rule over the All."

(12) Jesus concluded, "He who seeks will find; he who knocks will be let in."

Chapter 2 
(1) The disciples said to him, "Your brothers and mother are standing outside." Jesus replied, "Those here who do the will of my Father are my brothers and my mother. It is they who will enter the Kingdom of my Father."

(2) He said, "Love your brother like your soul; guard him like the pupil of your eye."

(3) Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters, and take up his cross in my way, will not be worthy of me."

(4) Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a harlot!"

(5) Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes against the father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will never be forgiven either on earth or in Heaven!"

(6) Jesus said, "I have cast a fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes!"

(7) Jesus continued, "Men think, perhaps, that it is peace which I have come to cast upon the world! They do not know that it is dissension which I have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war! There will be five in a house, three will be against two, and two against three; the father against the son, and the son against the father, and they will stand solitary."

(8) Jesus explained, "If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move away!' and it will move away.

(9) Jesus went on, "It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and take it by force unless he binds the man's hands; only then will he be able to ransack the house."

(10) Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able to rebuild it!"

(11) Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary one who will enter the bridal chamber."

(12) Jesus concluded, "Blessed are the solitary and elect, for they will find the Kingdom, for they are from it, and to it they will return."

(13) "If you do not fast as regards the world, you will not find the Kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Day of Rest, you will not see the Father."

Chapter 3

(1) His disciples questioned him and asked him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet should we observe?"  Jesus said, "Do not tell lies! Do not do what you hate, for all things are obvious in the sight of Heaven. Nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."

(2) They said to Jesus, "Come, let us pray today, and let us fast."   Jesus asked, "What sin have I committed, or how have I been defeated? When the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray!"

(3) Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will give rise to sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and walk around its districts, if they receive, eat what they set before you, and heal the sick among them. What goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which issues from you mouth--it is that which will defile you!"

(4) His disciples then asked him, "Well, is circumcision beneficial or not?"   He replied, "If it were beneficial, their father would begat them already circumcised from their mother! Rather, the true circumcision of the spirit has become completely profitable."

(5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become obvious to you, for there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest."

(6) He explained, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of that sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'The Kingdom is in the sea,' then the fishes will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you will come to know yourselves, then all will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves then you will dwell in poverty, and it is you who will be that poverty."

(7) Jesus said, "That which you have will save you if you bring it forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will kill you if you do not have it within you."

Chapter 4

(1) Mary asked Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?"  He replied, "They are like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Let us have back our field,' and the children will undress in the owners' presence in order to let them have their field back. Therefore I say, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into the house that is his domain and carry his goods away. My disciples must be, then, on guard against the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way to come to you, for the difficulties you expect will certainly come to pass. Let there be among you a man of understanding--when the grain ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it. Fortunate is the man who knows where the brigands will enter so that he may get up, muster his domain, and arm himself before they invade. Whoever has ears, let him hear."

(2) Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, "Those infants being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom."  They asked, "Shall we, then, enter the Kingdom as children?"   Jesus replied, "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside, and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and female one and the same, so that the male not be male and the female not be female--and when you fashion eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness--then you will enter the Kingdom."

(3) Jesus said to his disciples, "I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten-thousand, and they shall stand as a single one."

(4) Jesus said, "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give you those things you already have. And you, too, give them those things which you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what is theirs?' "

(5) His disciples spoke to him, "Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke in you." He said to them, "You have omitted the one living in your presence, and have spoken only of the dead."

(6) Jesus said, "Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist, there is no one superior to John the Baptist, that their eyes should not be lowered in his presence. Yet I have said, whichever one of you becomes like a child will be acquainted with the Kingdom and will become superior to John."

(7) Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of a woman, prostrate yourselves on your faces and worship him. That one is your Father."

(8) A woman from the crowd called to him, "Blessed are the womb which bore you and the breasts that nourished you!"  Jesus replied to the woman, "Blessed are those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it, for there will be days when you will say, 'Blessed are the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given milk.'"

(9) They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "Caesar's men demand taxes from us."  He replied, "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine."

(10) And a man said to Jesus, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me!"  Jesus said to the man, "O man, who has made me a divider?"   Then he turned to his disciples and said to them, "I am not a divider, am I?"

(11)  Jesus said, "O lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the cistern!"

(12)  He said, "The foxes have their dens and the birds have their nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head and rest."

Chapter 5

(1) Jesus said, "It is impossible for a man to mount two horses, or to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters, otherwise he will honor the one, and treat the other contemptuously. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it spoil. An old patch is not sewn into a new garment because a tear would result."

(2) Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good man brings forth good from his storehouse; an evil man brings forth evil from his evil storehouse, which is in his heart, and says evil things. For out of the abundance of his heart he brings forth evil things."

(3) Jesus said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of an oxen, for neither does the dog eat, nor does he let the oxen eat."

(4) Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of gnosis and hidden them away. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed those who wish to enter to do so. You. however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves."

(5) Jesus explained, "A grapevine has been planted outside of the Father, but being unsound, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed."

(6) Jesus told them, "If they say to you, 'Where did you come from?' say to them, 'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it your image?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the elect of the living Father.' If they say, 'What is the sign of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"

(7) Jesus said, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they throw them on the dung heap. Do not throw the pearls to swine, lest they...[?]...

(8) He said, "Become passers-by."

(9) He said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him."

(10) Jesus said, "Preach from your housetops that you will hear in your ear, for no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place, but rather he sets it on a lampstand so that everyone who enters and leaves will see its light."

(11) Jesus said, "A city being built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden."

(12) Jesus continued, "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted, they will find no place."

(13) Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who has suffered and found life."

(14) He said, "Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. That stone is the cornerstone."

(15) Jesus went on, "Blessed are they who have been persecuted within themselves. It is they who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled."

(16) Jesus said, "Whoever has something in his hand will receive more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little he has."

17) Jesus said, "He who drinks from my mouth will become like me. I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him."

(18) Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man."

Chapter 6

(1) They saw a Samaritan, on his way to Judea, carrying a lamb, and Jesus said to his disciples, "That man is round about the lamb."  They replied, "So that he may kill it and eat it." He answered, "While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse." They said, "He cannot do otherwise." And Jesus said, "You too, look for a place within your repose, lest you become a corpse and be eaten."

(2) Jesus said, "Whoever has come to understand the world has found only a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world."

(3) Jesus said, "He who has recognized the world has found the body, but he who has found the body is superior to the world."

(4) He said, "Wretched is the body that is dependent upon a body, and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two."

(5) Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."

(6) Jesus continued, "If the flesh came into being because of the spirit, it is a wonder. But if the spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty!"

(7) His disciples said to him, "When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?"  He said to them, "What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it."

(8)  Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. When you come to dwell in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"

(9) Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move away!' it will move away."

(10) He went on, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence, and the one who lives from the living one will not see death." Does not Jesus say, "Whoever finds himself is superior to the world?"

(11) Jesus said, "Take heed of the living one while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so."

(12) Jesus said, "Come unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is mild, and there you will find repose for yourselves."

(13) Jesus concluded, "He who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the Kingdom."

Chapter 7

(1) The disciples asked of Jesus, "Tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like." He said to them, "It is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it falls on tilled soil, it produces a great plant and becomes a shelter for the birds of the sky."

(2) Jesus said, "The Kingdom of the Father is like a man who had a good wheat seed. His enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the wheat, but the man did not allow them to pull up the weeds; he said to them, 'I am afraid that you will go intending to pull up the weeds and will pull up the wheat along with them.' For on the day of the harvest the weeds would be plainly visible, and they could then be pulled up and burned.'"

(3) Jesus continued, "The Kingdom of the Father is like a woman who was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking down the road, still some distance from her home, the clasp broke and the meal emptied out onto the road behind her, but she did not realize this; she had noticed no accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it empty."

(4) Jesus said, "The Kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little leaven, hid it in some dough, and thus made it into large loaves of bread. Let him who has ears hear."

(5) Jesus went on, "The Kingdom is like a man who had a treasure hidden in his field without him knowing it. After he died, he left the field to his son, who did not know about the treasure either. When he inherited the field, he sold it, and the one who bought it went out and plowed and found the treasure. Then he began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."

(6) "If you have money, however, do not lend it at interest, but rather give to one from whom you will not get it back."

(7) Jesus said, "Whoever finds the world and becomes rich, let him renounce the world."

(8) Jesus added, "Let him who has grown rich be king, and let him who possesses power renounce it."

(9) Jesus said, "The Kingdom of the Father is like a man who wants to kill a powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and stuck it into the wall in order to find out whether his hand would carry him through. Then he slew the powerful man."

(10) He said, "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven."

(11) Jesus went on, "The Kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was shrewd--he sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself. You, too, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure where no moth comes near to devour and no worm destroys."

(12) Jesus concluded, "The Kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray, so he left the ninety-nine to look for that one, until he finally found it. When he gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'"

Chapter 8

(1) His disciples asked him, "When will the Kingdom come?"  Jesus replied, "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying, 'Here it is!' or 'There it is!' Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, but men do not see it."

(2) His disciples said to him, "Show us this place where you are, since it is necessary for us to seek it." He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is a light within a man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness."

(3) Jesus said, "Two will rest on a bed: the one will die, and the other will live." Salome said, "Who are you, man, that you have sat upon my couch and eaten from my table?"  Jesus said to her, "I am he who exists from the undivided. I was given some of the things of my Father." And Salome said, "I am your disciple. Therefore I say, if he is destroyed he will be filled with light, but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness."

(4) His disciples asked him, "Who are you, that you should say these things to us?"  And he answered, "You do not realize who I am from what I say to you. You have become like the Jews, for they either love the tree and hate its fruit, or else love the fruit and hate the tree."

(5) His disciples replied, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you!" He said to them, "You read the face of the sky and of the earth, but you have not recognized the one who is before you, and you do not know how to read this moment."

(6) Jesus asked them, "Why did you come out to the desert with me? To see a reed shaken by the wind? To see a man clothed in fine garments like your kings and your great men? Upon them are the fine garments, but they are unable to discern the truth."

(7) Jesus told them, "I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in the flesh. I found all of them intoxicated; I found none of them thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the sons of men, because they are blind in their hearts and do not have sight; for empty they came into the world, and empty they seek to leave the world. But for the moment they are intoxicated. When they shake off their wine, they will repent."

(8) His disciples wondered, "When will you become revealed to us and when shall we see you?"  Jesus said, "When you disrobe without being ashamed, and take up your garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread upon them, then you will see the son of the living one, and you will not be afraid."

(9) He added, "Do not be concerned from morning until evening, and from evening until morning, with what you wear."

(10) Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the Father. He will become manifest, but his image will remain concealed by his light."

(11) Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you see the images which came into being before you, and which neither die nor become manifest, how much you will have to bear!"

(12) Jesus said, "You see the mote in your brother's eye, but you do not see the beam in your own! When you cast the beam out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to cast the mote from your brother's eye."

(13) He said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit."

Chapter 9

(1) Jesus said, "A man had received visitors, and once he had prepared for dinner, he sent his servant to invite the guests in. The servant went to the first and said, 'My master invites you in.' The guest replied, 'I have claims against some merchants. They are coming to me this evening. I must go and give them my orders. I ask to be excused from dinner.' So the servant went to another and said to him, 'My master has invited you in.' This guest replied, 'I have just bought a house and am required for the day. I shall have no spare time.' So the servant went to another guest and said, 'My master invites you in.' That guest replied, 'My friend is going to get married and I am to prepare the banquet. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused from dinner.' The servant then went to the last guest and said, 'My master invites you in.' The guest replied, 'I have just bought a farm, and I am on my way to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused.' The servant then returned to his master and said, 'Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused.' And the master said to his servant, 'Then go out into the streets and bring back those whom you happen to meet, so that they may dine.' Businessmen and merchants will not enter the place of my Father."

(2) He said, "There was a good man who owned a vineyard. He leased it to tenant farmers so that they might work it and he might collect the produce from them. He sent out his servant so that the tenants might give him the produce of the vineyard. They seized this servant and beat him, all but killing him. The servant went back and told his master. The master said, 'Perhaps they did not recognize him.' So he sent out another servant, and the tenants beat this one as well. Then the owner sent his son, and said, 'Perhaps they will show respect to my son.' But because the tenants knew that it was he who was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Let him who has ears hear."

(3) Jesus said, "Now a farmer went out, took a handful of seeds, and scattered them. Some fell on the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on rock, so did not take root in soil and did not produce ears. Others fell on thorns which choked the seeds, so the worms ate them. But some fell on good soil and produced good fruit: they bore sixty per measure and a hundred-and-twenty per measure."

(4) Jesus said, "That man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up full of small fishes. Among them, the fisherman found a fine large fish, so he threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears, let him hear."

(5) Jesus went on, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouse with produce, and then I shall lack nothing.' Such were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears hear."

(6) Jesus concluded, "The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Beseech the lord, therefore, to send out laborers to the harvest."

Chapter 10

(1) Jesus said, "Many times have you desired to hear these words which I am saying to you, and you have no one else to hear them from. There will be days when you will look for me and you will not find me."

(2) The disciples replied, "We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader then?" Jesus told them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the Righteous, for whose sake Heaven and earth came into being."

(3) Jesus said, "Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am there."

(4) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them all! It is I who am the All! From me did the All come forth, and unto me did the All extend! Split a piece of wood, and I am there! Lift up a stone, and you will find me there."

(5) Jesus said, "If one who knows the All still feels a personal deficiency, he is completely deficient."

(6) Jesus asked of his disciples, "Compare me to someone, and tell me who I am like."  Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel."  Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher."  Judas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like."  Jesus replied to Judas, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out." And he took Judas and withdrew and told him three things. When Judas returned to his companions they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?"  Judas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire would come out of the stones and burn you up."