Judas Wasn’t Who You Were Taught: Ethiopia’s Gospel and the Mission of Jesus

Judas Wasn’t Who You Were Taught: Ethiopia’s Gospel and the Mission of Jesus

For centuries, Judas Iscariot has been remembered as nothing more than the betrayer.
But what if that memory is incomplete?

In this long-form exploration, we turn to Ethiopia’s ancient Christian tradition to examine a deeper, more unsettling portrait of Judas — not as a secret hero, and not as a simple villain, but as a tragic participant in salvation history.

Ethiopian Christianity developed outside Roman control and preserved early Christian debates that much of the Western world later simplified or silenced. Within this preserved memory, Judas is not excused, but he is also not flattened. His story becomes a warning about knowledge without transformation, participation without humility, and divine purpose without moral exemption.

This video does not attempt to rewrite Christianity.
It asks why Ethiopia refused to oversimplify one of its most uncomfortable figures — and what that refusal reveals about Jesus, betrayal, free will, and responsibility.

👉 Stay until the end, because the story of Judas does not end with him. It ends with us.

If this reflection resonates, leave a comment: Uncomfortable truth.
And if you value thoughtful, source-based explorations of ancient Christianity, consider liking and subscribing.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Why Judas Still Disturbs Christian Memory
01:53 – Ethiopia: Christianity Outside the Roman World
04:33 – The Gospel of Judas as a Dangerous Witness
09:34 – Necessary, But Not Righteous: Divine Purpose and Human Guilt
15:55 – Knowledge Without Transformation: Judas’ Inner Collapse
20:31 – The Cosmic Conflict Beneath the Cross
25:20 – Judas as Warning, Not Hero

📚 Sources & References

The Gospel of Judas (Coptic text, 3rd–4th century)
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church traditions
Nag Hammadi Codices
Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures
Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities
British Library & Wikimedia Commons (public domain Ethiopian manuscripts)
Ethiopian Ge’ez Gospel manuscripts (various codices)

(This video treats non-canonical texts as historical and theological witnesses, not as scripture.)

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#JudasIscariot #EthiopianChristianity #AncientChristianity
#GospelOfJudas #BiblicalHistory #LostGospels #EarlyChristianity
#JesusHistory#ChristianTheology # ethiopianBible