Judas the Anti-Hero

There's so much more to Judas than we have been led to believe. 

It's where dark meets light. It's where someone agrees to be the fall guy, the scapegoat, for a greater good. It's about anti-heroes.

Now ... who else do we know who is like this?

“In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus teaches people about the kinship they have with God and about how to live according to the moral order of the universe established by God. People, Jesus says, have spiritual resources within them beyond what they know. He explains this message by telling Judas about the nature of the universe--that another realm exists beyond the material world, and an immortal holy race above the mortal human race. If people can understand this reality, they can fulfill their highest nature and understand how they should live now. 

He explains that human beings were created following the divine image of the heavenly First Man, Adamas. To honor this divine image in people, God sent divine spirits to everyone, giving people the potential to turn and worship him. By looking within themselves, people can “bring forth the perfect human”—they can discover what is divine and immortal within themselves. [...] Jesus explains that although people are made according to the divine image and likeness, they are nonetheless created by the lower angels God put in charge of the material world—the realm of chaos and oblivion.”
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Elaine Pagels, Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

You can read the Gospel of Judas online for free.

The dark figure is Judas, giving the kiss that precipitated the beginning of the end.

The image depicts an icon of the Resurrection of Christ descending into Hell with a religious subject and two figures.

The icon ‘Resurrection of Christ - Descent into Hell’ represents the dogma of the Orthodox Church about Christ's descent into Hell, where he descended after the crucifixion and where he freed all righteous souls. 4

In the centre of the composition, surrounded by blue glory, Jesus Christ is depicted trampling the gates of Hell with his feet. With the right hand the Saviour holds Adam by the hand, and with the left hand he raises the eight-pointed cross. 1

To His right is a group of Old Testament kings wearing golden crowns (David and Solomon in the foreground). On the left, behind the kneeling Adam, are depicted standing Eve, Abel, John the Baptist, and two unknown prophets (or forefather and prophet). 1

The subject of the icon comes from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, created around the 3rd century. In Orthodox iconography this subject is firmly rooted, the ‘Descent into Hell’ became at the same time a depiction of the Resurrection of Christ. 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version) from 👇

На изображении представлена икона Воскресение Христово сошествие во ад с религиозным сюжетом и двумя фигурами.

Икона «Воскресение Христово — Сошествие во ад» олицетворяет догмат Православной церкви о сошествии Христа в Ад, куда он спустился после распятия и где освободил все праведные души. 4

В центре композиции в окружении голубой славы изображён Иисус Христос, попирающий ногами врата ада. Правой рукой Спаситель держит за руку Адама, а левой поднимает восьмиконечный крест. 1

Справа от Него представлена группа ветхозаветных царей в золотых коронах (на переднем плане Давид и Соломон). Слева, за коленопреклоненным Адамом, изображены стоящие Ева, Авель, Иоанн Предтеча и два неизвестных пророка (или праотец и пророк). 1

Сюжет иконы происходит из апокрифического Евангелия от Никодима, созданного примерно в III веке. В православной иконописи этот сюжет прочно укоренился, «Сошествие во ад» стало одновременно изображением Воскресения Христова. 4