If Judas’ Betrayal of Jesus Was Predestined So That God Might Be Glorified, Did Judas Have A Choice?
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible has several examples of God using the evil of people for good…the story of Joseph, in Genesis, being sold into slavery is one. And there was reconciliation and redemption that followed. But the most dramatic example is of Jesus on the cross which was the most horrific example of evil treachery and rejection and pain ever being used for a good to ultimately glorify God and benefit us today. But coming to a true understanding of this may not so much happen by starting with the point of view of a particular philosophy for that can get in the way of getting our head around the paradoxes in the Bible. That is why it is always good to do our Bible reading in the light of the Holy Spirit’s revelation and pray that we are not left to do our own work in figuring it all out. Easier said than done, however. And that brings us to the enigma of Judas. One of the saddest characters in the Bible is Judas Iscariot. He had such promise. His name sake, Judas Maccabaeus is in the history books as the brilliant military strategist who led an uprising for Jewish independence in 164 B.C. In fact, many of the disciples had the name of Judas. It was that common. But Judas Iscariot, though possibly influenced by this story of the Maccabaeus, found in the Apocrypha in the books of 1 and 2 Maccabaeus, was not such a hero. No doubt Judas expected Jesus to lead a revolution. But by the time of Judas’ betrayal, Jesus had made it clear that He planned to die, not start a rebellion against Rome. Judas may have followed Jesus hoping to benefit from association with Him and may have assumed—just as the Pharisees did—that since He would not overthrow the Romans, He must not be the Messiah they were expecting. Yes, Judas may have been an opportunist. But he was also, according to scripture, a thief, and the only Judean of the twelve, and from time to time possessed by evil. Some say that he came from a clan of assassins. But there are many things we just do not know about Judas. And the thing is that Jesus would have known all this about him and still called him friend. Jesus must have seen something good in Judas. I have no doubt that Jesus would have forgiven him if Judas had repented. But I imagine Calvin would consider Judas as being predestined for damnation. So, If Judas’ Betrayal of Jesus Was Predestined So That God Might Be Glorified, Did Judas Have A Choice?
Scripture: Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.
Genesis 50:20 (NRSV)
The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens— wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
Isaiah 50:4-9a (NRSV)
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”
Matthew 26:14-25 (NRSV)
He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
John 6:71 (NRSV)
“Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)
John 12:5-6 (NRSV)
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
Psalm 41:9 (NRSV)
For in this city, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Acts 4: 27-28 (NRSV)
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Isaiah 53:10 (NRSV)
Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve;
Luke 22:3 (NRSV)
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 (NRSV)
Message: The story of Judas is a paradox. He is the epitome of predestination along with its conflicting position of free will. It might well be true that Judas had to betray Jesus. Some things are fixed in the divine plan and prophecy. But I think Judas was free to return to Christ if he had so wanted. Peter did after denying Christ three times.
There are probably many reasons Jesus selected Judas as a disciple. One reason could be that Jesus wanted to show us how to love even our enemies. Another reason could be that God wanted to leave an example for us that even those we trust may not be honest. We all need to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. But as for the disciples, they were blinded to Judas, but I do not think that Jesus was blind in this regard and certainly not God the Father. The thing is that Jesus did find a way for Judas to fulfil scripture.
Judas was part of God’s plan. And if we embrace the truth that the cross was a work of God, we will see that behind the death of Christ and even the betrayal of Jesus was the divine plan as well. And this love and work of God is to be received as our highest treasure. Interestingly, Judas was chosen to be the treasurer of the apostle’s money and apparently had his hand in the till. So, one must wonder why Jesus would entrust Judas with the cash box knowing this inclination. But Jesus saw a purpose in Judas, maybe even something good but also something very dark. And therein lies the message for the darkness in each of us. Some theologians try to harmonize it all. But all that controversy and maneuvering does not bring us any closer to understanding why Jesus chose Judas Iscariot unless it had been predestined. The reality is that Judas remains a controversial figure in Christian history that has been fodder for antisemitism. Judas’ betrayal, from the Gnostic perspective, is viewed as setting in motion the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection which, according to traditional Christian theology, brought salvation to humanity. This view is rejected by the mainstream Church as heretical. If Judas were to be the best of the apostles, he would have had to have repented and been forgiven by Jesus. Judas, to my knowledge, never did so and appears to have remained silent. This lack of faith in Jesus is the foundation for all other considerations. The same holds true for us. If we fail to recognize Jesus as God incarnate, and therefore the only One who can provide forgiveness for our sins—and the eternal salvation that comes with it—we will be subject to numerous other problems that stem from a wrong view of God. But who knows but God? Timing is important for Jesus descended into hell and we do not know if he had a conversation with Judas there. Maybe there Judas still had a choice. Still there is a strong biblical case for a world where there is little free will, where most, if not all, of our choices are planned and mapped out before we are even born. It is a bit of a quantum enigma where every action is determined by the choices made for us by a higher level. The implication is that everything we do and say are planned for us Christians, with God as an agent of causation. Calvin argued this point. But the Bible is also filled with pictures of an open- armed God longing for the lost to return to Him. Where the choice rest maybe in how we relate to the Holy Spirit. For just as the Holy Spirit left Judas, so he will leave any unbeliever who continues to ignore him. Friends, we have been dealt a hand of predetermined cards, but it is up to us to play them realizing that God can change the rules of the game anytime God chooses.
And So, the apex of sin and sovereignty is Jesus on the Cross. The events of Jesus’ death were prophesied. That Jesus would be hated without a cause and that he would be rejected and pierced and not broken. Scriptures were fulfilled that Jesus would be betrayed, mocked, and flogged, and betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. And these events that took place during what is now called “Holy Week” certainly transformed the history of the world, but they also created a new villain: Judas. As one of Jesus’ closest followers and friends you must wonder what he was thinking when he betrayed Jesus. We will never know what Judas was thinking or not thinking, but it must have been more than just about the money. At some point he had a choice. Without Judas it is hard to imagine a crucifixion and without a crucifixion it is hard to imagine a resurrection. At the end of the day Judas was an adversary of Jesus. Judas’ ways were at odds with the Way of Jesus. Here the storyline is getting darker. What was being played out in the light is now overshadowed in the dark with evil akin of the final plague on Egypt in that first Passover. The tension is rising. Even Jesus is getting ready to sweat blood. And here we find that our emotions are heightened too. Here we find that it is not only wise but very necessary that each of us identify our adversaries when things are getting heated. It is a well-founded strategy to identify who our enemies are, so we might relate to with them with caution. But identifying them is not always easy for not all enemies are external. Some are internal. And get this, the internal enemies are more dangerous than the external ones. And the thing is that we need a power greater than ourselves to help us fight the good fight against internal enemies. We cannot fight ourselves and win. For when we do not value the worth of Jesus, we embrace suicide. So do not lose the sense of wonder and value of Jesus. Satan is a liar and a murderer and suicidal when he went into Judas. That is why it is so important to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Maybe the devil made Judas do it, but Judas was not innocent. Judas was a lover of money and may have been covering it up with a phony relationship with Jesus. But do not think poor Judas. Think poor us. Avoid sin because caught up in it is an insane evil and suicidal perspective that denies the Holy Spirit. Once again, I have asked a question that I really have not answered and perhaps that is best left to the work of the Holy Spirit in us to sort out.
Pray we not try to fix the Bible but use its message to help heal ourselves into sanity. Pray we never betray Jesus. Pray we realize that Satan helped send Jesus to the cross, and on the cross sin and death were defeated, and now God’s provision of salvation is freely available to all who receive Jesus Christ as Savior. Pray also that we realize that God’s hand and plan was behind it all. Pray we realize that God in His wisdom was able, as always, to trick even Satan’s rebellion for the benefit of mankind. Pray we realize that Satan knew he was defeated but still attempts to make it all as evil as possible. Pray we realize that we have a choice and will be held accountable for our choice. Pray we see clearly and completely as best we can. Pray we realize that we still must have faith to be set free. Pray we never sell out. Pray we not be greedy. Pray we learn that the key to victory is Jesus. Pray we experience Jesus in the light. Pray we see that He holds it all together when things seem to be falling apart into the darkness. Pray we learn and share in anticipation of the resurrection hope. Pray we identify our enemies and ask God to deal with them on our behalf because we cannot do it on our own. Pray we realize that all this matter only if the truth of salvation in in us. Pray we realize that what ultimately sent Christ to the cross was neither the greed of Judas, nor the envy of the priests, nor the vacillating cowardice of Pilate, but the love of God in a plan to forgive our own greed, envy, cowardice and other sins. Pray we are predestined to mature to look more like Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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