Someone Had To Betray Jesus?

Question

In the Old Testament, we read that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver or gold. Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver, if memory serves me right. God knew before the creation of the world that Judas would betray the Son of God. This tells me that Judas did not have a chance for salvation. SOMEONE HAD TO BETRAY THE MESSIAH TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY. Do you understand? Judas was chosen to be condemned, no chance to be saved. What do you say? 

Answer 1

But why do you assume Judas had 'no chance to be saved'? According to Christianity, every sinner, no matter how appalling their sin, can be saved.

Answer 2

St Peter betrayed him too, but he came out of it as Pope with a whole church to run; Judas I really does get the shitty end of the stick.

Answer 3

The omniscience of God does not rule out free will. Judas every step of the way chose his path, for whatever ideologies or reasons hypothetical or imagined he chose to betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver. 



Slivers of SilverWe have sold ourselves, slivers of silverThinking from the world, they would deliverThe power to live, the life we insistKnowing we have betrayed Jesus ChristWhat is the amount, of this slaveryThat we have sold ourselves, for such sliversThe waste we view His life, in such an actTo show the refusal to throw it backWould not cause our lives to be justifiedThe fact those silver slivers show we liedWe know we sold ourselves slaves of sliversA fortune which gains nothing foreverWhat worthlessness we find as our portionThe definition of our devotionThat betrays ones greatest intentionsFor selling out as a son of perdition.10/23/2019 by me

Answer 4

"Furthermore, he was entrusted with caring for the common finances of Jesus and the 12. That reflects favorably on his dependability at the time and his ability or education, especially since Matthew had had experience with money and figures but did not receive this assignment. (Joh 12:6; Mt 10:3) Nonetheless, Judas did become completely, inexcusably corrupt. No doubt it is for this reason that he is placed last in the list of the apostles and is described as the Judas “who later betrayed him” and “who turned traitor.”—Mt 10:4; Lu 6:16. "



Insight to the Scriptures Volume 2 - Judas.

Answer 5

He confessed, took full responsibility, and REPENTED for his sin of shedding innocent blood. Judas still holds his position among the Twelve.

Answer 6

First the passage in question.



Zech 11:12 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.   13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.



"Yes" to your first question, but that does not mean that God knew before the man was born that the traitor would be Judas.



When you have as much control over events as God does, it's easy to predict the future in a variety of ways.  Even I can predict the future to a certain extent based on the control I have.  For example, I can predict that if I step in an ant pile, the ants will swarm.  And sure enough I step in one, and the ants swarm just as I predicted.  That's because I know how ants act under certain conditions.  God predicts in a way similar to that.



In the case you are talking about, God already had a plan to send himself in the form of a "Son" (ref Isa 9:6) to die for the sins of mankind.  It appears that plan was detailed enough to include a traitor who would betray this Son for a certain amount of money.  So when Jesus started picking apostles, he ensured he picked one who had an evil heart.  Such is no problem for God to do since evil abounds on earth, and it's easy to find an evil person to do his bidding.  For example, when he wanted to punish the Jews for their insubordination, he picked evil King Nebuchadnezzar to do the dirty deed (and then later used the Persians to punish him for his evilness).  Since God knows the hearts of men (Ps 44:21), it would be easy to find a Judas type.  And sure enough Judas delivered as expected.  Here's the Son of God, the Messiah, teaching the apostles all about love and the Golden Rule (Mt 7:12), and performing miracles so that they knew he was from God (Jn 3:2), and with all that going on, Judas is brazenly stealing money from the funds they collected to support their teaching efforts (Jn 12:4-6).  The man was greedy, and God used that character flaw in him to fulfill prophecy.



God can easily manipulate events favorable to his plans without violating anyone's free will.  Read the story of Esther.  That book and Song of Solomon are unique in that they are the only two books in the Bible where God is mentioned nowhere.  Yet we see in the book of Esther that God fulfilled his promise of protecting the Jews from an embedded enemy, and it all started when the Queen refused to go to a party.  (For example, one night the King just happened to have trouble going to sleep, and "coincidentally" read about Mordecai because of that, which also set some things in motion.)  God does not have to overtly pull the strings to make things happen according to his plans.  And when they finally happen, they happen just like someone said they would centuries earlier.

Answer 7

Was Judas Iscariot predestined to betray Jesus?

Ps. 41:9: “The man at peace with me, in whom I trusted, who was eating my bread, has magnified his heel against me.” (Notice that the prophecy does not specify which close associate of Jesus it would be. Jehovah knew that the Devil had used David’s counselor Ahithophel to betray him, and He had that recorded because it demonstrated how the Devil operated and what he would do in the future. It was not God but “the Devil . . . [who] put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him [Jesus].” [John 13:2] Instead of resisting, Judas yielded to that satanic influence.)

John 6:64: “From the beginning Jesus knew . . . who was the one that would betray him.” (Not from the beginning of creation, nor from the time of Judas’ birth, but “from the beginning” of his acting treacherously. Compare Genesis 1:1, Luke 1:2, and 1 John 2:7, 13, in each of which texts “beginning” is used in a relative sense. Take note also of John 12:4-6.)



Did God predestine Judas to betray Jesus in order to fulfill prophecy?



The traitorous course of Judas Iscariot fulfilled divine prophecy and demonstrated Jehovah’s foreknowledge as well as that of his Son. (Ps 41:9; 55:12, 13; 109:8; Ac 1:16-20) Yet it cannot be said that God foreordained or predestinated Judas himself to such a course. The prophecies foretold that some intimate acquaintance of Jesus would be his betrayer, but they did not specify which of those sharing such acquaintance it would be. Again, Bible principles rule against God’s having foreordained Judas’ actions. The divine standard stated by the apostle is: “Never lay your hands hastily upon any man; neither be a sharer in the sins of others; preserve yourself chaste.” (1Ti 5:22; compare 3:6.) Evidencing his concern that the selection of his 12 apostles be wisely and properly made, Jesus spent the night in prayer to his Father before making known his decision. (Lu 6:12-16) If Judas were already divinely foreordained to be a traitor, this would result in inconsistency in God’s direction and guidance and, according to the rule, would make him a sharer in the sins that one committed.



Thus, it seems evident that at the time of his being selected as an apostle, Judas’ heart presented no definite evidence of a treasonous attitude. He allowed a ‘poisonous root to spring up’ and defile him, resulting in his deviation and in his accepting, not God’s direction, but the Devil’s leading in a course of thievery and treachery. (Heb 12:14, 15; Joh 13:2; Ac 1:24, 25; Jas 1:14, 15; see JUDAS No. 4.) By the time such deviation reached a certain point, Jesus himself could read Judas’ heart and foretell his betrayal.​—Joh 13:10, 11.

Answer 8

What religion are you broadcasting from?



Of course God already knew about Judas' betrayal, but since God is Love, he tried to take Judas as his disciple to give him the possibility of eternal life. Judas did not want to repent by asking forgiveness for his evil deed, and chose the path of suicide, which condemned him to hell!

Answer 9

Complete nonsense. Every human has the option of doing right or doing wrong. It's called free will. Yes God knew what Judas' choice would be but if he (Judas )had made a different choice God would have known that as well. The fact that God knew the outcome before it happened did in no way determine the outcome. That happened entirely because Judas chose to do what he did. People that think the way you seem to just want to blame God rather than place the blame for behavior where it actually belongs. What really gets me is the fact that you seem to overlook the fact that this event was prophesied hundreds of years before it ever took place and yet you still want to question the validity of the Bible and/ or the very existence of God, all the while criticizing Christians for their ignorant beliefe in "the skydaddy"

Answer 10

I can't understand why Christians think Judas was a bad guy if he was doing exactly what needed to be done for the story to play out?

Answer 11

This is a problem for religion.  If prophecy is real, *everything* is set in stone, including all of our decisions, and there is no such thing as "free will".  You can have Fate or free will, but not both.

Answer 12

Jesus explains:





Mat 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!





Mar 14:21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

Answer 13

If Judas was condemned,it was only because he failed to ask Jesus for forgiveness. As such, it was entirely Judas' fault.

Answer 14

No, your understanding is incorrect.



God does not make anyone sin. 

Anyone who sins, does so by their own choice. 

Judas was given his choice, he just happened to choose sin; Sirach 15:20.



The story of Judas is very complex.



Nonetheless, Judas shows regret for what he has done and, according to Matthew, hangs himself in shame; Matthew 27:5.



If Judas were a villain, Christ’s true antagonist on Earth, then we would expect him to gloat in his moment of triumph. 

Although, no self-respecting villain takes their own life in the hour of victory.



The example of Judas should speak to our common humanity, in the ways we have failed God no matter how close we might at some point be to him. 

Being human, we must look to both ourselves and to each other and recognize the different ways in which we have betrayed God in our lives, and in doing so improve ourselves so that we may stray no more.



Our Bible that God has provided for us is full of magnificent stories that require attention to the details, of which so many seem to look past.



Reflect on the above information, learn the meaning then tell others.

Answer 15

In one of the gospels some disciples ask Jesus something  about if Judas will go to hell.  Jesus replied what is it to you whether he goes to heaven or hell, in other words MYOB.  

Answer 16

Those who composed the N/T fabricated this Jesus character to resemble the O/T prophesied messiah.

Answer 17

Free choice. Judas spoke in his life as though he was the great wisdom.  Jesus allowed Judas to come along to prove his character, thereby proving to any followers of Judas' lead that this was the wrong path.

 Judas had free will, he just ignored every good guidance Christ gave him.  But he was offered salvation. He simply hardened his heart and refused to change his stubborn thinking.

 Even in the end Jesus gave Judas every opportunity to change, and even then Judas refused Salvation.

 In the end, Judas will be saved, as all spirits incarnated (we all in this world of the Outer Darkness, or Earth the realm where lucifer along with 1/3 of the Heavenly spirits fell to - out of Paradise in Heaven.   )

GodsGrandPlan.org

Answer 18

The prophecies did foretold that some intimate acquaintance of Jesus would be his betrayer, but they did not specify which of those sharing such acquaintance it would be. Many writers paint an entirely black picture of Judas, but evidently for a while he had been a disciple who found favor with God and with Jesus; his very selection as an apostle indicates that. It seems evident that at the time of his being selected as an apostle, Judas’ heart presented no definite evidence of a treasonous attitude. Furthermore, he was entrusted with caring for the common finances of Jesus and the 12. That reflects favorably on his dependability at the time and his ability or education, especially since Matthew had had experience with money and figures but did not receive this assignment. (John 12:6; Matthew 10:3) 

However, Judas allowed a ‘poisonous root to spring up’ and defile him, resulting in his deviation and in his accepting, not God’s direction, but the Devil’s leading in a course of thievery and treachery. (John 13:2;  James 1:14) By the time such deviation reached a certain point, Jesus himself could read Judas’ heart and foretell his betrayal. (John 13:10, 11) 

Answer 19

We all have free choice right from the beginning of Adam and Eve. The choice you make is from the heart where our thought ,feelings motives stem from.. Yes Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him when he dip from the bowl. He had greed that’s is why Jesus knew before hand. His motive were not pure.

Answer 20

Yes, Judas and the Romans played out their part in Gods eternal and Perfect plan. 

Since before time itself, God intended to create himself as his own son in order to be tortured and murdered so that we might have a chance for divine  forgiveness for having within us Original Sin, that was granted to us through Adam and Eve, who were lovingly created in His image. 

Answer 21

'Chosen' is not the right word. Yes, someone had to betray Jesus and it was Judas. God just knew it beforehand. Like right now, he knows who's going to be saved and who won't be. But none of that stops the time for things to happen.

Answer 22

When under trial, let no one say: “I am being tried by God.” For with evil things God cannot be tried, nor does he himself try anyone.14 But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire.15 Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn sin, when it has been carried out, brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)



For example, a person is not predestine to become a thief. When faced with stealing something he has a choice.  As the scripture reference above shows, if he decides to give in to this desire it is his choice.