Was Free Will an Option for Judas?

Did Judas have a free will?

When it comes to his actions, did Judas have free will? Honestly, we’ve probably asked it more than once. How, after being on the front lines of Jesus’ mission for almost three years, could a guy who has been so intimately involved with him for so long suddenly turn against him?

There is a suggestion in the Bible that Judas’ decision to betray Jesus was motivated by supernatural forces.

The ending is already predictable. It seems like Judas is planning to betray Jesus. To him, Jesus fails miserably as a savior. His goal in handing Jesus up to the religious authorities is probably to give Jesus the last push he needs to destroy Rome. Instead of a public showdown, Jesus is taken away in silence, and Judas hands over the money to the religious leaders before taking his own life. That guy seems like he jumped into something without fully understanding it.

Is it possible that the disciple who betrayed Jesus was forced into it? Does it seem sense to pin this on him? Or, did Judas really have no free choice when it came to betraying Jesus, as we implied in our opening question? So, let’s get right down to answering those questions.

Exactly What Does the Bible Have to Say About Judas?

To understand what transpired on the night of the Last Supper, it is necessary to first define Judas’ personality. Check out what the Bible says.

First, we know that throughout Jesus’ ministry, Judas is in control of the finances. When it comes to money, he has a reputation for being a thief (John 10:6). He even accuses the lady who anoints Jesus with perfume of being wasteful since she spent so much money on a meaningless ritual (Matthew 26). It’s apparent from the Bible that he had no compassion for the poor; he would have been a terrible treasurer. To be very frank, even Matthew the tax collector (a member of a profession notorious for taking kickbacks) could have provided better service. There is a parallel in the narrative of Judas, who betrays Jesus for money.

The second is that Jesus calls Judas a “demon” in John 6:66–71, which suggests that Judas was already bad prior to the events of the Last Supper. To describe such people, Jesus used the literal phrase diablos, which means “prone to defame or blame.” This label was often applied to those who fought against the Christian faith.

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Finally, the language used to introduce Judas in Luke 6:16 is rather intriguing. The text predicts that he will eventually “turn traitor.” As used here, the term “traitor” refers to someone who betrays an ally by giving them to an adversary. This thus occurs after the events of the Last Supper.

It seems that Judas’ transformation from follower to betrayer occurred between the time he was first introduced to Jesus’ ministry and the events in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Okay, but why? His motivation for doing this is unclear.

The question is why Judas betrayed Jesus.
Scripture does not state, “Well, Judas betrayed Jesus because of x, y, and z reasons.” There are a few clues scattered throughout the book. I’ll outline the development below.

  • Judas sought after a conqueror.

His last name, Judas, suggests he was a fanatic. Imagine the rebels from Star Wars and you’ll get a rough picture of what a fanatic was like during Jesus’ time. They sought a bloody uprising against Rome in order to achieve their goal of destroying the empire. After three years of service, Judas was becoming impatient, despite the fact that Jesus had other followers who were fanatics as well.

  • Judas was becoming agitated.

For around three years, Jesus spread the gospel. Matthew 24:3 says that the disciples often questioned Jesus about when He planned to vanquish their foes (i.e., Rome). Israel want it desperately. Their desperation prompted them to shout “Hosanna!” (which means “rescue us immediately” in Hebrew). Apparently, Jesus was traveling a little too slowly for Judas’s liking. Judas took the initiative and kissed the frog first.

  • Judas attempted to coerce Jesus into betraying him.

Let us not forget that Judas was there for a number of miraculous events. In one incident, he saw Jesus resurrecting a man from the grave (John 11). He probably didn’t anticipate the dire consequences of his decision to hand Jesus up to the religious authorities. In the Bible, we see his shock at the prospect of Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:3). Judas probably assumed that if he pushed Jesus to act, Jesus would oblige with the action that Judas desired. He may have thought Jesus will once again do miraculous deeds and ultimately defeat Israel’s foes. He had no idea that Jesus was about to destroy something much more formidable than Satan: sin itself.

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Judas seems to have exercised some agency in the decision to betray Jesus in light of this evidence. However, did he really choose to behave in that way?

Was Free Will an Option for Judas?

When it comes to his actions, did Judas have free will? Given the evidence in Scripture, we may not be able to provide a conclusive response.

In my opinion, the most damning passage that indicates Satan’s influence on Judas is found in Luke 22:3: Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, was possessed by Satan.

The devil had possessed him. I can see it plain as day. In light of the evidence that Satan possessed Judas, how can we assert that he had free will? This takes place immediately before Judas agrees with the religious authorities to sell Jesus to them for thirty silver pieces.

The fact that someone was destined to betray Jesus is also strongly suggested by older Scripture, such as Psalm 22. And it seems like Judas is the one. So, did he really have a choice?

First, let’s get a handle on how the stanza is really written. Connor Salter, who writes for BibleStudyTools, makes these observations:

In other places in the New Testament, including Luke 19:45 and Matthew 18:9, the Greek word for “enter” is “eiserchomai,” which is also used when Jesus exorcises a demon from a kid, instructing the demon to “never enter him again” (Mark 9:25). So, the term has been used before to denote persons possessed by demons, but that’s not its only meaning.

Later, Salter clarifies that it is unclear how much influence Satan or the devil really had on Judas. But Salter also notes that Jesus foretells his betrayal on several other occasions throughout his mission. Warnings were sent to Judas. In seeking his own path instead of God’s, he may have left himself vulnerable to spiritual assault.

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Judas probably developed a heart of stone during Jesus’ career, as Pharaoh did throughout the plagues. Judas had the wrong motivations for joining, was self-centered throughout Jesus’ mission, and ultimately concluded that Jesus wasn’t the savior he was looking for.

It’s also worth noting that even if Judas had no free will (though I’d like to believe that he did, at least to some extent), he did have free choice once Jesus was sentenced to die. Jesus may have forgiven him if he’d lived longer. Peter, after all, denied Jesus three times and yet gained forgiveness from him. Jesus would have forgiven Judas, too, if he’d been around after the crucifixion. Instead of staying around to see what may have transpired, Judas takes his own life.

Suppose Judas Did Not Betray Jesus; What Would Happen?

What compelled Judas to act as Jesus’ betrayer? Or, if Judas hadn’t gone through with it, might someone else have done it in his place? Perhaps Judas would have been able to say no to Satan and keep Jesus from the religious authorities.

Every one of us has probably wondered it at some point. Was Judas destined to always be that guy, just as Mary was selected to be Jesus’ mother and Moses was selected to lead Israel out of Egypt?

To answer this question hypothetically, we need to think about the political context during Jesus’ time. Those who cried “Hosanna” a few days earlier were among those who cried “Crucify him” a few days later.

Perhaps someone else would have taken Judas’ position if he hadn’t betrayed Jesus. Because God is all-powerful and knows what is ahead, yet people still have free choice, the issue of predestination is complicated.

When it comes to his actions, did Judas have free will? Possibly, but not completely, since Satan infiltrated him and distorted his free will. Whatever the case may be, the manner his life ended was unnecessary. If Judas had given him the opportunity, Jesus would have forgiven him as well.

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