by Nikou

Created on: June 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 14, 2009

Judas Iscariot: Raw Deal or Ultimate Betrayal?

The question in many people's minds is: if it was foretold that Judas would betray Jesus, does that mean he was doomed from the beginning? In other words, did he get a raw deal? If this is the case, then the God I serve is not the kind of God I want to serve. So, lets take a little bit of an in depth look at the subject.

#1 Judas became one of the 12... What was his reason for doing so? And does this have any bearing on the topic. In my opinion, it has everything to do with it, because it tells us WHY he betrayed Jesus.

The Judaic tradition said that the Messiah would come to Earth, and set up a Jewish Kingdom to rule forever. However, this was a misunderstanding, since that happens only on the Second Coming. So, Judas was expecting a King and Conqueror of the Roman Empire, and he wanted to get in on the deal. He thought that by being one of the Twelve, he would be high up in the New Kingdom.

So, when Jesus starts saying that he is going to be killed, Judas starts wondering. Being around Jesus, and still listening to what Judaic tradition taught, he figured Jesus must be... A False Messiah. So, he decides to get out of the deal what little he can salvage, i.e. a little money to make up for the time he figures he wasted.

Thus it was, by conscious decision that he decided to betray Jesus.

#2 How could God foretell it without controlling it.

For me, this was a hard one to understand. If God knew Judas was going to do it, did that mean he was forcing him to do it? If so, wasn't Judas getting a bit of a raw deal? The answer to this question comes in understanding some of the principles of who and what God is. So bear with me as I try to explain.

God is omnipotent, meaning all powerful. Therefore he can do anything. Most people understand this, though it's well beyond human grasp. However, just because God can force you or I to do anything, he doesn't. He wants us to choose to worship him, he will not force us. If I held my daughter by her shirt collar with hand ready to punch, and said,"Say, I love you," she would. But it wouldn't be worth much to me, since it was forced. God is the same way, he gave us free will, wanting us to choose to love him. But, that also means we are able to choose not to love him.

God is omnipresent, meaning all present. This is a little tougher to comprehend. It means that God is consciously everywhere at once. He knows everything that is happening all over the earth all at once, because he is there. However, a commonly overlooked facet of this part of God, is that he is in all TIMES at once, so he knows the future, NOT because he controls it, but because he sees it happing in real time, even while present in our time. Since God created time, he is outside of it.

Even having betrayed Jesus, Judas could have turned to him and asked forgiveness when he realized what he'd done. And he did realize that he'd done the wrong thing. But, instead of turning to Jesus for forgiveness, just as our human nature is when we wrong someone, he ran from the problem. He tried to fix it, and when he couldn't, he despaired and committed suicide. I truly believe, that, had he come to the foot of the cross, Jesus would have forgiven him. But, just as we so often do today, he was unwilling to BELIEVE that he could be forgiven.

Don't try and fix yourself in your own power. Just go to the foot of the cross, and say, Jesus, forgive me. We have all betrayed him in some way, but he is willing and able to forgive us our sins, and draw us near to Him. Don't be afraid, for God is not vindictive, he is not willing that any should perish.

God bless.

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