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Matthew 26:47-50

47 ...Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the Man; arrest Him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. 50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested Him.

This is a debated topic among theologians. Why did Judas do it? How could he have done such a thing? However, the question we received this week is: If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, would Jesus still have died?

Coming from Acts 1:16, the quick answer is yes. in which the Apostle Peter states, “...this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus…” The scripture had to be fulfilled, which means that Jesus HAD to be betrayed and subsequently die. 

That answers that, but the next question a lot of people have is: Did Judas HAVE to do it or could it have been someone else?

A telling statement often overlooked when speaking of Judas Iscariot is Luke 22:3 - Then Satan entered Judas…

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Apparently, that’s what Satan thought. He didn’t appear to want to leave this up to any of his demonic army. He possessed Judas himself. He wanted Jesus’ betrayal and arrest done correctly with no mistakes. Good for us, God knew it all ahead of time and Satan played right into His hand.

It’s important to realize that no one is just possessed, however. Judas had to have given himself up for possession. The fault was his and after that he found the authorities to agree to betray Jesus and give Him up.

The betrayal of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament in Psalm 41:9, among other passages. However, the Old Testament does not mention Judas by name. If so, it would have been clear that he was predestined to betray Jesus and there would have been nothing he could do about it. However, since the Old Testament does not mention him by name, it leaves the distinct impression that anyone could have chosen to do it. 

Judas was definitely chosen to be an apostle. The Bible explicitly tells us that, but it does not tell us that Judas was forced. That is an assumption imposed onto scripture by some Bible teachers. Personally, I believe that Judas had a choice. Someone had to make it. Unfortunately for Judas, it was him.

For us, let’s thank Jesus that He was willing to go through all of that. His death is indicative of His love for us. “Thank you, Lord, for dying in our place.” 

If you have a Bible or religious question:

1. Drop off your written question in the church sanctuary or at the CLC in the church secretary’s mailbox

2. Go to fbcwortham.com, click on the “Contact” tab and fill out the message form. Make sure you specify that your question is for “Pastor’s Corner”

3. Email pastor@fbcwortham.com

Jim Albin - Senior Pastor
First Baptist - Wortham, Texas