Did Judas Exercise Free Will in Betraying Jesus?

DID JUDAS EXERCISE FREE WILL IN BETRAYING JESUS OR WAS HE COMPELLED BY A DIVINE FORCE TO ACT?

By Ezekiel Kimosop 

I came across this question in a conversation on a Christian forum. 

A response to this question would largely depend on the reader's theological persuasions. We shall first consider two theological positions below and conclude with my reflection.. 

REFORMED CALVINISTIC VIEW 

A five pointer Calvinist who subscribes to the Reformed Calvinism tradition would state that God caused Judas to betray Jesus. They would in fact go further to argue that Judas had no free will of his own and that God directed every step of the betrayal process so that the prophecy of Zechariah 11:12-13 would be fulfilled with precision!

In this context, Judas is considered as merely a tool at the disposal of an all powerful and controlling creator and that Judas could not resist or act against God's will. 

EVANGELICAL VIEW 

On the other hand, a non-Reformed/Evangelical reader would argue that Judas acted under the compulsion of his own free will in betraying Jesus and therefore rightly stood condemned for his transgression. They would consider that Jesus foresaw and foretold this event ahead of time because of His perfect omniscience and exhaustive foreknowledge as God. They would disagree with the view advanced by Reformed Calvinism that God's causative determinism was behind Judas' action.

MY TAKE 

Whereas God is eternally sovereign over His creation, Scripture reveals that He permits His creatures to exercise free will and is justified in judging them for their transgressions. 

Coming to the context of our question, my view is that Scripture does not teach or imply in any section of the relevant passages that Judas Iscariot was compelled by any external force to betray Jesus other than by His love of money. 

It is important to appreciate what Scripture reveals concerning the moral character of Judas Iscariot. His statement in Matthew 26:14 is instructive of his greed. His response to the religious authorities plainly reveals this moral character. He placed his interests ahead of his ministry calling and was prepared to sacrifice his Master in the process. He asks, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him" (NKJV).

We also learn from John 12:6 that Judas was a thief and that he used to apply the ministry resources that was in his custody for his personal benefit. He was an evil steward. 

We can pick out three important correlations on the issue of free will and human responsibility under two other passages of Scripture relating to three independent characters -  Peter, Adam and Joseph. 

Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him thrice before the cock crowed (Matthew 26:34-35, 75; Mark 14:30, 74; Luke 22:61). This event occurred with divine precision. 

We can observe that both Judas and Peter willfully acted in their disobedience and both later expressed remorse for their actions. 

My view is that God's foreknowledge in both instances does not imply that God causatively compelled them to act the way they did. 

Similarly, God did not cause or orchestrate the fall of Adam (see Genesis 3:1-6). God had plainly warned him in advance about the consequences of his disobedience and this affirms Adam's exercise of free will in this context (Genesis 2:16-17).  

Genesis 37, 49-50 describe Joseph's experience in the hands of his wicked brothers, his afflictions in Egypt under Potiphar, his incarceration in an Egyptian dungeon and his subsequent elevation by God to the highest office in the land. 

Joseph's brothers wilfully sought to harm their brother and cutting him off from their father's heritage but God intervened in the course of time to fulfill His purposes concerning Joseph. God did not compel the sons of Jacob to commit their evil acts.

If the advocates of deterministic theology are consistent, their view would inescapably imply that God was ultimately responsible for the fall of Adam and Eve because, in their view, nothing was beyond Him! 

My view is that deterministic theology is inconsistent with the revelation and authority of Scripture. God cannot act contrary to His revealed nature as a holy and righteous. The Bible proclaims in James 1:17 that God is "the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." 

Numbers 23:19 says "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" 

God is neither the cause nor the author of sin or evil. He abhors evil (Isaiah 1:15). 

God can however make His interventions in circumstances of evil so that His purposes are fulfilled. Again, this does not imply that God is party to the circumstances that precipitated the commission of evil. 

Psalm 5:4-6 says "For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." (NKJV).

CONCLUSION 

Yes, Judas Iscariot knowingly and willingly committed the transgression of betrayal upon his Master, handing Him over to His persecutors, in whose hands He was finally crucified. Judas was the son of perdition, a man driven by the spirit of Balaam in pursuing dishonest gain. He, like Balaam, perished in his pursuit of greed (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11). 

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2022