Why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of the twelve? To begin with, did He know that He was choosing a betrayer? Yes, it was written in the Scriptures: Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him” [John 6:70-71].
First, some food for thoughts: After the Lord mentioned the betrayal, would the disciples, from time to time, discuss this among themselves? Would the disciples ask what He meant? Why would someone betray Him? What was the betrayal about? Would they have asked Jesus further? Such questions bring life to the Scriptures – don’t just read passively.
Now, the pivotal question to consider: If Judas was not one of the twelve, would he have betrayed the Lord? Or he wouldn’t? Consider the situation from another perspective, instead of always thinking that Judas was chosen and set up to become a treacherous disciple.
I believe that even if Judas was not among the twelve, he would still be the one to betray Jesus. Not choosing him does not mean he would not have committed the act, and not being a disciple does not mean he would not have betrayed the Lord. Even if he was an outsider, he would still be able to keep an eye on where they were going. And at the opportune time, when he saw them sojourning at a certain place for the night, he would inform the Roman authorities, and the soldiers would set out to arrest Jesus. It wasn’t difficult for anyone to do that, let alone Judas, who was a zealot, trained in spying and combat.
Why then did Jesus choose him to be one of the twelve? I believe the Lord wanted to manage the timing of the betrayal, so it would happen after Jesus completed His ministry, and as well, the timing of the arrest and trial would take place soon before the Passover. Though God could have controlled Judas from afar to commit the act at the appointed time, however, the Lord does not maneuver people like puppets, so to speak.
The betrayal was predicted in Psalms 41:9, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.” God knew ahead what Judas would do, but He did not cause him to carry out the act. Foreknowledge does not mean that the Lord plans it, instead, it only means that God permits it – similar to how He allows people to choose their own cause of action.
The Gospels say that Judas betrayed the Lord out of greed – and he did accept thirty silver coins as part of the collaboration with the chief priests. However, there could be another reason for his act: Being a zealot, he wanted to see if the arrest would compel Jesus to push back and even called for a revolt to free the Jews from foreign rule. But to say this in the Scriptures would be provocative, causing the Roman authorities to act up further, at a time when Christians were being prosecuted. During His ministry on earth, Jesus had refrained from saying that He was the Messiah; “Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah,’ [Matthew 16:20], in order not to provoke the authorities. The Scriptures did not mention that Judea was considered a troublesome province because the Jews resented foreign rule, and governors, including Pilate, did not like to be sent there to keep order. Not everything is spelled out in the Bible – and scholars gather more facts from other secular historical records.
Adapted from 'Understanding Prayer, Faith and God's Will: Compass for Christian Faith'
