10.01.19 Jn. 6:67-71
PETER AFFIRMS FAITH
67 Therefore Jesus said to the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
68 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, who will we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that You are the Holy One of God!”
70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is the Devil!” 71 He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray Him.
10.01.19.Q1 Why did Jesus chose Judas Iscariot (Jn. 6:71)?
This question has been pondered for centuries. Certainly there was a prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus called Judas to be a leader in the early church and gave him the same opportunity to be a great disciple as He did for all the others. But Judas chose, under his own free will, to become a traitor. Jesus, on the other hand, had foreknowledge of what Judas would do. Jesus understood that He would be handed over to the temple authorities who would turn Him over to the Romans for crucifixion.
This foreknowledge did not limit Judas to his act. Jesus knows what every one of us will do today, tomorrow, and in the rest of our lives. On the other hand, Jesus also knew that every prophecy about Himself was to be fulfilled and that He was to be the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity; He had to die a sacrificial death. To accomplish this objective, someone was needed who would, in his complete free will, decide to become a traitor.