Did Judas Iscariot go to Hell? By Ray Comfort, Op-ed contributor for Christian Post
Someone left a comment about Judas that I thought should be addressed because of its implications: “Judas did what he had to do. He had no choice. Jesus came to be sacrificed, and Judas played his part.”
It’s healthy to ask questions about the Scriptures. That’s how we grow. However, the key to finding the correct answers is to ask them with the knowledge that all of God’s judgments are righteous and true altogether. He never does anything that lacks the utmost integrity.
I suspect that this person doesn’t know the difference between man’s free will and divine sovereignty. No, God wasn’t playing human chess with Judas. He wasn’t a pawn. He freely chose to betray Jesus. Scripture even tells us that his crime was premeditated.
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He once showed his hypocritical hand — when Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, used an expensive oil in an act of sacrificial worship toward Jesus. Judas objected to such extravagance. He didn’t think Jesus was worth it, saying, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5).
Then Scripture gives us insight into Judas’ motives: “This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it” (John 12:6).
God didn’t manipulate Judas to steal from the collection bag. He stole of his own free will.
Look now at his premeditation to betray Jesus: “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So, from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him” (Matthew 26:14-16).
Judas sought an opportunity to betray Jesus — more evidence that his betrayal came from his own free will.
In John 6, after Peter famously said, “We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus specifically referred to Judas. Look at what He said: “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve” (John 6:70).
