Judas : What was he on about? The Passover Plot : Special 40th Anniversary Edition : Hugh J Schonfield Theologian Schonfield argued that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy and Judas acted with Jesus' full knowledge and consent in "betraying" his master to the authorities.
The act of Judas has been much discussed in context of free will, I spent hours in my younger days thinking about the whole betrayal business. The mainstream position has been that although Jesus knew that Judas would betray him, Judas was still acting in free will and was culpable for his actions. There's certainly some contradiction here in the idea of "the betrayal of God". The possibilities seem to be these:
* Jesus did not foresee the betrayal by Judas.
* He was unable to prevent it.
* He allowed Judas to betray him.
* Judas was an informed accomplice in Jesus' planned destiny.
My Renter, In the Outer, looks at a new discussion on Was Judas Misunderstood?
1 comment:
Hi Susanna,
Thanks for the link. You made some good points. I think there are several more issues here to consider in terms of possibilities:
(1) Jesus' (or God's) fore-knowledge
(2) His ability or otherwise to prevent it
(3) His intention or "divine plan"
(4) Judas' knowledge (and acqueisce) of the plan
(5) Judas' motivation before and after the act (what does it mean that "Satan entered" him?)
(6) God's grace and mercy (why Jesus came to die in the first place)
Certainly a lot to think through and what it means for a theology for today!
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