How does Matthew 26:24 align with God's omniscience and human free will? Text Of Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Immediate Narrative Setting Matthew records Jesus celebrating Passover hours before His arrest. Judas has already negotiated the betrayal (26:14-16). Jesus’ statement therefore functions on two levels: (1) the divine plan—“as it is written,” and (2) Judas’s moral culpability—“woe to that man.” Both truths are asserted without tension in the text. Prophetic Foreordination Psalm 41:9, Zechariah 11:12-13, and Isaiah 53 anticipated the Messiah’s betrayal and death centuries earlier (approximately 1000–700 B.C.). Jesus cites this prophetic corpus (“as it is written”) to affirm that His path to the cross is not an accident but a divinely scripted necessity (cf. Luke 24:25-27). Scripture thus displays omniscient foresight: God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10). Divine Omniscience Defined Omniscience means God possesses exhaustive, infallible knowledge—past, present, and future. Numerous passages affirm this (Psalm 139:1-6; Hebrews 4:13). God’s knowledge is not passive observation but part of His eternal decree (Ephesians 1:11). Therefore, Jesus can state with certainty both His impending death and the identity of His betrayer (John 13:11). Human Free Will And Moral Responsibility The same Bible that proclaims God’s sovereignty also depicts humans making genuine choices and being judged for them (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; James 1:13-15). Scripture never renders people automatons; Judas “went out and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5) because he recognized his own agency and guilt. Dual Agency: A Consistent Biblical Pattern Genesis 50:20—“You intended evil… God intended it for good.” Isaiah 10:5-7—Assyria is sovereignly used, yet punished for its motives. Acts 2:23—Jesus was delivered up “by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge,” yet “you” crucified Him. In every case, God’s sovereign plan operates through (not despite) freely acting moral agents. Compatibilism In Scripture Biblical theology presents God’s sovereignty and human freedom as compatible, not contradictory. God ordains the certainty of events, while humans act according to their own desires. Judas’s greed (John 12:6) and Satanic influence (Luke 22:3) motivated him; God’s decree simply guaranteed that his free choice would occur at the appointed time. Judas Iscariot: Foreknown Yet Accountable Jesus called Judas a “devil” long before the betrayal (John 6:70-71). Foreknowledge did not coerce him; Judas consistently chose dishonesty (John 12:4-6) and ultimately delivered Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The phrase “it would be better for him if he had not been born” underscores severe personal accountability (cf. Daniel 12:2). Philosophical Clarification Free will in Scripture is not absolute autonomy but the capacity to act according to one’s nature and desires. Omniscience does not negate freedom any more than a historian’s accurate record of past events nullifies the choices that produced them. Knowledge is logically distinct from causation. Practical Application Believers can trust that God’s perfect knowledge secures His redemptive purposes while still calling individuals to repentance and faith (Acts 17:30-31). The example of Judas warns against mere proximity to Christ without genuine surrender. The omniscient God who ordained the cross now summons each person to choose life (John 3:16-18). Summary Matthew 26:24 harmonizes divine omniscience with human free will by presenting (1) an infallible prophetic plan and (2) real human responsibility. Scripture uniformly teaches that God decrees all that occurs, yet holds each person accountable for his or her freely chosen actions. Judas’s betrayal fulfills prophecy, advances salvation, and remains blameworthy—demonstrating that the two doctrines are not rivals but complementary truths woven into the fabric of God’s Word. |
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