Matthew 26:21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said, He that dips his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
God did not actually need Judas to play the part he predicted Judas would play. When it was time for Christ to lay down His life, God would have laid the sins of the world upon Him, and the weight of our transgressions would have killed Jesus anyway.
But, if in His foreknowledge God saw that Judas will insist on doing what he decided to do, then Judas’ future actions would be incorporated into the word of God as a prophecy of what would take place, not as something that God would force him, or anyone else to do.
Thus, before we proceed, it will be imperative that we observe what the scriptures teach us about this singular ability of God to read the future, because it will shed great light upon our understanding of the saga of pharaoh, who for all intents and purposes, may have seemed to be bound in an iron destiny, to stubbornly disregard God’s gracious overtures.
Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!