Commenting on whether Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was predestined or a necessity and not a contingency, Jeff Neville (LDS) wrote that:
We should note that Judas had not
acted in ignorance. His was an act of open rebellion. Judas ignored multiple
warnings from the Savior, including the one given that night during the supper.
During the meal the Savior had warned, “Woe unto that man whom the Son of Man
is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matthew
26:24). Some have suggested that the Savior needed Judas to betray Him and that
it was predestined. Judas always had a choice; he always had his agency. No one
was foreordained to fail or to be wicked. Had Judas made the choice not to
betray the Savior, another way would have been opened up for Jesus to be
arrested and crucified. “The works and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot
be frustrated, neither can they come to naught” (D&C 3:1). The Savior’s
atoning sacrifice would occur with or without Judas’ involvement.
The Joseph Smith Translation in
Mark 14 adds an interesting insight into the betrayal: “And he said unto Judas
Iscariot . . . what thou doest, do quickly: But beware of innocent blood.
Nevertheless Judas . . . went unto the chief priests to betray Jesus unto them;
for he turned away from him and was offended because of his [Jesus’] words”
(see JST Mark 14:10 and the complete inspired version of Mark 14:28; emphasis
added). In this verse, the Savior gives Judas an additional warning. He was
betraying innocent blood. We also learn that one of the reasons Judas turned
away from Jesus was because he was offended because of Jesus’ words. The
Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “Judas was rebuked, and immediately betrayed
his Lord into the hands of His enemies, because Satan entered into him” (Teachings
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 67). Apparently chastised by Jesus for
something he had said or done, the defensive young Apostle rejected the
correction, and refused to confess his error and repent.
His prideful reaction lead to his
demise. Is there a lesson in this for us? It is a choice to be offended; it is
not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else. We
determine how we will act, how we will respond. One sign of true humility is to
learn to accept correction and to accept it cheerfully. (Jeff Neville, His
Final Days and Triumph [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2022], 16-17)
With respect to the JST, here is New Testament Manuscript 2, Folio
2, p. 40
A†nd
Jesus sai[th]<d> unto them, A†ll ye shall be offended because
of me this night; for it <is> written, I will smite the Shepperd and the
sheep shall be scattered. B†ut after that I am risen, I
will
go before you into Gallilee. A†nd he sai[th]<d> unto
Judas Iscariot, what thou doest, do quickl[y]<y>; but beware of
in<n>ocint blood. N†everthe=less, Judas Iscariot, <even>
one of the twelve, went unto the cheif Priests to betray Jesus unto them; for
he turned away from him, and was offended because of his words.
