If God Planned the Cross, Was Judas Responsible?

Relish: a Christian podcast · Mar 5, 2026 · 19m · transcript

This episode addresses a central theological tension:

If God is sovereign over history, are human beings still responsible for their actions?

We answer that question through two difficult biblical texts:

Judas’ betrayal of Jesus — Did he have genuine freedom, or was he fulfilling an unavoidable script?

The execution in Book of Numbers 15 — Why was gathering sticks treated as a capital offense?

We explore:

Scriptural motives attributed to Judas

The relationship between prophecy and free choice

Covenant law in ancient Israel

Communal justice and the function of stoning

The shift seen in Gospel…