Maybe that Jesus asked the Father to forgive them for what they do is that evidence. Jesus didn't say, forgive all but Judas.
And there is another question. When Jesus knew what Judas was going to do, as you recall Jesus told Judas while they were all in the upper room having the first communion supper, go and do what you must do.
That tells us Jesus was aware of Judas' plan. Knowing this as he did why would Jesus not only choose Judas to be one of his Disciples, but keep Judas around him until the very end?
Many attribute this verse as that which tells us Judas is damned to Hell.
JOHN 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Perdition is defined as destruction, ruin.
What if the son of perdition is Lucifer? Or, as we read in John 17:12 the Antichrist. Not Judas.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
Here is why I posit that question.
Being we know Jesus was aware of what Judas was going to do before he did it, why did Jesus allow Judas to proceed? When Peter had a sword and cleaved off the ear of the temple guard when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden, would Jesus have been able to stop Judas from leaving the upper room if he wanted?
And then there is this observation, question. Without Judas how would Jesus have completed his mission to die for the worlds sins upon the cross?
1).
Why did Jesus pray...…."Father forgive them for they do not know what that do"??
Because He was fulfilling Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 53:12...……...
“He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors”.
If He had not prayed that prayer He would be calling God a liar and God can not lie.
Bible doctrine says that from the cross, Jesus interceded for sinners. Today, risen and glorified, Jesus remains the “one mediator between God and mankind” Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them,” because He was putting into practice the principle He had taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5:43-44...…......
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.
Jesus, the persecuted, prayed for His persecutors and that fulfilled the Word of God.
2).
Christ chose to give Judas an opportunity to know the truth and be purified by it. It is called "Freedom of Choice". Judas wanted to be among the disciples and the Savior did not reject him. He gave him a place among the twelve. And He trusted him to do the work of a disciple.
But just like today with many preachers, Judas did not surrender himself fully to Christ.
He had a strong love for money and fostered the evil spirit of greed until it became the driving force in his life.
The story of Judas gives us TWO very important lessons in life.
1). God in Christ gave the vilest sinner a chance to reform and change with God’s saving grace. He had a choice!!!
2). And the second lesson tells of the wickedness and destruction of SIN and how it blinds those that stick to it from getting saved.
3).
The title of
“son of perdition” is actually only used twice in the New Testament, first in John 17:12 where you just posted it and again in 2 Thess. 2:3 where Paul useses it.
The phrase simply means
“man doomed to destruction” and is not reserved for any one individual. In fact, there are two people to which the title “son of perdition” is applied. In context, John 17:12 is referring to
Judas Iscariot,
However in 2 Thess. 2:3 Paul is referring to the “man of lawlessness”—
the Antichrist—who will appear in the end times before Christ’s return.
The word
perdition means “eternal damnation” or “utter destruction.” It can also be used as a synonym for
hell. When a person is called “son of perdition,” the thought is that of a person in an unredeemable state, someone who is already damned while he is still alive.
4).
The "Son of perdition" in 2 Thess. 2 is in fact the Anti-Christ. The Antichrist is given the title “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thess. 2 because he will oppose in every way the biblical God and His law. He will be completely lawless.
Satan works through the Antichrist, controlling him for
Satan himself is not able to become incarnate. By possessing and controlling the Antichrist, Satan is worshipped in the temple where the biblical God is to be worshipped. No wonder the Antichrist is called the man of lawlessness. To act as “god” is the ultimate rejection of the biblical God’s character and laws.
5).
It was prophesy before it came to pass:
Zechariah 11:12-13...…………..
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”
The short answer is that it happened before it happened.
A prophecy is a witnessing or foreseeing, not a prediction. That means, it already happened by the time it is told. A prophet is someone who sees through the eyes of God (or, simply someone who hears or talks to God).
Since God’s purview of time is from eternity to eternity, there will never be a prophecy that doesn't come true:
Ecclesiastes 3:15...………….
“That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”
