On their final night together, Jesus said some shocking words: After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” 22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night (John 13:21-30).
Before the Last Supper took place, Jesus had previously mentioned that one of his disciples was a “devil” (John 6:66-71). Jesus now spoke openly about a traitor being in their midst. Our Lord had loved Judas and had just washed his feet. Jesus was now giving Judas a chance to repent; but Judas didn’t soften.
The fact that the disciples were puzzled by this strange announcement reveals that they did not know Judas’ true character, their own hearts, or the prophecies in the psalms. They apparently had also forgotten about the Lord’s statements that he would be betrayed into the hands of the enemy (Matthew 17:22; 20:18).
At this point, Judas left the Upper Room to pursue the religious leaders and orchestrate Jesus’ arrest (John 13:30). But why did Judas betray Jesus? Scripture makes it clear that the devil inspired him.
John Stott states: “However strong the Satanic influences upon him were, there must have been a time when he opened himself to them. Jesus seems clearly to have regarded him as responsible for his actions, for even at the last minute in the upper room he made a final appeal to him by dipping a piece of bread in the dish and giving it to him (John 13:25-30). But Judas rejected Jesus’ appeal, and his betrayal has always seemed the more odious because it was a flagrant breach of hospitality. In this it fulfilled another Scripture which said: ‘Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me’” (Psalm 41:9, Stott page 55).
Jesus knew in advance what was going to happen, but this foreknowledge didn’t negate Judas’ free will. The Bible makes it clear that Judas was responsible for his foolish and wicked actions (Acts 2:23).
Prayer
Lord, we recognize that there are spiritual battles we must engage in and we thank you today for the power to overcome the evil one. Jesus is Lord of our lives, and as believers we rejoice that Satan has been defeated and has no authority over us. We declare our freedom in Christ, and in his name, we renounce any evil spirits who would want to tempt us and distract us.
Question
Have you studied what the Bible says about the spiritual battles every Christian must engage in? (e.g. Ephesians 6:10-18)