Speaking
of Judas Iscariot, Jesus said:
'Have
I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!'
(John
6:20)
I
have been intrigued by the frankness of Jesus speech here.
He
calls Judas a devil. A devil!
A
devil would not be “the” devil, Satan,
But
it could be one of his fellow, fallen angels.
In
other words a demon.
The
clear implication is that a person can be as wicked as a demon.
He
was speaking of a man who had been with Him
For
three and one-half years.
Who
has shared in the full extent of the ministry of Christ Jesus.
Who
has gone out with the Twelve and the Seventy
To
heal the sick and raise the dead.
Who
had seen the many miracles that Jesus had performed;
Had
seen the water made to wine;
Seen
Him walk on the water and calm the storm by His word;
Had
seen virtually every kind of disease healed instantly;
Had
seen the dead raise to life again.
Who
held the money bag for Jesus and the Twelve.
Who
broke bread with Jesus and the Twelve every day;
Shared
in their troubles and triumphs.
Judas
Iscariot knew that John the Baptist
Had
identified Jesus as the Messiah.
Only
the Messiah could do the things that Jesus did.
The
whole hope of Israel hinged on this Man, the Christ of God.
Nevertheless,
Judas was willing to sell out his entire relationship
With
the Christ of God, and all Eternity for thirty pieces of silver:
Then
one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot--
Went
to the chief priests and asked,
'What
are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?'
So
they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
From
then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over.
(Matthew
26:14-16)
On
the night of the Last Supper, Jesus said:
'I
tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.'
They
[the Twelve] were very
sad
And
began to say to Him one after the other, 'Surely not I, Lord?'
Jesus
replied,
'The
one who had dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me.
The
Son of man will go just as it is written about Him.
But
woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man!
It
would be better for him if he had not been born.'
Then
Judas, the one who would betray Him, said, 'Surely not I, Rabbi?'
Jesus
answered, 'Yes, it is you.' (Matthew 26:21-25)
'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 Iscariot, son of Simon.
As
soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
(John
13:26-27)
Later,
Judas betrays Christ Jesus with
a kiss. (Matthew 26:49)
Judas
had given himself over to dark thoughts, the demonic realm,
And
finally Satan entered into him, sealing his doom.
But
apparently no one else, except Christ Jesus, knew.
It
is interesting to me that the other Eleven disciples had no clue
That
Judas was thinking of such an action.
The
last thing in their minds would be the betrayal of their Lord
By
any one of them; That was unthinkable, and yet it happened.
Judas
never let his heart be changed by Christ Jesus and all he witnessed.
Who
knows why he responded to the call of Jesus initially.
The
other Eleven responded
Because
in their hearts they felt God calling them.
The
same reason that you and I responded to the call of God on our lives.
The
moral of the story is that not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,'
Belongs
to Christ Jesus.
Judas
was deceived and he deceived.
He
masqueraded as an angel of light, but was a devil.
Hitler
and Mussolini masqueraded as an angels of light but were devils.
There
were Christian ministers in Germany
Who
supported Hitler who were devils,
Masquerading
as followers of Christ Jesus.
Today,
there will be many devils masquerading as angels of light.
So
potent will be their deception,
That
they will be able to deceive even the Elect, if that were possible.
Satan
will enter into his Antichrist
And
perpetrate his evil intentions through this man, a man like Judas.
As
God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!
Good thoughts Tom...I was recently thinking about these verses myself. It always amazes me how Judas could betray Christ. I have always wondered what his motivation could have been. Was in money, was it power, was it to orchestrate the Messiah's rising in the natural order to overtake the Roman Empire. Whatever that motivation might have been it was foretold by the prophet's long ago.
ReplyDeleteDarren, the only thing I can think of is that his heart was hardened. He obviously did not appreciate what he saw and heard. Apparently he loved money more than anything. It is hard to understand for those of us who love Christ Jesus. Because of the condition of his heart, Satan was able to enter into him and perpetrate his evil.
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