John 13:2, 26-27 2 And [a]supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him,
26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”
In John 13:26, Jesus said that the one to whom He would give the piece of bread would betray Him. Judas was there at the table; he had heard Jesus say that. And the startling fact is that he (Judas) “took” that bread. I believe it was at that very moment that Judas accepted Satan’s temptation; no more swaying back and forth about what to do – he took it! And then it says in verse 27 that Satan entered him.
It was as though before this, Satan was just a whisper in his ear, but now he had taken over Judas’ mind and heart. Satan was now ‘in’ his head so to speak. He was no longer in control.
Of course, we know that this was God’s plan and it was going to happen this way…no matter what. But I believe that this teaches us a very important lesson about temptations in our own lives.
Satan cannot make us do anything, but if we don’t put a stop to the thoughts he tempts us with, sooner or later we’ll give in. And obviously, there is a point (with temptations/voices unchecked) that a person can become almost completely dominated by Satan.
In our relationship with Jesus, the more we listen to Him and do what He says, we are being led by Him. But, by the same measure, the more we listen to Satan, we are becoming dominated, led, and controlled by him.
I believe at the moment Judas accepted that piece of bread it was his first ACT of obedience to Satan. He accepted Satan’s assignment and he lost his own conscience (at least for a time). He did not regain his senses or his conscience until he saw that the Counsel was planning to kill Jesus (Matthew 27:3-4); then he was genuinely sorry.
Matthew 27:3-4 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
I believe that after Judas had accomplished Satan’s mission, Satan moved on and Judas’ eyes were opened to what he had done – it was as though he had been blind (for a season). Satan used him and left him depressed, full of guilt and suicidal (Matthew 27:5)!
Once Satan and sin are done with us, THIS is all we are left with!
John 13:30 says, “Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.”
Judas acted immediately to do what he’d determined in his heart to do. How might his story have been different if he’d acted immediately to dispel those thoughts in his mind when they first began? (Again, I know this was God’s plan for Judas and it was going to be that way, no matter what…but again, this teaches us a lesson about how to avoid his fate of diving headlong into Satan’s plan.)
IMMEDIATELY, stop the thoughts in your mind that you KNOW are wrong. Don’t toy with Satan; he’s a liar and he will deceive you every time. We don’t know what sort of picture he put in Judas’ mind of how this was supposed to turn out, but I can tell you that as he was wrapping a noose around the tree on that hillside, it was NOT the true one!
Notice how the very last phrase of John 13:30 says, “And it was night.” The moment we take the first action to obey Satan, the light of our understanding goes out and we move into spiritual darkness. And let me assure you, when you come to your senses, when you wake up (so to speak) you will be as surprised as Judas as to how you got so far off track.
Realize that you are no match for Satan by yourself – no matter how smart, enlightened or strong you think you are. The only way to stop Satan’s lies, deceit and darkness from blinding your mind is to stay in the Light of God’s Word. It will break the power of darkness!
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