Bible Text: John 13:27 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him. John 13:27

Children are named Peter, Andrew, James, and John, but never Judas. I’ve known of one or two dogs who answered to that name but only after their masters became infuriated with them. Why? Certifying the obvious, a Judas is a traitor, one who betrays and forsakes what he should hold to and embrace.

In the New Testament we are introduced to Judas as Matthew gives the list of the twelve who were known as apostles. He concludes the list with the phrase, “and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him” (Matthew 10:4). In years of producing this commentary, I’ve never made Judas the subject of a commentary.

Why bother? His name is akin to Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and the butchers of the world. Who wants to hear about him? Better to focus on the heroes, the people we admire, the truth which liberates and encourages. Yet, I’ve been thinking as of late, that there is strength in knowing the enemy and recognizing that the temptations which led him astray are yet with us today. The fact is that Satan is still alive and well, and that the same one who influenced Judas is at work in the lives of people today.

There is something scary about this man Judas. For three years he was exposed to the real thing. He was an eyewitness to blind individuals who gained their sight, to children who were healed, to individuals who had been crippled from birth who gained the use of their limbs, and to individuals who were demonized to the point of having to be bound by chains, whose sick, demented minds were made completely whole. On at least three occasions, he saw funeral processions turn into occasions of joyful dancing and tears as the dead came back to life.

No one had ever seen greater things than did Judas and the eleven who for three years daily broke bread with Jesus, who walked from village to village with Him, who listened to this teacher and who scrutinized His life.

Most of us have lived long enough to realize that the best of men are but men and they are flawed. Nobody is perfect, yet Jesus confronted his enemies and hurled the challenge, “Which of you can convince me of sin?”

OK, how did this fail to impact Judas? There are two hints of a deep flaw in the character of this man which seemed to produce a myopic blindness. First, make note of the fact that the eleven all addressed Jesus Christ, not using that name, but as, “Lord!” While that word was a term of respect, it was uniformly used of God. The Pharisees knew that and for that reason sought to stone Christ. Judas, however, never used that term. Instead he addressed Him as Rabbi, or Teacher.

The second tell-tale flaw in his character was his lust for money. He kept the treasury–the funds for the twelve-and stole from it. John reported, “He was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6).

Eventually, Satan exploited these weaknesses. At the Passover, as he took the bread, sitting at the very table where Jesus and the eleven reclined, says John, Satan entered into him. From that point on, it was all downhill.
There is grave danger in being exposed to truth without acting on it, in knowing the routine–the songs, the liturgy, the expressions of Christianity without knowing and yielding to the Christ who died on the cross.

Once you have rejected the prompting of God’s Spirit, the compromise and treason come easily. I will always be perplexed by Judas, a man who was confronted with the truth but could not embrace it. May God help us to learn from his failure.

Resource reading: John 13