Week 39 Luke 22
Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot. So just like that – smoothly and slickly – Judas – who was one of the twelve disciples– was now demon-possessed.
There was the before-Satan-Judas. But in 22 Satan entered Judas he became something else. Plain-old Judas was transformed into a dangerous new binary-guy. Judas-and-Satan. Judasatan. On the surface maybe quite a bit the same as before. But now taking cues from Satan.
I thought back to the story of the demon-possessed boy. His father described it: an evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It is always hitting and injuring him. It hardly ever leaves him alone.
I thought back to the demon-possessed guy from the Gadarenes – homeless and naked, he lived in a cemetery…The spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was shackled with chains he simply broke them.
With Judas it was different. He was no raving lunatic. He pretty much stayed Judas on the outside. His possession was pretty subtle.
But covertly he:
A) began negotiating with the Lord’s enemies
B) settled on a bounty
C) conspired how to betray Jesus
D) planned an opportunity
Judas didn’t go crazy. Didn’t mutate into a violent monstrosity-of-a-guy. Normal-seeming Judas. Co0l-handed & quietly going about his regular activities. And now locked into his satanic extra-curriculars as well.
Note: quotes from Luke 22:3 9:37-43 8:26-39 (NLT)