Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
(verses 3-6)
-
This is a dark moment in the unfolding Gospel story. Four players are involved:
· Satan. Here the veil is pulled back. We gain a sighting of the fact that Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion do not happen merely on a human level. No. They are caught up in a diabolical swirl of spiritual warfare that energizes the hostility toward Jesus. The enemy of our souls – the one Jesus calls “the prince of this world”(John 14:30) – is in cosmic enmity with the Saviour of the world himself. We can’t know the devilish understanding and strategy that were at work, but it is clear the evil one was intent on ensuring Jesus’ execution. The irony, of course, is that the cross was always the place Jesus was heading. He himself was the one who chose to lay down his life. Further irony yet: “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). The devil would get more than he bargained for.
· Judas. We don’t know the rationale that flowed through Judas’ mind motivating him toward betrayal of Jesus. Perhaps it was the love of money, which seems to have gripped him – John tells us he was the group’s treasurer and regularly helped himself to the communal funds (John 12:6). Luke makes it clear that he was paid for this betrayal – Matthew tells us the amount: 30 pieces of silver, equivalent to about 120 days wages, an enticing sum. So, perhaps greed was the foothold through which the devil took advantage. But it’s also clear Jesus knew early on that Judas was headed to this end, indeed as early as the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:70-71).Whatever his own thinking, Judas is now fully under Satan’s influence. John later reiterates the same as Judas takes the bread from Jesus’ hand at the last supper. “Satan entered him,” John writes, “… he went out. And it was night” (John 12:27,30).
· Chief priests and officers of the temple guard. The religious leaders (including Pharisees and teachers of the law) have been hostile toward Jesus for much of his ministry. They were scandalized by his healings on the Sabbath, by his warm acceptance of “tax collectors and sinners,” by his teaching which often pointedly called them out, and by the authoritative judgement he enacted in clearing the temple. Early on they discussed “with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:11). Now Luke tells us they “were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus”(verse 2). From their skewed perspective they probably counted it a divine happenstance that Judas showed up at this very moment. Eagerly, they secured his connivance with a cash payment.
· God. Amid these other players, the sovereign hand of Almighty God is at work. Indeed, the plan is all his. The book of Revelation tells us that the Lamb – Jesus – “was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The cross was always in view. The first glimpse comes when sin entered the world and the woman was told her offspring would crush the evil one, at great cost to himself (Genesis 3:15). That sighting becomes clearer in Isaiah’s prophecy: “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; … by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). The Gospels make the Lord’s own initiative clear: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son”(John 3:16). As Good Shepherd, Jesus himself chooses to lay down his own life (John 10:11, 15). He came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Yes, there were many players, but the cross was always solely in the hands of the Lord himself.
So, stand in horror at the unfolding story of wickedness and betrayal. See the forces of evil unleashed in history. See the conspiracy of humanity. But don’t lose sight of the Sovereign Lord, at work before the foundation of the world, buying redemption for us, bearing away our wrongdoing and guilt, and extending his unending love through his own sacrifice. The Lord has done it.
-
O Lord, you made the choice. You bore the cost. You brought salvation. Praise you.
-
Pause:
Reflect on salvation. Reflect on the cost. Reflect on the plan. Reflect on the Saviour’s choice. Give thanks.
-
Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash
Comments