Why, after being in the presence of perfect love, compassion and holiness for three years could Judas turn his back on Jesus? He had seen the miracles and heard the sermons. He had been privy to the fireside chats and the question and answer sessions which took place on the road. He had seen Lazarus come back from the dead! What in the world got into Judas that he betrayed Jesus? The answer is a name: Satan.
The Gospel writer Luke describes what happened tersely, “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.”
Jesus called Satan the “father of lies”. The devil lied to Adam and Eve, he lied to Judas and he continues to tell lies every day to you and me. Those lies are so dangerous because they are masterfully told. He plays with our emotions. He tickles our egos. Satan makes his lies sound so very reasonable and good. Adam and Eve thought so. So did Judas. At least at first they did. But once the truth was revealed, how crushing the guilt was! How overwhelming the consequences of their deception!
We live in a culture which looks on the existence of Satan with a condescending smile. “Spirits, evil beings,” people object, “that was for long ago. We’re way past that kind of thinking today.” What easy targets we humans make. This supernatural force for evil whose only purpose is to destroy us eternally, and we choose to believe he doesn’t even exist.
This coming weekend at our worship services we’re going to be studying Satan’s strategy with Judas. We’ve got a lot to learn from this sad story. The advice, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed” finds its ultimate application when applied to Satan’s tempting tactics of Judas.
Saturday: 6:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am
Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.