And Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariote, being of the number of the twelve.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them.
One of Jesus' own twelve disciples walks out of His company and goes to the Lord's enemies. How did Satan get such a hold on a close companion of Christ, why did the leaders welcome a traitor, and who was really setting the timetable?
The betrayal was not a plan Judas invented. It was Satan's own work, and the man he used is the shocking part.
All this was Satan's own work, whoever the unhappy instrument was — one of the twelve, one nearest to Jesus. And then the rulers of the people, led by Satan, agree in the awful crime of this terrible act of wickedness — nothing more needs to be said.
Luke says only that he went. One writer pictures that walk.
Judas had slipped away from the Lord's company under some excuse or other that must have deceived his fellow disciples, but not the Lord. Do you not see him hurrying secretly through the streets? He hurried as only a guilty man set on a foul crime could hurry, to the place where he knew those enemies of the Lord were.
Why did he go? Commentators trace the walk back to an appetite Satan already knew about.
Judas was a covetous man. He loved money... He had preached the gospel. He had walked in the company of the Lord Jesus during the days of His public ministry. He had heard His words, seen His ways, experienced His kindness. But sadly, though an apostle, though a companion of Jesus, though a preacher of the gospel, he had no heart for Christ. He had a heart for money... Satan knew this. He knew the special craving of Judas. He was fully aware of the price at which he could be bought.
Nobody recruited him. The move was his own.
No one had attempted to seduce him. No one that we read of had even approached him to sound him out on the subject. He offered himself voluntarily, for Satan had entered into him... But covetous though he was, no one had offered a reward for the Lord's arrest to tempt his greed. He offered himself... He asked, as Matthew (26:15) states, "What will you give me?" That question showed that no one had tempted him with a payment.
The verse names a second group beside the chief priests. Older translations call them "captains." The ESV calls them "officers." They were not soldiers but the temple's own men.
There was also a 'captain of the temple.' The word literally means 'the leader of an army'; it is also used for magistrates, Acts 16:20. But the captain of the temple had charge not of soldiers, but of the priests and Levites.
The same officials Judas consulted here show up in person at the arrest — and Jesus meets them with a word about the moment they had been given:
And Jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who had come against Him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not stretch out your hands against Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."
Judas is not the only guilty party at this meeting.
But note the shameful condition of the chief priests. They stood in close outward relationship to God. You would expect their character to be honourable, faithful, reliable. Instead they were glad to support a man in his treachery toward a friend!
The conspiracy looks like men seizing control. Commentators read it the other way round.
Yet how reassuring it is to see that both man and the devil were powerless until the due moment came for carrying out God's purposes. Even then their malice only served those purposes, without knowing it, and in the very way they thought most certain to stop and cancel them. But He catches the wise in their own craftiness.
- Root — Judas loved money, and Satan knew "the price at which he could be bought." The betrayal grew from an appetite fed long before this meeting.
- Reach — the man Satan used was "one of the twelve, one nearest to Jesus." That nearness is what he took to the priests.
- Ranks — the "captains" were the temple's own men, in charge of priests and Levites, not soldiers.
- Reception — the chief priests "were glad to support a man in his treachery toward a friend." The bargain shamed both sides of the table.
- Rule — man and the devil "were powerless until the due moment came." Their malice only served the purpose they meant to destroy.
And they were rejoiced, and agreed to give him money.
Luke tells the betrayal in a few plain words: a man from the inner circle walks in, the leaders welcome him, and they fix a price. Two wills meet here — one man's greed and a whole council's hatred — and one question hangs over both: who controlled that night?
The plot did not begin with Judas. The leaders already wanted Jesus dead; only fear of the crowd held them back. One writer shows how the two sides came together:
On one side the will was engaged like this. On the other side a man enjoyed nearness to the Lord without judging himself — in fact in conscious hypocrisy, and habitually giving in to covetousness. So Satan easily found the means to carry out his own designs against the Son of God, as a liar and a murderer.
Nobody had offered a reward for Jesus' arrest. Nobody came to Judas with the idea. The offer came from his side of the table first.
Judas appeared before them and offered himself for the unholy work. Surprised, no doubt, but delighted at what seemed to them such a timely help, the bargain was soon struck... No one had tried to tempt him. No one, that we read of, had even approached him to sound him out on the subject. He offered himself of his own accord, for Satan had entered into him.
The verse says they agreed to give him money. One writer explains why money was enough to buy him.
He had heard His words, seen His ways, experienced His kindness. But sadly, though an apostle, though a companion of Jesus, though a preacher of the gospel, he had no heart for Christ. He had a heart for money... Satan knew this. He knew the special lust of Judas. He was fully aware of the price at which he could be bought.
Closeness to Christ with no inward change is itself the warning. Judas was chosen as an apostle and sent out to preach with the rest. Yet he "still remained an unrenewed man, ready to become the devil's instrument to betray his Master." One writer says nothing shows more clearly "the need of the new birth" (C E Stuart).
Luke says they were glad. One writer asks what kind of men would pay for a betrayal like this.
What about the men who gave him the money, who bribed him to betray his Master into their murderous hands? They were the chief priests, the teachers of morality and religion. Developing what is best in man was supposed to be their work. When he made his shameful offer, they should have driven the greedy wretch out of their presence with scorn. But they did not. They had decided to rid themselves of Jesus... and they were glad to have the traitor as a partner in their crime, for they were as base as he was.
Luke says only "money." One writer names the sum, and asks what that price says about the men who set it — and about every heart since.
Judas asked the chief priests what they would give for Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is their offer. The price of a slave is their estimate of the worth of Him who was always God's delight... "Every man has his price" is a common saying of the world, and it is often untrue. But every soul that Satan cheats out of Jesus has its price. Some accept gold, others position or power. With some it is cheap pleasure, or lust, or some favourite secret sin.
Luke has already said that Satan entered Judas. One writer asks why the enemy took this job himself — and how it backfired.
It shows what the prince of the powers of darkness thought. Bringing about the death of Christ was so important a task that he would hand it to no lesser power. He would take charge of the business himself. Yet he undertook the work to his own overthrow. Judas and the religious leaders settled their bargain easily. Envy consumed the leaders, and the love of money consumed Judas.
And behind Satan stood a higher hand. Kelly finds it reassuring that both man and the devil were powerless until the due moment came to carry out God's purposes. Even then their malice only served those purposes — without knowing it, and in the very way they thought most certain to stop them (William Kelly).
- Price. Judas had a price, and the enemy knew it. Every heart that trades Jesus away takes something in exchange — money, position, pleasure, or a favourite sin.
- Offer. Nobody tempted him and nobody bid for him. He walked in and offered himself; the choice was his own.
- Gladness. The gladness was mutual. Leaders who should have thrown a traitor out welcomed him instead, and so proved as base as the man they hired.
- Nearness. Years beside Christ, preaching included, left Judas unchanged. Nearness to holy things is not new birth.
- Overthrow. Satan took this task on himself. Yet man and devil could not move until God's hour struck, and the plot they thought would finish Jesus served God's purpose instead.
And he came to an agreement to do it, and sought an opportunity to deliver him up to them away from the crowd.
Luke has already told us that Satan entered Judas and that the priests were glad to promise him money. Here Judas closes the deal and starts hunting for a quiet moment, away from the crowds.
Judas was not recruited. He walked in on a council that had no workable plan and volunteered.
They were sitting in council, but they had worked out no settled plan for carrying out their purpose. Then help came from a completely unexpected quarter. Judas appeared before them and offered himself for the evil work. They were surprised, no doubt, but delighted at what seemed to them such a well-timed offer. The bargain was soon struck. For the paltry reward of thirty pieces of silver the wretched man was to look for a chance to betray his Master when the crowd was away. No one had tried to tempt him. As far as we read, no one had even approached him about it.
Judas did not fall all at once. A habit he fed took him the rest of the way.
What a solemn warning! An evil tendency that we feed may grow until it masters us completely, and leads us to commit the most appalling sins, as it did in this man. Covetousness, the love of money which is the root of all evil, led Judas on step by step. It blinded his soul, until he completed his frightful wickedness by betraying his Lord for thirty pieces of silver.
The deal went through easily because both sides wanted it. Behind both stood someone who would not delegate this job.
Luke reports that dreadful fact in a more general way. It shows that the prince of the powers of darkness saw the death of Christ as too important a task to hand to any lesser power. He would take charge of the business himself. Yet he undertook the work to his own overthrow. Judas and the religious leaders settled their agreement easily. Envy consumed them, and the love of money consumed Judas.
Luke's wording here does not fix the moment when Satan entered Judas.
It may be worth noting here that the older English translation misleads anyone who takes verse 3 to mean that Satan entered into Judas at this moment. We know from John 13:27 that it was only after Jesus gave him the piece of bread... The truth is that Luke gives no time marker here. He uses only a linking word, and so is content with the broad fact, without going into the stages it passed through.
Judas could only look for a chance. He could not make one.
How reassuring it is to notice that both man and the devil were powerless until the proper moment came for carrying out God's purposes. Even then their malice only served those purposes, without knowing it, and in the very way they thought most certain to block and cancel them.
The man watching for his chance had lived in close company with Jesus.
We see in him one who had opportunities and advantages such as few possessed. He was chosen to be an apostle, to be with the Lord, and to go out and preach like the rest of that company. Even so, he remained an unrenewed man, ready to become the devil's instrument to betray his Master. What is man? He spent time with Christ such as only apostles enjoyed. He saw the works done and heard the words spoken. What an evil heart he has, that he can still remain unsoftened!
A religious position tells you nothing about the heart behind it.
Here was an apostle — a preacher of the gospel, a man who made a loud claim to faith. Yet under that outward claim lay "a heart trained in greed" — a heart with a wide place for "thirty pieces of silver," but not a corner for Jesus... He preached the gospel, but he never knew it, never believed it, never felt it. He had painted sunbeams on canvas, but he never felt their influence.
- Motive — No one tempted Judas with an offer. He came forward himself, and greed fed in private walked into the priests' council on its own feet.
- Bargain — Envy on their side, money on his, and the deal took no persuading. Evil finds partners fast when both parties already want the same thing.
- Master — Satan took this task himself, too important to pass to a lesser power. In doing so he worked toward his own defeat.
- Timing — Judas could only seek an opportunity. Man and the devil stayed powerless until God's moment came. Their malice only served the purposes they meant to wreck.
- Warning — An apostle's place beside Jesus, and still an unrenewed heart. Nearness to Christ is not the same as a renewed heart.