Who made Judas do it? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 22:3,

"Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve."

As Jesus' earthly ministry draws to a close, we find one of his
followers engaged in an act of betrayal. Judas Iscariot seeks out the
Lord's enemies, the chief priests and officers of the temple guard. He
agrees to hand Jesus over to them for thirty silver coins.

Why would he do such a thing? We are told, "Satan entered Judas,
called Iscariot, one of the Twelve." Judas betrayed Jesus after Satan
entered him. As we read the full account, however, we find that these
bumbling steps of the wicked are exploited by the Lord to accomplish
his purposes: to offer himself in the courtroom of God as a substitute
on our behalf, to pay the penalty for our sins. This he did by dying a
miserable death on a cross. A step in that process was to have himself
placed in a position where this could be carried out. Judas' part was
to betray Jesus to those who would put him to death after the mockery
of a trial.

Why Judas? Why did Satan enter into him? Some suggest, in an effort to
shore up an incoherent theology, that God decided he wanted to take
one of the followers of Jesus, have him possessed by Satan to make him
betray Jesus and then condemn him in a way it would have been better
he had never been born, Matthew 26:24, "Woe to that man who betrays
the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
Clearly, this betrays a faulty understanding of the just nature of
God.

God has a keen sense of fairness and is entirely just. Paul observes
this when he says, "God 'will give to each person according to what he
has done.' To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor
and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are
self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be
wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human
being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but
glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism." Romans
2:6-11.

Although not recorded for us, Judas placed himself squarely in the
cross-hairs of God's judgment. Whatever self-seeking, rejecting the
truth, and following evil he pursued, it landed Judas in the horrific
position of becoming possessed by Satan, resulting in his betrayal of
the Son of God.

Some will point to Romans 9 where Paul discusses God's use of Esau and
Pharaoh for his own purposes. Misunderstanding that God chose these
two for evil and prompted them to evil to carry out what he desired,
they mistake God for being the author of evil, and one who would
manipulate some people such that they will suffer an eternity in a
fiery lake of burning sulfur for no cause of their own. What seems to
be forgotten is what James tells us, "When tempted, no one should say,
'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he
tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he
is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it
gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to
death."

I have heard all the nuanced hair-splitting arguments that God didn't
make certain men sin, but he removed his "hand of restraint" so they
would yield to their own sinful impulses. Somehow the whole argument
is lost on me when I find that the Scriptures point to people making
their own decisions while these "theologians" have God making all the
decisions.

God doesn't cause anyone to sin. We are altogether more than capable
of doing that on our own. It is when we yield to our sinful impulses
that we place ourselves under the power of sin and the devil.
Nevertheless, while we are in the midst of our sin and while Satan is
in the midst of his schemes, God is entirely capable and does exploit
it all for his own godly and righteous purposes.

An example of this is Haman in the book of Esther. His story is a
classic case of this process. His own foray into self-seeking,
rejecting the truth, and following evil leads to his own destruction
and a very fascinating chapter in Israel's history. Ten short chapters
and a very compelling read. Check it out!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com