Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

- Luke 22:1-13

In recent readings, Jesus has been giving a discourse covering both the future destruction of the temple (and the Siege of Jerusalem) and end times, His Second Coming.  On Tuesday, we read that He gave a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.    The Passover (Hebrew: Pesach; Greek: Pascha), says my study bible, is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12-14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered and partaken with unleavened bread.  It prefigures the Passion of Christ, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  For much of the world, Pascha (or a variation of the word) is the primary term by which Christians refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter. 

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study bible suggests that Satan does not enter a person except by the person's consent.  The reason Judas was chosen and none of the others is that Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  Judas mentioned as numbered among the twelve is an emphasis on the depth of betrayal here.  It shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by both faith and virtue.    We note the fear of the leadership:  they fear the people, who flock to Christ to hear Him preach in the temple.  Judas colludes to find a way to betray Christ in the absence of the multitude.  It is more than a betrayal of Christ; to betray Christ is also to betray the people.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  Christ prepares for the Passover, for His Passover, which we know as the Last Supper.  It will be the institution of the Eucharist, by which we know and commemorate His sacrifice as our Passover.

We note above how the leadership fears the crowds.  What they do they must do in secret.  Tuesday's reading (above) told us that early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.   They listen to Jesus challenge the leadership, an open dialogue, even as the leaders plot to rid themselves of Him and kill Him.  What are we to make of all this intrigue swirling around Christ?  There seem to be so many contradictory things happening.  He has been welcomed as Messiah into Jerusalem, in His Triumphal Entry upon a donkey.  He teaches daily in the temple.  He spars with the leadership as they question Him and demand to know by what authority He's done what He's done, including the cleansing of the temple (see this reading).  But the people love to hear Him.  He tells the truth that they can't say out loud.    And so, it's the "leadership" that fears the people.  And then we read that Judas, one of Christ's chosen Twelve, is one whom Satan has entered.  I think we have to try to understand the depth of betrayal this entails.  It isn't just about betraying his Master.  Judas betrays the depths of his own soul; He betrays his Savior, his own salvation.  We can speculate why his heart is open to Satan, to this kind of perverse betrayal.  In John's Gospel, we read that Judas was among those criticizing the woman who used the expensive ointment to anoint Christ, and whom Jesus chastized.  John tells us that Judas was a thief who would steal from the money-box, of which he was in charge (see John 12:1-8).  It's not strange, in human psychology, that one would cover one's own guilt by pointing an accusing finger -- the guilt itself enforcing a need to scapegoat the innocent.   (Perhaps the Gospels can teach us much more about scapegoating and bullying than we understand.)  Christianity places the ultimate importance on awareness of our own imperfections, the humility necessary to come to metanoia (literally "change of mind"), the Greek word for repentance.    Think of it, Christ comes into the world with a mission of love, inseparable from a mission of truth (I am the way, the truth, and the life - John 14:6).  It is the truth He tells to the leadership that they don't want to hear, the truth He tells to Judas, the truth He offers to each of us.   This is a healing truth, a salvific truth, one that is the answer, the solution, to the problems of the world.  But some are invested in the problems - and that's where a heart is open to Satan, to the betrayal of one's own salvation and life.   The early Church would hear of the spirit of the antichrist, that which betrays Christ with false doctrine, lies and half-truths masquerading to appear as truth, like wolves in the guise of sheep.   Let us consider how we're advised to choose in this puzzling circumstance, in our world, where truth is lined up with betrayal, where lies are masked as authority, where we're with the people --  who must filter and sift through all things with the lens of faith and find the way, the truth, and the life.  We're one of them.  Christ shows us our world and exposes its problems for us.   The real struggle for faith is all about what we stake our lives on, where our betrayal means we betray ourselves, and how we can have the humility to serve Him and find who we truly are.