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 

 

Yesterday we were given a passage from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus was at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  The setting takes place just after the authorities have tried and failed to have Him arrested in the temple.  After this eventful day, everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

 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.   In today's reading, we return to where we left off on Tuesday, at the end of chapter 21 of Luke, in which Jesus completed His discourse and prophecy on end times.  My study Bible explains that the Passover (in Greek, Πασχα/Pascha from the Hebrew Pesach) 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 of with unleavened bread.  My study Bible says that this prefigures Christ's Passion, in which the only begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver God's people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised in order to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  Therefore, Pascha, and the various derivatives from that word (including through Latin) is the primary way Christ's death and Resurrection is referred to in many languages.  The English word Easter traces to a different root.

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 comments that Satan does not enter a person except through that person's consent.  It says that the reason Satan chose Judas and none of the others is that Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, while the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas being numbered among the twelve is an emphasis on the depth of the betrayal, and it shows that religious position is worthless if it is not accompanied by faith and virtue.  

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.  My study Bible notes that the term Passover (Pesach in Hebrew, Pascha in Greek) can refer to the original event itself (Exodus 12 - 14), the celebration of that event, the food that is eaten, or the lamb that is slain.  According to patristic commentary, Peter represents Zeal and John represents spiritual understanding, which are the virtues with which we are to partake of the Lord's Supper.

How does Satan "enter into" people?  Why Judas?  There are many theories and speculations about Judas' acts and behavior.  What are his motivations?  Some have suggested that possibly he expected Christ to create a new kingdom of Israel and become a king like King David, restoring Israel's fortunes and overthrowing the Romans.  This would not be far from popular expectations of the people for a Messiah as national liberator or deliverer in this political and material sense.  Often this type of idea is accompanied with speculation that perhaps Judas thought Jesus' arrest would spark a popular uprising.  But this does not seem to be the perspective of the Gospels.  John's Gospel suggests that Judas was a thief, and would steal money from the money box (John 12:1-8).  This makes sense as motivation, for why would he take money for betrayal otherwise?  In that same passage in John, Jesus rebuked the disciples, but Judas in particular, as it was Judas who condemned Mary of Bethany for her use of expensive fragrant oil to anoint Christ.  Possibly this rebuke before others was something which required a level of humility Judas could not accept.  Some have suggested that as the son of Simon (also noted in that passage), he was part of this same community at Bethany, a factor which, if true, might add to his sense of humiliation.  But regardless of how we might speculate, Luke tells us that Satan entered into him, and my study Bible makes it clear that this happens only with the consent of a person, that there was a place there for Satan in Judas' heart.  But perhaps this is an important juncture at which we might consider how that happens.  What kind of "space" would be left open for this bad influence?  It seems to be universally true that the action of the evil one is usually characterized by selfishness on the part of a person.  We'd rather have things our way that we think is best rather than listening to what God wants from us.  When St. Peter replied to Jesus' prophesy of His death with a rebuke that this should not happen, Jesus replied to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (see Matthew 16:21-23).   It is the same reply that Christ said to Satan when tempted in the wilderness to worship him, according to Luke's Gospel.  Jesus told Satan, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (see Luke 4:7-8).  We can see that even things which objectively are seemingly good to us are those things that may be, in effect, temptations by Satan (such as Peter denying that Jesus should die).  It reminds us of the rich young ruler who wanted to follow Christ, but could not give away his great possessions and follow Christ  (Luke 18:18-30), although this particular attachment was his obstacle to eternal life.  Objectively and rationally by material standards, to part with such possessions was a bridge to far for him.  But spiritually, and particularly in the eyes of Christ, this was necessary for his spiritual benefit, to obtain the eternal life of Christ he desired.  St. John Chrysostom comments on the story of the rich young ruler that to part with his possessions would be the least of Christ's instructions; to follow Him in all things is a more difficult calling.  Let us note here that for each person, our particular cross is unique to us.  We don't know why Judas had room in his heart for Satan, but we know and understand the destructive power of Satan, the way of life that leads us into death, lies, deception, corruption.  In some sense, it is a kind of selfishness that seems to be the pattern or hallmark of why we are vulnerable to such influence.  In Judas' case, whether it was his own concept of Christ's mission, a response to a rebuke in front of the others, or his greed, we observe Judas and his deep betrayal of the One whom he had followed as one of the Twelve.  We can only imagine the deep sorrow of Christ to lose Judas to the adversary, who, in the end, is death.  Let us, as we approach the celebration of Christ's birth, remember that to follow Him is our true calling to life.  We may look at the other disciples mentioned in today's reading, who prepared the upper room, Peter and John.  Peter would repent and return after his denial of Christ, and John was the long-lived disciple who suffered through persecutions and exile and through him we have a Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  How are you called to follow Him in the life He offers?