The Last Supper Series

Climactic meal of the series (two more after the resurrection)

It’s the last passover before the cross. Jesus is about to fully usher in the new covenant, making the Passover meal they are about eat the last one and starting a radically different passover that we celebrate as the Lord’s Supper/breaking of bread/ communion / eucharist depending on what you want to call it.

Two plans- Satan’s plan and God’s plan Luke 22v1-6

John 10 tells us that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy. His plan has always been one of destruction. We see him at work in these first few verses of todays' passage

Verse 3 "Satan entered into Judas"

What does that mean exactly? I looked up the word entered and it is used in lots of places for ordinary physical entering of homes, cities and synagogues. It's not a special word just used for Satan!

The are lots of words in Scripture for when people are affected to a greater or lesser extent by the demonic. Possession is not one of them! That implies complete ownership. Words that are used are demonised (affected/influenced by a demon to a greater or lesser extent), with an unclean spirit, having a demon, troubled by a spirit, afflicted by a spirit, seized by a spirit

Judas is clearly demonised to a greater extent here.

A lot of fear and a lot of loose language around demons - "possession" being an awful term, not in Scripture.

First question most people ask is can a Christian be possessed?

Not a Biblical term! If anything a Christian has been bought by Christ 1 Cor 6:20

You are a new creation - you spirit which was dead has now been made alive in Christ.

But you still have a mind that can be filled with all sorts of nonsense, giving the demonic a foothold for oppression or affliction or even demonisation

And you have a body that can be likewise be afflicted and oppressed.

We are commanded to heal the sick, cast out demons and preach the gospel.

If we lead someone to Chriost and not heal them, they stay sick. I think likewise they can still be afflicted, oppressed or even demonised - where demonised means influenced by a demon to a greater or lesser extent.

I see three main effects of demons in people's lives

1. Temptation - most temptation is just us, but there can be demonic temptation, where it seems ever so enticing. What does God say in 1 Cor 10:13?

2. Oppression / affliction - the devil wants to steal, kill and destroy, so he will attack, he will try to scare you, some sickness is demonic (not all!). You may give him a foothold see Eph 4:27 Where Paul warns not to give him opportunity with things like anger and stealing.

3. Demonisation - where a demon can influence you to a greater or lesser extent, producing bondage, patterns of temptation and weakness that are not solved by repentance.

As C.S. Lewis wrote "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them."

Derek Prince of Ellel believed that 70% of Christians were demonised, earning them the reputation of finding demons in every cupboard. That sounds somewhat excessive to me!

I've had some pretty nasty demonic encounters while we have been planting The Gateway, particularly at night. One of the great heroes of our faith, Mr Smith Wigglesworth, told a story of one night while asleep. He had been having terribly frightening dreams. At some point he awoke and aware of a demonic presence, looked around the room. There, near the foot of the bed was Satan himself. With a sigh, Smith simply said, "Oh, it's just you." rolled over and went back to sleep. I've not been like that - but they go pretty quick when you cry out to Jesus!

If you have patterns of sin or bondage, oppression or sickness that just won't go with prayer and or repentance, then we will happily help you get free.

Back to the passage - Judas who had made it a habit of stealing from the common purse and was clearly allowing a stronghold of temptation to be built up in his mind, was entered by Satan - that's got to be the highest level of demonisation ever to betray Jesus and of course he regretted it, so was still able to think clearly.

Satan's play is to destroy Jesus, kill him. There's a line in The Lion Witch and Wardrobe where Aslan says "if the witch knew the deeper magic." Satan thought he was winning by having Jesus killed, but it was God's plan all along. Jesus was willingly going to the cross to die for us on our behalf, for our sin. The deeper Magic as CS Lewis put it in his allegorical story is that the resurrection would vindicate Jesus, defeating death and sin and sickness and bringing in the new covenant of grace. Where we are forgiven and made sons and daughters of God, adopted into God's family by faith.