Luke 22: 1 – 6
Evil Plans
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
If you have been going through the Gospel of Luke with us then you know that I like to check out the other Gospels to see if they also report the same incident. So, there are other written reports and they are:
Matthew 26, “ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” 3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
Matthew 26, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.”
Mark 14, “After two days was [the feast of] the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put [him] to death. But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar of the people. And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard [it], they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.”
John 11, “Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 55 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.
We now come to the final Section of The Gospel of Luke. This brings out how central the crucifixion is in the thinking of Luke. He presents to us our Lord Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. He is therefore to be numbered among the transgressors for their and our sakes.
This is indeed what the Gospel has been leading up to, something that is further demonstrated by the space given to our Lord Jesus’ final hours. He has come to give His life in order to redeem mankind.
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
The Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread (the two feasts were seen as one and could be called by either name. The Chief Priests and Scribes sought ways of getting rid of God’s Anointed. An official decision had been reached. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus was now seen as a false prophet and must die. The only question therefore was how to bring it about without causing a riot. Yet their dishonesty comes out in that they wanted to put all the blame on Pilate, and avoid an execution for blasphemy, the very charge that they held against Him. For they knew how the people felt about the death of John the Baptist, and they did not want any reaction against themselves. They wanted Pilate to take any backlash.
Please note how it is emphasized that it was those who had special religious interests, and who were in direct conflict with each other, who were seeking to get rid of Him. They were each out to defend their own interests, but common interest had brought them together. On the other hand, they were afraid of the people. The situation was very tricky. Emotions, which were always high in Galilee and Judea, were at this time especially high, and any suggestion of the possibility of a disturbance had to be avoided. That would only bring the Roman authorities down on them, and they would be blamed for it.
Then something happened that altered the whole picture. It must have seemed to them like a gift from Heaven, although as Luke makes clear, it was in fact a gift from Hell.
3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
As far as Luke is concerned the first stage in Jesus’ final hours is the entry of Satan into Judas Iscariot, the Apostle. These words bring a chill to the heart. How has Satan managed to find a foothold in such sacred territory, into the very heart of Jesus’ work, among ‘the Twelve’? And the simple answer is Mammon. For when it came down to the final analysis, eleven of them loved Jesus with all their hearts, and one loved mammon (money) more than he loved Jesus. As our Lord Jesus has already made clear mammon kept many men from giving their all to Adoni Yeshua,
It was penetrating into the very inner circle of Jesus’ followers. Eleven could say, ‘silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give you ---’ which we know Peter and John said in the book of Acts chapter 3 verse 6, but Judas cast all that aside and went to the chief priests with his hands wide open, seeking silver and gold. And thereby he lost all that he had.
So Judas, moved by Satan who had entered into him, plotted to betray Jesus in return for money. He had chosen mammon rather than God. The constant teaching of his Master Jesus on the subject had somehow passed him by. The glitter of silver was too much for him. Disillusionment may have made him decide to cease being a disciple, but it was silver that made him betray Him.
You do not have to be a rocket scientist to know that this same problem has been one of the principle conditions that hinders the Lord’s church. The constant preaching and begging for more money. It all comes down to ‘Greed for money.’ It never stops.
Luke lets us know that the real reason for his treachery was that Satan had been allowed to enter his heart. Judas had to choose between two ‘spirits’ and he opted foolishly because his eyes were blinded by the thought of wealth, by ‘the deceitfulness of riches’ as we read in the Gospel of Mark chapter 4 verse 19. While the others were learning about the coming of the Holy Spirit, He was opening himself to the spirit of Satan, and the key that was being used was money. How powerful a grip money has on the hearts of men.
You have to stop and think about this situation very carefully. There is an interesting indication here that Satan thought that by this man’s action he could somehow thwart God’s plans through our Lord Jesus, plans which he clearly did not understand. The thought of such love as God was revealing would have been beyond him. He was as frightened as the chief priests and scribes at the success of the Messiah. And it is ironic that, like them, unknown to himself, he was thus actually spurring on God’s plan. He was simply speeding our Great God and King Jesus on to the very place where he himself would be defeated. But he was clearly unaware of that fact. He foolishly thought that he could thwart God’s plans.
4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
Judas sought out the chief priests and captains of the Temple guard. And there, in return for the offer of money, he discussed with them how he might assist them in handing Jesus over to them at a time when He was not surrounded by crowds. They were, of course, delighted. It presented them with an undreamed of opportunity.
6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
Judas accepted their terms, and from that moment on looked for an opportunity to deliver The Lord Jesus to the authorities when the crowds were absent. It was clear that it would have to be at night, for during the daytime as you probably know our Lord Jesus was constantly surrounded by people who had come to hear Him and who revered Him.
Some people have asked why God allows Satan such sway? To answer this question we have to take a good hard look at ourselves as well. We need to ask why He allows us such freedom to do sinful acts? For in our own way, once we are in rebellion against God we are ourselves little satans which means ‘adversaries’. What right then has one to survive above another? But He allows it all in His own purposes that He might triumph in the hearts of those who respond to Him and are saved, who would otherwise have had to be destroyed along with the rest, and so that He can lead them to triumph through afflictions. It is of His goodness that He has allowed the world and the Devil to continue, so that by all means He may save some from among them.
Judas is a pathetic figure, but before we sympathize with him too much we have to consider how hardened his heart must have become, in order for him to be able to go through all the experiences of the Upper Room, including hearing our Lord Jesus’ gentle words to him, and still carry through his plan. For while Satan could prompt him and urge him, he could not force him to do what he did. Judas was still finally free to do his own thing. And he hardened his heart and did it of his own free choice.
There can be no doubt that the choice of Judas as one of the twelve and his subsequent betrayal of Jesus present a problem to our human understanding. But it is really no greater problem that that of the idea of God’s sovereignty and free will. No man who wants to respond to Christ will ever be rejected, and yet, in spite of His attractiveness, the Bible tells us that only those who are chosen come to Him. No one will ever be able to say, ‘I wanted to come to Christ but He would not accept Me’, for ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’.
You might be thinking to yourselves that you would never do such a thing. Look at Adam and Eve’s fall. Look at Peter’s betrayal of our Lord on the night He was arrested. It but for the Grace of God go not I nor you. Amen!
