Dan Gould

Tag: Luke 22:1-13

  • Bible Challenge – Luke 22:1-23

    “Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.” v.3-6 (NLT)

    As we enter what is known as Holy Week.  I’ll be posting readings from passages our staff are reading each day as we prepare for Good Friday and Easter.  I want to encourage you to read the scripture here and then think about and pray through what you have read also.  You can see my thoughts below.

    One of the facts about Judas that has always troubled me was the fact that he was one of the 12 disciples.  I’m not saying that in a legalistic way, I am simply saying that here is a guy, that walked with Jesus, learned from Jesus, saw the miracles of Jesus, and had every opportunity to Trust Jesus. However, the Bible says that Judas allowed Satan to enter him and lead him to betray the One he had spent the last three years with.  The fact that Judas would trade all the things he had seen, heard, experienced, and promised, for a couple of earthly coins amazes me.  It reveals that Satan is waiting for the perfect moment of attack. More than likely it will happen in these two ways.

    First, Satan uses the lure of sin with a thought. Judas allowed Satan to manipulate his thoughts and Satan tries to do the same thing to us. If he can convince us to entertain the thought, we are likely to look at that sin in a way that is opposite of what God says about it. When this happens we find ourselves justifying our thoughts and actions as well as looking  for reasons to support them.

    Second,  Satan loves to attack us when we are alone. Satan’s strongest pursuit came when Judas was alone.  When we are alone, thoughts can wonder and actions can take place. It’s in moments like these that we find ourselves doing things we never thought we would do, or things we hope no-one will find out about.

    Today, where have you traded truths for lies, sin over a Savior, selflessness for selfishness? What are you doing to protect yourself from Satan’s attack?

  • Luke 22:1-13

    “Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, 4 and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. 5 They were delighted, and they promised to give him money. 6 So he agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus so they could arrest him when the crowds weren’t around.” v.3-6

    What does it mean that Satan entered into Judas?  Great question!  It simply means that Judas was driven by a different voice.  Instead of listening to the voice of Christ, the voice he had heard for the last two-three years, he listened to a different voice.  It was the voice of deception and this voice would cause him to sell out Jesus for some money, leaving him in misery and shame, and causing him to hang himself.

    When we listen to the wrong voice we too will make wrong choices selling out Jesus for something else.  We have to be careful who and what we listen to.  The enemy is deceptive and knows how to spin things to cause us to question or justify our actions.  Instead, we have to learn to resist that voice and that temptation so we can continue to live and enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.

    Don’t be a sell out!  Listen to His voice and Live for Him Boldly!