John 13:18-30
18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned r against me.’ s
19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. 20 Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”
22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”
25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” 28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. [1]
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When you think about it, it’s rather disturbing that someone who was directly discipled by Jesus for three years betrayed Him. And betrayed Him in such a destructive way. But John points out that the ultimate culprit for Judas’ betrayal is Satan.
But this also is quite disturbing. This means that there weren’t 13 in the upper room. There were 14. Satan was there as well. But we know Satan was present throughout Jesus ministry, having led Peter astray earlier, when Peter tried to deter Jesus from going to the cross.
Should we doubt that when we gather for worship that Satan is there also? If not personally, then one of His minions? The fact is that there are spiritual forces for evil at work at all times seeking to thwart God’s mission and undermine the witness of God’s people. This is why Jesus calls His followers to pray daily “Deliver Us From Evil.” He was under constant assault during His ministry, and so we should expect that as well.
But we have the strength and promise of Christ with us. He has defeated Satan, and so is present with us to remind Satan of His defeat and ultimate destruction. Only in Christ do we have power to overcome, to resist and to bear fruit despite in spite of the forces that seek to oppose us.
So my prayer today is “deliver us from evil.” I pray that in all that I do and say this day that I will in no way betray my Lord, but rather glorify Him.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 13:18–30). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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