Note 1 at Lk. 22:3: Luke records Satan as entering into Judas in this sequence while John says that it happened during the last supper (Jn. 13:27) which took place two days later (cp. Mt. 26:2 with Mt. 26:17,20). If there was any conflict in these two accounts, Luke would once again have to be considered the authority since he is the only writer who made an effort to record events in chronological order (see Introduction to the Gospel of Luke, p. xvii).

It is more probable though that both accounts are true and that Satan entered into Judas more than once. There are certainly many scriptural accounts where demons could not stay in the presence of the Lord (Mt. 8:29; Mk. 1:23-26; 5:7; Lk. 4:33-35; 8:28) and therefore, it is not unreasonable that Satan had to come and go in his dealings with Judas when Jesus was not present.

Note 2 at Lk. 22:3: Some people have speculated that Judas betrayed Jesus in an effort to force Jesus into a confrontation with the Roman government where He would have to use His supernatural power in self-defense and overthrow the Romans, thereby giving independence back to the nation of Israel.

This idea is based mainly on the fact that when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he "repented himself" (Mt. 27:3), implying that the condemnation of Jesus was never his intent. However, scripture does not endow Judas with noble (even if misdirected) virtues. He was simply a thief (Jn. 12:6).

This verse makes it very clear that Satan entered into Judas and that Satan was responsible for putting the betrayal of Jesus into Judas' heart (Jn. 13:2). We can be assured that Satan's only purpose in motivating Judas to betray Jesus was to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10).

Moreover, the fact that Satan possessed Judas does not acquit Judas of responsibility for his actions. The devil goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). He cannot devour just anyone. We have to give place to him.

Judas had given Satan access to him through being a thief (Jn. 12:6). He may have never intended to betray Jesus and therefore "repented himself" when he saw that Jesus was condemned (Mt. 27:3), but once he began to willfully submit to the sin of thievery, it was hard to stop.

Sin cannot be controlled. We cannot just sin "a little." Sin, like a cancer, always grows until it brings forth death. Submitting ourselves to God and resisting the devil is our only guarantee against being devoured by the devil (Jas. 4:7). We are not submitting to God nor resisting the devil when we choose to sin.