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October 9th

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Some people have speculated that Judas betrayed Jesus in an effort to force Jesus into a confrontation with the Roman government. Then 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 response of Judas when he saw that Jesus was condemned. Judas "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.

This verse makes it very clear that Satan entered into Judas and was responsible for putting the betrayal of Jesus into Judas' heart. 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 the 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. By being a thief, Judas gave Satan access to him. He may have never intended to betray Jesus and therefore "repented himself" when he saw that Jesus was condemned. 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). When we choose to sin, we are not submitting to God or resisting the devil.