Day 183: Luke 22:4–6

He went away and discussed with the chief priests and temple police how he could hand Him over to them (v. 4).

I wonder if Judas knew he was inhabited by Satan the moment it happened. Perhaps the entrance of the unholy spirit has counterfeit similarities to the entrance of the Holy Spirit. Most of us do not remember “feeling” the Holy Spirit take up residency within us the moment we trusted Christ as our Savior, yet He soon bore some sign of witness through the fruit in our lives. We have no way of knowing if Judas “felt” the unholy spirit take up residence within him, but it certainly wasn’t long until the fruit of wickedness was revealed.

If you are new to the study of Scripture, the thought that Satan could enter a disciple might be terrifying. Please understand that just because a person appears to follow Christ doesn’t necessarily mean he has placed saving faith in Him. Keep in mind that Satan entered Judas as opposed to Peter, James, or John, even though at times each of them had certainly revealed weakness of character. Satan was able to enter Judas because he was available. Judas followed Christ for several years without ever giving his heart to Him. The authentic faith of the others protected them from demon possession, albeit not oppression, just as it protects us. Judas proved to be a fraud, whether or not his tenure began with better intentions.

The evil one methodically seeks to work in your life and mine. Satan’s planning counterfeits the awesome work of God. Just as our God has a holy plan that He executes in an orderly fashion, the enemy of our souls has an unholy plan he also executes in an orderly fashion.

Satan is not stupid. When I recall the technical procedures he’s enacted in my life, I am stunned at his working knowledge of my fairly well-disguised vulnerabilities—even those I didn’t know I had. He possesses a surprising amount of patience to weave seemingly harmless events into disasters, while his subject often never sees it coming.

What is our defense? The Word tells us not to be ignorant! Wising up to what the Word has to say about Christ’s authority and the devil’s schemes has empowered me to throw some holy kinks into Satan’s unholy plans for my life.