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Luke 22 1-6 THE HATCHING OF THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS 04 Luke 22 3 Under the sway of the wicked one
📖 Luke 22:1-6
*FRIEND OF GOD*
Wed30Jun2021 - *Under the sway of the wicked one* - _Luke 22:1-6_ - THE HATCHING OF THE PLOT TO KILL JESUS (04) – Bible reading: _Mark 14:18-21_
It is necessary for us to be surrendered and submitted to the will of God at all times. If we are not and if we are operating under our own will, then we become vulnerable for Satan to manoeuvre and manipulate us to do his will.
_Luke 22:3 *Then Satan entered Judas*, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve._
We find here that Satan is working out his evil agenda. He is using different people to execute his plan. Satan operates in a network or in a web of evil. He is orchestrating his strategy through different people to accomplish his design to frustrate the purposes of God.
_John 13:2 And supper being ended, *the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him*,_
The devil is not tempting and deceiving individuals alone, but his ways are to coordinate his agenda through a system of evil.
We, usually, talk of how God has orchestrated our lives and has brought about His purposes to be done in us. In the same way, the devil too is pulling together his evil plans on man and on this world, which is eternal destruction.
_I John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and *the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one*._
Paul is guiding Timothy on how he should handle the day-to-day challenges in the church.
_II Timothy 2:24-26 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, (25) in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will *grant them repentance*, so that they may know the truth, (26) and that they may come to their senses and *escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will*._
This is expected to be seen in the gathering of the church that there will be people, who are in opposition to the ways of God. These are people who are not submitted to the will of God. They are those who are taken captive by the devil to do his will.
It involves the willingness of an individual to let the devil come in and control his life. This was what was happening with Judas. We read that Satan entered Judas. The prerequisite for Satan to enter a person is when a person has opened his/her life and allowed the devil to come in.
How does this happen? It happens when people are not willing to be submitted to the will of God, then they are open for the devil to come into their lives and they are influenced by the devil.
_John 13:27 Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly."_
Satan entered Judas because Judas had opened his heart’s door and had invited the devil into his life. Satan cannot enter a person’s life unless that person gives permission to the devil to come into his/her life.
_John 6:70-71 Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and *one of you is a devil*?" (71) He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve._
The Lord is calling Judas a devil.
When a person allows the devil to come into their life, the devil comes and takes residence in that person. That person now becomes a representative of the devil. This person is now in a state of captivity and unable to make choices and decisions of his own. This is why Jesus called Judas, directly, as a devil.
_Mark 14:18-21 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me." (19) And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?" And another said, "Is it I?" (20) He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish. (21) The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but *woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born*._
Here, in this passage, we come to a place where the sovereign plan of God and a person’s personal choice, converge and overlap. Judas being the person to betray Jesus was in the sovereignty of God, yet, at the same time, Judas had chosen not to be submitted to God. He had rejected the lordship of Christ over him. *He became vulnerable to the devil to enter into him and dictate his agenda*.
We find it difficult to hold the sovereignty of God and a person's individual choice, together. Yet, this is the nature of God.
Friend, we live in a highly charged atmosphere, where the devil is prowling around looking for whom he can devour, meaning, whom he can enter in and control. Unless you are surrendered to the will of God, you become vulnerable to the control of the evil one.
Yes, the devil has been defeated by Jesus on the cross. His power over man had been annulled *but for any person to enjoy the victory of Jesus in their life, that person must remain surrendered to the will of God*.
*Thought to ponder*
```Our struggle is against the forces of evil, to release people from their influence so that they will be open to the truth.```