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Today as one of our readings, we look at Luke 22: 1-6:

Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4 he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. 5 They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

Today is a day that I didn’t know had a name until the last few years, the Wednesday of Holy Week is often called Spy Wednesday.  It is called this because it is on this day that Judas agrees to betray Jesus.  It is on this day that evil enters in, and Judas betrays everyone and everything. 

Judas is such an interested character to me.  Here is why. At one point, he got it right. At one point Jesus called him to follow Him, and at one point he did.  At one point, the disciples trusted him enough to give him the money and we know that you don’t just give anyone the money. 

At one point, he was there, getting it right.  He was.  

And today, we see Satan enter in.  Today, we see Judas agree to betray Jesus.  His friends.  His ideals.  His everything.  He agrees to betray everyone and everything he knew as precious and of value to him.  This is a huge warning to us.  Be on guard.  

Do you not think Satan wouldn’t love to do the same thing to us?  Do you not think the father of all lies (John 8:44) would not love to tempt us to do the same thing today?  Do you not think he’d love to play up our doubts, our fears, our insecurities, our failures, all of these, in an effort to get us to betray Jesus? 

Of course, he would.  He did it to Judas.  He would love to do it to us as well.  Be on guard today for evil. Be on guard today for temptation.  Be on guard today against the voice that whispers to you things that you know are lies, but you want to believe them. 

Be on guard today against evil. Judas was tripped by it today. He turned away from Jesus and turned to darkness.  Today be on guard.  

The next few days will be dark.  We know that this was all God’s doing, as Jesus was the lamb that was slain before the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:8).  It will be dark.  But Sunday is coming.  Today, be on guard against the darkness. 

And turn to Jesus when it whispers to you.  

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