Monday, September 13, 2021
Past the Point of No Return
“When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him” (John 13:27 NLT).
Talk about dropping a bombshell. Jesus said to the disciples, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” (John 13:21 NLT).
If it was as obvious to the disciples as we think it was, they all would have stood in unison, pointed to Judas Iscariot, and said, “It’s him, isn’t it? We always knew it was him!”
But no one thought of Judas.
Jesus cleared up the confusion by saying, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” Then the Bible tells us that “when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot” (verse 26 NLT).
Basically, here’s what Jesus was communicating: “I know what you’re about to do, and I still love you. It breaks my heart, and you don’t have to do it.”
You see, Judas had a free will that he could have exercised, but he chose evil instead.
Later in the Garden of Gethsemane, before Jesus was arrested, Judas came with the temple guard to apprehend Him. Yet Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” (Matthew 26:50 NKJV). Jesus was offering Judas one last chance to repent. He would have forgiven him right up to the last moment.
But apparently Judas was past the point of no return, because John tells us that “when Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him” (13:27 NLT). Those are ominous words. Judas was on another level of evil, because the Devil himself possessed him.
We read in the Gospels about people being possessed by demons. Demons are real and powerful, and demon possession is real. But the good news is that when you become a Christian, you’re under divine protection, and no demon can possess you.
Jesus is not on a timeshare program. When He enters your heart, He’s the sole occupant.
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