Sunday, March 24, 2024

ENCIRCLING THE LORD’S SUPPER TABLE

It was the night of the arrest of Jesus as Judas betrayed Him. The man who once loved Jesus, betrayed the man that he loved because he loved money more than Jesus. He had lusted after mere treasures and would die that day, even though he could not take the silver with him to the grave.

When Judas lusted after silver, he had a demonic impulse strike him. He never thought about the guilt from sin, but only about the joy of lustrous metal. Like the woman long before, it was the bright object that attracted her. Adam’s woman lusted after the ‘Bringer of Light’ — Lucifer — with no notice of the devilish image within him. Judas saw the silver before him, but missed the fact that the Devil was in Satan. He was blinded by the bright object in the same manner as Eve.

To this day, even many Christians see the Light of God, but fail to see that demons control them. Unlike Judas who had Satan within, devils cannot be in Christians, but their thoughts can move freely from the world to their minds as they present lust as more precious than the reward of Jesus.

How did those things come about? “Entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve and he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.” (Luke 22:3-4). However, it all started before that!

“There came unto Him (Jesus) a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat… for they said, ‘This ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor’” (Mat 26:9).

It was not merely coincidental that the valuable ointment was believed to be more valuable than Jesus. The only person of note who became irate at wasting ointment on Jesus was Judas Iscariot (Mat 26:14). Before that, Judas was called the ‘friend of Jesus.’

Where is that written” you ask? David wrote about this future occasion, “Yes, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9).

(That also satisfied the actions of the Serpent from Gen 3:14).

David, from the past; the future was revealed. God inspired David to see his ‘son’ (in a genealogical sense), die. Just as God got into the mind of King David, Satan got into Judas via his mind. With that said, God communicates to Christians in thought and so does Satan and his demons.

Judas marveled that they wasted ointment on the feet of Jesus. His ‘god’ was not Jesus but things like ointment and silver… things with intrinsic value.

As a façade. Judas used the poor to accuse Jesus of waste. He seemed to worry about the poor as if Jesus did not. He presented himself as more empathetic than Jesus and had the audacity to call his ‘Master’ out! Of course, the ointment could be exchanged for money to enrich their treasures; and that was the real worry for Judas.

Churches that need money even in this age, if given money exceeding their needs; it usually causes trouble. Just as Judas seemed to care about that early ‘church’ wasting money, it was more about him losing power over their fates.

Judas was perhaps highly esteemed not because he loved Jesus, like John the beloved, but because he controlled the purse. Their success would be measured by their ‘bank account.’ The love of money, as the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10), undermined the foundation of the Church before the Church was ever built, ironically on the prophets and apostles (1 Cor 12:28). In modern times, money remains the foundation of the false church because the love of it is in the minds of those who use the Church to make a name for themselves.

Even today, money makes some Christians in the Church superior to others!  James saw the problem early in the Church; he wrote: 

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing, and say unto him, “Sit you here in a good place;” and say to the poor, “Stand you there, or sit here under my footstool: are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? (James 2:2-4)

 Don’t we all know of some in the Church who fit that example? They can be seen by how they view themselves. They dress in great apparel or perhaps wear fine jewelry and such to reveal their value to the church. They are measured, not by the humbleness within, but the picture they paint for you to see. Like Judas in that example, because he valued outward things more than humble things.

The woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive ointment was tender inside. She saw that Jesus was worth the extravagance, even at their expense! Judas was mean inside, thinking that the Savior of mankind was not worth a few asses (assessments in Roman terminology).

Judas lusted, then Satan entered him. It was Satan himself who presented the lust for Judas to savor. Satan and his demons are limited in time and space, but they have powers that humans do not have.

Paul wrote that before that time they walked “according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephes 2:2). Paul implied that Satan gets into people by their thought processes, and since he is ‘Prince’ of it, infers that demons can do that as well. The spirit of Satan dwells in the disobedient because of demonic thought transmission. Christian do not have devils in them, but when lust leads to sin, the thoughts of devils are controlling them. Why else would habits be so hard to break? Because evil thoughts are ingrained in the mind.

Judas did not grant permission for Satan to enter in. When Satan saw the gleam in the eyes of Judas at the thoughts of money, there was a hole in the mental fabric for Satan to slip in. Lust is the mental passport for demonic control, and the Prince of Demons knew just when the hole expanded enough in Judas’s mind, that he rushed in, unobserved by most.

Luke saw Satan enter Judas. Matthew failed to see that perhaps because his mind was different as a tax collector. Money had become ordinary for him, so that may be the reason that he missed it!

John saw Satan enter Jesus. He saw the real murderrd because he was the beloved of Jesus, and the one who most loved Him. Best friends detect dangers and warn their friends. Judas had been the ‘familiar friend’ of Jesus, according to the Psalm, but after Judas betrayed Jesus, John became the most familiar friend.

‘Friends’ of Jesus were those who loved Him enough to leave everything to follow Him. Judas did that as well. Judas loved Jesus, and if he had not betrayed Him, Judas would be in heaven.

Satan ‘pulled the trigger’ so to speak, but Judas allowed that to happen. The word ‘betrayed’ is so significant but often missed. Betrayal (paradidomi in the Greek) is treachery. The Hebrew word means “to hurl” (Strong 2006). Once having affection for Jesus, as a “familiar friend,” Judas defected from Jesus as a friend. Defection is apostsia in the Greek — “falling away” (Heb 6:6).

Although a friend of Jesus who had longtime affection for Him, Judas committed apostasy by casting Jesus aside for other things. He was eternally secure and safe from the wrath of God but quite unsafe when he became intrinsic friends of Satan by allowing Satan close to his heart.

That you are eternally secure, regardless of who you trust, is a lie from the Devil. Judas, the familiar friend of Jesus, dropped Jesus like a hot potato, although Jesus still loved him!

Judas still presented himself as a familiar friend. In those days familiar friends kissed each other and that remains common in eastern societies even now.

And forthwith he (Judas) came to Jesus, and said, “Hail, master;” and kissed Him. And Jesus said unto him, “Friend, for what have you come?” Then came they and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. (Mat 26:49-50)

Note that Judas and Jesus were mutual friends. Indeed, Judas probably had no animosity toward Jesus, and Jesus nothing for Judas except friendship, just as Jesus addressed him. Note that Jesus never cast out Judas, but Judas fell away from the Savior.

If killing Jesus would put a stop to Christianity, as the mob assumed, then Judas would have been their hero. He did make a name for himself, but a bad name. If the death of God had ended Christianity, then everyone thereafter could do as they pleased, rather than obey God. Obedience is metricized by agape-type love — goodwill; Yahweh (Jesus), “showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments” (Exod 20:6).

Jesus continued to love His familiar friend turned Adversary. He still called Judas, “friend,” knowing full-well that Judas would betray Him.

Like Judas, those who seem to be the most loving and kind, could be the most demonic. Do they see Jesus as a ‘friend’? Indeed, they might! Think about this: Being a friend to Jesus is so often more about what Jesus can do for you!”

For Judas, Jesus could have saved him, but Judas sold his soul and his safety from Satan for a few pieces of silver. Jesus sealed Judas when he called Him to follow Him all the Way to the Cross. Judas came short of the glory of God when he was so close to salvation, but not all the way there. So long as he trusted Jesus for his fate, that satisfied Jesus, but when he trusted wealth more than Jesus, Judas hurled his own soul to the Devil.

This was meant to be all about betrayal and falling away, but it is about friendship and false images as well.

Most of us present ourselves as Christians when we arrive smiling Sunday morning at the church building. For myself, oftentimes my smile hides my treachery; treachery because each sin undermines God. I listen more to the silent voices of lust from the thoughts of demons than I do about Who it is that I come to worship.

I maybe even arrive dressed down as a common man. Indeed, I am by nature common. Others come dressed as important men and women. They may be even more common than you or me! Wearing expensive apparel is worthwhile in the same manner as the expensive ointment… if it is used to glorify Jesus. If it is to glorify or to exalt us, then the expense is worthless! All that money can buy, or money itself, is worthless in Paradise, and it soon came to mind to Judas that the thirty-pieces of silver would be nothing more than ‘pavement’ in heaven.

There is much to think about concerning the events around the Last Supper, even whose last supper it was. When Judas betrayed Jesus, indeed, it was his last supper! When Christians (followers of Christ) fall away, that moment will be their last supper in communion with Jesus.

Judas ate the Last Supper unworthily, and for us that means, that if we eat and betray, or even deny, at the same time; that is unworthy, and is as if crucifying Jesus afresh (Heb 6:6).


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