Is Jesus speaking to Judas Iscariot, or is He speaking to Satan, who has just entered Judas?
Jesus had just washed the feet of His disciples. (He demonstrated how a teacher in the Kingdom of God is to be a servant. He told them to go and do as He had done. He showed them what it means to be sent by God). Then He blurts out, "One of you will betray Me." (John 13:21) (The room is probably in a chaotic state). They want to know of whom is He referring. Jesus tells the disciple leaning back against Him (John, who is reporting this), that He's referring to the person to whom He gives a morsel of bread after dipping it, and He gave the bread to Judas. Verse 27 - After he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Is He addressing Judas, or is He talking to Satan?
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Asked 3 days ago
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Danny Hickman
Supporter
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Timothy Maas
Supporter
I understand the interpretation behind the question, but, to me, if Jesus had been speaking directly to Satan (rather than to Judas) in the cited quotation, it would have relieved Judas of his free agency in the matter, which, as Jesus later made clear during His high-priestly prayer in John 17:12 (and as also implied in the prophetic foretelling of Judas' betrayal in Psalm 41:9), had not occurred.
Philip Davies
Supporter
This is an interesting question, not least because Danny has asked it which shows it has some deeper thinking behind it. My own view is that Jesus was speaking to Judas. And my reasons for that are: 1. The act of betrayal was performed by Judas, that is why he is held personally responsible for the betrayal. "Go and do what you have to do" refers to Judas doing something, not satan. Judas was responsible for the betrayal not satan. 2. The fact that Jesus knew there was a traitor among the 12 since the start of his ministry also indicates that this was not an impulsive act by Judas, prompted only by satan entering him. 3. To attribute the act of betrayal to Satan would leave Judas without responsibility for the act. It would make him just a puppet in the hands of others and it would be unfair to condemn him. But he is condemned. The real question behind all this is: what does it mean for Satan to enter into a person? When we understand that, we will understand who Jesus was speaking to. There are a number of ways of looking at this. It could be literal, that Satan entered into him and made him do it in the same way that legion entered the Gadarene swine and made them run off a cliff. But if that were the case, then Judas would be no more responsible than the pigs for their actions. It could be metaphorical in the sense that all wrong acts can be said to be emulating Satan, in the same way that all lies are just emulating the father of lies. This would make the situation similar to when Jesus rebuked Peter with the words "get behind me satan". Jesus used the name metaphorically to say Peter's thoughts were not in tune with God's thoughts. All in all, I view the phrase, "Satan entered into him" in this metaphorical sense. It's a way of saying Judas' act that evening was in accordance with Satan's will. But it was Judas' act, not Satan's act, and that means Jesus was talking to Judas.
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