“‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him” (John 6:64).

On this day, just over 2,000 years ago, Judas Iscariot left in secret to betray Jesus. This warns us of the present confusion in the church and our strong pull toward wrong behaviour, greed, pride, rebellion, and unbelief. The confusion in the church and the concept of the “Judas within” both point to the thinking of Satan and create a state of spiritual dissonance, where internal betrayal, greed, and worldly thinking mimic Satan’s opposition to God. This leads to division and deception within the church and its leadership. The confusion in the church and the Judas within highlight that the most dangerous opposition is not external, but internal—a “Judas-like” spirit acting within the fellowship. This is a betrayal and denial of Christian principles. The modern-day Judases are those whose lifestyle and leadership contradict their profession of faith (Jn 13:27).

The confusion in the church comes from thinking like Satan—opposing God’s Word and His mission to save sinners. Such thinking means trusting personal intellect over divine guidance and using deceptive half-truths, opposing God’s plan of redemption through Christ alone (GRACE). Acts chapter 5 illustrates this when Ananias and Sapphira lied to the apostles. Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (v.3). Ananias and Sapphira had a thought. The thought became a plan, and the plan became a deed. Peter describes this entire process as “Satan filled your hearts.” Satan made the plan appear more desirable than honesty or worship. His design filled them and conquered all their other thoughts and desires (Acts 5:5, 10).

Satan moved King David to take a census in Israel against God’s will. David’s thought looked like a membership count for church growth. But it was a distrust in God (1 Chr 21:1). In humility, he had to repent of that folly.

Satan influenced Judas Iscariot, leading him astray and corrupting his thoughts and actions. Judas’s small acts of rebellion culminated in the ultimate betrayal of Jesus. He made a deal with the Sanhedrin, the ancient rabbinical court, to betray Jesus (Matt 26:14-16). Judas started as a close friend of Jesus but drifted from his faith and planned the betrayal (Ps 41:9, Jn 13:18). At one point, Judas grew disappointed in Jesus and chose to turn away.

Rather than pursuing spiritual and personal transformation, Judas was into mission-monetiser and broker. In Judas’ transaction, ‘the Sanhedrin name their price: 30 pieces of silver. Under the law of Moses, the price of a slave was 30 pieces of silver (Exodus 21:32). In this interplay between the Sanhedrin and Judas, the learned rabbis acknowledge they are buying a man worth the value of a slave and see Judas as his master in the transaction. In accepting the money, Judas agrees to the terms. He sees himself as the master of Jesus. How did Judas fall so far?’ Judas failed to grasp who Jesus really was, and Satan stepped in to control him. The Gospel of Luke tells us that, before approaching the Sanhedrin, “…Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot.”

Sadly, Judas’s years with Jesus were lost because of greed. Instead of living close to Jesus, Judas ended up thinking like Satan. He thought he was better and smarter than Jesus. Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss, showing his confusion. Today, many in the church are physically close to the altar but far from Christ. They are busy, but guilty. Matt Meeks calls Judas an example of how sin grows and how Satan confuses us. When we lose grace, we can become mixed up, thinking we are in charge instead of God. Holy Week reminds us how easy it is to make small sins seem unimportant.

Life is about choices: a parade for Jesus or a parade of Pilate (the world). Judas’s choice to yield to the world, the enemy of Christ, and the resulting tragedy serve as a warning to every follower of Christ today. Beloved, are you allowing friendship with the world to turn you away from devotion to Jesus? (Heb. 10:29) Judas’ error warns us and the church against individual and corporate apostasy. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God (Heb. 3:12). Apostasy in this context means spiritual rebellion, abandonment, withdrawal, or running from what one has previously believed and experienced in a relationship with Christ. Apostasy involves denying a once sincere faith and disowning Jesus and His word.

God is saying to the church and its leadership: the hopes of the betrayer may be rekindled, but they will never last. God is saying to the church, the unbelief of Judas did not hinder the purposes of God, but it brought Judas to his own destruction. The Judas in us include our ‘close proximity to the Saviour without possessing salvation.’

Resurrection offers the means to overcome confusion in the church. Rather than focusing only on identifying Judases elsewhere, Holy Week calls us to self-examination and to ask, “Is it I, Lord?” in a spirit of humility. Proverbs 4 encourages us to guard our hearts by cultivating genuine inner integrity. Holy Week is thus a time for repentance, reminding us that the way to avoid becoming a “Judas” is through honest faith and relying on God’s mercy.