Betrayal!

September 8, 2025, Monday Message:

John 13:27 NLT: “When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.”

I once owned a small business. One Christmas Eve, someone picked up a very large order and paid with cash, nearly $2,000.00. Our bank was closed for the holiday, so the deposit would have to wait until the next business day. That night, a break-in was staged, and all the cash went missing. I say “staged” because it turned out to be an inside job. My right-hand man had cut a hole in a wooden door to make it look like a crime, and absconded with the cash. Silly – he had keys to the place! I would have been a little angry if it were a random burglary, but I felt deeply hurt that a trusted employee could have done such a thing. I know what betrayal feels like. Fortunately, I only lost money. Jesus lost his life!

When Satan indwelt Judas, it was no longer Judas making decisions. Satan was perpetrating evil from within Judas’ body. Similarly, demons indwelling humans cause them to make irrational decisions, doing things that violate their value system. Recovery requires that those demons be cast out, exorcized.

Since two things cannot occupy the same space, (see Science 101,) filling someone with Jesus leaves little room for demons! And since Jesus was present, he could have cast out Satan. But he knew God’s plan for mankind’s forgiveness. Jesus was to be the sacrifice, paying the penalty for mankind’s sins. Obedience to the Father took precedence, and Jesus had to allow this scenario to play out. It would be painful, but only for a short time.

In the end, Jesus took the sins of the world to the place of the dead. Those who sign on with Jesus receive forgiveness and will spend eternity in God’s Kingdom, Heaven.

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship