Judas Iscariot a Devil Jn. 6:70-71 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
This study of Judas Iscariot a Devil stems from the statement that Jesus Christ made about Judas when he said, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” [Jn 6:70-71]. We need to understand what Jesus said and then we will see what happened to Judas because of this devil in him.
Judas Iscariot was a natural born man. He was the “son of Simon,” [Jn 6:71]. So, he was not some supernatural being or some demonic alien. He was a man. He was chosen by Jesus Christ to be among the twelve disciples [Matt 10:1-8]. So, like the rest, he also was given the power to cast out devils [Matt 10:8]. He surely was not casting out devils by the power of the devil [Matt 12:24-27]. Therefore, through the early part of Jesus’ ministry, I don’t believe that Judas was a devil.
By the time Jesus called Judas Iscariot a devil, Jesus was already in the final year of his ministry. The Passover of Jn 6:4 is the third Passover after the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The fourth and final Passover of his ministry, during which he died, is in Jn 12:1. So, evidently, sometime toward the end of his discipleship, Judas Iscariot became possessed by a devil. And when Jesus said “and one of you is a devil” he was referring to that devil in Judas, just like he referred to Satan when he said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” in Matt 16:23.
The shocking thing about Judas Iscariot is that no one but the Lord Jesus Christ knew who and what he really was. In other words, as far as the disciples were concerned, he was just like them. In all human respects, he was like them. And yet he was a devil. He was unclean [Jn 13:10-11] because of the devil [the unclean spirit] in him. Compare the man in the Gadarenes who was possessed with the devil [Mk 5:15] which was an unclean spirit [Mk 5:2, 8]. In fact, he was possessed with many devils [Mk 5:12] or unclean spirits [Mk 5:13]. After the Lord cast the devil out of him, he was sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind [Mk 5:15].
Judas Iscariot, the man, was a friend of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus referred to the scripture that Judas Iscariot fulfilled [Jn 13:18] he was referring to Ps 41:9 which says, “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” That’s why Jesus called Judas, “Friend” in the garden the night that he was betrayed [Matt 26:50].
Judas Iscariot a devil was the enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ. This devil in him caused him to:
Betray the Lord – Jn 13:2 “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him.”
Steal from the bag – Jn 12:4-6 “he was a thief” – as a matter of fact, his complaints about the wasted ointment caused the other disciples to have indignation, as well [Mk 14:4; Matt 26:8].
Let Satan enter him – Lk 22:3-6 – at this time Satan directed him to the chief priests to covenant with them for the money to betray the Lord – and then Satan entered him the second time when it was time to get the multitude to arrest Jesus [Jn 13:26-27].
Hang himself – Matt 27:3-5 Judas, the man, repented and returned the money – but with that devil in him he went and hanged himself just like the devils cause the swine to kill themselves in Mk 5:13.
Go to his own place – Judas wound up in the bottomless pit as the son of perdition, awaiting the time when Satan will enter him once again at the end of the Tribulation [Jn 17:12; Rev 17:8; 2 Thes 2:3-4].
Conclusion: As a man, Judas Iscariot was a friend of Jesus – yet, the Lord knew that Judas would be possessed with a devil and would eventually betray him – without that devil, Judas wouldn’t have betrayed the Lord – and that’s why Jesus said, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?”