Have you ever thought why Satan would lead Judas to betray Jesus? Didn’t he know that the death and resurrection of Jesus would result in his final defeat (Col. 2:13-15; Rev. 12:11)? There is good reason to think Satan knew that.
When Jesus began his ministry on the way to the cross, Satan tried to turn him away from the path of suffering and sacrifice. In the wilderness, he tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread and jump off the temple and get the rulership of the world by worshipping Him (Matt. 4:1-11). The point of all these temptations is: “Don’t walk the path of suffering and sacrifice and death. Use your power to escape suffering. If you’re the Son of God, show your right to reign. And I can help you do it. Whatever you do, don’t go to the cross.”
And remember the time when Jesus predicted he would suffer man things from the elders and the chief priests and be killed and Peter rebuked him and, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you” (Matt. 16:22). In other words, I will never let you be killed like that.
Jesus did not commend Peter. He said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matt. 16:23). Hindering Jesus from going to the cross was the work of Satan. Satan did not want Jesus crucified. It would be his undoing.
But here he is in Luke 22:3 entering into Judas and leading him to betray the Lord and bring him to the cross. Why the about-face? Why try to divert him from the cross and then take the initiative to bring him to the cross? We are not told. Here is my effort at an answer.
Satan saw that his efforts to divert Jesus from the cross had failed. Time after time Jesus kept the course. His face was set like not stopping him. Therefore, he resolved that if he couldn’t stop it, he would at least make it as ugly and painful and as heartbreaking as possible. Not just death, but death by betrayal. Death by abandonment. Death by denial (Luke 22:31-34). Death by torture. If he could not stop it, he would drag others into it and do as much damage as he could. It was spectacular sequence of sins that brought Jesus to the cross.
-John Piper, Spectacular Sins
I chose carefully the title The tormenting suicide of Satan not just because it was tormenting for him. But because he wanted to score to Jesus for the last time. He knew he would die soon, so he didn’t want it to happen easily. He wanted the death of Jesus even more painful.
By observing this portion of the book of Piper, I saw two of the main strategies of Satan in deceiving us.
(1) He would make us feel full through fame, money, and lusts of the world. In this case, we might think we don’t need God anymore.
(2) He would cause you to feel exasperating pain to the point that you think God can’t help you anymore.
These two Satan used to Jesus. The first he used in the temptation in the wilderness but it was a failure. He used his last chance by causing Jesus to feel great pain; pain of betrayal. For the last time he was hoping Jesus would give up and finally use His power to avoid the cross… Again, it was a failure on Satan’s part.
It was painful on Jesus’ part. But it was necessary.
But it was God’s instrumental to show the highest glory of Christ through the greatest murder of all..
apprentice pastor 