Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. (Luke 22:3-5)
Most great stories have a great villain, and there are few worse villains in all history than Judas Iscariot. This man, whom Jesus loved and treated as a trusted member of His disciples, was a deceptive traitor who betrayed someone who had never done him harm.
There was clearly a villain behind the villain; Luke tells us Satan entered Judas. This means Satan prompted and perhaps even guided Judas. This does not diminish his personal responsibility because none of it was done against the will of Judas, but with his will. The real enemy of Jesus was Satan, even more than Judas was.
Many people have wondered about the motives of Judas; some have even said that he might have had a noble motive, such as wanting to put Jesus in circumstances where He had to show Himself as Messiah. The Bible indicates no such honorable intention.
Judas was surnamed Iscariot. The name Iscariot may mean that he was from Kerioth, a city in southern Judea. This would make Judas the only Judean among the other disciples, who were all Galileans. Some wonder if Judas resented the leadership of the Galilean fishermen among the disciples and finally had enough of it. Others think the name Iscariot is linked to the word sicarius, meaning “assassin” – a connection to the Jewish zealots who carried out underground warfare against the Roman occupiers.
It may well be that Judas followed Jesus from selfish motives, expecting to receive a position of great status and prestige when Jesus came triumphantly to Jerusalem as Messiah. When Jesus came and it was evident that He was not going to be the kind of Messiah Judas had hoped for, he may have lashed out against Jesus and opened this door to Satan out of spite. Jesus didn’t give Judas what his selfish heart wanted, so Judas felt his ties to Jesus were broken. In essence, Judas may have said, “You betrayed me by not being the kind of Messiah I wanted. So, I will betray You.”
In the end, the true motive of Judas was simple. Judas did it because the religious leaders agreed to give him money. Matthew 26:14-16 says that Judas asked them, What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you? This shows that Judas approached them and asked for a price. Simply, his motivation was greed.
God would use the wicked works of Judas to further His eternal plan. This was the appointed time for Jesus to go to the cross, and it happened despite the initial reluctance of the religious leaders.
God was in control – and Judas was completely responsible for his treachery and sin. So it is always true with both God and man. (Guzik)
