Evil within by Deon Crafford

John 13:26-27 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

When we consider Judas Iscariot, we are first filled with contempt at such a despicable act, but deeper thought would fill most of us with a sense of sadness. How incredibly sad it is that someone so close to Jesus, living under His ministry and miracles for at least three years, can get it in his heart to betray Him to an almost certain death by execution. This almost tends to be inexplicable if not impossible. If I am that close to Jesus, surely there is not a chance that I may drift off? Surely my exposure to the glory of the Lord, would so infuse me with with goodness that my life will forever be transformed? But no, in the case of Judas, the evil from within had metastasised throughout his being and he remains stubbornly focused on completing his plan. To achieve his objectives he needs to stay close to Jesus physically but far from Him spiritually.

Judas’ betrayal is not a once-off historical event. It is an ever-repeating pattern of conduct from within the “inner circle”, the Church of God. The concept of betrayal presumes this inner closeness or intimacy – even though this closeness more often is in the physical not the spiritual. One cannot be betrayed by a stranger, much rather by someone with whom you shared deeply from within yourself, to whom you have exposed your vulnerabilities or for whom you were prepared to sacrifice much. Betrayal is to have “your own” turn on you as they are consumed by the growing evil in their heart(s). And as it pertains to Christ, we’re all exposed to the infection of evil.

Our relationship with the world determines our vulnerability to infection. Just like we may be more vulnerable to Covid-19 if we do not take protective precaution, so we will be spiritually, if we abandon regular sanitization and fail to mask ourselves against the constant stream of infections spewing from the world. And yet the more we’re able to willfully weather the intents of evil, the stronger our immunity against committing betrayal. Betrayal is not always a long term act – it literally happens in a moment if I choose the things of the world above the things of Christ. Take care.

Love to all