Dr Paul Allen

Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. Luke 22:3-4 Everyone knows that Judas betrayed Jesus, but why did Judas betray him? In the end, we’ll never know, because Judas killed himself shortly afterward and his motives were lost to history. Luke records that “Satan entered Judas.” What in the world does that mean? Most of our minds go to the Exorcist with heads spinning around and levitating bodies. But I don’t think that’s what happened. More than likely, all Satan did was have to plant an idea, a deception in Judas’ mind, and Judas took it and ran with it. That’s been Satan’s preferred plan of attack from the very beginning (Genesis 3:1). Why would Judas betray Jesus? Like the expectation of the crowds, he could have signed up to follow Jesus because he thought Jesus was his one-way ticket to a revolution against Rome. But Jesus would never p...

The intercession of our Great High Priest is the foundation for our confidence when it comes to our perseverance. It also helps us make sense of the accounts of Peter and Judas, two of Jesus' disciples who experienced a serious fall. One disciple's fall away from Christ is seen as a final and full work of apostasy, whereas the other disciple's fall is not final and full because he is restored. And we see that their crime against Christ was very similar. Judas betrayed Jesus. And that same night, Peter denied Christ. These two men who had been disciples with Jesus during his earthly ministry committed treason against Him in his darkest hour. And there are further similarities in these two examples in that Jesus predicted both Peter's and Judas' diabolical acts. But we recall that when Jesus said, "One of you will betray me," the disciples said among themselves, "Who is it, Lord? Is it I?" When Judas asked, "Is it I, Rabbi?" Jesus sa...

When I suffer, I become certain of two things: 1. God exists, and 2. he is a traitor. I didn’t always believe that. I accumulated experiences with God. In every unpleasant moment, in every tragedy, in every moment of confusion, a light and deceptive hand turns my mind’s gaze Godward: “He did this.” “He should have stopped this.” “He wants you to think you can be happy, . . . but he’s a mischief maker. A  traitor .” If we can’t identify those arguments in our hearts, they’ll own our thoughts, emotions, and actions. They will drive us as we process pain. Very easily, even subconsciously, we learn that God is a traitor. I could be happy or I could be heartbroken. I’m heartbroken. God is in control. God said he loved me. One of these things cannot be true. Therefore , I trust him a little less now. Multiply that times a thousand losses, pains, or failures, and we can easily descend into a betrayed and victimized theology: God is a traitor. During grief — during a...