June 14 2025

Saturday June 14

Luke 22:1-6 – The Leaven in our Hearts

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Welcome to Pastor's Chat. Today, we're beginning a new chapter, Luke chapter 22. We believe the events in this chapter take place on Thursday of Passion Week, the week that Jesus Christ will be crucified. In Luke 9:51, it says that “Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem”. He knew what would happen in Jerusalem. He knew He would be crucified. The Father, in eternity past, had planned that His Son, Jesus Christ, would die on a cross and give His life as a ransom for sinners. Jesus knew that plan. Jesus had told His disciples several times in the past weeks that He would be crucified, spit upon, beaten, and taken to a cross. They didn’t understand that, and even Peter tried to talk Him out of it. But, my friend, Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, knowing well what would happen to Him there. He was rejected, beaten, mocked, and hung on a cross for our sins, my sins, your sins, and the sins of the whole world. Oh, what a Savior!

This was the time of Passover. There were three major feasts on the Jewish calendar: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. All Jewish men were expected to go to Jerusalem each year to celebrate these, as stated in Deuteronomy 16:16. The Passover commemorated the time when the people of Israel left Egypt, when the lamb was killed, and the firstborn could live when the blood was sprinkled on the doorpost and lintel. God had ordained that every year the people of Israel were to commemorate and celebrate this time of deliverance out of Egypt. During this time, the leaven was taken out of the houses, and the houses were cleansed for Passover and the Passover meal. This meal will take place on Thursday with Jesus and His disciples, and then He’ll be crucified on Friday.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover, as noted in verse one of chapter 22. In verse two, the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. The very people who should have accepted Christ and acknowledged Him, understanding the Scriptures and that He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah, were full of hypocrisy. Remember that Jesus warned His disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Their hypocrisy is revealed: they cleansed the leaven in their houses but not the leaven in their hearts. The Bible says in John 8:44 that the devil is a murderer from the beginning, did not abide in the truth, and there is no truth in him. My friend, these people were motivated by satanic powers to do what they did.

In verse three, “Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains about how he might betray Jesus to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of the multitude”. The Pharisees, scribes, and chief priests were delighted when Judas was going to do it secretly, and they gave him money.

Judas was motivated and energized by Satan (John 13:2, 27), for he never was a true believer in Jesus Christ. His sins had never been cleansed by the Lord (John 13:10-11), and he had never believed and received eternal life (John 6:64-71). Yet none of the other Apostles had the least suspicion that Judas was a traitor. We have every reason to believe that Judas had been given the same authority as the other men and that he had preached the same message and performed the same miracles. It shows how close a person can come to God's kingdom and still be lost (Matt. 7:21-29).

Why did Judas betray the Lord Jesus? We know that he was a thief (John 12:4-6) and that money played a part in his terrible deed. But thirty pieces of silver was not a large payment for such a great crime, and there had to be something more involved. It is possible that Judas saw in Jesus the salvation of the Jewish nation and, therefore, he followed Him because he hoped to hold an office in the kingdom. Keep in mind that the Twelve often argued over who was the greatest in the kingdom, and Judas, the treasurer, surely participated in those important discussions.

When Judas understood that Jesus would not establish the kingdom but rather would surrender to the authorities, he turned against Him in bitter retaliation. The "leaven" in his life grew quietly and secretly until it produced "malice and wickedness" (1 Cor. 5:6-8). When you cooperate with Satan, you pay dearly, and Judas ended up destroying himself (Matt. 27:3-5). Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and he reproduced himself perfectly in Judas.

Today, we need to beware of the leaven, the unconfessed secret sins and the proud and deceitful motivations that lie hidden in our hearts. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us as we confess our sins ask forgiveness (1 John 1:7-10).

God bless!