22 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.
Luke 22:1-6
The plot to kill Jesus. As the Passover approaches, the Sanhedrin sought to have Christ killed but could not be seen publicly as having a hand in it. They feared an uprising at the hand of the people who welcomed Him into Jerusalem and followed Him. They had to pin the entire thing on Rome.
Enter Satan who found a foothold in the heart of Judas Iscariot. Among other things, Judas is a cautionary tale to those who seek and obtain power in the church. Nobody is safe from Satan or his influence, anyone can fall. The closer we get to Jesus the greater the threat we are to the enemy. For the cost of a slave, 30 pieces of silver, Judas provided a way to turn Christ over.
The Sanhedrin would persist… not much longer, and Rome could be blamed for all of it.
