The Deception Of Satan

"Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none." - John 18:3-9

Many of us are familiar with this passage of Scripture in John 18. Our Lord is in Gethsemane praying as Judas is on his way with a band of officers to betray the Lord. I want to just take a few minutes to show how powerful Satan can be when it comes to deceiving people.

In verse 4 Jesus asks the officers whom they seek and they answered that they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord answers them and says "I am he." The Bible tells us in verse 6 that as soon as Jesus said "I am he" that the officers went backward and fell to the ground. Then Jesus asks them again whom they seek and they tell him they seek Jesus of Nazareth. Our Lord says to them "I have told you that I am he." It is very important to note that Jesus uses the words "I am he" because the words "I AM" are very significant to the Jew. In the book of Exodus when Moses asks God who shall he say sent him to the children of Israel to deliver them from bondage, God tells Moses to tell them I AM hath sent me unto you. Jesus Christ by saying "I am he" was proclaiming His deity to the officers. Notice in verse 6 that when he spoke those words all of the officers went backward and fell to the ground. According to many commentators there were probably anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men that were in that band of officers.

Here is the thought that I want us to ponder on for a few minutes. Think about what has just happened in verse 6. Anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men have just fallen backwards to the ground after Jesus said the words "I am he." We have just seen the power and deity of Jesus Christ in this act yet there is no affect on the band of officers. In fact Christ asks them again whom they seek, then they give the same answer, and Jesus tells them a second time "I am he." Just think about how powerful Satan can be when it comes to deceiving people. Here we have people that were eyewitnesses to the deity of Christ and yet there was no change or affect on their lives recorded in Scripture.

It is the same in our society today. Even with many Christians we underestimate the power of Satan when it comes to his ability to deceive. Satan is more powerful than we give him credit for many times. Even Michael the Archangel did not try to take on Satan directly, he said "The Lord rebuke thee." The Bible tells us that even Satan is transformed into an angel of light. Adam and Eve and personal and intimate fellowship with the Lord everyday in the Garden of Eden and they both were deceived by Satan. We are no different than Adam and Eve or the band of officers when it comes to Satan's ability to deceive us. I pray that we will not allow Satan to deceive us when it comes to things in our spiritual lives.