When did Satan enter Judas?

Luke and John attach Satan's entry into Judas to different points in the betrayal narrative.

Textual conflict: Interpretive tension; The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
Importance: Major; A major event or claim with wider implications.

The betrayal narratives attach Satan's entry to different stages, although neither explicitly rules out repeated possession.

An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.

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Luke places Satan's entry before the Passover preparation day

Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Luke 22:3

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Luke 22

Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

Luke 22:7

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:Luke 22

John places Satan's entry after Judas receives the sop

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And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

John 13:27

Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)

Read the full chapter:John 13

Understanding the contradiction

Luke 22:3 says Satan enters Judas. The later marker in Luke 22:7 introduces the day when the Passover must be killed. In that narrative sequence, the entry precedes the sacrificial day. John 13:27 places Satan's entry after the sop, a portion of food given during the meal.

The accounts identify different immediate settings and triggers for the same kind of possession. Neither supplied text says Satan entered Judas exactly once, so the different placements do not alone disprove multiple entries. Yet neither narrates an exit and return that would connect them. The supported discrepancy concerns when each Gospel introduces this supernatural explanation of Judas' action, rather than a complete history of possession reconstructed beyond the quotations.

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contradictionLukeJohn

Luke places Satan's entry before the Passover preparation day

John places Satan's entry after Judas receives the sop

Understanding the contradiction

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