The late Dr. Bill Jones – the great African-American preacher – asserted that Christians need to come to grips with the reality of evil. Evil is omnipresent. And, Jones contended, one of the greatest illustrations of the persistent problem of evil in the world is in the life of the disciple Judas Iscariot.

Do you think Jesus didn’t know about Judas when he called him to be a disciple? Do you think Jesus was unaware that Judas was possessed by demonic forces? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus knew all about the darkness that dwelled in the heart of Judas Iscariot.

So why did Jesus call Judas to become one of the Twelve?

Dr. Jones suggested Jesus called Judas into the fellowship of the Twelve to inform his people – you and me and all who love the Lord – of the omnipresence of evil. There is no place where evil is not. Evil is found even in that faithful company formed by Jesus and the disciples.

“Now, if I were the devil,” Dr. Jones said, “I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the places I already control. I’d devote myself entirely to worming my way into the good places of life where I might be able to take away what belongs to God. St. Peter tells us the devil is active in the world, not content with only darkness, but prowling about in the light. In fact, one of the devil’s favorite places to go is to church!”

In a very humorous way, Jones once said, “If you go to church on Sunday, you’ll probably find the devil there – usually sitting in a really good seat, smile on his face, respected and looked up to by all. And he’ll sit there real quiet until that moment in the membership meeting when something of God’s work is about to be advanced. And then he’ll get up – the devil will – and saunter over to the microphone – and very carefully outline all the “practical” reasons we shouldn’t do what Jesus has called us to do. And if not in the membership meeting, the devil will find some other way to stand in the way of advancing the Kingdom of God. He loves to get nominated for committee work. Especially if it involves money. Why you remember that Judas rose to the position of church treasurer, don’t you? Oh, the devil loves church finances. Because from there, he can stop almost any idea that smacks of Jesus’ way of giving things away without thought of getting something in return. And if not there, the devil will tune up his voice and join the choir! Oh, the devil LOVES to sing in the choir. Why from the choir loft, that ol’ devil can turn an otherwise sane congregation into a roiling madhouse! And – not to leave anyone out – the devil loves to go to seminary, and get himself ordained. You see, then he can climb into a pulpit somewhere and turn what was once a group of sincere Christians with loving hearts into the most judgmental, soul-slaying bunch of fundamentalists you’ve ever seen.”