I think it helps me to look at this scenario with Judas Iscariot in the same way as the scenario with king Saul. Even after he had become prideful and disobedient, the Holy Spirit did still (temporarily) rest on Saul on at least one occasion (like when he prophesied, in 1 Samuel 19:23-24).
Obviously - the Holy Spirit was still working in a slightly different way at this point in time, than He does today in the Church Age. And with this line of thinking, I'm only assuming that these men were given the authority to cast out demons through the (temporary) power of the Holy Spirit...
(Mark 3:13-19) And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
Here we see the disciples being sent out to preach, cast out demons, and to heal the sick...
(Mark 6:7-13) And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— 9 but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 They went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
No where in the Bible do we see Judas himself casting out a demon or performing any miracle. Perhaps a good question would be: Did Judas Iscariot just pretend to cast out demons? Perhaps he just remained in the background pretending to support the ministry?
I believe the answer is here in Jesus' warning about false prophets...
(Matthew 7:15-23) “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
On the other hand, the disciples came across other people who were casting out demons and had an issue with that. But Jesus defended the other believers, and warned the disciples not to hinder them...
(Mark 9:38-41) John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is for us. 41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward..."
From this we see:
- the twelve disciples were given the (temporary) authority to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1,7-8, Mark 3:15, 6:7, Luke 9:1)
- the twelve disciples were casting out demons, although we never see Judas actually doing that (Mark 6:13)
- all (true) believers have the authority to cast out demons (Mark 9:38-40, Luke 9:49-50)
- people who are not against us are for us (Mark 9:40, Luke 9:50)
- beware of false prophets who are wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15)
- there will be people who pretend to cast out demons (Matthew 7:22-23)
Personal experience: we are to beware of the wolves in sheep's clothing, but I've seen "vigilance" get way out of hand. (In a church, years ago...) Elders were so intent on keeping out "evil" that they began to judge and attack any and all believers as soon as they made the smallest of mistakes.
None of us are perfect! God knows this and THIS is why God offers us His grace!!! So we too are to be graciously loving, forgiving, patient and encouraging! So with lots of prayer, that church turned itself around and got back to practicing these things!
All true churches will at different times experience those ebbs and flows... those times of struggles... If they never did, that would be odd, and even suspicious.
Therefore, I find it very disheartening when Christians speak out negatively about any Bible-teaching church. Especially over time, their gossip, even if it had been true at one point, could be very, very wrong as God sorts out issues within a particular believer or within a particular group of believers.
I've also heard Christians brag about their church being better than others. Or worse - that their church is the only church in the area that teaches truth! Now, it's great that someone loves their church. By all means, tell people how awesome it is. But it's not a competition. Never judge or put down another Bible-teaching church. It's not any better or worse - it's just different!
Today's takeaway: if someone is not against us, then they are for us.
All Bible-teaching churches are on the same team. We are all part of the same family! We need to celebrate together over each other's successes! We need to be praying for each other - that all churches continue growing and experiencing Jesus and striving for unity.
If we are doing or saying anything to tear down another believer, or our church, or any other church, then we are aligning ourselves with Satan...
(1 Thessalonians 5:4-11) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. 7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.
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