Spy Wednesday
By Dean Collins
Did you ever play a game that involved spying on someone? When I was in elementary school, I would save up money to buy and trade comic books. Some of those comics had characters who were spies. All these comic books had advertisements in the back pages selling all kinds of novelty items like spy glasses, periscopes, and other gadgets that increased the possibility that being a spy was possible and looked like a lot of fun!
I can remember spying on my older brothers and creating imaginative games with neighborhood friends of spying on neighbors who we were sure were up to something. And of course if you have children or grandchildren, you have probably played “I Spy,” where you pick an object and maybe name the color and then everyone has to guess what you have spied.
Wednesday of Holy Week is referred to by many as “Spy Wednesday.” This title isn’t about fun and games but rather about betrayal and greed. While we do not have precise information as to when Judas made his deal with the religious leaders, many suggest that it took place on the Wednesday of Holy Week.
Matthew tells us in Matthew 26:14-16 that Judas approached the chief priests and said:
“What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?”
Like many of our bad decisions, they don’t happen randomly or suddenly. Sinful behavior often starts with a thought that grows in our minds. The temptation progresses as we begin to rationalize possible actions and justify why those actions won’t harm us but somehow will be good for us. We know from John’s gospel that Judas was the disciple that managed the money for Jesus and his disciples. We also know how indignant he became when Mary took a pound of expensive ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus.
The response from Judas was that the ointment could have been sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor. But John goes on to claim that the real motivation was that Judas just wanted more money in the money bag and that he often helped himself from the group’s resources.
The chief priests paid Judas thirty pieces of silver for information about where they could find Jesus and arrest him. This is where the Spy Wednesday title comes from. Since Judas was an insider, he knew when and where Jesus would be.
Holy Wednesday is an opportunity for us to look inward to see where we might have a temptation toward selfishness and greed versus sacrifice and generosity. These are hard questions, yet they need to be wrestled with. Are there areas of your life that you keep hidden that are not in line with the life of a follower of Christ? Am I willing to give more from my resources, or do I hold them tightly? What about my time and talent? Am I stingy with those resources?
Holy Wednesday is another opportunity for confession and repentance. As we move to Thursday and Friday of this week, we see clearly what Jesus did for us. It is time to be honest with God and with ourselves about allowing greed to die so that the life of Christ might be seen clearly in us.
Father, today we are grieved as we consider how often we have held back from you and from others. We ask that you forgive us and renew us that we might be generous to others with our time, our talents, and our financial resources. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 26:14-16; John 12:3-8; Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV
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