Today we will be talking about Wednesday, which is day 3 of Holy Week. Today is really important, as you will see. We see that the Romans are plotting to kill Jesus. We see Judas, one of Jesus’ disciple turn to greed(Satan). I hope you enjoy reading this, as much as I have enjoyed writing this. Please like or leave a comment.

Wednesday was commonly referred to as a day of rest for Jesus. While in Bethany, a woman anointed Jesus feet with perfume. It is also widely know throughout the church as “Spy Wednesday”. While at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the plot of the high priest and the authorities to kill Jesus is in full swing.

In Luke, we see that with Passover approaching the chief priests and teachers were trying to figure out how to get rid of Jesus. They were not necessarily afraid of Jesus, but the people that they rule over. Look at Luke 22:1-2: Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ² and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Mark said it slightly different, but basically the same meaning. They did not want to do anything to Jesus during the Passover, as they feared that the people would riot. Also in Mark, he was very specific that the plot started 2 days before Passover. Read Mark 14:1-2. In the Gospel of Matthew, you see even more specific things. In Matthew 26:1-5, Jesus tells his disciples that the “son of man will handed over to be crucified.”

Let’s take a moment and talk about Judas. He was one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. The scholars say that greed entered Judas. He was taken over by Satan. He went to the high priest and authority, and from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Jesus. He basically sold Jesus to the High Priests for the price of a slave, and the disciples would scatter and not even be there when Jesus died, with the exception of John. The prophecy of the Old Testament was fulfilled with this one simple act. Luke put it well in Luke 22:3-6: ³ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴ And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵ They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. We do not know yet, how much Judas received for betraying Jesus, but we know from the scripture that he does. In the Gospel of Mark, we see that the chief priests were delighted to hear what Judas had to say and agreed to pay him. This is found in Mark 14:10-11. In the Gospel of Mark, he gets very specific about what Judas gets paid for his betrayal. It states in Mark 26:14-16: ¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

As I mentioned above, there is not a lot going on this day, but there is. Prophecy of the Old Testament was fulfilled. The plot to kill Jesus was well underway. Finally, we see greed come into the picture, unaware of the consequences. Think about that last part, how it affects us even today. Comments would be appreciated.