The Bible does not specifically mention the Wednesday before the resurrection, but according to tradition, there are two significant events that happened that day. Jesus was anointed with a very costly fragrant oil during a meal by Mary and she wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet as seen written in (Matthew 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9; Luke 7:36–50; John 12:1–8). And the reason behind it being referred to as “Spy Wednesday” is that it is traditionally thought of as the day Judas conspired with local authorities to betray Jesus. It is written in *Matthew 26:14 Then one of the Twelve [apostles], who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 And said, What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you? And they weighed out for and paid to him thirty pieces of silver [about twenty-one dollars and sixty cents]. 16 And from that moment he sought a fitting opportunity to betray Him.* By identifying Jesus with a kiss to the Jewish authorities, Judas set into motion the series of events that have become the foundations of the Christian faith: Jesus’s arrest, his trial, his death by crucifixion, and three days later His resurrection, known collectively as the Passion of Christ in fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. People say they want to follow Jesus, but for most it is only superficially at best. I pray fervently over what is written in *Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’* Chances are that if you are reading these words, you want to follow Jesus somewhat, but the reasons why you want to follow Him may only become clear in difficult and challenging times. I like what Dane Ortlund said, “Jesus does not love like us. We love until we are betrayed. Jesus continued to the cross despite betrayal. We love until we are forsaken. We love up to a limit. Jesus loved us to the end.” In the end, it all comes down to this: Do we love God for Who He is, or do we just love Him for the things that He does for us? The question that we all must evaluate to the deepest parts of our faith is, “Is our relationship with Jesus worth more than twenty-one dollars and sixty cents?” My prayer for all who will agree with me is, “O Lord, we hate being called traitors and betrayers, a Judas, and yet too often it is what we are. The truth is that whenever we sin, whenever we turn away from You to fulfill our fleshly desires, we exchange You for whatever we find more valuable and pleasing. Lord, please forgive us whenever we betray you. Most of all, we pray and seek your forgiveness and healing O Lord from this grave sin of betrayal for we do not only do it to You but to those most dearest to us, our family and friends, whom we hurt whenever we hand them over to troubles and miseries. Our grief and tears can be overwhelming at times because of our character defects and shortcomings. Help us Lord Jesus to enter into full communion with You, to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we think and act like You in total obedience to our gracious and loving heavenly Father, giving no place in us for Satan to trade You off for anything of this world. O Lord Jesus, in Your precious and powerful name we pray, and all of God’s people say, Amen.” (((This devotional is in video version on YouTube at PastorDblog as well as on Tiktok at pastord.blog))) In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog

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