Well, they say that you are never too old to learn something … until this year, I never knew that the Wednesday of Holy Week had it’s own name.
One might assume that spy has some secret connection to a Latin word, as maundy (as in Maundy Thursday) comes from the Latin word for mandate or command. But no, the spy of Spy Wednesday is pretty straight-forward. It’s all about Judas and comes from Matthew 26:14-16:
Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.
So, as the story goes, about two days before Jesus Christ was crucified, Judas became a spy, someone (according to the Oxford Dictionary) “who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor.” Of course, Judas is a bit more than that – a betrayer, really – but finally, I might have a glimpse of an answer to the question I’ve had for a long time: WHY DID HE DO IT?
In the Gospel of Matthew, the name of Judas is only mentioned six times, only twice before the 26th chapter. In other words, it’s not like he spends 25 chapters overtly plotting against a sworn enemy. More likely, however, is the possibility that Judas saw Jesus as a competitor, and motivated by money, Judas saw a way to get rid of the competition. Maybe it was a competition of political popularity. Maybe it was a competition for God’s attention or approval. Maybe the piety of being a disciple was standing in the way of Judas’ livelihood.
For betraying his Teacher, Judas received thirty pieces of silver: about a day’s wage for a shepherd (Zechariah 11), the worth of a slave accidentally killed by an ox (Exodus 21), and by today’s standards, probably less than $1,000. Selling out a human being for $1,000 … and the infamy of being the betrayer of Christ … how much is “winning” really worth?