Spy Wednesday
Luke 22:4-6 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and discussed with them how He might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give Him money. He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
On Wednesday, plans were set in motion to capture Jesus and kill Him. In the words of Caiaphas the high priest, “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:49-50) The Jewish people, in theory, abhorred the Roman occupation, but there were those who had found a way to get along and even prosper in these dark times. Jesus was disrupting the status quo. Make Rome mad, they come down on all of us, stir up riots among the locals and again, Rome would respond violently. I get their dilemma, but an open heart, spirit and mind would have solved their faith crisis. Instead, they chose self government, the very thing God had said not to do. They depended on their stubborn vision for the future, their own logic and ability to manipulate circumstances with their perceived wisdom and authority. They couldn’t have been more wrong. God’s word NEVER alluded to an earthly prosperity through political machinations. It is through His power of love and hope, shared among believers, and the sending out of the Church, that true victory over all this life’s trouble is found.