Spy Wednesday: Are We Spies for the Darkness?
Today is traditionally called “Spy Wednesday” because this is the day that Judas Iscariot betrayed our Lord to the Sanhedrin. Judas became a spy for the Enemy. He watched Jesus and the Disciples and waited for the moment to betray them all, and he betrayed the Christ with a kiss.
All three Synoptic Gospels include the account, as it is an important moment in the events of the Passion (Matthew 26:12-14, Mark 14:10-12, Luke 22:3-6). Each provides a few details that are worth considering.
Matthew tells us that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, while Luke paints a diabolical picture of the conspiracy to destroy Jesus:
Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered into Judas, the one surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the Twelve, and he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him over to them. They were pleased and agreed to pay him money. He accepted their offer and sought a favorable opportunity to hand him over to them in the absence of a crowd.
Why Did He Do It?
Luke’s account demands the question that Christians have asked since the Passion: Why did Judas betray Jesus? After all, he was one of the Twelve (Matthew 26:14, 47; Mark 14:10, 20; John 6:71; cf. Luke 22:3), and Acts also references that Judas was among the Apostles, as Peter declares, “he was numbered among us and allotted his share in this ministry” (Acts 1:17).
And yet, there are constant warning signs in this disciple. He opposed the anointing of Jesus at Bethany, for example, asking, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” John adds, “He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions” (John 12:4-6).
The motivation for Judas in his active betrayal of Jesus remains a mystery, and scholars, saints and theologians have long pondered it. Perhaps he sought to have Jesus brought before the authorities in order to force events forward to have Jesus proclaimed as the Messiah. Possibly, he wanted to bring Jesus into a situation in which he is forced to prove himself as the Messiah. And, of course, both Luke and John suggest that Satan had entered into Judas, and he was delivered firmly into the darkness.
