Why is Spy Wednesday Another Name for Holy Wednesday?
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For many Christians around the world, the Wednesday before Easter Sunday is referred to as Spy Wednesday, Good Wednesday, or Holy Wednesday as part of the Holy Week celebration. While it is not commemorated in every denomination, Spy Wednesday of Holy Week is often associated with Judas Iscariot’s decision to betray Jesus Christ through a bargain made with the religious leaders of Israel that ultimately led to Jesus' arrest and crucifixion.
Why is it Called Spy Wednesday?
According to some interpretations and traditions, on the Wednesday before Good Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, one of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, decided to betray his teacher and master by revealing His whereabouts to His enemies. More than just contemplating betrayal, however, on Spy Wednesday, it is believed Judas took action to make it happen.
The apostle John tells us in his gospel account that, while Jesus and His disciples were eating at a house in Bethany (just outside of Jerusalem), Judas would slip away from the group, walk about a mile and a half to Jerusalem, and seek out an audience with the Pharisees and religious leaders, asking, “what are you willing to give me to betray Him [Jesus] to you?” (Matthew 26:15)
When the Pharisees offered Judas thirty pieces of silver for information regarding Jesus’ location, the Bible tells us that “from then on he [Judas] looked for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.” (Matthew 26:16)
We know that Judas would rejoin Jesus and the rest of the disciples, participating in the Passover celebration and early moments of what became known as the Last Supper the following night (Maundy Thursday). However, with the intent to betray Jesus and arrangements already made, Judas had become a veritable spy amongst Jesus’ followers. And in doing so, he had traded his role as cherished friend and chosen disciple to treacherous agent of the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, not to mention a servant and slave of Satan himself (see Luke 22:1-6).
For this reason, the Wednesday before Easter Sunday is often associated with Judas’ treachery, which is why we sometimes call it Spy Wednesday.
What Happened on Spy Wednesday?
Ironically, Spy Wednesday is one of the only days of Passion Week that highlights the actions of someone other than Jesus Christ, in this case, Judas Iscariot. Understandably, Spy Wednesday can be seen as a solemn and tragic day in the Christian calendar. However, several other events in the life of Jesus Christ also happened on (or near) Spy Wednesday that are worth recognizing. In fact, these events may have been the tipping point in Judas’ decision to betray Jesus.
For example, while Jesus and His disciples were staying in Bethany, the apostle John tells us that a woman named Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with a “very costly” bottle of perfume of “pure nard”, wiping the expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet with her hair, “and the house was filled with fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:1-8).
This was certainly an extravagant, symbolic, and deeply personal act of worship and praise.
The Bible tells us, however, that Judas Iscariot was indignant at what he believed was a “wasteful” display of affection. “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?” Judas asked in frustration (John 12:5; see also Mark 14:1-11; Matthew 26:6-16).
John also tells us that “he [Judas] said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.” (John 12:6). John also notes that Judas was already intending to betray Jesus well before Mary anointed Jesus’ feet (John 12:4). To Judas, this was apparently the last straw.
In response to Mary’s lavish gesture, Jesus replied, “let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial. For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.” (John 12:8) He was, of course, referring to His inevitable death and burial, which would come mere days after His anointing. It is possible that the scent of Mary’s perfume may have still lingered on the body of Jesus as He was being crucified.
Shortly after Jesus’ rebuke, Luke writes that “Satan entered Judas” (Luke 22:30. It was then that Judas left Bethany to conspire with the Pharisees.
In the traditional liturgical calendar, Judas officially betrayed Jesus with a kiss the following night (Maundy Thursday) after Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover feast and migrated to the Garden of Gethsemane, a place Jesus was known to frequent with His disciples.
Some interpretations suggest that the anointing of Jesus and the events of Spy Wednesday may have actually occurred before Jesus and His disciples entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. That may be true. However, it is widely accepted that the events of Spy Wednesday, whether they took place on the Wednesday before Easter, shortly before Palm Sunday, or sometime in between, occurred only a few days before Jesus was crucified. The exact timeline of these events is less important than their significance as Jesus prepared for the cross.
How is Spy Wednesday Observed?
There is very little in the Bible that specifically tells us about the events that unfolded on the Wednesday before Good Friday. In some Christian traditions, the Wednesday before Easter Sunday is even referred to as Silent Wednesday for this reason. In fact, some scholars insist that the events in Bethany, including Jesus’ anointing and Judas’ deal with the Pharisees, happened either the week before or the Monday or Tuesday prior to Spy Wednesday. Ultimately, we do not know.
Also, nowhere in the gospels does Jesus instruct Christians to commemorate Spy Wednesday in the same way He does communion (also referred to as the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist). Instead, we should recognize that Spy Wednesday, like many traditions and holidays in the church, is born of church tradition, not necessarily biblical mandate. Some of the most beautiful and commemorative Holy Week traditions vary across denominations as well.
In some churches, the candlelight service Tenebrae (the Latin for “darkness” or “shadows”) is celebrated on Spy Wednesday. In others, it is observed on Good Friday.
A typical Tenebrae service involves lighting candles and reading specific Bible passages. After each reading, individual candles are extinguished, eventually leaving the room in darkness, with the exception of the Christ candle, which remains lit throughout the service.
Sometimes the Christ candle is taken away or hidden somewhere in the church, symbolizing the confusion and despair that followed Christ’s crucifixion, a time when the disciples believed the light of Christ had left the world.
In most traditions, as the congregation sits in darkness, believers are called to reflect on the darkness that covered the earth, both literally (see Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44) and spiritually, as Christ hung on the cross. Christianity.com contributing writer Sophia Bricker writes, “when the candles are extinguished, we are reminded of the costly payment for our wrongdoing, the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God.” (John 1:29)
At the end of a liturgical Tenebrae service, a loud sound, drum, or crashing noise is heard to signify the death and burial of Jesus Christ, which was also marked in Scripture by a loud earthquake that split the rocks and broke open many tombs (see Matthew 27:51-52). Accordingly, all creation was shaken by the death of God’s one and only Son. In some Tenebrae services, the loud crash (also referred to as the “strepitus”) symbolizes the stone sealing shut the tomb of Jesus Christ. There are variations.
In other traditions, families may lead their children on a Spy Wednesday Silver Hunt as reminder of Judas’ bargain to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Other congregations are known to partake in special meals, sing special songs and hymns, or recite specific prayers for the lost.
In any case, the observe of Spy Wednesday and the traditions that accompany it vary across denominations.
What Does Spy Wednesday Teach Us?
In the liturgical calendar, Spy Wednesday holds a unique place at the center of Holy Week. Situated at the midpoint of the week, Spy Wednesday serves as a tonal shift and narrative turning point in the final week of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry.
Not ironically, a week that begins with a Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) also ends with a triumphant Resurrection (Easter Sunday). At its center is Spy Wednesday, a solemn day that nevertheless prepared Christ, as it prepares Christians today, for Christ’s death and burial. It also set in motion the events of Judas’ betrayal that would lead to Christ’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
Most Christians will be familiar with the traditions of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. These are commonly celebrated around the world. Spy Wednesday, however, is less popular and therefore less well-known.
So why do some denominations celebrate Spy Wednesday at all, given the tragic nature of Judas’ betrayal, and what can we ultimately learn from it?
First, we do not celebrate Judas Iscariot or his treachery by commemorating Spy Wednesday during Holy Week. That is not its purpose. Rather, we acknowledge the role Judas Iscariot played, tragic as it may have been, in God’s sovereign and redemptive plan for His creation.
Furthermore, while we recognize that Judas acted as a spy for the Pharisees, successfully hiding his greed, duplicity, and evil intentions from the other apostles, at no point were his heart, his plans, or his motives hidden from Jesus Christ. Judas may have entered Holy Week on a covert mission to further his ambitions and betray the Son of God. Jesus, however, was never surprised, ambushed, or caught off guard by Judas’ betrayal.
Jesus had previously affirmed, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep… For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:11, 14-15, 17-18)
And on the night Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss (Maundy Thursday), Jesus also warned His disciples that one of them would betray Him (see Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-38; John 13:21-30).
Jesus knew of Judas’ treachery and intentions, which is why He told him in the upper room, “what you are doing, do quickly.” (John 13:27) Judas, like most spies, thought he was operating in the shadows of spiritual deceit. The Bible reminds us, however, that God always sees what is done in secret, “for He knows the secrets of the heart.” (Matthew 6:4; Psalms 44:21; 1 Samuel 16:7)
Judas and the Pharisees, with Satan pulling strings, may have tried to hold onto their own power by striking a blow to the Son of God. In the end, however, Judas Iscariot and the events of Spy Wednesday are yet another reminder that no scheme of man or machination of the enemy could ever thwart God’s good and perfect plan for His creation. Furthermore, what others mean for evil, God can and often does turn to good (see Genesis 50:20). Nowhere is this more evident than the events of Holy Week, including Spy Wednesday.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/gabrielabertolini
Additional Resources:
“Holy Wednesday Prayers for Remembering Jesus’ Anointing and Betrayal”
“Holy Week Timeline (Passion Week): Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday”
“Guide to a Tenebrae Service: Meaning and Significance.”
“Why Did Judas Take 30 Pieces of Silver for Jesus?”
“What Was Behind the Kiss of Judas?”
“What Happened After Judas Betrayed Jesus?”
“5 Powerful Lessons from Judas’ Failure and Peter’s Redemption”
