Passion Week: Silent Wednesday – The Betrayal

Up to this point, we know that on Sunday Jesus made His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem with His disciples. He was greeted by the crowds of common people with shouts of Hosanna, which meant “save us now”. For three and a half years they had heard messages on the kingdom and seen His miracles of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making lame men to walk, feeding the multitudes, and raising the dead! They sincerely thought that He was the Messiah who would save them from the hated Roman rule over them.

 

They wanted an external salvation of freedom but failed to realize that they must first have an internal salvation for their souls from their sins. This could only take place if Jesus fulfilled the prophesies like Isaiah 53 where He would bear their sins in His own body and died as the spotless Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb, in their place. In these last days just before His crucifixion, Jesus has privately been telling His disciples over and over again that He must suffer and that He would die and be resurrected.

 

Of course, this must have “troubled” the disciples (John 14:1), and particular one of them named Judas. We have already been told that he was a thief and was stealing from the common money the disciples shared. His dreams of ruling and getting a position of power and control in the Kingdom were falling apart and Satan puts it in his heart “to go his way” to get the most out of his position as a disciple and betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

 

During this Passion Week, Jesus and His disciples were staying at the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Bethany is about two miles away from Jerusalem. The city would have been extremely crowded and chaotic during the Passover week. Jesus and His disciples walked those two miles each day to teach in the temple and then returned to Bethany for the night. We are pretty sure we know what Jesus did each day of this week, except for Wednesday. For that reason, this day has been called “silent Wednesday” by some scholars.

 

But most Bible scholars and commentators seem to agree and believe that Wednesday was the day spoken about in Matthew 26:14–16, Mark 14:10-11, and Luke 22:1-5, the day Judas chose to betray Jesus. Besides this we can’t find any other events that might have taken place. It is possible this is because the disciples needed time to prepare for the Passover meal. Did Mary and Martha help with that? The Passover celebration required shopping, cooking, and planning. Was everyone bustling around Jesus with important preparations while He was praying for the strength to make an impossibly difficult sacrifice?

 

We can imagine Jesus taking time on Wednesday to retreat to a quiet spot so that he could sit with his Abba and pray. It’s impossible to fathom what it would have been like for Jesus to be God incarnate, indwelling the limitations of a human body. He understood physical pain, he felt humiliation, He expected His death would be a horrendous ordeal for His human body to endure. He also knew that He was about to accomplish the purpose He had been born to do. He was going to provide salvation for anyone who would choose to believe and make Him Lord. What did Jesus pray about during that time with His Abba?

 

Maybe we should spend some of this day like Jesus did. Is there time in your schedule to simply turn the world off, take a walk, and spend some time with your Abba? If you are reading this on your office computer, take time during lunch or during the drive home to simply quiet your heart and think about what Jesus did that Wednesday—and the significance of the events in the days that followed.

 

Why doesn’t Scripture tell us what Jesus did that Wednesday? Maybe because it was the day Jesus chose to spend privately with God. Maybe we can consider doing the same. Your Abba would love to have that time with you . . . there is something He wants to tell you.

 

God bless!