The Wednesday before Easter is known to many as “Spy Wednesday”. It is recognized as the day on which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. It can serve as a reminder that internal threats and betrayal can lead to very serious damages indeed!
Judas receives thirty pieces of silver.
“…The Wednesday before Easter is known as Spy Wednesday. The name comes from the Bible passage read in churches on that day,which explains the role that Judas Iscariot played in bringing about Jesus’death. According to the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, Spy Wednesday marks the last full day of Lent and Holy Week. …
Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Although Judas was not a spy in the sense in which we use the word today, spies do perform the same kinds of treacherous acts that Judas did. In exchange for a sum of money Judas betrayed Jesus’ whereabouts to the religious authorities who sought his death. Then Judas returned to Jesus’ side, pretending continued admiration and faithfulness. In Germany people once called the day Crooked Wednesday, while Czech folk tradition dubbed the day Black Wednesday. These names, too, convey a sense of something having gone wrong. In past times Polish schoolboys dragged effigies of Judas through the street on this day (see Judas,Burning of).
The idea that Judas betrayed Jesus on a Wednesday gave this day a special place in the Christian calendar. Indeed, the early Christians fasted on Wednesdays throughout the year in remembrance of this sad event. Around the year 400 Western Christians, that is, Roman Catholics, abandoned the Wednesday fast in exchange for a Saturday fast, which is also no longer practiced. Orthodox and other Eastern Christians maintained the ancient tradition of the Wednesday fast, however. Even today, strictly observant Orthodox Christians continue to fast on Wednesdays in remembrance of Judas’act of treachery.”
Read more:
– https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Spy+Wednesday
– https://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/