Holy Wednesday: Spy Day
Unlike the traitorous leaders of the day, this woman wasted no time submitting to the Lord of Glory.
Some refer to the Wednesday of Holy Week as a “Silent Day,” “Holy Wednesday,” or even “Spy Day.” After Judas decides to betray Jesus, Wednesday is spent conspiring on how this would occur. Jesus is in Bethany throughout the day and stays there during the night.
There is, however, one remarkable scene that takes place in Bethany.
One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and sat at the table. There was a woman in the city who lived a very sinful life and knew that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house. In humble service, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume (Lk. 7:36ff).
On Thursday, another table is set at the Last Supper. But on Wednesday, Jesus receives one of the most splendid displays of worship in his earthly ministry. A woman of immoral reputation anoints our Lord. In the Bible, kings are anointed. Unlike the traitorous leaders of the day, this woman wasted no time submitting to the Lord of Glory.
This scene is filled with symbolic significance. First, the woman wet his feet with tears, a symbol of casting her cares upon him. Then, she wiped his feet with her hair, a symbol not of uncleanness, but of glory laid down in humility, for “hair” in the Bible is often associated with a woman’s glory (1 Corinthians 11:15). She takes what is honorable and beautiful and places it at the feet of Jesus, offering her glory in an act of devotion. Finally, she kisses his feet—a symbol of loyalty. Unlike Judas, whose kiss meant death, this woman’s kiss meant life and loyalty.
On this Holy Wednesday, while Jesus’ ministry may be relatively silent, the angels in heaven are not; the Father and the Spirit are not, and this true worshipper in a Pharisee’s home is loudly worshipping the Second Adam.
Prayer: O Blessed Messiah, whose feet were kissed by those who follow you, we dare not betray you for you served us unto death. May our lives be like kisses of loyalty to the Son of Man who poured his love on all our hearts; yes, Jesus our Messiah, amen!
Notations
Maundy Thursday is structured in a sacramental fashion. There is a washing and then a table. Water precedes a meal. The disciples are priestly figures sent out to proclaim the good news because their feet are now made beautiful by washing.
The theme of darkness on Good Friday is a re-enactment of the creation account. Darkness precedes light, and so too does darkness precede resurrection—the new creation.
Recorded in 2020