On Holy Wednesday, often called “Spy Wednesday,” we see a quiet but pivotal moment in Holy Week where Judas Iscariot agrees to betray Jesus Christ, set alongside the beautiful act of a woman anointing Jesus with costly ointment in Gospel of Matthew 26. While the disciples focus on practicality and missed opportunity, Jesus highlights the deeper meaning of her act—an expression of love and preparation for His burial—reminding us not to overlook beauty in our faith. Judas, likely frustrated that Jesus was not becoming the kind of Messiah he expected, chooses betrayal when Jesus doesn’t meet his expectations. The passage challenges us to reflect on our own hearts: will we trust and follow Jesus even when we don’t understand His plans, or will we try to shape Him into what we want Him to be?

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Well, good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Wednesday morning—this Holy Wednesday—as we continue walking together through Holy Week.

We’ve talked about the cleansing of the temple. We’ve talked about the teaching of Tuesday. Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, and then, of course, Good Friday. But Wednesday… Wednesday is a quieter day. It doesn’t seem to have as much activity. It’s almost like a pause before everything that’s about to unfold.

Sometimes this day is called “Spy Wednesday,” because it’s traditionally understood as the day Judas agrees to betray Jesus.

So today I want us to look at that moment. I’m reading from Matthew 26:1–16.

Jesus has just finished all of His teaching—those teachings about the Son of Man, about judgment, about what is to come. And He tells His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

At the same time, the chief priests and elders are gathering, plotting how to arrest Him quietly and kill Him—but not during the festival, because they’re afraid of the people.

And then we get this scene in Bethany. Jesus is at the house of Simon the leper, and a woman comes in with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she pours it on His head.

The disciples are upset. They say, “Why this waste? This could have been sold, and the money given to the poor.”

And let’s be honest—they’re not entirely wrong. That ointment was valuable. It could have done a lot of good.

But Jesus reframes it. He says, “Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.” He reminds them that they will always have the poor, but they will not always have Him. And He says that in anointing Him, she has prepared Him for burial.

Then, right after that, we’re told that Judas Iscariot goes to the chief priests and asks, “What will you give me if I betray Him?” And they pay him thirty pieces of silver. From that moment on, he begins looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over.

I think it’s important that we hold those two stories together—the woman and Judas—because they tell us something when we put them side by side.

First, think about Judas for a moment. Judas was the treasurer of the group. And you don’t just let anyone handle the money, do you? In your church, in your organization—you don’t just give that role to anybody. That’s someone you trust.

So Judas must have been trusted. He was one of them. That’s important to remember.

Now think about the woman’s act. From a practical standpoint, the disciples had a point. That resource could have been used in a different way. It could have been turned into something measurable, something efficient.

But what they missed—and what Jesus saw—was the beauty of it.

And I think this is something we need to hear. Especially as Protestants, we can become so practical, so focused on function, that we forget the importance of beauty.

Our Catholic and Episcopal brothers and sisters—they understand something about this. They build beautiful spaces. Stained glass, architecture that lifts your eyes upward—there’s something about beauty that draws us toward God.

And sometimes we can lose that. We can become so utilitarian in our faith that we forget to notice what is simply beautiful.

That woman’s act—it was beautiful. It didn’t have to make sense on a spreadsheet. It didn’t have to justify itself. It was an act of love, of devotion, of worship.

So don’t miss that. Look for beauty. There is beauty all around us, and it points us to God.

But Judas… Judas may have seen it very differently. This may have felt like a waste to him. It may have even been the final straw.

John’s Gospel tells us that Satan entered into him, so there’s clearly a spiritual dimension here. But I also think there’s something else going on.

We talked on Palm Sunday about expectations—how people wanted Jesus to be an earthly king, a political ruler, someone who would lead a revolution. But Jesus didn’t come to do that. He came to give His life.

And I wonder if that disappointed Judas. I wonder if he wanted Jesus to be something different. Some scholars even suggest that Judas may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand—pushing Him into action. “Are you the Messiah or not? Are you going to start this revolution or not?”

But Jesus wasn’t going to be forced into something He didn’t come to do.

And that raises a hard question for us: what do we do when Jesus isn’t what we want Him to be?

What do we do when His plan doesn’t match our plan? When His call on our lives isn’t the one we would choose? When the path He sets before us doesn’t make sense?

Judas couldn’t handle that tension. And so he turned away. He betrayed.

And if we’re honest, we’re not always that different.

There are moments when we try to shape Jesus into our image—when we try to bend Him to our will instead of allowing ourselves to be shaped by His. There are moments when we struggle because He isn’t doing what we want, when we want, how we want.

So as we move closer to Good Friday—and we’re almost there now—and as Easter approaches, I think there are a couple of things for us to hold onto.

First, pay attention to beauty. Don’t miss it. Don’t rush past it. Let it draw your eyes—and your heart—toward God.

And second, be honest about where you might be trying to make Jesus into something He’s not. Where are you resisting His will? Where are you struggling because His way isn’t your way?

When you find yourself there—and we all do—don’t walk away.

Lean in.

Stay close.

Because just because we don’t understand what He’s doing doesn’t mean He doesn’t know exactly what He’s doing.

So today, follow Him. Stay near to Him. And when you don’t understand, walk even a little closer.

Thanks for being with me. Tomorrow we’ll step into Maundy Thursday together.