Holy Wednesday: Consecrate Despite Betrayal
One of the Savior's closest associates betrayed Him, but He did not flinch from His purpose, nor did He devolve into hatred, revenge or contention. Instead, He embraced His purpose with resolve, out of love for the Father and His children.
4/17/20251 min read
On Holy Wednesday, in response to Mary Magdalene's anointing of the Savior's feet with a costly perfume, Judas Iscariot expressed resentment at her sacrifice, saying the oil ought to have been sold and given to the poor--but his concern was not for the poor, but for his own enrichment; he was a thief. Immediately he sought to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
It is easy to criticize those who have sacrificed and saved up for an exalted purpose, claiming instead that they ought to spend their precious savings on the cause we deem most worthy. However, with the Lord's rebuke to Judas, He proved that He is not interested in mere virtue signaling, but cherishes genuine consecration.
Discipleship: Contribute tithing (ten percent) of your increase to the Lord, and pay a generous fast offering.
Do good for others, even if it is not always "efficient"! Also, uphold property rights! The fact that someone else owns something and uses it as they see fit does not mean that a wrong was committed. Remember that some things are consecrated for the Lord's purposes which we might not understand at first. Some might accuse Joseph in Egypt of hoarding, but the very grain that he saved ended up saving the nations from famine.
Activity: Spikenard oil today is not as costly as it was anciently. If you have a tradition of showing gold (probably flakes), frankincense and myrrh or using props for these in your Christmas pageantry, consider showing a vessel of spikenard or a stand-in prop as part of your Easter pageantry on this day, and teach your children the meaning of Mary's anointing of the Savior's feet.
When others betray us, we can choose to be peacemakers. We can love even our enemies, as Jesus did.
