Not too long ago I heard a song lyric that pierced me to the core as I wrestled with the depth of its truth. Time seemed to stop as I heard Erik Nieder sing these words: Only the darkness can turn to dawn. Can you imagine a world without a sunrise? Such an imaginative world is possible only if there is no contrast between the light of day and the darkness of night. The beauty of the sunrise, as well as the beauty of most things, depends on striking contrast. The Bible champions the use of contrast to magnify many beautiful truths in its pages, and the written account of the Wednesday before the crucifixion of Jesus is no exception. On that particular day, often called Spy Wednesday, we see two drastically different assessments of the worth of Jesus, and this contrast invites us to evaluate our own lives and determine how much Jesus is worth to us.
The gospel writers narrate a beautiful scene of loving sacrifice that opens the Wednesday of Holy Week. Jesus and his friends are enjoying a meal when Mary anoints him with an ointment estimated to be worth an entire year’s salary. Mary’s posture suggests that she finds Jesus to be worth even more than this costly gift because, as she humbly kneels down and uses her hair to dry his feet, she symbolizes the surrender of her whole life to him. It is an act of worship that Jesus says will forever be told in her memory. Jesus is worth everything to her.
While Spy Wednesday begins with a beautiful act of worshipful surrender, it sadly ends very differently. Judas becomes the focus of the narrative, and he has no desire to give Jesus anything. In fact, he wants to be given something for the life of Jesus. He betrays the friend with whom he has walked for three years for a small price of 30 pieces of silver, estimated to be worth a few hundred dollars in today’s money. Jesus is worth very little to him, and Judas cares only about using him to get something for himself.
Such a contrast leads us to ask ourselves some very important questions. What is Jesus worth to us? Are we willing to give him everything? Are we willing to surrender our lives to him? He is worthy of it all, and I invite you to reflect on the chorus of “Worthy of It All” with me:
You are worthy of it all
You are worthy of it all
For from You are all things
And to You are all things
You deserve the glory
Spy Wednesday Reading:
Matthew 26:6-16
Mark 14:1-11
Luke 22:1-6
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