Spying in the Bible 27 - AD 29 to AD 33

Spy Wednesday

After Jesus returned to Galilee, Herodias finally came up with a way to kill John the Baptist, even to the distress of Herod (Mark 6:21b-28).

On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

The next year, Jesus, his mother Mary, and his disciples went to back to Jerusalem to the Passover, where he chased the money changers out of the temple, performed miracles, and began preaching. While they were there, the Jews in Jerusalem sent spies to keep an eye on Jesus, but also to try to trick him into saying something they could arrest him for. This is referred to as entrapment. However, Jesus also had divine foreknowledge, and so was very good at counterintelligence (Luke 20:20-26).

Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

In c. AD 33, just three and half years after he had been baptized and began his ministry, Jesus went back to Jerusalem again for another Passover. This time, while he was there, the Jews would devise a way to arrest him and ultimately kill him. When Jesus arrived, the Sunday before the festival he was met with adoration and praise, and that triumphant entry is now celebrated as Palm Sunday. However, three days later, on Wednesday one of Jesus’ disciples became a defector in place and a spy for the Jews. That is why Holy Wednesday is still also referred to as Spy Wednesday in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Wednesday is the day that Judas Iscariot first conspired with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus (Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:3-6).

Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or people may riot.” ...

Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present....

Since Jesus had his triumphant entry into the city only days before, they wanted to arrest him secretly. The best way to do that was to use their spy, Judas, to help them find a time to do it. Also, they could not kill him on the Passover, because it was a holy day and the people would riot if they did.