One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, 
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
Matthew 26:14-16

Wednesday of Holy Week is often called Spy Wednesday, a day on which we recall Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The thought of betraying the Lord is appalling to us, but Drew Mariani urges us to take a closer look at the ways we still betray Christ today.

“We look at him like, ‘I would NEVER do that! How could Judas do that when he saw Christ walk on water?’ … It’s so hard for us to get our head around that,” reflected Drew. But he challenges each of us to consider our own sins.

“Have you sold the Lord for the promotion, for the pleasure, for whatever it might be? Have you thrown the Lord out so you could give in to that temporal need or desire, that sin? I think too many of us sell the Lord out for a lot less than thirty pieces of silver,” Drew said.

We know how the story of Judas ends, but what makes Judas different from others who betrayed Jesus, such as St. Peter? Unlike Peter, who repents after denying Christ, Judas does not ask for forgiveness or accept Christ’s mercy. Realizing what he had done, he takes it into his own hands to end his life rather than seek forgiveness from the one he has betrayed.

Prof. Roy Schoeman, a Catholic convert from Judaism, explained on The Drew Mariani Show, “Jesus went to the cross for Judas, also. He would have gone to the cross just to save Judas if Judas would have allowed himself to be saved, so to speak.”

This Holy Week, consider the ways that you have betrayed Christ. Have you repented for this betrayal and sought Christ’s mercy, like Peter? Or have you let your sin lead to despair and a rejection of Jesus’ love?

Tune in to The Drew Mariani Show weekdays at 2-5pm CT only on Relevant Radio.