Up to this point, we know that on Sunday Jesus made His triumphal
entry into the city of Jerusalem with His disciples. He was greeted by the
crowds of common people with shouts of Hosanna, which meant “save us now”. For
three and a half years they had heard messages on the kingdom and seen His miracles
of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making lame men to walk, feeding
the multitudes, and raising the dead! They sincerely thought that He was the
Messiah who would save them from the hated Roman rule over them.

 

They wanted an external salvation of freedom but failed to realize
that they must first have an internal salvation for their souls from their
sins. This could only take place if Jesus fulfilled the prophesies like Isaiah
53 where He would bear their sins in His own body and died as the spotless Lamb
of God, the Passover Lamb, in their place. In these last days just before His crucifixion,
Jesus has privately been telling His disciples over and over again that He must
suffer and that He would die and be resurrected.

 

Of course, this must have “troubled” the disciples (John
14:1), and particular one of them named Judas. We have already been told that he
was a thief and was stealing from the common money the disciples shared. His
dreams of ruling and getting a position of power and control in the Kingdom were
falling apart and Satan puts it in his heart “to go his way” to get the
most out of his position as a disciple and betray Jesus for thirty pieces of
silver.

 

During this Passion Week, Jesus and His disciples were
staying at the home of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Bethany is about two miles
away from Jerusalem. The city would have been extremely crowded and chaotic
during the Passover week. Jesus and His disciples walked those two miles each
day to teach in the temple and then returned to Bethany for the night. We are
pretty sure we know what Jesus did each day of this week, except for Wednesday.
For that reason, this day has been called “silent Wednesday” by some scholars.

 

But most Bible scholars and commentators seem to agree and believe
that Wednesday was the day spoken about in Matthew 26:14–16, Mark 14:10-11, and
Luke 22:1-5, the day Judas chose to betray Jesus. Besides this we can’t find
any other events that might have taken place. It is possible this is because the
disciples needed time to prepare for the Passover meal. Did Mary and Martha
help with that? The Passover celebration required shopping, cooking, and
planning. Was everyone bustling around Jesus with important preparations while He
was praying for the strength to make an impossibly difficult sacrifice?

 

We can imagine Jesus taking time on Wednesday to retreat to
a quiet spot so that he could sit with his Abba and pray. It’s impossible to
fathom what it would have been like for Jesus to be God incarnate, indwelling
the limitations of a human body. He understood physical pain, he felt
humiliation, He expected His death would be a horrendous ordeal for His human
body to endure. He also knew that He was about to accomplish the purpose He had
been born to do. He was going to provide salvation for anyone who would choose
to believe and make Him Lord. What did Jesus pray about during that time with His
Abba?

 

Maybe we should spend some of this day like Jesus did. Is
there time in your schedule to simply turn the world off, take a walk, and
spend some time with your Abba? If you are reading this on your office
computer, take time during lunch or during the drive home to simply quiet your
heart and think about what Jesus did that Wednesday—and the significance of the
events in the days that followed.

 

Why doesn’t Scripture tell us what Jesus did that
Wednesday? Maybe because it was the day Jesus chose to spend privately with
God. Maybe we can consider doing the same. Your Abba would love to have that
time with you . . . there is something He wants to tell you.

 

God bless!