Silent Wednesday: Worship or Betrayal? | Passion Week 2025

Welcome to Day 4 of our Passion Week series. Today we reflect on Silent Wednesday, a day where the surface seems calm, but two powerful stories unfold behind the scenes: Judas' betrayal of Jesus and Mary’s extravagant act of worship.

In this short devotional, we explore Matthew 26 and John 12, where we contrast Judas Iscariot’s betrayal for 30 pieces of silver with Mary of Bethany’s costly offering. 

What does it mean to truly worship Jesus—even when it costs us everything? When following Jesus gets difficult, do we lean into surrender, or do we pull away in self-preservation?

Join us for this reflection as we prepare our hearts during Holy Week to walk closely with Jesus on the road to the cross.

👉 New here? Don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and Share to walk through the rest of Passion Week with us.

📌 CHAPTERS
00:00 - Welcome to Day 4: Silent Wednesday
00:31 - What the Bible says about Wednesday
00:41 - Judas' betrayal (Matthew 26:14–16)
01:36 - Mary’s act of worship (Matthew 26:6–7, John 12:3)
01:58 - The cost of devotion: A year’s wages
02:30 - Jesus defends Mary's worship (Matthew 26:10–12)
02:45 - Judas vs. Mary: Devotion or Betrayal?
03:04 - How do we respond when following Jesus is hard?
03:30 - What does betrayal look like in our lives?
03:58 - Jesus is worth everything
04:29 - Invitation to worship fully + closing

#PassionWeek #HolyWeek #SilentWednesday #WorshipOrBetrayal #JudasAndMary

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey friends, welcome back toBehind the Mike Podcast
as we walk day by daythrough Passion Week.
Today it's Wednesday, a daywhen everything slows
down on the surface.
But behind the scenes, twopowerful things are happening.
Number one,a plot to betray Jesus.
And number two,a woman's extravagant

(00:21):
act of worship.
Here's the question.
When we're faced with Jesus,do we worship or betray?
Let's dive in.
Wednesday is sometimescalled Silent Wednesday
because the Gospels don't recordpublic teachings
from Jesus that day.
But a lot is happeningprivately.

(00:41):
First, the dark side.
The plot to kill Jesus.
This comes from

Matthew 26 (00:45):
14-16.
And it says, then one of the 12whose name was Judas Iscariot,
went to the chiefpriests and said,
what would you give meif I deliver him over to you?
And they paid him30 pieces of silver.
And from that moment he sawan opportunity to betray him.
Think about that.

(01:07):
One of Jesus own disciples,someone who
walked with him, heardhis teaching, saw his miracles.
Sells him outfor a handful of coins.
But on the flip side, there'sthis beautiful act of devotion.
You see, Matthew

26 (01:23):
6-7 tells us now when Jesus was at
Bethany in the houseof Simon the leper,
a woman came up to himwith an alabaster flask full of
very expensive ointment.
She poured it on his headas he reclined at the table.
John's gospel tells usthis woman is Mary,
the sister of Marthaand Lazarus.

(01:45):
while Judas is plottingbetrayal, Mary is pouring out
worship.
First, let's talk about Mary'sact of worship
This perfume wasn'tsome cheap gift.
It was a worth a year's wages.
Imagine taking everythingyou earned in a year
and laying it at Jesus feet.

(02:05):
The disciples, especially Judas.
They were outraged.
Matthew 26 eightsays, why this waste?
But Jesus defends her.
She's donea beautiful thing to me
in pouring this ointmenton my body.
She is preparing me for burialthat comes in

Matthew 26 (02:24):
10-12.
You see, Mary got it.
She understoodwhat was about to happen
even when the others didn't.
Now think about Judaswhile Mary is giving her
best honor to Jesus.
Judas is selling Jesus outfor the price of a slave.

(02:46):
check out

Exodus 21 (02:46):
32 for that.
Two Responses to Jesus,one of total devotion and one of
selfish betrayal.
Here's the hard questionfor us today when following
Jesus gets hard,what is our response?
Do we worship like Mary andpour out our lives

(03:07):
no matter the cost?
Or do we pulla Judas and turn away
when it doesn'tserve us anymore?
Sometimes betrayalisn't as obvious
as Judas, as dealwith the priests.
You know, it'scompromising truth to fit in.
It's choosingcomfort over obedience.

(03:31):
It's holding backpart of our hearts from Jesus
instead of giving himeverything.
Jesus sees both.
And he calls us to choosedevotion over betrayal.
So today I want to ask you,what are you offering Jesus?
Are you pouring outyour best like Mary?
Or are you holding backlike Judas?

(03:53):
Jesus is worth all of usour hearts, our time,
our worship,even when it cost us.
And that's not always easy.
Here's the beautiful partthough.
He gave everything for us first.
Thanks for joining me for thispowerful reflection on Wednesday
of Passion Week.

(04:13):
Tomorrow we're steppinginto Thursday, the Last Supper,
Jesus final mealwith his disciples,
and the beginning of his roadto the cross.
You don't want to miss that.
Until then, let's be peoplewho pour out worship
and not hold back.
Hey, if this is stirringsomething in your heart,
like subscribe and share.
And if you've never knownwhat it means

(04:35):
to give your life fullyto Jesus, reach out.
I would love to walk with youthrough that decision.
Thanks and God bless.