"Palm Sunday" rings a bell for most people, and everyone has heard of "Easter Sunday." These two Sundays are the bookends of what is called "Holy Week" in the Christian calendar. Holy Week celebrates the last week of Jesus' life, which begins with Him entering Jerusalem to the praise of people waving palm branches and concludes with His resurrection from the grave.

Tucked between these two Sundays are a couple other days on the calendar that may sound familiar - "Maundy Thursday" (Jesus' last supper) and "Good Friday" (Jesus' crucifixion).

Right in the middle of Holy Week is "Spy Wednesday." Ever heard of it? Probably not. It's called "Spy Wednesday" because this is the day that Judas agrees to betray Jesus and hand Him over to be killed. This is a sad day.

Judas gets ticked off because a woman annoints Jesus with expensive perfume. He wanted to sell the perfume and put the money in the treasury, which he often helped himself to. But, Jesus scolded him and pointed out that this woman was preparing His body for burial...He knew what was coming. Jesus went on to say that wherever the gospel is preached that this lady's story would be told in her memory. That was more than Judas could handle, so he left and went to the chief priests asking what they would give him if he handed Jesus over to them. They agreed on 30 pieces of silver for the life of the Son of God.

That's why today is called "Spy Wednesday." Judas turns into a double agent and becomes a spy for the enemies of Christ. The thing is, Jesus knew it all along. Judas wasn't really hiding anything...how can you hide from the all-seeing eye of God? The next day, Maundy Thursday, as they shared in Jesus' last supper, the Lord would point out that His betrayer was at the table and tell Judas to go on do what he had in his heart to do...and Judas did, betraying Jesus with a kiss.

Judas was one of Jesus' twelve closest friends, he was an apostle of Christ. Just after Judas left to betray Him, Jesus says something that must have broken His heart, "Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Judas was the exact opposite. He was a traitor, the kind of friend who takes what he can and then splits leaving you for dead.

It was in the middle of all the emotion of what it feels like to be betrayed by a friend, that Jesus points out the nature of real love for your friends...willingness to sacrifice for them, even to die for them. That is the kind of Friend that Jesus is. Even though we betray Him at times, He never turns His back on us. Even though we tend to focus on ourselves, Jesus doesn't have a selfish bone in His body. He sets the mark regarding what real friendship is all about.

Wow! I'm so thankful to know today, on "Spy Wednesday," that I have a Friend who will never sell me out. Quite the opposite He is the one who is sold out on our friendship...so much so, that He died to save me.