Is 'Spy Wednesday' — Judas Plotting To Betray Jesus — the New 'High Holy Day'?

As the #COVIDHoax Showed, the Church Should Be Much More Anarchist Than It Is

I promised this follow-up to my report two weeks ago about my last workday before the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

This time, I’m calling out Christian officials, clergy, and congregants.

And Wednesday of Holy Week — the week in which Christian liturgies more deeply explore the historical details of Jesus’ persecution, death and resurrection — is the perfect day to do it. Four years ago, I chose the same day to make a similar post on Facebook (I’ve reprinted it at the bottom of this article as BONUS MATERIAL).

Why Wednesday of Holy Week?

Today is known as Spy Wednesday, because it commemorates Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ original 12 Apostles, agreeing to “hand over” Jesus to the Israelite high priests, in exchange for “30 pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6).

This leads directly to Jesus’ arrest after the next night’s Last Supper.

And I see, sadly, too many similarities between Judas’ recorded actions and the behavior of far too many self-identified Christians during the #COVIDHoax.

The Thirty Pieces of Silver, by János Pentelei Molnár, painted in 1909 and now considered to be a public-domain work. See Wikimedia for more information.

The ’dual allegiance’ is the exercise of Judas

I was the guest on the “Libertarian Christian Podcast” published Friday, March 22 (listen at Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and the Libertarian Christian Institute website). The host, Doug Stuart, asked why, in my observation, so many Christians seem to gravitate toward the “dual allegiance” of Church and Government. I offered:

I wonder if the difficulty that other people are having is maybe the difficulty I had a long time ago. …

I think it’s easy to cherry-pick elements and say, “Oh yes, of course the government is Christian, because the government keeps law and order — and I like order, and law is good — and because there are things you should do and things you shouldn’t do. So this all seems vaguely Christian to me.”

The “dual allegiance” becomes an exercise in forcing Jesus into the parameters of good citizenship in the dominant culture. And that’s exactly what Judas tried to do nearly 2,000 years ago!

Contrary to some popular understandings, Judas didn’t want Jesus to be killed. In fact, Judas “deeply regretted what he had done” when he realized the Israelite authorities’ intentions (Matthew 27:3-10).

But it was too late. Judas, in trying to broker a meeting between Jesus and the Israelite authorities — so they could talk some sense into Jesus and get Him to fall in line with the popular culture! — had essentially betrayed Jesus to the fullest extent.

The worst reaction to Jesus isn’t to reject Him; it’s to manipulate His message to fit some other priority. To reject is to be contra-Christ, but to try to force Jesus to fit into something else is to be anti-Christ. The Anti-Christ — the Impostor, the Spy — is worse than the honest opponent.

Every Bishop in the U.S. was ‘Judas, the Betrayer’ in 2020

I don’t mean to single out the Roman Catholics as if they’re the only ones who failed miserably. As I wrote earlier, the anti-Christ behavior occurred across all or nearly all Christian denominations. But, since I’m Roman Catholic, I think it’s only fair that I start with those I directly encountered most.

For far too long — all the way back to Constantine, as I posit in my book, Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen (Amazon, B&N, Lulu) — there have been pagan elements in popular Christianity, and especially Judas-like attitudes of forcing the Gospel to fit imposed, hierarchical, social order.

This ratcheted up in the U.S. in early 2020, when Christian officials locked their doors to congregants out of deference and compliance with coercive civil authorities. The closures in my state of New Jersey extended through Holy Week and beyond the entire Paschal Season.

Church officials essentially handed over Jesus to the various governments in the U.S. This not only reinforced existing cronyism, but also eventually resulted in “30 pieces of silver”: Paycheck Protection Program bailouts, debated almost immediately when the lockdowns began, and for which Church officials successfully lobbied!

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

I’ve occasionally broached this sad topic in conversations, like my appearance on the “What Then Must We Do?” podcast with Bretigne Shaffer in late 2023 (available at Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Google, Buzzsprout, PodcastIndex, and right here on Substack!). I said:

Find me a U.S. bishop during the last four years who was not a Judas, who did not turn in Jesus for their [Paycheck Protection Program] money. … And don’t give me the answer that they were just trying to keep people safe, because Judas was just trying to keep them safe, too.

I don’t think there’s anywhere in the Gospels where Jesus says, “Hey, above all, make sure you’re safe.”  That’s at odds with “Blessed are the persecuted.”  That’s at odds with teaching people how to assert their dignity when they’re being abused, when they’re being put down, when they’re being subjugated, when they’re being violated, when they’re being forced into these things.

Christians need to become bad citizens again

Having more anarchists/voluntarists in the Christian communities could’ve saved us from the shameful, recent past (as well as the prior 1,700 years of nonsense since the time of Constantine).

I’m talking about the good neighbors and bad citizens who practice “dignified defiance,” even as the government and its cronies and adherents try to scare everybody into animalistic, fear-driven compliance.

Returning to the “Libertarian Christian Podcast” from this past Friday, I was explicit in the need for honest self-criticism within the Church:

I draw that distinction [between good neighbors and good citizens] to perhaps make us reflect on our churches. How much have our churches veered toward compliance?  “Don’t understand what you're doing! Just do what you're told!”

I think there’s a self-awareness and a self-reflection that has to go on for us as Christians.  Do we really embrace what it means to be good neighbor? … Do we insource our ethics — which is what it means to develop your conscience — or do we outsource our ethics where we’re just looking for that leader to tell us what to do?

Too many Christians have essentially moved their holiest day of the year from Easter Sunday to Spy Wednesday: when their hero, Judas — the only good citizen among the Apostles! — gave them the model they truly embrace and emulate.

I ‘spy’ with my little eye: your comments!

What do you remember about the Church lockdowns and later restrictions?

Was I too harsh with my criticism? Too lenient? Just right?

If you’re an anarchist/voluntarist (or close to it), do you see the need for more of that mindset and value system among those who profess to be Christian?  Does that need increase or decrease during alleged crises?

What do you think of the bonus material (appended below this main article)?

Anything else interest you about this post and its themes?

Let me know your thoughts in the Comments :-)

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BONUS MATERIAL: My Facebook post from Spy Wednesday, April 8, 2020

This year has been a revelation of sorts, a very public exaltation of Judas Iscariot in the Christian world.

And since today is Wednesday of Holy Week — sometimes called Spy Wednesday — there’s extra meaning in how the Church recalls the plotting of Judas Iscariot to hand over Jesus to the coercive civil authorities. Judas did this in exchange for financial considerations, and because he was upset that Jesus and the others wouldn't obey the coercive civil authorities enough.

This year, during widespread suppression blamed on COVID-19 fears, it is obvious that the vast majority of the U.S. (and worldwide?) Roman Catholic hierarchy are successors to Judas Iscariot, telling the body of Christ to go along with the coercive civil authorities for everyone's supposed benefit. They’ve forbidden entry to services, especially sacraments. And, of course, in return for being such dutiful adherents, they’ve asked for their “30 pieces of silver.”

Really, did you know that Catholic Charities’ social works come from government sources? Did you know the Catholic schools lobby for their “fair share” of government handouts earmarked for education? Did you see the local bishops asking for non-profits, like their own, to get consideration in any recently passed and as-yet-pending government financial bailouts? Etc.

It happens.

And it’s all so perfectly Judas Iscariot.

And I’ve seen too many of the “faithful” congregants simply accept this and be essentially Little Judases. This is not surprising, considering that so many people who cheered for Jesus when he entered Jerusalem, turned on Him and supported His execution.

When push comes to shove, how many members of the Magisterium all the way down to the congregants — the ordinaries and the extraordinaries — genuinely put Christ above all, including above Caesar, Marduk, Pop Culture, the Majority Mob, Pseudo-Security and other idols?

I’ve long witnessed a fondness for Caesar, Marduk, etc., in the pews and at the altar. The suppression sparked by COVID-19 has intensified and crystallized it.

Yes, I know there are many such people, from clergy to congregants, in my social circles.

Yes, I’m calling you out.

May you not despair (as Judas subsequently did, making a bad situation even worse), but may you also not continue to put Caesar, Marduk, etc., above Christ.

Because, as you’re proving this year, the Church has essentially transferred the highest holy day in the liturgical year from the Paschal Vigil to a few days earlier. Your most devoted-to historical event is marked today, Spy Wednesday, when Judas Iscariot chose the validation and financial consideration of the coercive civil authorities instead of true allegiance to the person of Christ and the mission entrusted by Him.

Here’s the link to the original.