Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
TO PONDER
So today is Wednesday of Holy Week. It's a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly when Judas makes up his mind to hand Jesus over to the Sanhedrin (the Jewish religious council that ruled the temple in Jerusalem), but by Matthew's account, either some time on Tuesday or Wednesday seem likely.
It's easy for us to sit back and label Judas the 'bad guy' in the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, and not without good reason; but today I want to encourage us all to look a little deeper and imagine ourselves in the story.
If you read the earlier parts of Matthew 26, you will see Jesus doing some things that Judas really disagrees with; particularly when it comes to letting the woman anoint Jesus' feet with the expensive perfume. Judas, as keeper of the purse for Jesus and his disciples, saw the act as a waste of financial resources - something that could have provided significant financial aid to Jesus' ministry or alternatively for the poor - who Jesus had been encouraging people to care for in his recent teaching.
Judas only saw part of the picture. He missed the fact that Jesus had been saying for weeks that his time was coming, that his earthly ministry was coming to an end. Judas simply had failed to understand the bigger piucture and so he took matters into his own hands to make things go the way he thought they needed to go. I'm sure he never expected tat Jesus would let himself be taken to the cross and killed - I'm sure that he fully expected Jesus to 'save himself' as so many people at the cross called out for Jesus to do. All Judas probably thought he was doing was giving things a nudge in the right direction.
How often do we do the same thing? We pray and ask God to help us with things in life, but then when his answer disappoints us or comes in a different form than we expected, we just take matters into our own hands. We might well say, "yeah, but my doing that doesn't result in someone being killed." However, that's exactly the point - our impatience, our desire to take control and not trust the way God works things out is exactly what led Jesus to the cross.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please help me to remember that while I may not have been in the garden while you prayed, or been with Peter in the courtyard while you stood trial, that it is still my selfishness and sin that nailed you to the cross. Please help me not to judge the sin and wrongdoing I see in others as any worse or different than the sin in my own heart. Thank you that you went to the cross for me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
TO PONDER
Two days out from the celebration of Passover. Jesus knew what was coming.
Two days out from the celebration of Passover and the chief priest and religious leaders of the Jewish people thought they knew what was coming.
They thought they had the situation under control. They thought, "if we wait until after the passover festival, some of the pilgrims will leave town and we can take care of the Jesus problem then."
The think I often reflect on at this point of Holy Week is that even though we look back and see these people and the Roman authorities as the 'bad guys' the ones who actually killed Jesus, they are also enacting and carrying out God's intended plan. Without Jesus death, there is no justification and no resurrection. We look back and think how could they have been so blind, how could they have let an innocent man suffer and die like that. It doesn't always make sense to us why something so terrible had to happen for God to bring about the salvation of all humanity.
That kind of thinking does help me to some extent when I see the violence and corruption that is evident in the world today. I'm not for a moment suggesting that God is responsible for it, but I can remember Jesus and trust that even though I may not be able to make sense or know how God is working things out through this mess, I can be confident that he is. If he can bring forgiveness and life out of suffering and death, he can make something good out of even the situation the world finds itself in today.
Today, I encourage you to remember that God is able to do far more than we could hope or imagine. Put your trust in him and follow where he leads. It might be hard, it might be painful even. It may not make sense and you may never understand the good God has brought about through it. However you can be sure that He will not leave or forsake you and because of his resurrection you can be sure that with Christ, all things are possible, even things you could not even begin to hope for or imagine.
PRAYER:Lord Jesus, sometimes it is hard to see how anything good can come out of such terrible circumstances. I suspect that sometimes in my efforts to avoid the things I see coming my way, I probably make things even worse. But I thank you that in your death and resurrection, I can see that you can make the worst mistakes into things that bring life and salvation. Lord help me to follow you more closely and avoid making mistakes, but even more, I thank you for the way you redeem even my mistakes and turn them into something new. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
TO PONDER
Our theme this Holy Week is "Jesus is...". We know that Jesus is not only a king but the King of Kings. Today I want to focus on something different, something that is easy to miss if you don't look carefully. Today I want us to remember that Jesus was God's plan from the beginning.
We hear in today's reading how Jesus sent his disciples to go and fetch him a donkey so that prophecy could be fulfilled. For centuries prior to Jesus' birth, God's prophets to the nation and people of Israel had been dropping hints about what God was planning and how they would recognise God's Messiah when he arrived. In fact, you even see the first signs of God's plan right back in the Garden of Eden when he pronounces judgement over the serpent who convinced Eve and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, when God says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)
Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the fact that Jesus is not God's backup plan, that somehow God hoped that Adam and Eve would get it right and that Jesus would not need to die in our place, but God knew. What's perhaps most crazy about that is even knowing what would happen, God went about and did it all anyway because he had a plan in place from the beginning. He new it would take his life in our place to put things right and in his great love for us he went ahead knowing full well what it would cost him to have us as his own.
Jesus is not a backup plan or an after thought - Jesus was always the fulfilment of all God's promises and plans for creation. What could there possibly be that's more worthy of our thought and reflection today than that?!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, It is difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend the depth of your love for me. But I thank you that in Jesus you have done everything necessary for me to spend my whole life getting to know more of your love each day. Please make me bold in sharing that love with others so they too, may know the joy of the love of their Heavenly Father. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
TO PONDER
While I'm not usually a fan of reality television, there has been one kind of reality/documentary show that seems to be popping up increasingly on various streaming services. They are shows that document or interview people who have escaped life in various cults. I find the psychology behind these kinds of groups fascinating. What strikes me in almost every interview with a person who has managed to find their way clear of the cult they were in is this; they all share how easy it is to fall prey to the belief systems of those around you. We might call it the 'mob mentality'.
Something similar was happening on that first Palm Sunday as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Most of the Jews in the crowd knew Jesus was a saviour but they didn't;t know what he had actually come to save them from. They had been told for so long that one day a Messiah would come from the line of King David to 'free' God's people and establish an everlasting kingdom. For centuries, that promise had been understood as a military and political saviour who would kick out the Romans and establish an everlasting kingdom of Israel. This is what the crowd wanted, this is what they expected.
Less than a week later, those same crowds had changed their opinion of Jesus because they did not see him doing what they expected. Instead of shouting Hosanna, which means "save us", they were shouting "crucify him". Even his closest friends and followers didn't;t completely understand and those who had promised never to leave Jesus side, found themselves denying they even knew Jesus.
Palm Sunday is a good way to start the journey through Holy Week. It's a chance to stop and reflect on what you expect from Jesus and to reflect on whether your expectations really align with what Jesus told his disciples that he had come to do. Are you letting the Word of God tell you who Jesus is and what he has done or are you listening to the crowds all around you, those who think they have all the answers, but only see the part of the picture they want to see?
PRAYER:Lord Jesus, Thank you that you came to seek and save the lost, of whom I am certainly one. Please help me to keep my eyes, ears and heart open this week as I reflect on the story of your death and resurrection. Help me to see more clearly and completely everything you have done for me through your sacrifice on the cross. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
TO PONDER
This will be the last time I do a daily verse devotion for LifeWay, at least as a LifeWay staff member. 2025 was my 36th year serving in ministry and in that time, I have seen and heard it all (hyperbole). I have had Joy, I have had pain, and I have been frustrated. I have thought about walking away in disgust as people who call themselves church have given excuses why they couldn’t serve; why they left a church community because they were offended/not being fed/not getting anything out of worship or were "too busy" or "too selfish" (that last one was maybe me summing it all up).
Church is not just a place or building we go to and meet in, and it's not about what we get out of it. It's not about the pastor, our entertainment, our wants and needs. Church is who we become together as the body of Christ, the role we fill, who we serve, what we give, what we can do to help others encounter Jesus.
Since this will be my last LifeWay daily verse let me be blunt: where do you serve? What’s your role? How do you help others? Or, are you just there to meet your religious obligation of attendance, to be fed, to be cared for by the Pastor, to get instead of give?
If “even the Son of Man” (Jesus), God with skin on, the King of Kings, the creator and sustainer of the universe came to serve and laid down his life for others, becaming a servant of all, can we really just reply with, "I have no time/interest/calling/care to serve others"?
My time with LifeWay has been a time of blessing, a time of growing, a time of learning and at times - one of frustration, but most of all it has been a time of community building and when you are a church planter community is important and so I will be forever grateful to all at LifeWay.
And to finish this post I would like to challenge you all with the statement that you are all called to lay down your life for others. You are all called to servanthood within His body, the Church. You are all called to practice unreasonable hospitality and you are all called to share His grace to everyone you meet. Grow the church.
PRAYER:Father God I thank you for your church, the people you have called to be your children, the people who have been given the call to reflect your love and grace to a world who need it. I ask you to raise up a church that gives itself in service to others, in the name of our saviour Jesus. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
TO PONDER
There was a college commencement speech given way back in 2005 that went viral by an award-winning secular author and professor, David Foster Wallace in which he made the point that everybody worships something. He said that worship is the default of humanity and the only choice we get is what we actually worship.
As good Lutherans we perhaps feel we have already made that choice because we choose to attend worship every Sunday (unless we are busy) but what if I told you attending worship could be one of the least worshipful things you might do.
In today’s verse, Paul is strongly encouraging the church in Rome (and by extension us) to do more than attend worship weekly, or even daily if that was possible. After all, going to weekly worship is barely a sacrifice and probably, doesn’t change our every day, it often only alters our Sundays.
Paul was challenging God’s people to change our everyday, to live for Him daily, to sacrifice daily, to step out of the comfortable and live a life for Him that actually costs more than what is reasonable (and he wasn’t talking about the price of petrol).
Now, here is the “cheat-code” from today’s verse on how to worship God; live sacrificially for others, give your life for the needs of others, put others first, worship God by doing for the people around you what He has done for you, love and serve sacrificially those you interact with everyday.
Remember, the thing you give your everyday to, you give your time to, the thing you sacrifice for, this is what you worship.
PRAYER: Merciful God, I thank you for the love and mercy you have and continue to lavish on me, I do not deserve your grace, help my life become an act of worship as I offer it as a living sacrifice given for others. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
TO PONDER
Every morning do you look at yourself in the mirror and say “dead-man/woman-walking” to remind yourself of who you are/should be on the other side of the cross?
In today’s verse, Paul is identifying himself as a dead-man-walking. Not in the sense that he is mortal and with a sigh of resignation admitting one day he will die but rather, as a reminder that who he was before the cross of Jesus is now dead, and that he was now living a new life, a Jesus life.
The background of the verse is a discussion about how the Jewish brethren were treating the Gentile (non-Jews) converts, the "others", the "neighbours".
The “dead-person-walking” or the “crucified-person-walking” Paul is talking about in the verse, is a person who gives themselves for others, just as Jesus did for us, gave himself for the us while we were still the "other".
As an “exvangelical” I would often talk about “giving my life to Jesus” while the words of Jesus were actually calling me to give my life for others. I eventually realised it was less about “doing” church on a Sunday and more about “being” church daily, living as a dead-person-walking, a crucified person reflecting Jesus to those around me.
To sum it up; Jesus gave his life for you, your task is to follow him and give your life for others daily.
PRAYER: Almighty God, you described yourself to Moses as “merciful and gracious” highlighting your unreasonable hospitality towards me, inviting me, the “other”, to become family through your sacrifice, help me sacrifice myself for others. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Dany Brock, LifeWay Westside.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
TO PONDER
Do you ever get annoyed when you are ALWAYS the one who takes the high-road in disputes, maintaining relationship, saying sorry, and doing all the work? I can relate, its hard… Welcome to marriage, and family, and friendship, and employment, and, I guess, life?
We are always the hero of our own story, better than who we really are, worse than what we remember and, more often than not, pretty selfish (sorry, this is probably just me!)
In today’s verse we have Jesus telling his disciples about his coming suffering, death (a shameful criminal’s death) and his resurrection on the third day. The disciples didn’t get it, at all.
And then Jesus took it a few steps past the unreasonable when he said that unless they follow his lead and carry their own self-sacrificial death daily they weren’t his disciples.
Death on a cross was shameful, painful, and very messy/bloody and that’s what Jesus expects from his followers, expects from us.
Daily/ALWAYS, dying to our own hopes and dreams for the sake of the hopes and dreams of others, saying sorry first, forgiving before there is a “sorry”, doing the work, restoring relationships over being right.
PRAYER : Lord Jesus, thank you for carrying you cross, the cross you didn’t deserve, the cross you asked to be taken away from you in the Garden of Gethsemane with the hope of restoring me into a relationship with you, help me carry my cross daily with your sacrifice in mind. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (NLT)
TO PONDER
What do you do? The first question usually asked when we meet someone. Yeah sure, it is an easy, go to question to fill in the discomfort of an awkward first meeting, but why?
Are we asking; “are you worthy of my time and effort, are you accomplished enough to be of benefit to me in friendship?” Or maybe I am just shallow…
Today’s verses are stating the ultimate flex to the question of “What do you do”, when the person asked can reply with “I'm the designer, creator, and sustainer of everything!” But the answer given by Jesus and these verses was actually, “I'm a servant!”
Jesus came to earth, “moved into the neighbourhood” to serve, to give his life to and for those who should serve him. The one who should be served, served others, living a life of self-sacrifice.
On the night before Jesus literally sacrificed his life for the world he, in an act of extreme humility, knelt down in front of his disciples and washed their feet to demonstrate servanthood and when he had washed all 24 feet (even the feet of Judas who was about to betray him) he told them (and by extension, us) to do the same.
So, the next time you are asked the question “What do you do?” could you give the honest answer “I wash feet!”…
PRAYER: Jesus Servant God, help me to live a life of self-sacrifice, a life of servanthood, a life of foot-washing, a life copied on your example. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside