Maundy Thursday
This last Thursday of Jesus' earthly life was a day marked by countless momentous events. Jesus and His disciples share the Passover meal together; Jesus washes His disciples' feet; Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper; Jesus confronts His betrayer, Judas; Jesus teaches His disciples; Jesus and His disciples go to the Mount of Olives where He prays with great desperation and earnestness to His Heavenly Father (but the disciples utterly fail Him by repeatedly falling asleep); and finally, a mob of soldiers led by Judas come to the Mount of Olives with swords and flaming torches in order to arrest Jesus.
There's so much here--so much depth of sorrow, wisdom, grace, weakness, love, compassion, and sin displayed here that I can't begin to put words to it. I'll just limit my thoughts to four particular words that came to mind as I read of these powerful, convicting, shocking, astounding, troubling events.
These are simple words and simple lessons, but they're what the Lord was teaching me today as I read. Those words are supper, servant, second chances, and song.
1. Supper. These events begin around a supper table. We're told that "When it was evening, He [Jesus] reclined at table with the twelve." And so began their supper and Passover meal. And just the day before, Jesus was anointed with perfume by Mary of Bethany in an extravagant act of worship, while He was reclining at a table. Another meal. Consider how often in the Gospels we hear of Jesus and the disciples eating or even feasting. God's Word is replete with references to meals and food and eating. And, of course, the most glorious meal of all will be the Wedding Supper of the Lamb in heaven. What a celebration that will be!
But here's the point--meals and food matter to God. He created them. He crafted every olive tree, grape vine, and wheat field. And Jesus enjoyed eating and sharing meals with His friends and with people in general. Food is one of God's greatest gifts, and He made it for us to savor and to share and to enjoy in fellowship with others. Seriously, I don't think there's much I love more than eating a delicious meal with people I love! But God purposely made it to be that way, and this is clearly reflected throughout Jesus' life, even down to the very last night of His earthly existence.
We've all be doing a ton of cooking lately, haven't we? I'm an awfully mediocre cook, but how I long to be better, and boy, these days I'm getting lots and lots of practice. But the thing is, we can get mighty tired of all the cooking and cleaning day after day, night after night. Not to mention, with children, it seems like it takes us hours to prepare it but only minutes to inhale it...and then, boom, it's all over and time to clean up all that mess. Whew.
Yet this reminded me that being able to cook and share food with people I love is a gift. It's sacred even, and we need to approach it with gratitude in our hearts, diligence in our hands, and joyful willingness in our attitudes. Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's important, God-honoring work. So let's ask the Lord to give us thankful hearts and joyful spirits as we cook and clean.
2. Servant. Jesus washed His disciples' dirty feet that night at the table. That was the job of the most menial of slaves, and yet Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, willingly took up a towel and lovingly washed the muck and mire from His disciples' feet--including those of the one who would betray Him.
And He gave the command that as He, the Master has done, so should we do as well. And later He commands His disciples, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34). That's where the name Maundy Thursday comes from--Maundy comes from the Latin word meaning "command."
So I had to ask myself, how well am I serving those around me? Am I serving them with love and joy? Or am I serving grumpily or even resentfully? We are here to serve with joy--all of us. And we have the perfect model--our Lord Jesus--who served and loved even though He deserved to be constantly served and honored and worshipped. But instead He took the form of a servant. How can we do any less? And when we serve, we honor our Savior and reflect His image.
3. Second Chances. As the disciples are eating their supper with Jesus, He essentially confronts Judas, His betrayer, when He says that one of His disciples will betray Him. The stunned disciples question, "Is it I, Lord?" But Jesus answers, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with Me will betray Me." (Mt.26:23) When Judas asks, "Is it I, Rabbi?" Jesus responds, "You have said so." (Mt.26:25) And shortly thereafter, Judas leaves and heads out into the night to betray His Lord.
As I read these chilling, tragic words, I couldn't help but be stunned by the mercy and grace of Jesus. He is giving Judas one more chance to turn back from his wicked plan. In confronting Judas, Jesus essentially pleads with him not to take this horrific step. Jesus warns, "woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." (Mt.26:24) In other words, Jesus is begging Judas, "Don't do it! Repent! It's not too late to turn back and not go this wicked, horrific way."
That's grace. Unimaginable grace for one who is betraying His Lord for a few silver pieces--the price, in fact, of a slave. Jesus has done nothing but teach, equip, help, lead, and love Judas. But Judas will not turn back. He will not repent. And his eternal destiny was tragically settled as he hurried out into the darkness alone. Forever.
4. Song. Just a short little verse about what happened after they finished their supper. "And when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Mt.26:30) Jesus knew all that lay before Him. He knew the excruciating pain, the unfathomable weight of all that sin, the agony of being separated from His Father for the first tine, He knew all the horrors that lay before Him. And yet, He sang. He sang a hymn.
Moreover, Jesus and His disciples would have been singing from the Hallel. Perhaps they even sang from Ps.118 which contains the verse, "This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (v.2) And what was that day? It was the day that the Savior would sacrifice His life in order to secure salvation and abundant life for all who would believe. It would be a terrible, awful beyond all imagining day for Jesus...but a glorious, wondrous beyond all imagining day for us.
And so Jesus, knowing all that lay before Him, could sing. He could rejoice in music. Not because He wanted to go through all the horrors of the hours ahead, but because He loved you, loved me, loved us so so much that He willingly would go to the cross.
If Jesus could sing under such circumstances, what is our excuse? How can we not rejoice and sing with gratitude and trust even when life is not has we want it to be? What is keeping you from singing today? Can we not look to Jesus and be convicted and encouraged afresh to find a song of worship and thanksgiving to the One who gave His all for us?
Thank You, Jesus, thank You. Help us to keep our gazes fixed on You as we live and love today and everyday to Your glory...as we cook, as we serve, as we forgive others and seek forgiveness, and as we sing and choose gratitude over grumpiness and worship over worthy. For You are worthy.
To God be the glory.
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