Maundy Thursday: This is My Body

Have you ever thought of Jesus’ feelings as He faced His destiny?  He knew the end of His life on earth was going to be like no other.  He came to live, die and be resurrected.  On Maundy Thursday we are reminded of His last day with the disciples.  He began the traditional Passover dinner by washing the feet of each of the twelve disciples.  He had never done this before because normally a servant would wash the dusty feet of guests arriving for a meal.  

Jesus talked about the sacrament of the blood and wine for the first time. The disciples had never heard of eating flesh.  He spoke of a new gift, the Holy Spirit, which meant although He would not be beside them, He would be inside them.  He gave them a new commandment to love one another.  John 13: 34, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."  Jesus told his disciples that peace was the last gift He would give them.  John 14: 27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  

A Maundy Thursday service is a somber service to draw us into the night of Jesus’ betrayal, we are reminded of God’s provision in which Jesus offered up the bread and the wine that was broken and shed for us.  Jesus’ night ended with anxiety, deep betrayal and walking towards a torturous death.  He was betrayed, arrested and tortured alone.  When our Maundy service is over we leave in silence because the mood has turned to solitude and sorrow.  We can use this time to walk with Jesus in His final days and hours.