A Maundy Thursday Devotion

On the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord ate His last supper with His disciples. 

As Christians, we remember this meal with a celebration the church calls Maundy Thursday (Read What is Maundy Thursday?).  The focus of our remembrance is Jesus’ example of His great love and His service to others when He removed His outer garment, took a bowl of water and a towel, and washed all 12 of His disciples’ feet, including the feet of Judas.  In doing this, Jesus demonstrated His humility (cf. Philippians 2:1–11) and modeled humble service for others.    

Following the Dinner

When Jesus finished washing the disciple’s feet, He returned to the table and explained that what He had done was an example of how they should treat one another. 

John 13:13-14  “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.’

John 13:15  “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

The Betrayer Identified

Then Jesus revealed who would betray Him:

John 13:18, 21  “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’  … Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

John 13:25  Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?”

John 13:26  Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.” And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

Judas Departed

John 13:30  Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.

A Command to Love

With Judas gone, Jesus spoke clearly to His 11 faithful disciples.  He gave them a new commandment that would be His royal law:

John 13:34-35  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

James 2:8  If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.

Symbols of Hope

With Judas gone, Jesus took the bread and the cup and offered them to His disciples.  In doing so, He changed the Passover meal into a Christian observance to come.  The symbolic elements of bread and wine foretold His broken body and His shed blood.  As they partook, Jesus told of the significance of this meal, not only for them but also for all generations to come: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). 

In Word and Deed

By His prophetic words and His demonstrated act of humble service, Jesus revealed His great love for the world, especially for His 11 faithful disciples and also for all who would one day come to Him in faith.  

1 John 4:19  We love, because He first loved us.

Remember

On Maundy Thursday, we remember His great sacrifice.  The Word Made Flesh came to earth to live for us, to die for our sins, to conquer death, and to be raised again to life.  Because He lives, we, too, can live.  Because He loves us, we, too, can love others.

A Room with a View of Eternity – The Last Will & Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ

Have you ever been named a beneficiary in a Will? 

When people die, they leave their most precious possessions to those whom they love.  And that’s exactly what Jesus did!   

On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus spoke His Last Will and Testament.  With His 11 faithful disciples present, He prayed to His Father and bequeathed gifts to all who would come to Him in faith.

The Will was sealed in His blood and became effective the moment He died (Heb 9:16-17).

Learn more about the riches you have received.

The book A Room with a View of Eternity — The Last Will & Testament of the Lord Jesus Christ shares insights into Jesus’ upper room discourse and examines Jesus’ prayer in John 17 as His Last Will and Testament.

The book gives abundant hope by reminding believers of the gifts they have already received and the fullness of those that are yet to come.

It reveals to non-believers the love and grace that Jesus offers them and the precious gifts that can be theirs.

Remember the Gifts You Inherited and Share the Gifts with Others  Click Here!