Maundy Thursday (Luke 22:14-28)
Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Thursday, April 14)
Read Luke 22:14-38
Today is Maundy Thursday, the evening of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. It is also the time Jesus gave the the command (in Latin, “maundatum,” from which we get the word “Maundy”) to “love one another; as I have loved you, you also must love one another.”
“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” Jesus said. I’ve been chewing on that sentence, which seems to me to suggest two vital truths about what is happening on this auspicious evening.
“I have earnestly desired to eat … with you.…”
Jesus knows this is his last night, and the one place he wants to be is with his dear friends. They have walked dusty miles with him, shared meals with him, listened to him teach, watched him do miracles, and served others in his name. They are his best friends in all the world, and Jesus “earnestly desires” to be with them tonight.
Here is a reminder that community is at the core of the Christian gospel. To see the cross merely as a means by which individuals are made right with God is to see only half of what happened on Calvary. Yes, Jesus died for my sins, but that is only part of the story. Jesus died to create a new community, a new family.
It is a vital message for self-absorbed, individualistic, American Christians to hear. Our faith in Jesus connects us to a community. It is the community of Jesus which is a witness to the world: this is the point of Jesus’ statement, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:34).
Jesus didn’t just teach this; he modeled it. He earnestly desired to spend his last evening with his fledgling kingdom community. If we are serious about following him, we will find a community and stick to it like glue no matter what.
“this Passover … before I suffer.”
We must not miss the connection between Communion and the Passover, for Jesus stressed it himself. Why is this important? Well, remember how this trek to Jerusalem began. In Luke 9:31, Jesus met with Moses and Elijah on the mountain to talk about “his departure, which we was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The word for departure is, “exodus.”
The parallel is too obvious to be coincidental: As Moses led the people in a great Exodus from Egypt toward the Promised Land, so too, Jesus will lead the exodus of his people into the kingdom of God.
But there is a heavy price to pay. Jesus has warned them about impeding judgment. We now see the shocking truth: Judgment will come, but Jesus will bear the entire weight of that judgment upon himself. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb. For Moses, it was the sacrifice of the blood of the lamb on the doorposts; for Jesus, it will be the sacrifice of his very body (bread) and blood (cup). He will suffer so we can be set free from slavery.
The disciples were slow to catch on. Even as Jesus modeled self-giving love, they jockeyed for position on the kingdom totem pole. One of them would deny Jesus that very evening, another would betray him, the rest would run away.
So we must not be too hard on ourselves. If Jesus could shape that motley crew into a community which literally changed the world, he can certainly do the same with us!
“Lord, thank you for laying down your life for me. Help me to follow you by embracing your sacrifice, by committing to your community, and by loving others as you have loved me.”
“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” Jesus said. I’ve been chewing on that sentence, which seems to me to suggest two vital truths about what is happening on this auspicious evening.
“I have earnestly desired to eat … with you.…”
Jesus knows this is his last night, and the one place he wants to be is with his dear friends. They have walked dusty miles with him, shared meals with him, listened to him teach, watched him do miracles, and served others in his name. They are his best friends in all the world, and Jesus “earnestly desires” to be with them tonight.
Here is a reminder that community is at the core of the Christian gospel. To see the cross merely as a means by which individuals are made right with God is to see only half of what happened on Calvary. Yes, Jesus died for my sins, but that is only part of the story. Jesus died to create a new community, a new family.
It is a vital message for self-absorbed, individualistic, American Christians to hear. Our faith in Jesus connects us to a community. It is the community of Jesus which is a witness to the world: this is the point of Jesus’ statement, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:34).
Jesus didn’t just teach this; he modeled it. He earnestly desired to spend his last evening with his fledgling kingdom community. If we are serious about following him, we will find a community and stick to it like glue no matter what.
“this Passover … before I suffer.”
We must not miss the connection between Communion and the Passover, for Jesus stressed it himself. Why is this important? Well, remember how this trek to Jerusalem began. In Luke 9:31, Jesus met with Moses and Elijah on the mountain to talk about “his departure, which we was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” The word for departure is, “exodus.”
The parallel is too obvious to be coincidental: As Moses led the people in a great Exodus from Egypt toward the Promised Land, so too, Jesus will lead the exodus of his people into the kingdom of God.
But there is a heavy price to pay. Jesus has warned them about impeding judgment. We now see the shocking truth: Judgment will come, but Jesus will bear the entire weight of that judgment upon himself. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb. For Moses, it was the sacrifice of the blood of the lamb on the doorposts; for Jesus, it will be the sacrifice of his very body (bread) and blood (cup). He will suffer so we can be set free from slavery.
The disciples were slow to catch on. Even as Jesus modeled self-giving love, they jockeyed for position on the kingdom totem pole. One of them would deny Jesus that very evening, another would betray him, the rest would run away.
So we must not be too hard on ourselves. If Jesus could shape that motley crew into a community which literally changed the world, he can certainly do the same with us!
“Lord, thank you for laying down your life for me. Help me to follow you by embracing your sacrifice, by committing to your community, and by loving others as you have loved me.”