Maundy Thursday… The New Command

 Today’s Text: John 13:34

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

Words of Devotion

The Thursday before Easter is called Maundy Thursday. The word maundy means “command,” and this day commemorates the command Jesus gave to His disciples on the night He was betrayed. They had just eaten a Passover meal together, which we call “the Last Supper.”

Jesus knew that He was about to leave His disciples. The Bible tells us “He now showed them the full extent of His love” (John 13:1). How? He poured water into a basin and began to wash their feet.

This job was usually performed by the lowliest of servants. Israelites wore sandals and their feet were dirty from dry, dusty roads when they entered a house. One of the servants would wash the guest's feet before they ate.

But Jesus and His disciples were borrowing a place for their Passover meal. Imagine this group of guys eagerly digging into the meal with no thought of washing up beforehand! It wouldn't be the first time. Earlier some Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to Jesus asking, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" (Matthew 15:1)

A basin and towels were provided with the room, but who was willing to be the servant? Jesus explained that He was giving them an example: they should show their love by humbly serving one another, just as He was doing. 

Jesus was humble, but He was not weak or powerless. Jesus “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7). 

Jesus served His disciples because He loved them. He commands us to love and humbly serve the way He did. The only way we can do this is by knowing His love in us and extending it to others, serving them.

GOING DEEPER:

Read John 13:1-17, the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. What was Peter's reaction? Why didn’t Peter need a “bath”?  (Compare Hebrews 10:10-11 with 1 John 1:8-10)

Why do you think Jesus washed Judas' feet? (John 13:18-30)

Why is it significant that Jesus gave His new command to the disciples after Judas left? (John 13:34) 

Where the Wrath and Love of God Meet

Today’s Text: Romans 3:23-26

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, (Vrs 23-25a)

Words of Devotion

In our culture, sin is no longer considered an issue. Although some people might admit to making mistakes or being wrong, few will actually say, "I have sinned." The Lord, however, takes sin very seriously. Until we learn to see transgression as He does, we will never understand what happened at Christ's crucifixion.

The cross was God's perfect answer to a terrible dilemma. Because the Lord is holy and just, He hates sin and must respond to it with punishment and wrath. Yet He also loves sinners and wants to be reconciled with them. The cross of Christ was the place where God's wrath and love collided.

The only way to rescue fallen mankind from eternal punishment was to devise a plan whereby the Lord could forgive sins without compromising His Holiness. There was no way to overlook transgressions; His wrath had to be poured out--either on us or a substitute. But there was only one possible substitute: the perfect Son of God.

So Jesus came to earth as a man and suffered the Lord's wrath for us as He hung on the cross. Sin was punished, divine justice was satisfied, and now God could forgive mankind without compromising His character. His wrath was poured out on His Son so that His love and forgiveness could be lavished upon us.

Because of human limitations, we'll never grasp all that happened while Jesus hung on the cross. We can begin to comprehend only the physical suffering He endured, but in the spiritual realm, Christ bore so much more--the very wrath of God. This costly redemption plan proves God's great love.