Holy Thursday

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34

Holy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday. Some etymologists trace this name back to the Latin word for command, because on this day the Lord gave a new commandment in John 13:34, which would serve as the sign by which the world would know that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. In this day the Lord proclaimed the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the inauguration of the New Testament in His blood. Now, as Paul states in I Corinthians 5:7 “Christ, our Passover, [is] sacrificed for us.” In the events of this day and night, we find the foundations laid for God's ministry of reconciliation that begins with the shedding of the blood of the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus. These include:

• The everlasting love of God for His people from which we will never be separated; John 13:1 says “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
• The example of the true servant of God; John 13:14-17 “...I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example....a servant is not greater than his master...if you know these things happy are you if you do them.”
• The new commandment of love in John 13:34.
• The eternal assurance of faith; John 14:3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also.”
• The promise of the Holy Spirit; John 14:16 “I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter...even the Spirit of truth...for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
• The abiding sign of His sacrifice for sins; Luke 22:20 “This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you.”

The Eucharist that we observe was instituted at the Passover supper on Holy Thursday, the night in which the Lord was betrayed into the hands of sinful men. This was the “last supper” that Jesus ate with His disciples before His death. At that supper the Old Covenant was fulfilled by the establishment of the New Covenant. The bread and wine used as part of a meal remembering God’s Passover deliverance of Israel, became the Body and Blood of the Perfect Lamb of God given now for the sins of the world. And each times that we share the bread and wine with each other, we remember that God's deliverance was fulfilled in Jesus, the Messiah. The Passover is fulfilled in the Cross, and Good Friday becomes ever more the shedding of the blood of the perfect sacrifice by which God’s righteous judgement passes over His people and their sins receive an eternal covering. But that is another day to remember. It is enough for us today to remember that when Jesus gathered with His disciples He said "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer...." He says the same to us.