Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as "Holy Thursday" or "Great Thursday" in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. In contrast to joyful Easter celebrations when Christians worship their resurrected Savior, Maundy Thursday services are typically more solemn occasions, marked by the shadow of Jesus' betrayal.

While different denominations observe Maundy Thursday in their own distinct ways, two important biblical events are the primary focus of Maundy Thursday solemnizations:


Before the Passover meal, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. By performing this lowly act of service, the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." By his example, Jesus demonstrated how Christians are to love one another through humble service. For this reason, many churches practice foot-washing ceremonies as a part of their Maundy Thursday services.
During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion. For this reason, many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Likewise, many congregations observe a traditional Passover Seder meal.
Derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper: to love with humility by serving one another and to remember his sacrifice.




Lord's Supper - What does it mean today?

The Lord's Supper, commonly referred to as "communion," is one of two special ordinances that the Lord Himself instituted while He was still on earth. This ordinance of communion commemorates and typifies the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The other, being baptism, carries with it a picture of Christ's resurrection.

Knowing that He was soon to die, the Lord expressed a deep desire to celebrate a final Passover with His beloved disciples. When the sacred meal was done, Christ broke bread and poured wine and served it to His disciples. Luke 22: 19-20 says, "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'"

This deliberate, ceremonious distribution of bread and wine was to become one of the greatest expressions of faith and adherence to the doctrines of Christianity. Though Christ had foretold of His suffering and death to His disciples, this call to remember was sure to have brought the truth of His imminent passion close to home, though they must have scarcely understood it. But what does the Lord's Supper mean today? Far from losing any of its significance and importance, of necessity, this ceremony must be an often and vital happening in the life of today's Christian church.

The death of Christ, His broken body and spilt blood, is the bedrock of the Christian faith. Without it, we are not saved and have received no redemption; we cannot fellowship with the Father and His Son. When Jesus died on the cross, His body was so broken that He was disfigured; He was utterly massacred and humiliated. This was the holy God's indictment against sin; this was the price that was paid for our redemption.

It is imperative that Christians periodically take time to ponder and worship Jesus' great sacrifice, lest we forget. Partaking of the Lord's Supper affords us this opportunity. The apostle Paul further elaborated on this in his letter to the Corinthians: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). When we partake of the Lord's Supper, it is a proclamation and embracing of what Christ has done for us.

As Christians, we are tempted today to make our own pursuits and desires the focus of our lives instead of having the Lord as the center of our affections. When Jesus was on earth, He chided those who sought Him only for the fish and the loaves, for what they could receive from Him and not for Himself: "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him" (John 6:27, 54-56).

Christians must always be mindful of the true meaning of their lives in Christ. We must be partakers of His sufferings and self-sacrifice, willing to take up our crosses and follow Him. We do not literally eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Lord when we take communion; however, it is a sober reminder of the love of Christ for mankind. Indeed, during this memorial, we may challenge and examine ourselves to see if we have maintained our commitment to the Lord. It is a testimony to all who see of our faith in the sacrificial work of Calvary, a picture of the offering extended to every person on earth: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).

The Last Supper: An Introduction 
(http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/the-last-supper.htm)

The Last Supper is one of several major events in the earthly life of Jesus Christ that are recorded in the Bible. The Last Supper is a description of the last meal Jesus Christ had with His disciples prior to His arrest and crucifixion on a roman cross about 2,000 years ago. The Last Supper contains many significant principles, and continues to be an important part of Christian lives throughout the world.

The Last Supper: The Significance
The Last Supper is described in three of the four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. Here are some of the life-changing highlights, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. First, Jesus predicts He will suffer soon after this meal and it will be His last meal prior to finishing His work on behalf of the kingdom of God (Luke 22:15-16). Second, Jesus gives His followers symbols of remembrance for His body and His blood sacrificed on behalf of all mankind. "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me'" (Luke 22:19).

Third, Jesus provides a very important principle for living a Christian life: the greatest are those who serve others, not those who expect to be served (Luke 22:26). Finally, Jesus provides hope to his followers: "and I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:29-30).

For the last two millennia, the Last Supper has inspired people to live by faith in Jesus Christ, by serving others instead of following the worldly influences of expecting to be served.




The Last Supper: The History of the Event
The Last Supper was held on the evening of preparation for the Jewish Passover, a very holy time for the Jewish nation in remembrance of when God spared the Jews from the plague of death on every firstborn child in Egypt. Jesus arranged the dinner purposely by instructing His disciples where to host it. His twelve disciples were with Him during and after the meal. It is here that Jesus makes the prediction that Peter will deny knowing Him three times before the rooster crows that morning, which became true. Jesus also predicts that one disciple, Judas Iscariot, will betray Him, which also became true. The Last Supper was a gathering for Christ to fellowship with His disciples one last time prior to His arrest and crucifixion.




The Last Supper: The Application
After the Last Supper, Jesus Christ willfully and obediently allowed himself to be brutally sacrificed on a wooden cross. He did this to reconcile each of us to God by paying the debt of our sins, which we could never do on our own power. In return, Jesus makes a simple request, remember this act of love He performed on our behalf. Jesus Christ did not have to die for us. He did, however, because He values every life on earth and wants to see each of us sitting at His dining table someday in heaven. Throughout the Bible, and throughout history, the truth of Christ's message has been established - that we can join Jesus in heaven by acknowledging His sacrifice and accepting Him into our life. In addition, we can apply the lessons Jesus taught at the Last Supper to live a faithful life while here on earth by serving others in love. The bread is a symbol of the body of Jesus, never to be forgotten as it was given to us. The cup represents the blood of Jesus, never to be forgotten as he poured out His life for us. Jesus Christ has offered everybody the gift of His life, death and resurrection. The Last Supper reminds us of Christ's sacrifice, and that by faith in Him, we can dine with Christ for all eternity.

The Last Supper

(http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/thelastsupper.htm)
By Mary Fairchild, About.com
Scripture Reference: Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-20.

The Last Supper - Story Summary:

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread or Passover, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead with very specific instructions on where to prepare the Passover meal. That evening Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve apostles to eat his final meal before going to the cross. As they dined together, he told the twelve that one of them would soon betray him.

One by one they questioned, "I'm not the one, am I, Lord?" Jesus explained that even though he knew he would die as the Scriptures foretold, his betrayer's fate would be terrible: "Far better for him if he had never been born!"

Then Jesus took the bread and the wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

And then he took the cup of wine, sharing it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you. He told all of them, "I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Points of Interest from the Story:

• The Passover commemorated Israel's escape from bondage in Egypt. In Exodus, the blood of the Passover lamb was painted on the door frames, causing the plague of the firstborn to pass over their houses sparing the firstborn sons from death. The Last Supper was very significant because Jesus showed his disciples he was about to become the Passover Lamb of God. His blood would open the door to freedom. His followers would exchange slavery to sin and death for eternal life in God's Kingdom.

• Typically wine is served four times during the Passover meal. According to Jewish tradition, the four cups represent four expressions of redemption. The first cup is called the cup of sanctification; the second is the cup of judgment; the third is the cup of redemption; and the fourth is the cup of the kingdom.

• These verses surrounding the Last Supper form the biblical basis for the practice of Communion.

• There are 3 main Christian views regarding the blood and the wine during the practice of Communion:

-The bread and the wine become the actual body and blood of Christ. The Catholic term for this is Transubstantiation.
- The bread and the wine are unchanged elements, but Christ's presence by faith is made spiritually real in and through them.
- The bread and the wine are unchanged elements, used as symbols, representing Christ's body and blood, in remembrance of his enduring sacrifice.

• Judas had already determined that he would betray Jesus, yet still he shared in the communion of the Passover meal.

Question for Reflection:

At the Last Supper, each of the disciples questioned Jesus (paraphrased): "Could I be the one to betray you, Lord?" I would guess at that moment they were also questioning their own hearts. A little while later, Jesus predicts Peter's three-fold denial. Are there times in our walk of faith when we should stop and question, "How true is my commitment to the Lord?" Do I profess to love and follow Christ, yet deny him with my actions?

Jesus and the Last Supper - What can we learn?

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, He ate one final Passover dinner with His disciples which we refer to as the Last Supper. Jesus said, "And he said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God'" (Luke 22:15). Jesus had often tried to talk to them about His death and the manner in which He would die. But now the time had come and this was their last feast together.

The Bible says that He took bread and gave each of them some and then said, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19b). And He took wine and shared with them. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20). He told them several things in these short statements. He wanted them to know that He was going to die a sacrificial death for sin, that it was going to be His blood that paid the blood sacrifice, that He was to establish a new covenant and to replace the Old Covenant that the Jews had lived under for so long, and He wanted them to remember this celebration feast and commemorate it in the future to remind followers of His sacrificial death for them.

Luke's gospel records a dispute that took place at this dinner among a few of His disciples as to which of them was the greatest. Jesus had anticipated the biggest event ever was about to take place in history and His disciple had still not grasped the significance of His words. He had just told them that he was having a last meal with them before His death and they are arguing about who is going to be the greatest in His kingdom! So Jesus taught them a lesson on serving, "For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:27-30). Again with His words, He gave more than one major message: His kingdom was not going to be of this world and in order to be great in His kingdom, they needed to learn how to serve.

The last hours had come prior to Jesus death and still His disciples had not understood His message about His death or resurrection. But just a few days later they finally fully understood what Jesus had been trying to tell them. When Jesus was resurrected from the dead and appeared before them, it suddenly all made sense. Jews well understood the Old Covenant, the pure and spotless sacrificial lamb, and the blood shed necessary to pay the ransom for sin. Now they understood what Jesus had been trying to explain to them all of this time, He was that lamb. They could clearly see the evidence of His resurrected body. Finally this, too could be grasped. And as they watched Him ascend into Heaven, they realized what He meant in His statements about His kingdom. Then they remembered His words also about The Last Supper and His Kingdom in Heaven.

Commemoration of the Last Supper did not end with the death of the twelve disciples however. When Jesus said that He wanted them to do it to remember Him, it was a message to us also. Jesus desired that His followers continue to have a commemoration of the Lord's Supper to remind us of Christ's sacrificial death for our sins. It was given as a time to give thanks to God for sending Christ to die in our place. In Matthew 26:29 we read Jesus' words to us where He clearly included us in this remembrance command and He gave us a powerful promise for our future. "I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Jesus promised that we can see Him in Heaven with God if we accepted His gift of forgiveness for our sins.

Bible Feasts:

Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17 that the Jewish feasts and celebrations were a shadow of the things to come through Jesus Christ. And though as Christians we may not commemorate these holidays in the traditional biblical sense, as we discover the significance of each, we will certainly gain a greater knowledge of God's Word, an improved understanding of the Bible, and a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Passover Feast - Pesach:

Passover commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recorded in the Book of Exodus. On Passover, Jews also celebrate the birth of the Jewish nation after being freed by God from captivity. Today, the Jewish people not only remember an historic event on Passover, but also celebrate in a broad sense, their freedom as Jews.
The Hebrew word Pesach means "to pass over." During Passover Jews take part in a meal known as the Seder, which incorporates the retelling of the story of Exodus and God's deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Each participant of the Passover Seder experiences in a personal way, a national celebration of freedom through God's intervention and deliverance. Hag HaMatzah or the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Yom HaBikkurim or Firstfruits are both mentioned in Leviticus 23 as separate feasts, however, today Jews celebrate all three feasts as part of the eight-day Passover holiday.

Time of Observance:

Today, Passover begins on day 15 of the Hebrew month of Nissan (March or April) and continues for 8 days. Originally, Passover began at twilight on the fourteenth day of Nissan (Leviticus 23:5), and then the next day, day 15, the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin and continue for seven days (Leviticus 23:6).
• See Bible Feasts Calendar for the actual dates of Passover.

Scripture Reference:

The story of Passover is recorded in the Old Testament Book of Exodus.

About Passover:

Joseph, son of Jacob, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, was kept by God and greatly blessed. Eventually he was put into a high position—second-in-command to Pharaoh. In time, Joseph moved his entire family to Egypt and protected them there. 400 years later, the Israelites had grown into a people numbering 2 million. There were so many Jews in Egypt that the new Pharaoh was afraid of their power. To maintain control, he turned them into slaves, oppressing them with harsh labor and ruthless treatment.
Yet, through a man named Moses (great, great grandson of Jacob), God came to rescue his people.
At the time Moses was born, Pharaoh had ordered the death of all Hebrew males, but God spared Moses when his mother hid him in a basket along the banks of the Nile. Pharaoh's daughter found the baby and decided to raise him as her own. Later Moses fled to Midian after killing an Egyptian for cruelly beating of one of his own people. There God appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush and said, "I have seen the misery of my people. I have heard their cries, I care about their suffering, and I have come to rescue them. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt." (Exodus 3:7-10, paraphrased)
After making some excuses, Moses finally obeyed God and confronted Pharaoh. But when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God sent a series of plagues to persuade him. With the final plague God promised to strike dead every first-born son in Egypt at midnight on the 15th day of the month of Nissan. But to Moses, the Lord provided instructions so his people would be spared. Each Hebrew family was to take a Passover lamb, slaughter it, and place some of the blood on the door frames of their homes. When the destroyer passed over Egypt, he would not enter the homes covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.
These and other instructions became part of a lasting ordinance from God for the observance of the Passover Feast, so that the generations to come would always remember God's great deliverance.
At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, and that very night Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Up! Leave my people. Go." They left in haste and God led them toward the Red Sea. After a few days Pharaoh changed his mind, and decided to send his army in pursuit. When the Egyptian army reached them at the banks of the Red Sea, the Hebrew people were afraid and cried out to God.Moses answered, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today."
Moses stretched out his hand and the sea parted, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry ground, with a wall of water on either side. And when the Egyptian army followed, it was thrown into confusion. Moses then stretched out his hand over the sea again and the entire army was swept away, leaving no survivors.

Jesus and Passover:

In Luke 22, Jesus shared the Passover meal with his apostles saying, "I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16, NLT) Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. He is the Lamb of God, sacrificed to set us free from bondage to sin. (John 1:29; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) His blood covers and protects us, and his body was broken to free us from eternal death. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
In the Jewish tradition a hymn of praise known as the Hallel is sung during the Passover Seder. In it is Psalm 118:22, speaking of the Messiah: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." (NIV) Jesus said in Matthew 21:42, one week before his death, that he himself was the stone the builders rejected.
As God commanded the Israelites to always commemorate his great deliverance through the Passover meal, we Christians were instructed by Christ as well, to continually remember his sacrifice through The Lord's Supper or Communion.

More Facts About Passover

• Jews drink four cups of wine at the Seder. The third cup is called the cup of redemption, the same cup of wine taken during the Last Supper.
• The bread of the Last Supper is the Afikomen of Passover, or the middle Matzah which is pulled out and broken in two. Half is wrapped in white linen and hidden. The children search for the unleavened bread in the white linen. Whoever finds it brings it back to be redeemed for a price. The other half of the bread is eaten, ending the meal.
• Learn how to prepare the Passover Seder Plate.
• Check out these online guides for implementing a Christian Seder:
• The Passover Seder for Christians (Haggadah adapted by Dennis Bratcher)
• Passover in the Time of Jesus (By Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D.)
• Passover in the Old Testament: Exodus 12; Numbers 9: 1-14; Numbers 28:16-25; Deuteronomy 16: 1-6; Joshua 5:10; 2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 30:1-5, 35:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22; Ezekiel 45:21-24.
• Passover in the New Testament: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 2, 22; John 2, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19; Acts 12:4; 1 Corinthians 5:7.
• More about Passover.