Maundy Thursday

John 13

Maundy (“command”) Thursday is the final Thursday before Easter, the day before Good Friday. On it, Christians remember the “new command” that Jesus gave his disciples after he washed their feet: to “love each other.” At the same time, he had redefined love. When Jesus prepared to wash Peter’s feet, Peter stopped Him, “No, you will never wash my feet!” Peter understood the significance of his Lord and Master washing his feet. 

Jesus later said to his disciples, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” At the time, the disciples couldn’t have known what he truly meant, but surely they remembered the lesson as they watched Jesus hang on the cross. They had observed as Jesus did the unthinkable by washing their feet, and then they watched him take it a step further by dying for them. Jesus redefined love for us in the way that he lived and died for us, and he calls us to do the same.

Prayer:

Jesus, thank you for showing me what it means to truly love someone. Help me to follow your lead and command.

Question to consider:

Do you love people like Jesus did?