Easter Devotional Series
Day 5: Maundy Thursday
“Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.” Psalm 41:9 (NLT)
“Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death…” Zechariah 9:11 (NLT)
“When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.’ Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, ‘Am I the one, Lord?’ He replied, ‘One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago…’” Matthew 26:20-24 (NLT)
King David, who wrote Psalm 41, lived about 500 years before Zechariah. Zechariah lived more than 500 years before Christ. Yet the words of these two men foretold the fate of the coming Messiah, both fulfilled in detail hundreds of years later through the person and work of Jesus Christ. King David prophesied that a trusted friend would be the Lord’s betrayer (Psalm 41:9). Indeed, it was Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples who betrayed Jesus on the day many refer to as Maundy Thursday.
The term Maundy Thursday comes from a Latin word, which is translated “commandment.” In the context of Holy Week, it refers to the commandment Jesus gave to His disciples while washing their feet on the night of The Last Supper, which John records in his Gospel: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35)
On that very evening, Jesus shared with His disciples that this would be their last meal together. He was to carry out the fulfillment of the prophecy mentioned by Zechariah regarding the covenant made and sealed with His blood. (Zechariah 9:11)
The “covenant” was God’s commitment to establishing salvation for humanity, restoring our relationship with the Father that had been severed by sin, and fulfilling the promise He gave to Abraham in Genesis 12. To forgive the sins of all, Jesus was to shed His blood as a sacrifice.
One of the hardest things to understand about this scene is that Jesus’ disciples, who had been with Him for most of His public ministry, seemed confused about all that was happening (Matthew 26:22). This was not an uncommon occurrence. Despite the miracles they had seen Jesus perform all throughout His public ministry, the disciples were often unclear about what was happening until Jesus explained it to them.
Why did the disciples struggle to believe and understand? Perhaps a lot of their confusion was simply the result of them being human. Like everyone else, they were prone to forgetfulness and misunderstanding.
We’re no different. Like the disciples, we don’t always understand what God is doing in our lives. We read God’s promises in Scripture, yet often allow the stress and struggles of life to overwhelm us. We wrestle with doubt when life gets tough. Sometimes it isn’t until after God has brought us through a difficult season that we then see that God was, in fact, with us the entire time. Often, it’s when we take the time to look back and reflect that we realize God ordered our steps and His plan was unfolding exactly the way He promised it would.
Soak and Reflect
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” - 1 John 4:7 (NLT)
Dear God, your love for me is greater than I can understand. Sometimes I struggle to love others the way you love me. Fill me with your love for the people around me. Help me, during all the social distancing and being sheltered-in-place, to find ways to show your love to the people in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
