Maundy Thursday? That’s a weird name… What does it mean? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Maundy comes from the Latin word, “mandatum,” which means, “commandment.” This day points to a very important night in the life of Jesus. This is the Thursday that Jesus spent in the upper room doing some very famous things. He ate a passover meal, He instituted communion, He dismissed Judas to betray Him, and He gave a very important commandment to His disciples…

You see, another thing Jesus did on that night was to wash the feet of the disciples. It was a radical display of servitude for a Rabbi, a King, to bend down and wash the feet of His apprentices. In fact, Peter tried to stop Jesus, but Jesus persuades him by explaining that it is necessary for someone who will have a share with Him. After this, Jesus gives an important instruction in John 13:34-35: He says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is the message behind Maundy Thursday. That the family of God would love one another in just the same way that Jesus did. Sacrificially, humbly, and powerfully. So today, as we creep closer to the cross, remember the love of God and show it to one another.

In Christ,

PD