Maundy Thursday

All of our years of being faithful Christians, attending Sunday School and virtually all church services offered, John and I had never heard of Maundy Thursday.  Apparently at our church here in Virginia, Maundy Thursday is a big deal - so I figured I had better find out what it is all about.

"Maundy" is derived from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "commandment," Maundy refers to the commands that Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper:  to love   with humility    by serving one another   and to remember His sacrifice.  (christianity.about.com)

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' coming into Jerusalem the Sunday before Easter.  Lots of things happen during that week.  It's often referred to as Passion Week and was the culmination of His ministry on earth, the fulfillment of His mission.

Thursday was the Last Supper, Good Friday was the day of His crucifixion, (I always thought THAT was strange - but it was Good News for us, not so good for Jesus), and Easter Sunday was the day of His resurrection.  That was followed by the 40 days and finally His Ascension from the Mount of Olives.  It wasn't until after the Pentecost, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, that they began to fulfill His Great Commission, and go tell Jews and Gentiles the Good News of Christ.

The first four books of the Bible's New Testament are individual eye-witness accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John's time and with Jesus.  Regarding His final week, you can go to these books and read for yourself what they each saw and heard:

Matthew, chapters 21 - 28 (one-third of his entire book)
Mark, chapters 11 - 16 (about half of his entire book)
Luke, chapters 19 - 24 (about 20% of his entire book - but he also wrote the book of Acts)
John, chapters 12 - 21 (one-third of his entire book)

On Thursday evening, Jesus calls His disciples together for a last supper, knowing it will be His last supper!  He keeps the disciples confused by what He's saying and by His mood.  The week had started so joyously, so triumphantly, but it was now taking a darker turn.  It's during this meal that Jesus looks at Judas, hands him a piece of bread and tells him, "What you do, do quickly."  When Judas receives the bread, the Gospel Book of John says, "Satan entered him."  Then Judas leaves the supper and tells the Romans where Jesus can later be found and arrested.  Ultimately he is tried, sentenced, crucified, buried for three days, arises, remains on earth visiting, sharing meals, and after forty days, ascends into heaven with all eyes watching.

Maundy Thursday is also known by different names, usually associated with different Christian religions:

Holy Thursday
Covenant Thursday
Great and Holy Thursday
Sheer Thursday
Thursday of Mysteries

But they are all in acknowledgement of the commandments given during Jesus' last supper with His disciples.  A lot of the observances include the washing of feet by one another just as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples as they arrived to share the last supper.  John says in Chapter 13 verse 1 that in doing this Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love," showing how Christians are to love one another through humble service.  One might say that humility is one of the hallmarks of being a Christian - which is why those who's sin is pridefullness have such a hard time understanding Christianity.

Now I know what Maundy Thursday (and the five other names for it) is all about - and so do you!