As you know, on the Christian calendar today is Maundy Thursday. As Christians, this is the day we have set aside to commemorate a very busy and important day in the life of Jesus—the day before His crucifixion. The truth is I don’t know if we have the date even close to correct, but I do know this: whatever the date, the day before Jesus was crucified was a very significant day not only in His life, but also (and especially!) in the life of the Apostles. I am convinced that they have never forgotten most of the events of that day.
Although the day was filled with significant events, in my opinion, the main event occurred in that infamous Upper Room that was located somewhere in the city of Jerusalem. I am confident that the Apostles had set the table with the usual trappings of a Passover Meal, expecting the experience to follow the ancient customs of the Jewish people, but much to their surprise, Jesus had other plans, plans that He and His Father had put in place before the foundation of the world—ancient plans, indeed.
It was at this Passover Meal that shadow would become substance, that truth would be revealed, truth that had been hidden in ancient traditions. It was during this meal that the elaborate sacrificial system of the Jewish people would come crashing down. It was in the unleavened bread and the wine that the secret was revealed. “This is My body, which is given for you; this is My blood, which is poured out for you.” Jesus was declaring Himself to be the One and only sacrifice that could take away sins, break down the wall of partition, and grant every believer access into His Presence.
At such an announcement, “pomp and circumstance” would have certainly been fitting, but Jesus chose, instead, to mark it by washing the feet of those to whom the secret had been revealed.
It is my prayer that you will experience Him in an unexpected way this Maundy Thursday!
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).
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