Holy Week 2014 -Maundy Thursday

Join us each day as we focus on the final week of Jesus' crucifixion.


Thursday of Holy Week is called 'Maundy Thursday.' The term 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin mandatum. While eating the Passover Meal with his disciples, Jesus said, 'I give you a new command (mandate), that you love one another as I have loved you.'

The central focus of Maundy Thursday is Jesus washing his disciples' feet. During the Passover meal, Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his robe, grabs the basin and begins to scrub the dust and dirt from their feet.

Jesus offers two reasons as to why he is doing this demeaning task. In John 13v15 he reminds his followers to follow his example. 'I have set an example for you that you should do as I have done for you.' Jesus wants his followers to be marked by service, humble self-sacrificial service. What strikes me about Jesus' actions is that he is also taking time to wash Judas' feet. A few days earlier Judas went to the Chief Priests in order to set the trap to betray Jesus. Jesus' example compels us humbly serve, even those who are actively working against Christians!

The other reason Jesus gives for this shocking act of service, is found in John 13v7. 'Later you will understand what I am doing.' Jesus' cryptic comment actually points towards the Cross -as the foot washing foreshadows his crucifixion. Notice the parallels...

Foot washing                                               Cross
Humbling - slave work                                  Crucifixion - a slave's death
Water poured out                                           Blood poured out
Wipes dirt from feet                                       Wipes sin from our lives
Dirt transferred from feet to his towel            Our sin is transferred to Jesus
Jesus was in his underwear                            Clothes divided while on the cross
Done to both friends and Judas                     Died for the sins of us all

Maundy Thursday points us towards Jesus... His life and his sacrifice for our sins.

Holy Week 2014 -Confrontation Tuesday

Join us each day as we focus on the final week before Jesus' crucifixion.


The plot to arrest Jesus picks up steam as Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Luke 22.1-6 records Judas' trip to the Chief Priests and his agreement to betray his friend. For a while now, the religious leaders were looking for ways to trap and arrest Jesus. Judas' betrayal adds more fuel to the fire.

As Jesus was leaving the Temple on his way out of town he predicted that the Temple would be destroyed. He took this opportunity to also speak about the end times and that even he doesn't know the specifics of how it will all end.

The conspiracy against Jesus is well underway. From the perspective of the Pharisees, Jesus was just a young man: unschooled and uneducated. 'Who is the 33 year old kid, who makes these claims about being sent from God?'

Tuesday is marked by confrontation, as both sides are looking for ways to discredit the other. The tension is high, the city on edge, and the behind-the-scenes political maneuvering is in full force.

Washing Judas' Feet

Powerful scenes fill Jesus’ final week: riding into Jerusalem on a colt, cleansing the Temple, cursing the fig tree, the Last Supper, etc...  The event that stands out to me the most is found in John 13; where Jesus washes His disciple’s feet.

Many paintings and images portray this as a sublime and picturesque event.  But look at the text and notice clues to the degradation of this act.  John 13.4 tells us that Jesus took off His outer robe, leaving only His loin cloth.  The image of Jesus in His underwear offends our sensibilities (offending at least our preconceived image of Jesus).

He washes His disciples feet and proceeds to also wash Judas’ feet.  Judas is still present though he will soon leave to betray Jesus.  This is a profound act of love!  Jesus washes the feet of the one who is actively working against Him!  Think about that for a moment.  As humbling as it is to wash another’s feet, I can at least see myself doing it to my family, to those I love.  But when I think about those who I hate, or who hate me and to think about washing their feet, never!  

Jesus does this act of love as both a model of service for us and as a way of showing us what the Cross is all about.  The Cross is God’s humbling and humiliating act of love on behalf of those who could care less.

Who are those in your life who are fighting against you?  Maybe instead of fighting back, we should look for ways to wash their feet....