Matthew 26:17-30 (NIV)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'"
19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve...
John 13:1-17 (NIV)
1 ... Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 ...The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Maundy Thursday is sometimes called "Holy Thursday". The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum. You'll recognize the word "mandate" within it. Mandatum means "commandment" and so Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the Last Supper and Jesus' command to the disciples to "love one another", "to serve with humility" and so follow his example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus - to love and to serve.
Jesus' action of washing their feet was the backdrop to this "command". In the first century no roads were paved...a few had bricks set in dirt, but even then, sandals were open and every person walked into a house with dirty, dusty feet. The most hospitable thing was for the owner of the house to have his servants meet his guests at the doorway, the guests sit down and the servant removes the sandals and washes their feet. It was a refreshing thing to do and obviously kept the dirt out of the houses. That was a very typical action in that time. The key element to it was that it was done by a servant, not the owner. Servants performed menial actions like this and every household provided this act of hospitality as a way of welcoming their guests into the home with a show of honor.
This is what caught the disciples off-guard. Peter was the one who voiced his alarm - "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement of incredulity. It was Peter giving a mild rebuke to Jesus in essence saying to him "what are you doing?". The action of Jesus was intentional.
"Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'"
19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve...
John 13:1-17 (NIV)
1 ... Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2 ...The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"
7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8 "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."
11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
13 "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Maundy Thursday is sometimes called "Holy Thursday". The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum. You'll recognize the word "mandate" within it. Mandatum means "commandment" and so Maundy Thursday is the celebration of the Last Supper and Jesus' command to the disciples to "love one another", "to serve with humility" and so follow his example of what it means to be a follower of Jesus - to love and to serve.
Jesus' action of washing their feet was the backdrop to this "command". In the first century no roads were paved...a few had bricks set in dirt, but even then, sandals were open and every person walked into a house with dirty, dusty feet. The most hospitable thing was for the owner of the house to have his servants meet his guests at the doorway, the guests sit down and the servant removes the sandals and washes their feet. It was a refreshing thing to do and obviously kept the dirt out of the houses. That was a very typical action in that time. The key element to it was that it was done by a servant, not the owner. Servants performed menial actions like this and every household provided this act of hospitality as a way of welcoming their guests into the home with a show of honor.
This is what caught the disciples off-guard. Peter was the one who voiced his alarm - "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement of incredulity. It was Peter giving a mild rebuke to Jesus in essence saying to him "what are you doing?". The action of Jesus was intentional.
"Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Today is a good day to reflect - muse if you will - on where our heart is in relation to loving, serving, humility. These are easier words to use verbally than to consistently do.
Recently we had a family living near us that were getting ready to move. We watched them load up a moving van, and reached out to provide a meal, a place for the wife who was 8 months pregnant to come and put up her feet. We gave the little boys an afternoon of play in the house so that they could get out from underfoot of movers and cleaning. We did all of this willingly, gladly, and "as unto the Lord".
My students at the college just took an exam on the book of Romans and the question was asked them in a test - "what does it mean to do things "as unto the Lord"? The answer I was looking for was "to do what we do with both thankfulness and to be fully convinced that the action in both conscience and motive was for the sake of Christ, and not my own gratification." Perhaps a bit more formal than a shorter phrase might serve, but the point is this - our motives, our attitudes both enter into acts of service. Done with a sense of duty, to perform and look good, to get the praise of others and it's not serving...it's self-serving. Done with a sense of privilege, a desire for the other person to be blessed, and not wanting anything from it, other than to "do it for you Lord", and it is good food for the soul.
Is it easy? Not always. I confess, at the end of two days of "serving", I was tired, ready to move on and looking for some quiet and space - Not much serving in that. It might seem like Jesus' words are easy to do, but in fact none of us relishes the servant role.
We get use to people who take care of us...tellers, drive-through attendants, cashiers, waitresses, etc... It's easy to think that since this is their job, they have to do it. Yet the heart of serving is not in the job, but in the heart - not just for them, but for all of us.
On Maundy Thursday we remember that our Savior, Jesus Christ, entered into his last few hours of life on the earth with one desire - to show to his disciples that the greatest thing we can do is to love, honor, and serve one another - for His sake alone.
Peace
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