Maundy Thursday

 

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:12-17 ESV).

 

Historically, the Christian church celebrated Maundy Thursday at the beginning of the Triduum (i.e., the three days of Christ’s suffering). The Christian church has done so in commemoration of Jesus’ institution of the Supper, His washing the disciples’ feet, and His giving the new commandment in the upper room on the night He was betrayed. The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, which, in English, simply means “mandate.” In the upper room Jesus gave His disciples the new commandment (“the new mandate”) after washing their feet. Having set an example by washing their feet, Jesus told the Twelve: “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” (John 13:35).

 

It has not been uncommon for believers to misunderstand the symbolism of the foot washing and Jesus’ subsequent new commandment. Christ was not instituting a practice of foot washing as a sacrament in this act; neither was He teaching us that we fulfill the new commandment by literally washing the feet of other believers. Rather, He was acting out in His service of His disciples a parable regarding what He would do on the cross. By rising, stooping, and rising again, Jesus was acting out His incarnate humiliation and subsequent exaltation (cf. John 13:3–14; Phil. 2:1–11). In the new commandment, Jesus is giving His disciples—who would become the foundation stones of the new covenant church—a mandate to serve and care for the spiritual good of His people. As Christ would die on the cross to wash the filthy souls of those He came to redeem, so He commands His disciples to follow His example in caring for the spiritual needs of others.

 

This service ought to be done in great humility. I’m afraid many contemporary churches have lost this sense of humble service to others. We should each reflect on what Jesus has done for us and renew our commitment to serve in that way!