What is Maundy Thursday? Why do Christians celebrate?
Holy Week is here and Christians are once again given the chance to remember and celebrate Jesus' death, burial and resurrection as being the one true way to eternal life.
And as important as the days of the Holy Week appear to be, they're really not. There's nothing special that happens on these days. The heavens don't open up. Portals to hell don't swallow Christ again. The days of Holy Week really aren't the point. The main focus is the message that the the days have that point to the true focus of the Holy Week which is Jesus Christ.
One of the days of the Holy Week is Maundy Thursday. What is Maundy Thursday and what message does it give to us Christians?
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The objective of Maundy Thursday is to recall and reflect upon two important events in Jesus' earthly ministry- the last Supper with which He had with the disciples and the time Jesus washed the disciples' feet.
Both occurrences were recorded in the Bible to have happened the night Jesus was betrayed and captured by officials. These two accounts are important ones because of the messages they give us until today.
The first account is the last supper which is something we still carry on today through the practice that is called the communion. The purpose of the communion is stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:26: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
The purpose of the last supper and the communion is to proclaim and declare Jesus' death. That doesn't make sense at the outset I know. Why would you be happy about Jesus' death? It's because His death was the atoning act that would free us once and for all from the power of sin. Jesus lived a blameless life and thus did not deserve to die. The sins He carried on the cross when His body was broken and His blood was spilt was not His own. It was ours. That's what we remember through the last supper and through the communion.
The second event was the occurrence where Jesus washed the disciples' feet symbolizing the humility which He carried to earth and the cross and the humility we are to carry ourselves. The washing of feet symbolized Jesus' service not just to the disciples but to us all through His death and resurrection. He did it all for us.
And as a response to that now we are called into a Maundy Thursday. Maundy is another word for "commanded." This pertains to Christ's greatest command which is to love and serve God and others just as Christ has served us.
Maundy Thursday is not just a holiday we celebrate once a year, but a lifestyle we are reestablished into of loving and serving God and doing the same unto others as a result of the service Christ gave us through His death, burial and resurrection.
