Today is Maundy Thursday.
During a Passover meal with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus had told them, “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” (John 13:34).
(The word “maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum, from which we get our word mandate. In the late-fourth-century Bible edition, the Vulgate, Jerome used this word in translating Jesus’s love command.)
On this day we see the following events:
- Jesus instructs his disciples Peter and John to secure a large upper room in a house in Jerusalem and to prepare for the Passover meal (Matt. 26:17–19; Mark 14:12–16; Luke 22:7–13).
- In the evening Jesus eats the Passover meal with the Twelve, tells them of the coming betrayal, and institutes the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:20–29; Mark 14:17–23; Luke 22:14–30).
- During supper Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, interacts with them, and delivers the Upper Room (or Farewell) Discourse (John 13:1–17:26).
- Jesus and the disciples sing a hymn together, then depart to the Mount of Olives (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39).
- Jesus predicts Peter’s denials (Matt. 26:31–35; Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:31–34).
- Jesus issues his final practical commands about supplies and provisions (Luke 22:35–38).
- Jesus and the disciples go to Gethsemane, where he struggles in prayer and they struggle to stay awake late into the night (Matt. 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46).
In the video above, Doug Moo, Nick Perrin, and Paul Maier guide us through the background to this momentous day.
For more information, see The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor with Alexander E. Stewart (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014).
