Maundy Thursday

Scripture Reading: John 13:1-17

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, 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, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their 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 Very truly I tell you, 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. Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Sermon: Man, Something Stinks

This is Maundy Thursday. The first day of Holy Week, after Palm Sunday that has a name other than Holy. Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, and now Maundy Thursday. Maundy comes from a Latin word meaning, “command”. But it designates the night in which Jesus has gathered together with His disciples in the upper room in order to celebrate the Passover.

Passover for the Jews is like Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was the biggest holiday celebration of the entire year. Nothing compared to the festivities and events that would take place in passover, the night in which God’s people recalled the story of their salvation from their slavery. The story of how God saved them and brought them out of Egypt.

And according to Matthew, Jesus disciples’ asked Him where they should prepare His passover. Jesus, being fully Jewish, would have participated in this event. Like any other Jew, Jesus celebrated the story of God’s people being freed.

And on that Thursday night, as Jesus and His disciples were gathered around the table, laying on their left side, their legs and feet extended behind them, Jesus must have thought to Himself, “Man, something stinks.” And there’s no question something did. Believe it or not, shoes, like we have were not yet invented. Instead, Jesus’ disciples wore sandals, and the roads, that were there, weren’t paved, and sometimes to get from one place to another, they didn’t even use roads. The rains fell and the various places would become muddy. And the animals weren’t overly cautious about where they did their business either. So, man, something stinks.

So Jesus gets up from the table, and goes to the corner of the room and finds the water and a towel. He pours the water into a basin and carries it over and begins to wipe their feet. Apparently the men who had prepared the meal hadn’t made arrangments to have someone there to wash their feet and everyone else thought that job beneath them and so it was left to their leader to serve this menial task. Man, something stinks.

And Jesus goes around the table, and He washes their feet. Now, I believe Jesus knew His time had come. I believe Jesus knew this would be His last passover celebration with these disciples. And I believe Jesus knew just how He would die. So as Jesus is washing their feet, his thoughts might have been about where they would be while He was hanging on the cross. You’ll be hiding. You’ll be running away. You’ll deny me three times. You will realize you’ve sold me out for 30 pieces of silver. Man, something stinks.

And even in His selfless act of serving these men by washing their feet, Peter starts an argument. Oh no you don’t. You won’t wash my feet. But Jesus assures Peter that He must. Because if He doesn’t, Peter won’t understand what Jesus is about to say. Peter won’t understand the command Jesus is about to give to His disciples. He would miss the point of the whole thing.

You see, something really does stink. Humanity has turned away from God. Sin entered the world through Adam. The response to sin is either judgment or forgiveness, and God, loving us, sends His Son to pay the price for our sins. And He gives to His disciples the only command any of Christ’s followers need to obey. What is the command? Love one another, even as Christ, Himself loved us and gave Himself up for us.