The Passion: Thursday

Opening

What would you do if you knew you only had one day left to live?

Would you go to your favorite places? Eat the best food? Take a big risk?

Who would you talk to and what would you say to them?

Would you prepare your loved ones for your impending death?

Jesus was faced with these very questions. And as always, every word out of His mouth and every action was intentional.

The Passion

We have been in a series called “The Passion,” where we’ve been examining Jesus final week of his earthly ministry from Palm Sunday to Easter.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem as our King of Peace, riding on a donkey. The crowds shouted “Hosanna,” meaning “save us.” Hosanna in the Highest! By the way, didn’t the kids do a great job this morning modeling this event?!

On Monday, Jesus flipped the money-changers tables and cleared out the temple because it was meant to be a house of worship, rather than a den of robbers. He came to confront what was wrong and reclaim what was His.

Last week, we looked at Tuesday. It was a day that many began to show their doubt, including the religious leaders and we saw the beginning of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal.

Scripture actually does not clarify what took place on Wednesday. Some have speculated that this was a day of rest.

Luke 21:37 says that each day Jesus was teaching at the temple and each evening he spent the night on the Mount of Olives, so we can reasonably believe that Wednesday was a day of teaching.

Some believe that it was also on Wednesday that an unnamed woman anointed Jesus at Bethany in Simon the Leper’s house (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-10)—an act paralleling Mary’s earlier anointing and foreshadowing his death (John 12:1-11).

Thursday (which we’ll examine today) was packed full of events as Jesus prepared for his imminent death. He knew what was coming and He used his time effectively.

What Jesus did in these final hours tells us much about the things we should prioritize.

I want to give you a heads up that I’m going to ask a lot of questions today and I encourage you to take notes and jot down if there are areas that God specifically speaks to you in this time.

I believe we all have areas that we can take steps with Jesus.

And maybe there is someone here today who is ready to take the first and most important step in receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. I’ll give an invitation for you to do that at the close of this message.

With one day left to live . . .

1. Jesus Served His Disciples

Most people would want to be served on their last day. And allow others to pamper them. But Jesus says, let me serve you. He said. . .

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

How did Jesus serve on Thursday?

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke all record Jesus’ last supper. He shared the Passover meal with His disciples, commemorating the event approx 1400 years earlier when God used Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. Remember in Exodus that the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood on the doorposts so that the death angel would pass over every house covered by the blood of the lamb (Exodus 12:21-30). Image: https://share.google/lKoDTMEto81R1poxy

And now Jesus, the Lamb of God, reinterprets Passover and points to his sacrifice so that death will now pass over his disciples as He makes a way for eternal life.

It was at this meal that Jesus first introduced communion. Consider how Jesus served.

Matthew 26:26–28 NIV

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Now we know from the full story that Jesus went beyond serving food & drink. He was offering (and continues to offer) Himself.

John 6:35 NIV

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

His Jewish disciples would have immediately thought of God sustaining the Israelites in the desert in the days of Moses. God sending Manna, bread from heaven (Exodus 16:1-18) and streams of water miraculously coming out of the rock (Exodus 17:1-7)

Of course Jesus takes it beyond provision for physical hunger. His act of service through his broken body and pouring of his blood on the cross would satisfy a spiritual need that could be resolved by no other means.

The apostle John . . . knowing what Matthew, Mark, and Luke shared about the last supper, focused on a different part of this gathering. John, writing his account in later years, would have known about the circulation of the other gospel accounts and now He was able to give some perspectives that the others didn’t address about Jesus’ service. He said . . .

John 13:5 NIV

After that, [Jesus] poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Can you imagine the son of God kneeling down to wash your feet?

These guys definitely had filthy feet from their long travels, wearing sandals on dusty roads!

Peter had a hard time with Jesus washing his feet, until Jesus convinced him that it was necessary. Jesus said, “unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8)

This leaves us with an important question: Will you let Jesus serve you? Because without Him, you will not be clean. Without Him, you will hunger and thirst for something else to fill you, but as many of us can testify . . . nothing else will satisfy.

There are some things we cannot do on our own. If you have not allowed Jesus into your life and received His gift of service, I urge you not to leave today without inviting Him in.

Jesus was also teaching his disciples through these acts of service. He even asked his disciples, “do you understand what I have done for you?” (John 13:12)

He then proceeded to tell them that they should wash each others feet. He set an example for us to follow.

Some Churches have literal foot washing services. Have any of you participated in one before? I have, but we’re not going to do that today , so please leave your shoes on at this time! Most important is the principle. Will you follow Jesus’ example and humble yourself to serve others?

Consider that Jesus washed the feet of Peter, who he knew would soon deny him three times. And Jesus even washed the feet of the one he knew was betraying him, Judas Iscariot.

Who is the most difficult person God has placed in your life? How can you symbolically wash their feet?

It could be meeting a specific need - bringing them a meal, driving them to an appointment, helping them fix their car or completing their yard-work. Get creative!

I challenge you this week to serve them in honor of Christ.

With one day left to live . . .

2. Jesus Comforted His Disciples

As a pastor, I’ve done many hospital visits and I’ve witnessed some amazing patients who even as they were dying put their focus on making sure their family was comforted

Jesus wanted his loved ones to know that they would be okay when he departed. In fact, better than okay!

He spoke to them with tenderness and confidence.

John 14:1–7 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Isn’t it encouraging that our all-powerful, infinitely-loving-God has a plan? He has prepared a future for us.

He knows that we can easily get lost and so He gives us very clear navigation - Jesus is the way.

He knows that we get easily confused so He gives us an accurate metric for reality - Jesus is the truth.

And He knows that death calls out to us, so He gives us the key to truly live - Jesus is the life.

And if that is not enough, then the cherry on top is that we have also been given the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16–17 NIV

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

I am excited for our next series after Easter, which will be all about the Holy Spirit. What you must know right now is that the Holy Spirit is God. And the Holy Spirit dwells in every believer. If you’ve surrendered your life to Jesus, God is with you!

My 5-year-old son Josh has a book called “Everywhere I Go, God is with me,” by Mikal Keefer. [Image of Book] The main character is Bubba the Whale. Bubba learns that God is with him at the playground, at the store, in the car etc. When I read it I see the greatest evidence that God is with Bubba is the miracle that a whale is able to survive outside the water and talk with humans.

Joking aside . . . God is really with us! When you feel alone, God is with you. When you are in highly stressful situations, God is with you. When you mess up badly, God is with you. When you are afflicted, God is with you.

Do you need comfort today? Will you allow Jesus to comfort you? Because He can. I encourage you to invite Him to do so and if you’d like some help we would love to pray with you today.

I don’t have an answer to every tough question out there, but I have been comforted and can tell you that there is such a thing as “comfort in all our troubles” as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1:4

For those of us who have already found comfort in Christ, can I challenge us with this question . . . to whom is God sending you to bring comfort? So many are without hope. Let us not forget the hundreds of names of loved ones, written on the panels throughout our buildings, we are lifting up to receive salvation in Jesus.

Perhaps you can say a kind word or sit with someone who is hurting. Let them know you are thinking of them and praying for them. Most people won’t be offended that you pray, even if they currently think prayer is just putting positive thoughts out into the universe. Your efforts to comfort may be a step forward for them drawing them closer to the Lord.

With one day left to live . . .

3. Jesus Instructed His Disciples

Jesus walked with his core disciples for three years before His death and He was intentional about teaching them every step of the way.

The apostle John records Jesus’ comprehensive teaching in the final hours leading up to His arrest. Will you read Jesus’ words outloud with me from John 13:34?

John 13:34 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

It would be nice if this was easy to do, but some times it is hard to love people!

But it doesn’t matter that it’s hard. No excuses. This is a command from God!

If you grew up Catholic or in another liturgical church (one with an emphasis on church tradition), you may be familiar with a name given to the Thursday of Passion week. The day has been called Maundy Thursday. It comes from the Latin word “Mandatum,” where we get the English word “mandate.” Specifically it is referencing this verse, John 13:34 “Mandatum novum” or “a new commandment.”

Love one another!

Not only are we to love one another, but to do so as Christ has done for us. That is to humble ourselves and serve others and even lay down our lives for one another (John 15:13).

__________

In these final hours with his disciples, Jesus also instructed them with how to remain steadfast.

Isn’t that the struggle for all of us? We get motivated and going faithful, until we get distracted and start to veer into other things. It’s not always out-right evil that we indulge in, but it is certainly less than God has purposed for us.

Jesus spoke to this by giving an illustration of a vine and branches.

John 15:5 NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

You can’t just rip a branch off of a tree and expect it to survive. It needs to be connected to the source. As do we!

Jesus said that everything He learned from the Father, He passed on to them (John 15:15)

He asked for obedience . . . that they would obey His commands. And He restated multiple times that the greatest commandment is to love one another.

Have you ever had to temporarily hand over your responsibilities to someone else? Maybe that’s at work before you went on leave, or someone was watching your house while you went on vacation, or giving instructions to a baby sitter or pet sitter. If you’re like me, before saying the final goodbye, you probably restated the most important instructions.

“Okay thanks for covering for me . . . Don’t forget the report is due on Monday!” “Thanks for watching the kids. Don’t let them stay up too late!”

What does Jesus do before He gets ready to go to the cross?

“I’m leaving. Church, be sure to remain in me and don’t forget to love one another!”

With one day left to live, Jesus took time to instruct his disciples.

A question for us is . . . are we teachable? Will we receive His instruction?

Imagine being a parent and returning home to a baby sitter that let the kids stay up past midnight watching scary movies. Or to your job and your coworker didn’t get anything done that was on the list. That would be so frustrating!

What will Jesus find with us, his disciples? Did we follow His instructions?

As we follow Him, also consider this question: Who is God wanting you to instruct? We are called to make disciples of Jesus (disciples making disciples) . . . teaching them to obey all that He has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20)

I know that can sound intimidating to disciple others, but it is helping someone a little bit younger in their faith to keep growing in Christ. Pass on what you’ve learned.

He has given much instruction. How are we doing?

With one day left to live . . .

4. Jesus Prayed for His Disciples

At the last supper Jesus told Peter that he had been praying for him. Jesus knew that Peter would deny him three times and so he prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail and that when he turned back to God that he would strengthen his brothers (Luke 22:32).

I think we can safely assume that Jesus regularly prayed for all of his disciples.

All four Gospels record Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray after the last supper.

Jesus was in agony, deeply distressed. He asked the Father, if it were possible, to let this cup pass Him (Luke 22:42). He was talking about his journey to the cross. Of course we now know that there was no other way that we could be saved, except through Jesus’ death.

Luke records that Jesus prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44).

The apostle John has the longest recorded prayer. He shares how Jesus asked the Father to glorify Him and then Jesus prayed for His disciples, including us.

I encourage you to read through all of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, but in summary Jesus thanked God for his disciples, He asked that none would be lost except the one doomed to destruction (Judas Iscariot), and he prayed that we (believers) would be united.

Again, he is not just talking about the disciples living at the time. See what he says . . .

John 17:20–23 NIV

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

The effectiveness of our witness depends on our ability to keep unity among believers.

Years ago I heard a message from Pastor Craig Groeschel from Life Church on Jesus’ prayer. He asked the congregation a question that struck me. A question for us . . . What if we answered Jesus’ prayer?

Now at first that sounded off to me. We’re not God. Can we do that?

His point was that it takes obedience on our part to be able to live out what Jesus desired.

Jesus frequently answers our prayers. He has given us everything . . . up to and including His own life! What if we took steps to do the thing that would bless Him the most? Love one another and be one as He and the Father are one!

A great step toward unity with some fellow believers who may be a bit different than you is to pray for them. As you walk or drive past churches this week, make an effort to pray for them. If that seems overwhelming look around this room and pick someone to pray for.

If a Christian brother or sister drives you nuts, prayer for them. Not a snarky prayer, but a sincere prayer for their well being. And hopefully we’ll build more bridges with others who love Jesus.

Consider this: Jesus thought that you were important enough to be prayed for. Isn’t that awesome?

Closing

Jesus knew He had one day left to live and so He did what was most important. He served, he comforted, he instructed, he prayed. And then late that Thursday night he was betrayed, arrested, and taken to a secret meeting to be condemned. We’ll continue the story this Friday and I highly encourage you to join us for one of our Good Friday services.

Most of us will not know so clearly when our last day will come and so we must always be prepared. We should live everyday as if it our last.

Just yesterday we hosted a funeral for Vincent Hernandez-Garcia. He was 18 years old and killed in a motor cycle accident. Everyone expected he had his whole life ahead of him. Praise God He knew the Lord, but his family and friends are devastated. Please keep them in prayer.

And then you have people like my wife’s grandma who is 100 years old and doing relatively well. At her age we count every day as a blessing. We know how rare it is to live as long as she has.

Only God knows our timelines, which is why it is so important that we be ready whenever the hour comes.

What if this was the last day of your life, how certain are you that you will be in heaven with Christ? 80%sure? That’s pretty risky when it comes to eternity. Even 99.9% sure is not good enough for me. I want everyone here and everyone listening to be at 100%.

1 John 5:12–13 NIV

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Friends, we need Jesus. He is the only way. If you have not given your life to Christ, I am extending an invitation right now to receive Jesus.

Let’s pray.

Room 109 for prayer. Baptism class at 4pm