AVBC - Maundy/Holy Thursday 04/02/26 - “The Supper, The Washing, and The Mandate” - “The Path to the Empty Tomb” Sermon Series – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-35

Maundy/Holy Thursday 04/02/26 – AVBC

Sermon Title: “The Supper, The Washing, and The Mandate” -                 

“The Path to the Empty Tomb” Sermon Series – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 13:1-35

 

(Welcome Picture)

Welcome again, friends, brothers, and sisters, to our Maundy or Holy Thursday worship service. In this service, what is being emphasized tonight is “The Lord’s Supper,” the washing ritual that Jesus performed, and the “Maundy” or mandate that Jesus gave us to love each other. We will also share “the Peace of Christ” as Jesus not only told us to have peace in Him before Good Friday, but He also displayed this sharing of the peace in his post resurrection appearances.

Tonight, is also the night before the arrest, the trial, the torture, the crucifixion, and the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. This night is significant, because in that Upper Room in Jerusalem, which could be the same Upper Room at the Pentecost story in Acts 2, Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Jewish Passover Sedar dinner.

(Passover Seder - Picture)

The Passover holiday and Sedar dinner comes from the Jewish celebration of the death of the passing over of the firstborn child in Egypt, when the Israelites or Jews were slaves in Egypt. This was the last of the ten plagues that Moses warned the Egyptian Pharoah of, to let his people go.

On that first Passover night in Egypt, long before Jesus was born, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a pure and spotless lamb. They were then told to take the blood of the lamb and spread it over their doorposts and lintels. The blood of the pure and spotless lamb protected the oldest child of each family for a night from death, but Jesus, our new Passover Lamb, covers our hearts and our souls for eternity with his shed blood. This “New Covenant” is Jesus’ blood, as He is the new Passover Lamb, is signified in “The Lord’s Supper” tonight.

This was still a Jewish Passover Sedar dinner though, as Jesus and His disciples where Jews. So, in addition to the bread and the cup, they likely ate some of or all the Passover foods that the Israelites ate on that first Passover. Jews have been doing this at the Passover Sedar ever since. In fact, we have the picture that I just put up of common Passover Sedar foods, and I have this portrait given to me of the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.

(Leonardo Da Vinci - Painting)

In this painting there is more than bread and the cup of wine present at “The Last Supper.” In this case, most of the food looks like common food that would be eaten in Italy where Leonard Da Vinci lived, but it is still showing us that there is more than just bread and wine at the table.

In addition to all of this, some Christian Churches or denominations have what they call a “Maundy Thursday” service, and some have a “Holy Thursday” service, during Holy Week. You might have heard both names before, but the question is why are some services called “Maundy Thursday,” and some services called “Holy Thursday?”

(The Maundy - Picture)

You might notice to that our service tonight is called “Maundy/Holy Thursday.” This is why, according to a source that I researched it said this of “Maundy Thursday”:

It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday).

 

          So, the Latin word “Mandatum” means “mandate.” On this night Jesus gives us the “maundy” or the “mandate” to love each other. “Holy Thursday” though emphasizes “The Lord’s Supper” or Communion over the Maundy. This is why I have sometimes combined the two into our service title tonight, which again, is “Maundy/Holy Thursday.”

(This Do In Remembrance Of Me - Picture)

Tonight, the bread and wine, or grape juice in our case, will be shared and celebrated, and not only because Jesus said, “This Do In Remembrance Of Me.” It is important because through instituting the Lord’s Supper or Communion tonight, Jesus is instituting the new covenant, the new agreement with God through Him. For on this night, we are no longer living under the Law of Moses, but we are now living under grace. We are on this night, living under the grace of Jesus Christ, our new Passover Lamb. The blood of Christ once again then, will not save us not just for the night, but for eternity, if we turn to him.

(Roman Empire Map - Picture)

          Tonight, Passover Sedar dinner that Jesus has with His disciples in the Upper Room or the “Last Supper” is discussed in all four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but there are some differences in the gospel accounts. Further, during Jesus’ life the Passover happened only in Jerusalem, because this is where the great temple of God was. The Jews, therefore, had been celebrating the Passover long before Jesus and his disciples walked on this earth. Every time we celebrate “The Lord’s Supper” or Communion though, we are in effect celebrating that Passover dinner of the institution of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.

In fact, as Connie read tonight, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, what happened at the table on this night at that Passover Sedar or “The Last Supper”.

(This Do In Remembrance Of Me - Picture)

This is what 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 says, once again:

^“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”                            (1 Cor. 11:23-26, NRSV).

 

On this night almost two-thousand years ago, Jesus sits with the disciples, his friends, and he tells them that he is the new Passover lamb. We are given the gift of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, through the breaking of the bread, and the sharing of the cup.

(Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet - Picture)

In the gospel John, and only the gospel of John 13:1-17, Jesus then washes His disciples’ feet. Due to this, we will have a foot/hand washing ceremony after we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, or Communion. Then I will offer us the “Maundy” or the mandate that Jesus gave His disciples to love one another. We will then share the peace of Christ, as He offered His peace to others, both before his death, and when he appeared after His resurrection.

Christ dying on the cross, tomorrow on Good Friday, and his resurrection on Sunday cements the salvation in Him offered to all of humanity past, present, and future, forever. All we need to do is repent of our sins and turn to Jesus Christ, and eternal death will pass us over forever.

While our Gospel of John reading for tonight, once again does not talk about the Last Supper itself, it is implied as the scripture says that Jesus got up from the table. Clearly this table was the table of “The Last Supper.” Tonight, once again, we remember and we celebrate “The Supper, The Washing, and The Mandate.” Let realize anew tonight, why Communion, the washing ritual, and mandate from Jesus for us to love each other is so important. Happy Maundy/Holy Thursday. Amen.