Maundy Thursday: Matthew 26:20- 30
This Thursday of Holy Week, known as Maundy Thursday, we’ll look at the Last Supper from Matthew’s vantage point. Read Matthew 26:20-30 imagining you are there with Jesus at the table for the Passover meal.
The meal begins like the other Passover meals the disciples have shared with Jesus, but it quickly takes an unsettling turn as Jesus calmly calls out the treachery that will become a reality in just a few hours. And then on this, the night of his betrayal, Jesus provides a tangible way for his community to remember and understand what he is about to do.
To fully comprehend the significance of Jesus’ actions, we need to look back to God’s covenant with Abraham. In Genesis 15 we see God and Abraham getting ready to enact an Ancient Near East ceremony in which two parties make irrevocable promises to each other with their very lives as the collateral. But when the time comes for God and Abraham to walk the bloody path of promise, God puts Abraham into a deep sleep and the Spirit of God moves alone down the path. According to the symbolism of the ceremony, it is God alone who will accept the penalty if covenant is broken.
The descendants of Abraham, like every other human who ever lived, continually broke their promises to God by failing to live according to the terms of the covenant. And now at this table with his new community of followers, Jesus, who is God-in-the-flesh, offers his body and blood to confirm a new covenant. It will only be after his death that it begins to make sense.
Take a moment to recall the words of Jesus at the table and contemplate the significance of the bread and wine:
“As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is my body.’
And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.’”
Then meditate on the words of the Apostle Paul to the community of Jesus’ followers in Corinth:
“…I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ’This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.’ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Now get quiet and contemplate the fact that though we continue to fall short of God’s good and perfect ways, God has already paid the penalty for our rebellion.
What might Jesus be inviting you to do today?
How will you respond?
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