Maundy Thursday

It’s 11 pm as I begin writing this, which is later than I meant it to be … one of those days … anyway ..

Of course, it is reasonably appropriate to be talking about Maundy Thursday this late at night, because this is the night really to remember the Last Supper. Surely, we all know the story. Jesus and His disciples were celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem, and Jesus told the Twelve that each of them would fall away from Him that night.

This is a sleepless night for Jesus, and the beginning of the horrors that we call Good Friday.

Beginning with the Last Supper itself, there is actually some minor discrepancy in the Gospel accounts, though nothing too deeply concerning. In Mark’s account, which is pretty basic and well-know, Jesus announces that He will be betrayed, and that it will be one of His Twelve closest disciples who will be the betrayer.

Matthew’s and Luke’s are very similar. John, very different from the others, does not tell the story of the Last Supper at all, though he does tell about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet.

Not surprisingly, the disciples didn’t really get what was going on. In any case, there they were … being told that one of them would betray their friend and teacher. When Peter insisted that he would never do such a thing, Jesus told him plainly that before morning, he would deny Jesus three times.

The group, less Judas Iscariot, then went to Gethsemane to pray. Here, the disciples fell asleep while Jesus went off on His own. Here, we see one of the very important aspects of Jesus’ sacrifice. He knew what was to come, and knew that it was going to be terrible. His prayer in Mark 14:35-36 (NIV; courtesy of BibleGateway.com) :

35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

He knew what He had to do, even if He didn’t want to go through it. He would submit to His Father’s will, but He longed for another way out.

At Gethsemane, Judas arrived with the Temple guards, and they arrested Jesus. The disciples fled, leaving Jesus alone to face His trial.

Over the course of the night, Jesus was taken to the high priest and the chief priests, and there was much testimony that was clearly false, contradictory, or otherwise corrupted. Unable, therefore, to convincingly condemn Jesus, Caiaphas the  high priest demanded of Jesus “Are you the Christ?” (Mark 14:61). When Jesus answered affirmatively, it was decided that this was enough to condemn Him.

Of course, it would have been … were it not the truth.

The decision was made to have Jesus put to death — but that power lay with the Roman government at this time. The trial that would have the authority to kill Jesus could not happen until the morning.

It is a testament to Jesus’ boundless love for us that He would consent to go through this kind of punishment, when at any moment He could have ended it. He was the source of authority for those who were condemning Him. He could have proven it at any moment. He could have slain each and every one of His accusers in a moment. He did not have to put up with the abuse and the humiliation that He endured on that night … much less the next day.

He did it, though, simply because of His boundless love. It is very important, I think, to remember that all through the remembrance of Thursday night and Good Friday. At any moment, any moment at all, He could have ended it all. And had He done so, we would all be without hope.

That’s just a little something to remember. Jesus knew His betrayer all along, and knew when he was coming. He didn’t have to put up with it. One can imagine that if He had simply said to Peter at dinner, “Oh, by the way, Judas is going to sell me out,” Peter might have handled the situation very quickly with his sword. But, again, that would leave us without hope for eternity.

If that isn’t humbling, I don’t know what is.