Holy Week Series - Pt. 3: Maundy Thursday

Luke 22:14-23 says, "When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.' After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, 'Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.' And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!' They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this."

In these verses, Jesus is telling the disciples that He would die that night, and then goes on to give the first communion. After He does so, He says that one of His own disciples would be the one to betray them, which makes them very upset.

Matthew 26:36 says, "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.'"

After the last supper, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane. When He got there, He prayed to God and waited for Judas. Judas came with a large crowd of people with swords and clubs, they then seized Jesus to arrest Him. When Jesus' faithful disciples saw this, they fought back and even cut off one of Judas' men's ears.

Matthew 26:52-54 says, "'Put your sword back in its place,' Jesus said to him, 'for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?'"

Jesus is saying that if He wanted to escape the situation alive, He could have. But He went through with being tortured and killed, despite being sinless, so that you would have a place in heaven. Maundy Thursday means so much because it was the day that Jesus chose you over Himself.