Maundy Thursday

     Today is the first of our blog posts for Holy Week. Today, we will focus on Maundy Thursday. Tomorrow, there will be a post for Good Friday, and the Weekend Sermon will be posted on Saturday.
     Several different events in the life of Jesus occurred on Maundy Thursday. First of all, this was the night when Jesus instituted the sacrament of holy communion. Jesus stated that the cup represented the blood that He would shed. The bread represented His body which would be broken. As often as we eat the bread and drink the cup we are to do so in remembrance of Jesus.
     During the time of the Last Supper, Jesus also demonstrated how we are to serve others. Jesus washed His disciples feet even though He was their Lord and teacher. He demonstrated that true greatness comes from serving others.
     In the Gospel of John, the Upper Room Discourse of  Jesus is recorded. These are the teachings that Jesus gave to His disciples after the Last Supper was finished. The Gospel of John also records the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus as Jesus prayed for His disciples and for those who would come to believe in Him in the future through the disciples' witness.
     After they left the Upper Room, Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went there to pray because in just a few hours, He would be crucified.
     Jesus took James, John and Peter with Him, and He asked them to keep watch and pray with Him. Jesus went off a little way by Himself and prayed to His Father. Mark 14:34 records Jesus saying, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
     Jesus prayed that if it was possible that the Father would let this cup pass from Him. In other words, if possible, Jesus wished to be sparred the events of Good Friday that would soon follow. However, Jesus said that He wanted the Father's will to be done.
     There are two things that I want to focus on . First of all, Jesus in His humanity went through the same emotions that we go through. He knows and understands what it is like to suffer. Because of this, He is able to help us when we go through the hard times of life. Jesus committed His future into the Father's hands. He was committed to doing the will of the Father. That is what we should do. We must always pray not my will but Yours be done. When we commit ourselves into the Father's will, we can rest knowing that He is looking out for us.
     Finally, Jesus would be betrayed by one of His followers. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Jesus would be led off to face trials, mocking, scourging and crucifixion. He did all of this because of His great love for us. Thank you Jesus.