Maundy Thursday, April 18, 2019 Read: Luke 22:7-65
At dusk, on Wednesday night, after teaching in the temple all day, Jesus and His disciples would have headed back to Bethany. This is when Jesus told Peter and John to go back into the city to find a suitable place for them to celebrate the Passover meal. Jesus returned to the Temple the next morning to teach, before meeting with Peter and John in the upper room that He had divinely orchestrated for them to prepare.
Then at dusk on Thursday, technically the beginning of Friday according to Jewish tradition, Jesus joined the disciples in the upper room as He instituted the Lord’s Table and ties in two elements of the Passover meal with His ensuing death.
After breaking the bread and passing the cup, Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray Him. What began with the disciples interrogating each other, quickly turned into a debate over who was the greatest. Jesus warned Peter that he would deny Him three times but Peter proclaimed that he was ready to go to prison or even die for his leader. Later, in the garden, when Jesus asked them to pray with Him, they fell asleep. Then, when Jesus was betrayed, they abandoned Him.
The disciples aren’t winning any points in these verses with the reader, but remember that these disciples are meant to be relatable to us and a window into our own struggles in following Christ.
There might be moments where we feel like we are worthy of recognition. There might also be moments where we feel like failures, ashamed of our lack of faith. Yet, the disciples give us a picture of all of those emotions within the span of a few hours. It reminds us of our own vulnerability while also pointing us to the consistency of Jesus to bring all things together for His own purposes, even arranging the events in the preparation of a meal.
Pray today for greater trust and faith in God, so that we won’t be led into temptation but stand strong in the power of His might.