Maundy Thursday

Thursday, March 29, 2018

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Matthew 26:20-22

This Passover meal that they were eating was, if not the most important ritual in the Jewish year, at least one of the most important! Jesus had given careful instructions to the disciples about where he would have them prepare the meal, and as the words from this Scripture were spoken, all twelve recline around the table.

The scene probably appeared quite normal. They had eaten together for three years, had probably celebrated two other Passovers together and now here they are again. Though nothing appeared unusual, much was going on around that table even before Jesus spoke.

Jesus, being omniscient, knew exactly what was going to happen in the next hours. He knew that the meal they were eating was symbolic of the work he had to do in the next three days. He realized that the lambs bleating outside the windows were to be sacrificed in remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, but he was even more aware the He was the real Passover Lamb. The pain must have been building in his heart as he moved closer to the hour of his crucifixion.

Among the twelve, one must have been contemplating what he had already done. Judas must have been trying to interact with the others in a normal manner, while inside he remembered how he felt when the thirty pieces of silver were placed in his hands. He must have wondered if Jesus could read in his face the emotions that he now felt. He must have wondered if he looked guilty.

Then came the shocking words, “One of you will betray me.” A flush must have come to Judas’s face as he realized and then wondered, “He knows! How does he know?!”

The eleven innocent ones question themselves and him. “Is it I?” Tension fills the otherwise quiet room.

We look on this scene with dismay. How could Judas do such a thing? How could he have turned against Jesus? But even as we point a finger at him, we realize that three fingers point back at us. How many times have we sat quietly as someone uses our Lord’s name in vain? How many times has someone told n sacrilegious joke while we lowered our heads and said nothing. How many times have we had a tremendous opportunity to declare our faith but could not bring ourselves to admit that we are Christ followers? How many times has he waked us on a Sunday morning, encouraging us to join him and others in worshiping the Father, but we refuse to go because Sunday is our only day to rest?

We judge Judas harshly. Perhaps instead we should ask, “Lord, is it I?” Am I the one who will betray you?”

Prayer: Father, forgive us for not realizing that we, too, betray Jesus when we do not take our stand, when we do not admit to all that he is our Lord, when we fail to realize and be grateful that he paid a huge price for our reconciliation to you. Amen.

Holy Week Devotional
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, March 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator

blog.avasflowers.com