Introduction
Thursday of Holy Week, also known as Maundy Thursday, is one of the most intimate and meaningful days of Jesus’ final week. The day is packed with love, insight, humility, spiritual struggle, and heart breaking surrender. On this day, Jesus gathers His closest followers, has a final dinner, washes their feet, issues the new commandment of love, prays His most powerful recorded prayer, and then enters the anguish of Gethsemane.
This reflection focuses on two of the lessons we can take away from this Thursday’s events.
1. Jesus demonstrates His love through service (John 13:1–17)
Before Jesus and his disciples ate their Passover supper, He took off His outer garment, knelt on the floor, and began washing their feet, including the feet of Judas, who eventually betrayed him, and Peter, who later denied him. While this may not signify much to us today, during Jesus’ time, washing feet was a task for a servant or slave. It’s a demeaning job. However, the washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus displays His complete love for them. As the scripture states: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)
In this setting, Jesus redefines leadership as a service, not a position. It also shows that love is conveyed via humble acts rather than words. Through the feet washing, Jesus demonstrated to the disciples, and by extension to all believers, that as leaders, we must demonstrate our love by our services, which should be carried out in humility.
This is neither emotional nor convenient love. It is kind, patient, merciful, and unconditional. Jesus then told His disciples, “A new command I give you: love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34), demonstrating that the genuine mark of a disciple is not gifting, education, or position, but love that looks and feels like Jesus.
2. Jesus prays for His disciples and for us (John 17)
Before travelling to the Garden of Gethsemane with some of His disciples, Jesus prayed, not just for Himself, but also for the disciples and those who would believe in Him through their message (John 17:20). This signifies that Jesus prayed for you, if you are a Christian. Scripture says: Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25).
In His darkest hour, Jesus’ heart was filled with intercession. He prayed for unity, protection, holiness, and mission. It is tremendously encouraging to know that Jesus prayed for me and is currently interceding for me as a believer.
As we continue to commemorate this pivotal week in Jesus’ life, I want you to know that Jesus is praying for you, no matter what you are going through as a Christian. As a result, cheer up and bring your burden to Jesus, who is always ready to hear and answer prayers.