The "Maundatum" of Maundy Thursday

THE SERMON TEXT:  John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were his own in the world, he loved them to the end.

²By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

³Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God. ⁴He got up from the supper and laid aside his outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. ⁵Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who asked him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus answered him, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but later you will understand.”

⁸Peter told him, “You will never, ever, wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹“Lord, not just my feet,” Simon Peter replied, “but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰Jesus told him, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet, but his body is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹Indeed, he knew who was going to betray him. That is why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

¹²After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garment, he reclined at the table again. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. ¹⁴Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you. ¹⁶Amen, Amen, I tell you: A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

“Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. ³²If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify the Son in himself and will glorify him at once.  ³³Dear children, I am going to be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

³⁴“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you are to love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 THEME:  The “Maundatum” of “Maundy” Thursday

1. Jesus knew
2. Jesus loved
3. Jesus served
4. So may we