We tend to think of Holy Week as a week that brought some small sense of dread for the Lord Jesus—from a human standpoint—based on his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the willpower required to willingly submit to the cross. We do not often associate Holy Week with joyful anticipation. Yet for our Lord there was at least one thing in the lead-up to his redemptive work that he eagerly anticipated.
Our Lord “earnestly desired” to eat the Passover meal with his disciples before he suffered (Luke 22:15). Not because of personal affinity toward the holiday, but because something special was in store. He would not partake again until its fulfillment in the kingdom of God (vv. 15, 18). This was the time to reveal what Passover was really about all along.
Every Jew understood the Passover’s origin in the exodus (Exodus 12). The Paschal lamb represented deliverance from bondage in Egypt, dying in place of the firstborn of each household. In this case the Lamb was himself the firstborn Son. Jesus revealed that henceforth his disciples would not merely observe the Jewish Passover but the Supper of the Lord—the bread signifying his body (Luke 22:19) and the cup signifying his outpoured blood (Luke 22:20).
The blood of Christ is significant; whenever a covenant is cut between God and his people it is marked by blood. Moses sprinkled the people with sacrificial blood to mark the old covenant (Exodus 24:8). Jesus’ blood marks the dawn of a new covenant—the one promised in Jeremiah 31:
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33–34, ESV)
This is a covenant in which forgiveness of sins is not the final destination but the starting point. Jesus was accomplishing a new and better exodus—not from Egypt but from sin, death, and hell—leading his people not to Canaan but to a new world and eternal life.
The word “Maundy” comes from the Latin mandatum (mandate), relating to John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Something else significant happened at the table. Not only did Jesus reveal himself as the true Passover lamb, but as the true and better priest.
Moses had been told to remove his sandals on holy ground (Exodus 3:5); priests were given washing instructions before approaching God in worship (Exodus 30:17–21); and the new covenant promised that hearts would be washed clean (Ezekiel 36:25). Jesus fulfilled all of this by rising from the table—the Lord of the universe—donning a towel and washing the feet of his disciples, including, it seems, his betrayer (John 13:2–5).
Anthony Bourdain was famed for visiting restaurants secretly and ordering staple items—not signature dishes—to judge the quality. Imagine the pressure of recognizing a legend in your midst. Now imagine that master chef reveals he is the center and object of the meal itself, then dons the busboy’s apron and takes up the most menial work in the room. This gives us just the smallest glimpse into the glory and humility of Christ in this moment.
If we do not let him wash clean our hearts from sin and guilt, we have no place with him (John 13:8).
The same Lord Jesus who died as the sacrificial lamb and invites us to sup with him by faith is the one who rises from the table to wash his disciples in love—modeling the love he commanded us to walk in.
Let us feast at the table of grace and cleanse ourselves in the font opened by our Lord.
