Thursday of Holy Week

On the day before the crucifixion, Jesus took the time to celebrate the Passover meal with His disciples. They'd gathered in an upper room, and Jesus Himself took on the role of the lowest servant and washed His friends' feet. Read about that in John 13:1-20. Then think about. Picture it: loud, boisterous Peter subdued by the Messiah's act of service. John allowing God Himself to wash the dust from his feet. Jesus, kneeling in front of men who didn't understand what was going to happen, loving them to the very last, knowing they would disappoint Him and let fear, doubt, and despair control their lives, but loving them just the same.

Then, Jesus and His disciples ate together. The friends listened as Jesus presented the bread and wine and gave new symbolic meaning to both. This is the moment we remember every time we take the Lord's Supper. It's why we call a memorial meal; it's all about remembering the God who was willing to sacrifice Himself so that we might have abundant life.

After the meal, Jesus and His disciples went to a garden to pray. Read Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; and Luke 22:39-46. Jesus then invited three of them—Peter, James, and John—to come with Him. He asked them to pray and He went even further into the garden to pray alone. There was Jesus, crying out to God, praying for the strength to complete the task the Father had set before Him, and His closest friends fell asleep.

That moment breaks my heart, because I know how often I have been asleep in my faith instead of striving to be the person God wants me to be. Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully human and in that moment, I can't help but feel his utter despair and loneliness. The people He loved didn't get what He was trying to tell them. He knew what was coming, and He couldn't make them understand. And in the one moment that He needed them to just be there for Him, they fell asleep!

Before long, a mob, led by Judas, another of Jesus' disciples, showed up at the garden. Jesus was arrested; His disciples fled; it all seemed to be coming to an end. Jesus was tried by the religious leaders in the middle of the night and accused of blasphemy. As the sun rose, Peter, who had said he'd never deny Christ, had done just that.

There's a lot of emotion in the events of this sad day during Holy Week. Peter who has done the one thing he said he would never do. Jesus who has grieved and anguished in the garden, praying for strength and rising from His conversation with God with His face set toward the cross. This moment makes me sad because I know where it leads. But I also know that Jesus is my only hope and this sacrifice had to happen so that I could have that hope.

It's easy to look at Jesus and say this was easy for Him. He was God, you know. But Scripture tells us He was also human. Here, we see a Man here who needs His friends to understand, to just be with Him. A Man who cries out to God in utter despair and honesty. A Man who understands your pain, doubts, and fears because He's been there. Jesus is the Man who fulfilled all prophecy and laid down His life for yours. That's the lesson of today. Remember it. Think on it. Thank Jesus for it, even through your tears.

Read:
• John 13:34-35. Could Jesus' command be used to describe you? Why or why not? 
• John 17: Jesus' prayer in the garden. How does it make you feel to realize that Jesus prayed for you (vv. 20-26) before His crucifixion?