Maundy Thursday
The Last Supper
On Thursday, Jesus took the Passover with His disciples to give them instructions, preparing them for His departure and to give a model of how to live by the power of the coming Spirit. This time together was essentially Jesus' last will and testament to His disciples.
Passover Preparations: Exodus 12 instructed that the Passover lamb was to be "slaughtered at twilight" which was 6pm. The lamb is the focal point of the Passover Meal. The preparation for the meal required much planning so Peter and John were sent ahead to make preparations. (Matt 26:17-20, Mark 14:12-17, Luke 22:7-14)
Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet: Just prior to the meal, Jesus washes His disciples feet as a model of servanthood. Interestingly, John uses 2 words to describe the washing: louo and nipto. Check out the graphic for their meaning.
Washing | “Nipto”
To cleanse, especially the hands, feet or face
Washing | “Louo”
To bathe, wash or submerge completely.
On Thursday, Jesus took the Passover with His disciples to give them instructions, preparing them for His departure and to give a model of how to live by the power of the coming Spirit. This time together was essentially Jesus' last will and testament to His disciples.
Jesus nipto's the disciples feet but after hearing what Jesus said, Peter wants to be louo'd. But Jesus tells Peter that he doesn't need to be louo'd again because already has been. This should tell us something about our salvation.
Jesus was using the imagery of a bathhouse. The Romans had bathhouses and one would go to the public bathhouse, take a bath and by the time they arrived home, their feet were dirty. When one was at home, there wasn't a need to bathe again, just a foot wash.
The daily life of a Christian, having been to the bathhouse of God, has no need to go back to the bathhouse, but there is a need to have your feet cleansed through humility and service (Luke 22:24-30, John 13:1-20)
