Maundy Thursday – Easter 2026

Key Text: John 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

As Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem as the King of Peace, the days leading up to Maundy Thursday have been intensifying in how he was engaging with the Jews. With increasing confrontations with the Jewish leaders, rebukes on the Pharisees, and teachings on the destruction of the temple, the priests and elders started plotting how to kill Jesus on Wednesday. 

Now Thursday has arrived. This is the final day he gets to spend freely before he gets arrested, tortured, and killed. This is the day before Jesus knew that he was going to be drinking the cup of wrath, the anger of God reserved for the sinners. So, how does he decide to spend the day? What would any teacher have done? Maybe try to engage with the public as much as possible? Maybe a grand prophecy? Maybe final acts of miracles? Instead of engaging with the public, what we see in the Scriptures is that he decides to spend his final moments with his disciples. The last moment is reserved with his loved ones; he is with those whom he walked for the past three years ceaselessly.

To review briefly, what were the disciples like? They were faithfully walking with the Lord all those years. They listened and watched what Jesus did very closely. After those three years, were the disciples now mature in faith and character? Were they ready to go into ministry, willing to offer their life for the kingdom of God? Not even close. While we read through the Gospels that they had the zeal to follow Christ, we read that their hearts were constantly misplaced. They knew that Jesus was someone very special. So, they would constantly fight over who was the greatest. Peter, even though God revealed to him the knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, the anointed one, quickly is rebuked by Jesus for rebuking Jesus that he shall not go to Jerusalem according to God’s plan of crucifixion and resurrection. We read,

21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Such as this example, we see numerous times of the immature and childish thoughts and characters of the disciples until the last week of Jesus’ ministry. So I ask again, what would somebody do in their final hour, when he has only one day left, especially with his loved ones? Give unique warnings to each of the disciples? Give a rundown of prophecies of the Old Testament? Give a gameplan what to do once he gets arrested? Instead, what we see in John 13 is Christ washing the feet of the disciples. For what reason?

15 For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

Jesus spends time by demonstration that they should serve one another. Afterwards, we see the institution of the Lord’s Supper, for the disciples of Christ to remember his flesh and blood that has been broken and poured for the God’s people. Then he finishes the evening with the mandate, “A new commandment I give to you…” to do what? To “love one another.” How? “Just as I have loved you.” These are his final instructions to the disciples, who are still clueless, ignorant, self-centered, and impulse-driven.

Let us heed to the word of Jesus, “little children,” which is the only occasion he used in the entirety of the Gospels. At the final hour, Jesus does not display any hint of frustration or anger. He does not show sentiment of regret or stress. Instead, we see his very loving and tender words, “little children”. We are so easily overtaken by the smallest inconveniences of others, especially by our close and loved ones. How they frequently lose their phones and clumsiness brings subtle, but quite intense frustration out of everyone. Yet, here we have Jesus speaking to them in a very caring way, knowing that he will leave them very soon. It is as though a Father is speaking to their little children. How great a mercy and how much patience God has for us! Just like the disciples, we so easily succumb to worldly desires and passions. We lose sight of eternal hope and glory, and we are distracted by what the world seduces us. Yet, God looks at us, despite our daily transgressions and immaturity, as His dear and beloved children. He still sustains us with his grace, protection, and moreover, with all the heavenly blessings through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, the great emphasis in Jesus’ final instruction lies that we imitate Christ in loving one another. And Christ prefaces the instruction with, “A new commandment I give to you.” Why is it new? Is Jesus adding a new law? What is happening? 

The Old Testament taught how we were to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Now, as Christians who remember Christ, we love one another as Christ would love us.Despite disciples showing all these ignorances and childish ways, he entrusted them with the keys of the kingdom and the sheep that were without shepherds. Christ wept with us. He rejoiced with us. He laughed with us. He wasn’t too great to sit down with us to eat. He wasn’t so much better than the man to bow down and wipe our tears. He didn’t find anything too dirty or unclean to touch them, heal them, and join them for a meal. He was showing his love and care, beyond words and emotion. He was getting his hands dirty to show his love and care. The love that Jesus shows is a love of complete selfless and sacrificial love. Charles Spurgeon even says that he loved us even more than his own life. He gladly gave up his life to love us, who were yet still his enemies. We love to roll in our feces of sin. We love to look at ourselves covered in mud, and we are pleased with it. We are proud of the things we accomplish. We pity ourselves when things don’t go the way we want. We are blind and self-absorbed. But Jesus shows by his own example what it means to love. It’s more than loving our neighbors as ourselves.

It is called a ‘new’ commandment, not because it had never been given before, but because it was to be more honored, to occupy a higher position, to be backed by a higher example than it ever had been before. Above all, it was to be the test of Christianity before the world. – J.C. Ryle, Commentary on John 13.

Instead of looking just at other people for an example of how to love, we now have higher examples of Christ – how he lived, served the people, and died. When God gives the Ten Commandments, He ordains the law upon the Israelites on the basis of the fact that God has rescued them from the bondage of Egypt. The people of Israel were bound and chained under the oppression and slavery of the Egyptians. “I have now rescued you. You are mine. Observe these commandments.” The New Commandment occupies a higher position, because we were not enslaved by the Egyptians. We were bound, chained, oppressed, and enslaved by sin and death. Because God has rescued us not by the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, but by the blood of Christ on the cross, God says, “I have now rescued you. You are mine. Observe these commandments.” You purchased us by the blood of Christ.

Moreover, Jesus adds, “by this, the world will know that you are my disciples.” We are a church that cares deeply about the true and pure doctrine of the Scripture. Without the foundation of the doctrine, we are left with personal interpretations that are inconsistent and even contradictory. It gives the skeletal structure for us to stand on. But what is bone without flesh? A flower bed without flowers? It is meaningless. Likewise, what is Christian faith without love? It’s nothing. It’s meaningless. The love that overflows from the understanding of God’s will and works of salvation not only should affect us personally, but it should be infectious and evident toward one another. Moreover, this love should and will be evident by the followers of Christ, who look up to him and imitate him. Mind that does not follow up with words is pitiful. Words without action are hypocritical.

It is nonsense to talk about justification, and regeneration, and election, and conversion, and the uselessness of works, unless people can see in us practical Christian love. -J.C. Ryle, Commentary on John 13.

When we love, then we see the true Christian faith. 

27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)

We have Paul acknowledge and commend the church in Thessalonica for their love toward one another, and even the other churches in Macedonia. Yet, Paul says,

But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, (1 Thessalonians 4:10b)

We cannot be content with the love we display. We cannot allow ourselves to be pleased with what we already have. Instead, we should wonder how to strive even more like Christ in our love toward our fellow brethren, and examine ourselves of our shortcomings.

These are the instructions by our Lord. This is how he decided to spend his final moment with his disciples. May the day that Christ spend his final moments with his disciples move our hearts in obedience to love one another and not be forgetful of his instructions. Even the disciples, right after Jesus gives them the new commandment, start to fight one another who is the greatest among them. We are always shortsighted and pitiful, so may God be merciful to all of us to show our sins of contentment and forgetfulness.