Maundy Thursday Reflection

When we come to Maundy Thursday, many different things are coming together in one place. On the one hand, we have Jesus and the disciples celebrating the Passover Meal. Yet, Jesus knows the cross in coming and he takes this opportunity to show the disciples what the Passover Meal was truly about. The Passover Meal was not about something that happened in Egypt. Ultimately, it was pointing ahead to Jesus. 

The Passover meal was connected with the grand finale of the plagues against Egypt. Remember, Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go out into the desert to worship Him. So, God sent plague after plague after plague upon them as judgements. Pharaoh still refused. So, God sent one final plague upon the Egyptians—the death of the firstborn. He also gave his people something to do. They were to celebrate the Passover as a way of protecting them from this death. 

The Passover consisted of God’s people finding and choosing a spotless lamb—one without defect or blemish. They would take care of this lamb for 14 days, but after fourteen days, they would kill the lamb as a sacrifice. God commanded them to take the blood of the lamb and wipe it on the doorposts of their house as protection. God said that when he saw the blood of the Lamb, he would Pass Over the house and they would be protected from the plague upon Egypt. After spreading the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, they would sit down for a meal and eat the lamb, trusting that the lamb’s blood would protect them. 

It wasn’t long after Jesus’ ministry started that he was called the Lamb of God. When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he cried out, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NIV). Like I said, the Passover Meal was always pointing ahead toward Jesus—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Paul says the same thing: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7, NIV). 

This is why Jesus had to be sinless and perfect. Like we saw in Isaiah 53, Jesus “had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9, NIV). Other places in scripture say the same thing: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22, NIV). In order for Jesus to be our true Passover Lamb he had to be without blemish or defect. He had to be sinless and perfect. If he wasn’t, he couldn’t be our perfect sacrifice. 

This is also why Jesus had to die. In order for him to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, he had to die—that’s what happens to sacrifices. That’s why Isaiah 53 says “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7, NIV). Jesus knew this was what was going to happen to him. He repeatedly told his disciples this would happen: “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31, NIV). 

It is through Jesus’ death that we can receive forgiveness from our sins. Isaiah 53 says that, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6, NIV) and that “the LORD makes his life an offering for sin…” (Isaiah 53:10, NIV). On the cross, Jesus carried all of our sin, and paid the price for our sin—the price we deserved to pay. It’s through Jesus’ blood that we are protected from the judgement of God. He truly is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

Then, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples. As they ate the meal, Jesus showed them that the meal has always pointed to him. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:19–20, NIV). The broken bread was a reminder that Jesus’ body would be broken in death AND that his death would be FOR them—for the forgiveness of their sins. When they began to drink a cup of wine, Jesus told them the wine was to remind them that his blood would be poured out for the forgiveness of their sins—to protect them from God’s judgement.

Yet, the Bible doesn’t stop talking about the Lamb of God after Jesus died. The Lamb of God comes back on the scene in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 5, there’s a beautiful picture of God holding onto a scroll that represents the unfolding of God’s purposes on the earth. No one is worthy to open this scroll…except the Lamb: “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”” (Revelation 5:6–10, NIV). The rest of the book unfolds as the Lamb of God opens each seal—God’s plans and purposes unfolding accordingly. 

Finally, as the story comes to an end—the end of history—we see this beautiful picture of the Lamb of God: “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 21:22–22:5, NIV). 

In the midst of these uncertain times, let us keep our eyes on the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Let us rest more fully in the salvation he has brought us, but let us also look forward to—and long for—the final salvation he will bring—the new heavens and the new earth. A time of no tears or sorrows. A time with no plagues and pestilence. A time when the curse upon the earth and mankind will be removed forever, and we will dwell in the peace of God for all eternity. Let us continue to look forward to that day as we take comfort in the knowledge that the blood of the Lamb of God has protected us from God’s judgement, both now and forevermore.