Holy Thursday

On Holy Thursday (Maunday Thursday), we reflect on the Last Supper Jesus will have with his disciples. This meal is the biblical reference for the observance of Holy Communion. ✝

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Some of the events of Holy Thursday:

• Preparations began for the Passover: Jesus sent Peter and John to secure the upper room
• That evening, Jesus and all 12 disciples gathered there
• Jesus washed their feet, and they ate the Last Supper together
• He told them again that He would suffer and die, and that one of them would betray Him
• Judas leaves to find guards to arrest Jesus
• On the Mount of Olives, Jesus is arrested
• He is put before authorities - first Annas, and finally Caiaphas the High Priest
• Jesus is found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to die

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John 13:12-17 (NLT)

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
​12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 
13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 
14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 
15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 
16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 
​17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

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John 13:18-30 (NLT)

Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’  
19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I Am the Messiah. 
20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”
22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 
23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 
24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 
25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 
27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 
28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 
29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 
30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
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John 13:31-38 (NLT)

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 
32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 
33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 
​35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”
And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”
37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”
38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
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Attribution

• Image: by Sweet Publishing from FreeBibleImages.org
• ​Article: Scriptures to read each day during Holy Week from BibleStudyTools.com
• ​​Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.