So, the Easter baskets have been put away, the chocolate has been devoured, the marshmallow Peeps have been declared unsafe for human consumption (is this one of the 7 signs?), and what did I learn from Holy Week? I read some really good devotions, and this is what I gleaned. The Maundy as in Maundy Thursday comes from mandate or command as in what Jesus shared in John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another”. This New Commandment is shared 13 times in 12 verses, so it seems Jesus was trying to make sure the Disciples understood the significance at the Last Supper, His last chance to pour into them.
Another insight was shared in a sermon by Alistair Begg when he asked what it must have been like for the thief on the cross at the gates of heaven. “Have you ever been to church?” No, “Have you ever been to a Bible Study?” No, “Do you understand the doctrine of justification by grace through faith?” Never heard of it. “Then how did you get here?” “The guy on the middle cross got me in.”
Fortunately and providentially for all of us, The ‘guy’ on the middle cross was also God on the middle cross, and He paid the price for all of the sins of humanity for all time, including mine and yours, so let us respond by accepting that free gift of salvation, sharing that Good News with all those around us and loving others as He has loved us.