I remember a scene from “Les Miserables” that took place the night before the great battle. The men who would be fighting the next day knew that they were far outnumbered. They knew that most, if not all of them, would lose their lives in the next day’s battle, but they weren’t about to back down now. They knew they were doing the right thing, and they had every intention of finishing what they had started, even if it meant that they would all die together. At least they would be giving their lives for a worthy case, and so they gathered together one last time, and said their last good-byes to each other.
I wonder if that is something similar to how the disciples felt when they were gathering with Jesus one last time on Thursday night, the night before the day of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. They may have sensed what was on the horizon. They probably saw what was coming. Jesus had gathered them to be with them on one last occasion, to teach them about His and their loving Father one last time, to pray one last prayer for them, to have one last supper with them. They may have understood that when he shared the bread and the cup with them, it was the last time they would eat and drink together before his death. It was their last opportunity to be together, and they could sense the gravity of the moment. They could tell by what he was teaching them, by how he prayed for them, by the tone of his voice and by the look in his eyes, that this would be their last good-bye. As recorded in John 13-17, Jesus used the occasion to wash their feet, assuming the role of a humble servant, so that they would wash each other’s feet in humble service to each other. Notably, he even washed the feet of the man whom he knew would betray him. Then he began to prepare them for what was ahead by pointing them toward the future. He helped them to see the bigger picture of the unfolding of God’s plan. He told them that he was going to prepare a place for them, and that he was going to come back to them. He reminded them of his great love for them, and of the Father’s great love for him, and for them. He gave them the promise of the coming Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the “One called alongside to help”. He wanted them to experience his joy and his peace, for he knew that nothing less would sustain them. He warned them that they would face the same hatred and persecution that he had experienced. He granted them the privilege of praying in His name. He prayed that His Father would keep them and preserve them from evil. He prayed that they would see the glory of the Father. On that night, the disciples had been given very much to process. So much information, so little time. Jesus wanted their last hours with Him to be as valuable as possible. As his last hours with them turned into his last minutes with them, the time was becoming more and more precious. Every last minute mattered. And then came the events of the Garden of Gethsemane, as recorded in John 18. Crossing a brook— no turning back. Betrayed by a friend— but he knew all along that he would be betrayed by those whom he loved. Promises of allegiance that he knew could not be counted on. He knew that on the next day there would be a trial, where he would be considered guilty before the trial even began. He knew that a robber would be released and that he would be condemned— but hadn’t he come to die in the place of sinners? This was his mission. This was the will of the Father. This was the only way that the Father’s plan of redemption could be accomplished. No turning back. What he had started he would finish, for the joy set before him, in obedience to the Father, in fulfillment of God’s perfect plan of redemption. Thursday— the night he ate the meal. The night he struggled in prayer in the garden. The night he needed the prayers of his friends who had fallen asleep. The night he was betrayed. Traditionally the Church refers to this special night as “Holy Thursday” or “Maundy Thursday”. Was it a holy night, or was it an unholy night? Perhaps it was both. It was an unholy day because, humanly speaking, it was a night of sadness and loss. It was a day of betrayal and injustice. Jesus was betrayed by Judas and turned over to Pontius Pilate. None of this was fair. There was no justice for the man who was condemned to die. There was no justice for his friends who needed to mourn the loss of their master and friend, and would have to go on without him. It was a night that was covered by the fingerprints of an unjust and God-rejecting world that knows neither justice nor grace. It was a night when the world showed its true colors by rejecting the way of peace and truth and by exchanging the truth for the lies of power and corruption and political expediency. When a sinless God comes to a sinful world, don’t expect the world to bring Him flowers. Humanly speaking, it was a very unholy night. But it was also a very holy night. It was a night when Jesus established a meal that would commemorate his love for us that would be celebrated by all believers, globally, throughout all generations. It was the night when he reminded us of the utter necessity of loving each other, of loving God, of being aware of God’s intense love for us, of walking in God’s joy and in God’s peace. It was a night of trust and obedience, when Jesus demonstrated that he was able to obey his Father completely, because he trusted Him completely, leaving this example of trust of and obedience to the Father for us to follow. It was a night of crossing a brook and never looking back. It was a night of intense and honest struggle, followed by the stunning and courageous and determined declaration: “Not my will, but yours be done”. It was a night that has marked and defined the followers of Jesus right down to the present day. It was indeed a holy night. From the human perspective, it was the worst possible scenario. A good man was betrayed by a friend and was turned over to be condemned unjustly by a kangaroo court, leaving his friends devastated, their hopes dashed and their hearts broken. From God’s perspective, everything was happening right according to script. God was setting things up for the redemption of humankind, and the Son of God was persistently obeying the Father’s plan, right down to the most minute detail. God’s plan was unfolding. It was his good and perfect plan. It was his holy plan. Whether Thursday night was a holy night or an unholy night is a matter of perspective. From man’s point of view, everything was falling apart. From God’s perspective, the perfect plan for the perfect solution to all that is wrong with the world was being set up. God was at work, and no one could stop him. The One who had created the world was now setting the stage to bring about its redemption. It was the fulness of time. It was God’s setting of the stage for the ultimate checkmate against all that is evil, and for the ultimate fulfillment of all that is good. “Holy” is the only word that can adequately describe the things that God was putting into motion on that holy night. Those of us who are followers of Jesus call it Holy Thursday, because a holy God was accomplishing His holy purposes in His holy way. Let’s celebrate this holy night by remembering that while on the surface things may appear to be falling apart, beneath the surface God is accomplishing what only God can accomplish by providing a God-sized solution to a God-sized problem— the problem of sin and death. Let’s partake of the bread with joy, for his body was broken for us. Let’s partake of the cup with gladness, for his blood was shed for us. Let’s wash each other’s feet, as humble servants of one another. Let’s love each other from the heart, for this is what Jesus taught us and showed us and wanted for us. Let’s follow Jesus’ model of radical obedience based on unqualified trust of a Heavenly Father who is loving enough to want only what is good, wise enough to know how to bring it about, and powerful enough to accomplish it, for God deserves nothing less than that quality of obedience based on that quality of trust. Let’s celebrate the fact that God was setting in place all that was necessary to reconcile a sinful world to Himself, for His own glory, yielding our great joy!
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