Reed Mueller

Today is Maundy Thursday, which is

the special commemoration of Christ’s institution of the Lord’s Supper [and] is attested to as early as the fourth century. The English name Maundy Thursday comes from the Latin mandatum novum, “a new commandment,” in Jesus’ words to his disciples as he washed their feet on the night of the Last Supper: “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34).

Webber, R. (1993). The Biblical foundations of Christian worship

In my message last weekend, I spoke about this event (download or listen online /podcast feed/ iTunes.). What I tried to convey, but what we still may not realize is that Jesus was already in anguish even before the episode we observe in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39). He was in agony even before his prayers alone in that Garden: the agony of being betrayed, of knowing his disciples would scatter and deny, and of a world loved so much yet going so wrong.

John Cogdell reflects on this agony in these words:

We usually think of Jesus in the upper room as calmly and patiently preparing his disciples for their coming crisis; only in the garden are we shown his deep anguish over what lies ahead for himself. But if this verse (”They hated me without a cause.” Psalm 69:4 as quoted in John 15:25) occurred to Jesus as describing his enemies, surely he was also identifying with the rest of the Psalm with its vivid description of overwhelming troubles and importune cries to God for deliverance. What in the upper room was still under the surface was openly expressed in the garden. (Source: CQOD.com)

Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore what I did not steal. – Psalm 69:1-4 (NIV)

In this context Jesus’ mandatum novum carries all the more weight: love as he loved on this day.