Holy Thursday

A Jesus-Centered, Contemporary, Seder Celebration of the

By Bryce Harcey All Scripture quotations come from the ESV. Portions of this guide are inspired by Ann Voskamp’s writings on a Christian Passover. Introduction On the Thursday before Jesus was crucified, he gathered his disciples in an upper room to share with them what has come to be known as “.” It was a pivotal night for all of history, a night where time slowed down, a night where everything was filled with profound meaning and significance. For the disciples, it would be a commencement celebration and a commissioning from Jesus’ earthly school of discipleship. In a matter of hours, their teacher, their friend, the Messiah Son of God, would be arrested, beaten, and crucified. The activities of this evening served of great importance then as they do today. They serve to renew and restore our life in Christ as the family of God, as servants of Jesus, and now as the church, the people of God living in light of the new covenant dependent on the power of the Spirit. Three scenes unfolded that night: 1. The Passover Meal. It was the day of unleavened bread, the beginning of Passover and as a Jewish tradition Jesus celebrated it, he wanted to celebrate it with his disciples. We read in Luke 22:7-13, “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” Passover commemorates the Exodus, where the children of God were dramatically and miraculously rescued from 400 years of Egyptian slavery. Jesus shows his disciples how the Passover ultimately points to him and finds its fulfillment in

2 his life, his death (on our behalf so death might pass over us) and his resurrection.

2. The Foot Washing. On that Holy Thursday Jesus, the King of the Universe, chose the role of a servant and washed his disciples’ feet. The time had now come. The disciples were commissioned to love and serve others just as Jesus had taught them. He gave them a new command (“mandatum” is Latin for command and is where we get the word “Maundy” in Maundy Thursday): a command to serve one another and to love one another just as Jesus had loved them.

3. The Lord’s Supper. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Many have noted that it could really be called “The First Supper” rather than the last! It was the first Lord’s Supper, establishing and inaugurating the new covenant. Even though the realities of the cross hadn’t fully arrived yet, even though the disciples did not fully understand (they soon would), Jesus gave his disciples instructions that as they ate the bread and drank the cup, that it is through his body and blood God has established a new covenant with all of creation. The time of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all God’s people had come, that creation might be reconciled and restored to him, that he might be glorified for all eternity.

PREPARATION Passover always begins with a time of preparation, preparing our homes, preparing our hearts. During Passover, all products containing leaven or yeast were prohibited. Houses would be thoroughly cleaned and swept, a Spring Cleaning of sorts, and all items containing yeast were discarded. During this cleaning we remember that the Passover supper in Egypt had to be eaten quickly, and finished before Pharaoh changed his mind again. There was no time for the bread to rise, and no leaven was used. Throughout the Scriptures, yeast or leaven is also a

3 symbol of sin which can get into a person's life, contaminating us entirely. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” As we begin, let us take time to prepare our hearts, for personal examination, let’s quietly confess our sin to the Lord, and ask Him for forgiveness and cleansing according to His Promises, remembering our need for redemption from the slavery and bondage of sin. (pause for silence and prayer) We are going to listen to a powerful song that echoes the cries of the children of Israel. We invite you to listen, reflect and even join in in worship. [SONG OF LAMENT/CONTRITION] [Light Candles] As Christians we recognize that in Christ we have the opportunity to become a part of God’s chosen people, to be adopted into God’s family. The history of Israel becomes our history. Exodus is our story. These are our ancestors. These celebrations are also our celebrations, these promises and purposes---blessed to be a blessing to all nations--are also our promises and purposes. Let’s pray together: “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has chosen us from the beginning of time, exalting us by making us holy thought the Blood of the Lamb of Christ. In love you have given us, Oh Lord our God, Sabbaths for rest, holidays for joy, festivals for gladness…and the Son for our redemption. You give us this feast of unleavened bread to remember the liberation of our forefathers from Egypt and our liberation from sin and its punishment through Jesus. Blessings to our God who saw fit to deliver us!”

4 PASSOVER MEAL At this time we will serve the Passover meal. A few things to keep in mind. First, we are practicing a Christ-centered Seder (seder means “order”) Passover meal. Jesus wanted his disciples to see his ministry and mission in light of Passover. So, this is not a modern Jewish Seder. Jewish Seders began after Jesus’ time and do not recognize Jesus as the messiah and have other elements (attend one with a Jew some time!). Our meal seeks to be reflective of the Old Testament Passover and Jesus’ meal with his disciples. Second, know that these items should be part of a larger meal; there is more to the meal than these ceremonial elements and we actually encourage celebrating, slowly, with a full meal! Third, the cups. their cups would be filled four times (with wine!). We are just going to have one cup, of grape juice, and drink from it four times. The Meal Elements. There are seven elements to our meal: 1. The Matzah. The unleavened bread. 2. The Karpas. The Greens (Parslet sprigs). 3. The Salt Water. Dip the Greens twice in the salt water. 4. The Maror. Bitter herbs. Horseradish. Take a little, or a lot! 5. The Charoset. Sweet, Apples, Raisins, Honey, Nuts. 6. The Lamb. Roasted. 7. The Cup. Drink from 4 times. Let’s begin! 1. The [First] Cup of Sanctification. This cup symbolizes that we have been sanctified, that as the people of God we have been set apart for a purpose. Exodus 6:6-7 reads, “I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…I will free you from being slaves…I will redeem you with an outstreached arm…I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Let us drink our first cup and remember that we have been set apart unto the Lord.

5 2. The Matzah. Child: “On all other nights we eat normal bread. Why are we eating unleavened bread tonight?” We eat the matzah to remind us of the fact that the Israelites did not have time to wait for yeast to rise because they had to be ready to move when God said. For us as Christians, it reminds us to live lightly, always ready to go when the call comes, to be prepared and always on mission. We also eat Matzah to remember Jesus, for as this bread is without yeast, Jesus is the bread of life. He was without sin. He was pierced for our transgressions and by his stripes we are healed. Break off a piece of the bread and eat.

3. The Karpas. Child: “On all other nights we do not deep our greens, not even once. On this night, why do we dip them twice?” These greens represent life, created and sustained by Almighty God. But life in Egypt for the children of Israel was a life of pain, suffering, and tears, represented by the salt water. As we dip them let us remember that life is sometimes immersed in tears. We dip them a second time because on that first Passover our forefathers also dipped hyssop branches into the blood of the lamb and marked their doorposts. As they wept salty tears for their life of slavery, they painted the door lintels with the blood, so that the Angel of Death might pass over. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. May these greens remind us that we too have eternal life because of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we taste the salty water, we recognize the cost of our new and eternal life as Christ shed tears and drank the bitter vinegar as he was crucified. Eat the greens dipped twice. [SONG OF REFLECTIVE WORSHIP] 4. The Maror. Child: “On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables. On this night, why do we eat only bitter herbs?” In Exodus 12:8, the Israelites were commanded to eat bitter herbs as part of the Passover meal. These bitter herbs bring pain and tears. As sweet as our lives are today, let us still

6 remember how bitter life was for the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. Let us remember how bitter life is apart from God and enslaved to sin. We remember the suffering of Christ on the cross for each of us, how Jesus was crucified to pay the price and absorbs our bitter sins. Let us also remember the many followers of Jesus who have gone before us and have suffered even unto death, that today we may know the joy of the good news of Jesus. Let us remember. (PAUSE) 5. The Charoset. May the sweetness of the Charoset take away the bitterness! The children of Israel toiled to make treasure cities for Pharaoh, working in brick and clay. The Charoset reminds us of the mortar of their work, and yet, how God can take even the most bitter of situations and circumstances and make them sweet. Therefore, let us remember the sweet hope that we have through life with Jesus. 6. Reclining. Child: “On all other nights we eat our meals sitting at a regular table. On this night why do we eat reclining?” The first Passover was celebrated by a people enslaved. Tonight we remember that we are no longer slaves, but children of the very King of Kings and it is with him that we have this fellowship meal! On that night of the last supper when Jesus was eating with his disciples, the apostle John was known to have reclined next to Jesus, leaning onto Jesus, knowing the love of Jesus. May we enjoy reclining and resting in the freedom we have as Princes and Princesses of the King! 7. The [Second] Cup of Judgement. With this second cup we remember the judgment God brought on Egypt through the plagues. As the Lord told the Israelites, “I will free you from being slaves to them with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.” God set His people free by enacting terrible judgment on Pharaoh and unholy Egypt. But let us remember that before Jesus entered our hearts through faith we were dead in our sins, for the wages of sin is death. Jesus, despite his holiness, endured God’s

7 judgment for our sins. “We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Let us drink. 8. The Lamb. We read in Exodus 12, “The LORD said to Moses and Aaron…tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb…Your lamb shall be without blemish. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the meat that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. …The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you…” We take this lamb, which points us to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the perfect and complete sacrifice. John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) This lamb represents the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus, God’s own gift of a perfect lamb for our sins, that punishment may “Pass- Over” us, the perfect sacrifice, given once and for all. May his blood be applied to the doorposts of our hearts and may we celebrate the salvation that has come into our lives. As the finished the meal, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.

THE FOOTWASHING Let us read the account of the footwashing from John 13, starting in verse 3: “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to

8 him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In the washing of feet, may we remember that as followers of Jesus we too get to experience the joy of loving others through a life of servanthood.

THE LORD’S SUPPER Jesus then took the third cup, the cup of blessing, and a piece of matzah, and instituted new meaning to it, drawing their attention to his own life and future death, burial, and resurrection. [Behold the Lamb of God (Communion Hymn)]

9 As we celebrate communion, may our faith in the new covenant promises be renewed. Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:5,8) Brothers and Sisters, may we rejoice in the truths of the new covenant which Jesus established in the Lord’s Supper and commanded us to always remember. The Prophet Jeremiah says,

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel… “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” “And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (EAT) And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Do this in remembrance of me.” (DRINK)

10 The [Fourth] Cup of Praise With this last cup we praise God for all the wonderful things the Lord has done through history and in our lives, which we have celebrated tonight. With this cup we anticipate Jesus' return to "take" his bride home for “The Wedding Feast of All Wedding Feasts!” Let us shout together, Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! May we live with the hope of the New Jerusalem!

SUMMARY As we conclude the celebration of this Maundy Thursday, we: 1. Remember the goodness and greatness of God’s work in our family history as the children of God. May we live worshipfully, intentionally, and with joy and celebration. 2. In the washing of the disciples’ feet, we remember that Jesus came and served us and now we get to show God’s love by serving others. 3.And in the establishment of the “first” Lord’s supper, we remember the new covenant of the Spirit purchased through Jesus’ body and blood, in which we now live. May we rejoice in our new life in Christ and may we live lives as disciples that inspire (Spirit-inspired!) others to do the same!

Closing Prayer

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