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April 2, 2026<\/span><\/p>\n What Is Maundy Thursday Anyway?<\/strong><\/span> Lee en espa\u00f1ol<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.\u201d John 13:34-35 (NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong>: Today\u2019s devotion is part of our Holy Week series! Journey with us as we experience the power of Jesus\u2019 love, remember His sacrifice, and walk in the victory of His resurrection. We pray this series prepares your heart for the joy of Easter. Subscribe now.<\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps we should put the \u201cmaundy\u201d back into Maundy Thursday.<\/p>\n But what does that mean?<\/p>\n Though I\u2019ve been a Jesus follower for decades, I’ve often thought of this strangely named day during Holy Week as nothing more than \u201cGood Friday Eve.\u201d It\u2019s a prelude to the big weekend events. Sandwiched between the oft-celebrated Ash Wednesday and the deep reverence of Good Friday, Maundy Thursday\u2019s importance seems overshadowed.<\/p>\n But the scriptures describing this Thursday have all the excitement of a big-screen thriller: As Jesus sat down to the Last Supper with His disciples, there was prophetic foreshadowing and a meal ripe with symbolism, betrayal, and agony, then eventually bloody violence and arrest. For a day that feels hard to define, it sure packs a punch.<\/p>\n The setup was nothing spectacular. Jesus chose a nondescript upper room and huddled in with the 12 disciples to share the familiar Jewish Passover meal (Mark 14:15). No one except our Lord knew what an epic cascade of events would emanate from this simple space.<\/p>\n Not a whole lot of hype for an up-and-coming King. Awfully subdued for a Savior.<\/p>\n Just days before, Jesus was perceived as a conquering hero: Crowds lined the road into Jerusalem, waving palms and shouting \u201cHosanna\u201d<\/em> as He entered (Matthew 21:9). They cheered in expectation that Rome\u2019s shackles would soon be loosed from Israel.<\/p>\n True to His ways, though, Jesus didn\u2019t don the breastplate of war. Instead, in that modest upper room, He knelt in humility.<\/p>\n This is where \u201cmaundy\u201d comes in \u2014 a short form of the Latin word mandatum<\/em>, meaning \u201ccommand.\u201d On Maundy Thursday, Jesus issued this mandate:<\/p>\n \u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another\u201d<\/em> (John 13:34-35).<\/p>\n John’s Gospel records that Jesus spoke those words after He washed His disciples’ feet, modeling the greatest humility by removing His outer garments and serving others. King Jesus wiped caked mud from the feet of the ones He knew would abandon Him in His own darkest hours.<\/p>\n He also said, \u201cNow that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another\u2019s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you\u201d<\/em> (John 13:14-15, NIV).<\/p>\n Love and serve others with humility. Even when they don\u2019t deserve it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s really, really hard to do, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n Some days I don\u2019t want to be nice. I\u2019m tired or grumpy. My day\u2019s not going well. Therein lies the dilemma of metaphorically washing someone\u2019s feet when I feel like that someone should be washing mine.<\/p>\n No human naturally embraces this command from Jesus. It’s the command none of us can<\/em> embrace without Him.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s why the mandatum<\/em> challenges me today.<\/p>\n More of this maundy Savior, less of me.<\/p>\n Lord, show me Your ways, which are not my ways. I want to see life through Your eyes and respond to life as You would respond. Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done.<\/em> In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n Holy Week has a way of slowing us down in the best way. It pulls our attention back to the cross, back to the empty tomb, back to the truth that our hope rests on what Jesus has already finished. Each day of this series is another opportunity to let that truth sink in a little deeper. If you haven\u2019t already, subscribe to receive our Encouragement for Today<\/em> Devotions so you can walk through all eight days with us \u2014 and continue opening God\u2019s Word together long after Easter has passed. And as you reflect on these devotions, we\u2019d love to know how God is meeting you. Is He renewing your perspective? Giving you peace in a hard place? When you\u2019re ready, share how this Holy Week series has impacted your faith. Your story could be the steady reminder someone else needs right now.<\/p>\n Follow Carole Holiday at caroleholiday.com for monthly musings and recipes from her cottage cooking school days.<\/p>\n Mark 14:24, \u201c\u2018This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,\u2019 he said to them\u201d (NIV).<\/p>\n Read the following scriptures for four accounts of Maundy Thursday in the Gospels:<\/p>\n Jesus indicates that His shed blood settles the score of sin and ratifies a new agreement for those who trust in Him. How would you explain this new covenant in your own words?<\/p>\n How might this make you feel different about taking Communion, a sacrament that may be familiar but never loses its sacredness?<\/p>\n Share your thoughts in the comments!<\/p>\n \u00a9 2026 by Carole Holiday. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n Proverbs 31 Ministries April 2, 2026 What Is Maundy Thursday Anyway?CAROLE HOLIDAY Lee en espa\u00f1ol \u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.\u201d John 13:34-35 (NIV) Editor\u2019s Note: Today\u2019s devotion is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[5916,86,269,268,8249,270,52,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-24791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-devotionals","8":"tag-april","9":"tag-daily","10":"tag-devotional","11":"tag-encouragement","12":"tag-maundy","13":"tag-proverbs","14":"tag-thursday","15":"tag-today"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
CAROLE HOLIDAY<\/span><\/p>\nOUR FAVORITE THINGS<\/h4>\n
ENGAGE<\/h4>\n
FOR DEEPER STUDY<\/h4>\n
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