Holy Week: Maundy Thursday

Select your preferred podcast platform below or scroll down for the full script and links to reference materials.

Close your eyes, and bring your attention to your breath. Inhale deeply, hold for two seconds, now breathe out all the tension, stress, or negativity in your body. One more time. Breathe in deeply, hold, exhale slowly all the way.

As your breathing returns to normal, gently turn your thoughts and attention toward the last week of Christ’s life. Elder Gong describes the Holy Week this way: “The sacred events between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday are the story of hosanna[, meaning “save now,”] and hallelujah[, meaning “praise ye the Lord Jehovah”]. Hosanna is our plea for God to save. Hallelujah expresses our praise to the Lord for the hope of salvation and exaltation. In hosanna and hallelujah we recognize the living Jesus Christ as the heart of Easter and latter-day restoration.” 

Today we will be pondering the Thursday before Easter, also known as Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, when Jesus instituted the sacrament during the Last Supper, suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was betrayed and taken to Caiaphas.

Last Supper/Sacrament

It is unclear from the gospels whether the Last Supper was a Passover feast or not. Matthew and Mark suggest that it was, but John states that the Passover feast began at sundown on the day Christ was crucified. Some believe that Christ, knowing He would not be alive for Passover, chose to celebrate it with His disciples early. Luke records Christ saying, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”[1]

Others suggest that there were really two Passover observances going on at the time—one at the Temple led by the priests, containing slight changes that had been made to the festival over time, and another observed by people in their homes according to the original Passover instructions. Christ’s Passover was clearly held in a home, and if this theory is accurate, would have occurred one evening before the priest-led, Temple Passover.[2]

During this last meal together, Christ institutes the sacrament,[3] directing His disciples to eat and drink in remembrance of His body, which is given as a ransom, and His blood, which will soon be shed for “for as many as shall believe on [His] name, for the remission of their sins.”[4]

After dinner, Christ begins washing the disciples’ feet. Imagine how you would feel if the Savior of the world knelt on the ground in front of you and began washing your feet.

When some of the disciples object to having their feet washed by Christ, He explains: “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. . . . The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them.”[5]

Christ then turns to Judas, who He had already foretold would betray Him,[6]  and says “That thou doest, do quickly.”[7] The other disciples do not know what Jesus is talking about, but Judas leaves. After Judas is gone, Christ continues talking to His disciples and calls them “Little children” saying that they will soon be looking for Him, but He is going somewhere they cannot follow.[8]

The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” which means “mandate, or commandment.”[9] In response to the separation that Christ knew was only hours away, He gives His disciples a “new commandment” to love one another. These are His words: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.[10]

Feeling love for His disciples and knowing that they will soon be mourning His death, Christ continues with words of comfort. He explains that although He is leaving, He is going to prepare a place where they can all be together again, and He will come back.[11]

He explains that He is the only way that we can be reunited with our Heavenly Father. “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”[12] So he pleads, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”[13] We know that this second comforter is the Holy Ghost, who, Christ explains, “dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”[14]

So if we love Christ and want to be with Him, we should keep His commandments so that first of all, we can have His Spirit, a comforter and teacher, to be always with us and remind us of Christ,[15] and second, through the Savior’s atoning power we can return to Him and our Heavenly Father in the next life.

Christ explained that His words were meant to bring peace:[16] “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”[17] “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”[18] “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”[19]

Take a few moments to rest in the peace that Christ has promised to those who follow Him. 

After Christ was finished speaking with His disciples, He headed out to the mount of Olives.[20]

Garden of Gethsemane

And, knowing His “hour had come,” went to the Garden of Gethsemene. He left His disciples, instructing them to pray, and He set off on His own, where He “suffer[ed] pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. . . . and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”[21]

Perhaps the best description we have of our Savior’s atonement comes from Christ Himself when He said,

“Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest . . . your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.

For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.”[22]

The suffering was so heavy and so intense that Christ prayed to His father, wanting to have the burden taken from Him. But His famous words “not my will, but thine be done” show He understood the importance of what He was experiencing.[23] And that His love for us overshadowed His agony. “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”[24]

Take a few minutes to ponder the magnitude of Christ’s atonement. Imagine every bit of suffering you have experienced in life—your lowest points. Imagine Christ feeling those moments as well.

The Savior describes His atonement as being for “all.” How might your interactions change with others if you are able to always keep in remembrance that Christ suffered for them?

Ponder the following question Christ posed to the Nephites when He visited them after His resurrection: “will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?”[25] How can you let Christ heal you?

As we move on and ponder Judas’s betrayal and the proceeding in front of Caiaphas, try to picture the events in your mind as if you are present and watching them unfold.

Betrayal

Christ has just suffered the beginning of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane. He and His disciples are walking back from the garden, when they see a group of people approaching them in the darkness. Some of them are armed with swords.[26] Some of them carry torches.[27] As they get closer, they recognize Judas among the faces and ask him what is going on.

Instead of answering, Judas breaks from the group, approaches Jesus, says “Hail, master” and kisses Him.[28] Jesus, knowing full well that Judas has just betrayed Him, asks “Friend, wherefore art thou come?”[29] “Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?”[30]

And the people that came with Judas grab Jesus to haul Him off to Caiaphas, the high priest. The disciples are upset at first, and one of them draws a sword, cutting off the ear of one of Caiaphas’s servants.[31] Jesus intervenes saying “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?”[32] He reaches out and heals the man’s ear.[33]

The disciples disperse as Jesus is taken away.[34]

Trial in front of Caiaphas

Jesus is brought to the high priest, Caiaphas. The chief priests, elders, and other members in the council have been seeking witnesses against Him so they can find a cause to put Him to death.[35] Two witnesses eventually come forward and testify that Christ said He could destroy the temple of God and build it again in three days.[36] Caiaphas asks Jesus to respond to the accusations, and Jesus is silent.[37] 

Caiaphas tries again, asking Jesus to swear under oath whether or not He is “the Christ, the Son of God.”[38] Jesus answers “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.[39]

The high priest accuses Christ of blasphemy, and the council agrees that no more witnesses are needed: Jesus is worthy of death.[40] “Then they did spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?”[41]

When you are ready, take a final deep breath and slowly turn your awareness back to your body. As you open your eyes and return to your surroundings, take a moment to jot down any thoughts, promptings, or questions that came to mind while you were pondering. Continue to ponder the things that have come to your mind and your heart as you prepare for and celebrate the upcoming Easter Holiday.

______________

[1] Luke 22:14-16; see Eric D. Huntsman, “Maundy Thursday,” huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com,  https://huntsmanseasonal.blogspot.com/2013/03/maundy-thursday.html  (last accessed March 20, 2023)

[2] David C. Grabbe, “What the Bible says about Passover Kept at the Temple,” bibletools.org, https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/19883/Passover-Kept-at-Temple.htm#:~:text=These%20original%20instructions%20also%20direct%20the%20Israelites%20to,doorposts%20and%20lintel%20of%20the%20house%20%28Exodus%2012%3A22%29 (last accessed March 23, 2023) (“In actuality, then, there were really two Passover observances happening at the time of Jesus: one led by the priests at the Temple and the other observed by the people in their homes. These separate observances were also at different times: The Temple-kept Passover was observed late in the afternoon of Abib 14, while the home-kept Passover was kept at the beginning of Abib 14. As the gospels show, Jesus and His disciples at the Passover in a home rather than at the Temple, observing it the evening before the priests did at the Temple.”)

[3] For a guided meditation on the institution of the sacrament, listen to the episode titled “Taking the Sacrament,” released July 2022.

[4] JST Matthew 26:24; see also Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20.

[5] John 13:13-17.

[6] Luke 22:21; John 13:11, 21, 26.

[7] John 13:27.

[8] John 13:33.

[9] https://www.dictionary.com/e/what-does-maundy-thursday-mean/

[10] John 13:34-35.

[11] John 14:3.

[12] John 14:6.

[13] John 14:15-16.

[14] John 14:17-20; see also John 14:21, 23.

[15] John 14:26.

[16] John 14:27.

[17] John 14:27.

[18] John 15:18.

[19] John 16:33.

[20] Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39.

[21] Alma 7:11-12.

[22] D&C 19:15-16.

[23] Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42.

[24] Luke 22:44.

[25] 3 Nephi 9:13.

[26] Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47.

[27] John 18:3.

[28] Matthew 26:49; Mark 14:45; Luke 22:47.

[29] Matthew 26:50.

[30] Luke 22:48.

[31] Matthew 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50; John 18:10.

[32] Matthew 26:53-54; see also Luke 22:51.

[33] Luke 22:51.

[34] Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50-52.

[35] Matthew 26:59; Mark 14:55.

[36] Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58.

[37] Matthew 26:62-63; Mark 14:60-61.

[38] Matthew 26:63; Mark 14:61-62.

[39] Matthew 26:64; see also Luke 22:766-71.

[40] Matthew 26:65-66; Mark 14:63-64; see also Luke 22:71.

[41] Matthew 26:67-68; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64.