The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
THURSDAY
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
THURSDAY
We do not know what Jesus did on Wednesday. The Bible says that He went every morning to the temple, and taught all day, and perhaps Jesus did the same on Wednesday. But nothing is told about what Jesus taught, or about anything that happened on Wednesday. It is possible that Jesus could have made an exception on Wednesday, and He perhaps spent the day quietly in Bethany with those who loved Him so. We just do not know what Jesus did on Wednesday. We hope that He was able to spend some quiet time with His loved ones in Bethany, because if He did, it would have been Jesus’ last quiet day on earth.
Thursday was the last day of the Passover feast, and in the evening the Passover lamb was eaten. Every family of the Children of Israel had a lamb on this day, which the father took to the temple. There the lamb was killed, and the priest burned the fat upon the altar. The father then took the rest of the lamb home, where it was roasted and eaten with bitter herbs. If a family was too small or too poor to eat a whole lamb, two or three families ate one together.
We have seen before that Jesus and His disciples formed a sort of family, and so they ate the Passover together at this time. On this Thursday morning Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go to Jerusalem and prepare the Passover that we may eat it.”
The disciples said, “Where shall we go?”
They asked Jesus this because they did not know of any place where they would be welcome.
Jesus answered, “When you come to the city you will meet a servant carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house where he enters, and say to the master of the house, “The Master wants your guest chamber for a place where he can eat the Passover with his disciples.” He will show you a large upper room, furnished with tables and couches. Use that room, and make the supper ready.”
Peter and John went to the city and found everything as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover supper. When Thursday evening came Jesus and the other disciples joined Peter and John. There seems to have been a little trouble about choosing their seats at the table in the upper room; for they did not yet know the lesson Jesus had tried so often to teach them. Jesus taught His disciples this lesson once again, in a way that they never forgot.
Not only was there trouble about the seats at the table, but no one was willing to take the part of servant and wash the dusty feet before they began to eat. We have already seen that this was one of the things that needed to be done in that country, because the people then did not wear shoes and socks as we do today, but they wore only sandals, fastened on their bare feet. A walk of several miles over the dusty roads would make them very uncomfortable, and if they had a servant, one of the first things the servant would have done for them would have been to wash their feet.
Jesus waited until all the disciples were seated, and it was certain that no one was willing to do a servant’s work. Then, rising from the table, Jesus took off His outer garment, got a basin of water, and began to wash their feet, and to wipe them with the towel which Jesus would have put around His waist the way servants did.
The disciples must have been very surprised and ashamed to see their Master, Jesus, doing the work, but no one seems to have said anything until it came Peter’s turn to be washed. Perhaps they were too ashamed to speak. But Peter said, “Lord, why do you wash my feet?”
Jesus answered, “You do not know now why I do it, but you will know some time.” Peter was not willing to let it be done, and he said, “You shall never wash my feet.” Then Jesus said, “If I do not wash them you cannot love me, for my friends are willing to obey me.”
Peter did love Jesus dearly, and, though it was not right for Peter to hold back, he could not bear to have Jesus do for him the work of a servant. Yet, Peter did so because of his love and respect for Jesus. So, if being washed by Jesus showed that Peter truly loved Him, then Peter was more than willing that it should be done, and so Peter said, “Lord, wash not only my feet, but my head and my hands.”
Jesus understood Peter. He knew that Peter loved Him, and was trying hard to be loving and pure, like his Master; so Jesus said to Peter, “He that is clean needs only to have his feet washed; and most of you, my disciples, are clean, but not all.”
Judas was with them, and Jesus knew of the bargain Judas had made with the rulers of the Children of Israel; that is why Jesus said, “You are not all clean.”
After Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples, He put on His robe again, and sat down, saying, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me your Master and your Lord, and that is right. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought to be willing to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example, that you should do to others as you would have them do to you. The servant is not greater than his master; you will be happy when you have learned this lesson.”
The lesson was not that every one must wash the feet of others, for that is not the custom today, as it was then; but that we must be ready to do anything to help our friends, even the humblest, most disagreeable things.
The time was now drawing near when Jesus must give up His life to save all the people of the world. Jesus surely looked troubled and sad as He said, “One of you is going to betray me.”
To betray means to give some one up to his enemies. How sad it was that one of the men Jesus had taught and loved so much should turn out to be so wicked.
The disciples looked at one another, wondering who it could be: first one and then another asked Jesus, “Lord, is it I?”
Judas was one of those who asked this question, but probably the rest of the disciples did not hear the answer, for Peter motioned to John, who was close to Jesus at the table, to ask Jesus who would do such a dreadful thing.
Then John asked, “Who is it, Lord?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I shall give a sop, after I have dipped it.”
Dipping the sop was another custom of the Children of Israel. On the table there was one large dish of food, and usually each one at the table put his fingers into this dish and took from it what he wanted. But sometimes one person would dip a piece of bread into the dish and then pass the bread, and what came out of the dish with it, to someone else; that was the sop, and that is what Jesus now passed to Judas. As He gave it to Judas, Jesus said, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
The other men at the table did not know what Jesus meant. Some of them thought that because Judas carried the money-bag he had been sent out to buy something for the feast, or to give something to the poor. But Judas knew what Jesus meant, and went out at once. It was now Thursday night and it was dark.
After Judas had gone out, and only those were left who truly loved Jesus, came what we usually call “The Lord’s Supper.” Jesus took some of the bread that was on the table, and after He had thanked God for giving it to them, Jesus broke it into pieces and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it; for it stands for my body, which will be broken for you.”
Then Jesus took a cup of wine, and after again giving thanks, passed the cup to His disciples, saying, “Drink ye every one of this; for it stands for my blood, which is shed to wash away your sins.”
From that time until now, in the church service, people eat the bread and drink the wine in memory of Jesus’ death. We call it the Communion Service, or the Lord’s Supper.
After this, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn. While we can not be certain, still we can probably assume what this hymn probably was, because the Children of Israel always sang certain Psalms after they had finished eating the Passover, and those were probably what were sung now. They were probably Psalms 115-118, and you can read them yourself in your own Bible.
After singing the hymn Jesus and His disciples left the house and went to the foot of the Mount of Olives, where there was a garden where Jesus had often been before. As they went along, Jesus talked to His disciples, and said some of the words that have been the most precious to all who love Him. Jesus began by telling them that His death was to come very soon.
Jesus said, “Little children, I shall be with you only a little while longer. I am going where you cannot follow me now; but sometime you will come to be with me. There is one thing that I want you to be sure and remember, and that is, to love one another as I have loved you. If you do that, every one will know that you have learned from me.”
Peter said, “Lord, where are you going? Why cannot we follow you now?”
Jesus answered, probably sadly, “This very night you and all the rest of my friends will leave me and will be ashamed to say that you ever knew me.”
Peter could not believe that such a thing could ever happen, and probably with sincerity said, “Though I should die with you, I will not deny you.”
All the other disciples said the same thing.
But we shall soon see that Jesus knew them best, after all.
Jesus tried to comfort His friends, for they were all feeling very sad. So Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. I am going to my Father’s house, and there is room there for you, too. I will go and prepare a place for you, and then I will come again and take you with me, that where I am, there you will be also. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come to the Father unless he loves me, and comes in that way. He that learns what I have taught, and keeps my commandments, is the one that loves me; and he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him.
I am the vine, you are the branches; unless the branches cling to the vine and draw their life from it, they cannot bear fruit; neither can you do good works unless you cling to me. Remember my command, that you love one another. The world will not love you, for the same reason that they have not loved me. They will put you out of the synagogue; they will put you in prison; they will even kill you, because you cling to me. But, when the time of trouble comes, remember what I have told you, and remember that you are not suffering any more than your Master did before you. I shall not be here to help you; I shall be with my Father; but if you ask the Father to help you for my sake, he will do it.”
With these words and many more Jesus comforted His loved friends, and told them what to do after He had left them. Then, lifting up His eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed to the Father, and asked Him to keep these men pure; to help them remember what He had taught them, and to give them the power to go into the world and teach other men what they had learned. Jesus prayed, too, for all who should afterward be led to love and trust Him, through these, His friends. When their earthly work was done, as His was now, Jesus asked that they might also be taken to live with the Father in heaven.
They had now reached the little garden near the foot of the Mount of Olives, where they were going. This garden was called Gethsemane.
Jesus had often taken His disciples there, and He loved it dearly. When they came into the garden, Jesus said to the disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.”
Then, taking Peter, James and John with Him, Jesus went a little further on, and said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful. This trouble seems more than I can bear; stay here and watch.”
Jesus went on alone, and fell on the ground, praying, “O Father, if it be possible, save me from this great sorrow. Yet, not my will, but thine, be done.”
The three disciples heard this much of the prayer; but when Jesus returned to them for comfort, He found them, not watching, but fast asleep. They were His three dearest friends, but even they were not ready to help Him now, when Jesus needed them and their help so much. Jesus said to Peter, “Simon, could you not watch with me one hour?” You will need to watch and pray, or you will fall into temptation; you want to do right, but you are very weak.”
Again Jesus left Peter, James and John to pray for strength; again they heard Jesus say, “Father, if this trouble cannot pass from me, and I must bear it, thy will be done.” Jesus came to His three disciples once more, and found them sleeping.
For the third time Jesus left them and prayed in the same words, while they slept. When Jesus came back the third time, He said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest; for the time is come when the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
But their sleep for that night was over; and sleeping when they should have stayed awake caused them to lose their last chance to help Jesus. Do you think you would have stayed awake with Jesus if you had been there with them? Perhaps you would have, and we all should hope that we would have stayed awake to help Jesus, but none of us know what we would have done, and we must not blame them. They were very weary; the hour was late; and they had spent a hard and sorrowful Thursday.
