A WORD FOR TODAY, April 2, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 2, 2026
“Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.” 1 John 4:7-12, WEB
And now, after turning to the back page to peek at the end of the story, we return to Holy Week. He rested and prayed on Wednesday as the leaders schemed about how to end His ministry. Jesus and His disciples, the Twelve and many others, spent time together during that week sharing food, fellowship, worship, and more learning. The most important meal happened on Thursday because of the ritual and religious significance, but it was made even more special because it was His farewell dinner, though they really did not understand at the time.
Pilgrims were in town, and many were curious about the man Jesus about whom they had heard so much. His Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem on Sunday gave them hope that He was the Messiah. Was the day of deliverance near? Passover was an ideal time for Jesus to grasp His Kingship. It would be significant to the Jews who would make the connection between Jesus and Moses. Just as Moses delivered the Hebrews from the Egyptians, Israel’s new King Jesus could deliver them from the Romans. As Passover drew near, the people expected something incredible to happen in fulfillment of God’s promises and the prophecies of the scriptures.
The disciples asked Jesus where they were to celebrate the Passover feast. As it was through the entire Passion story, the preparation was in the hands of God. Jesus gave them instructions where to go and who to see. Everything was as He said it would be, and the feast was prepared. As the evening drew close, the disciples gathered in the upper room, ready to celebrate this meaningful night with their Lord. During the dinner, Jesus spoke to them in love and shared the truth of His message: as His followers we are to submit ourselves to God and to each other in sacrificial love.
Today is Maundy Thursday. Many congregations will gather to relive the final night of Jesus’ life when He gathered with His disciples to share the Passover Seder feast. The word “maundy” comes from an ancient word that means “mandate”. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus gave us a new command, “to love one another.” (John 13:30) He didn’t just talk about love, He showed them. He removed His cloak and wrapped a towel around His waist and got on His knees to wash their feet. This menial task was one that only a servant would do. Peter was so incensed by the action he rebuked Jesus (not the first time), “No, you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus persisted because it was by His example that He showed them what they were expected to do. He set the example and once we know it, we’ll be blessed to do it. If we are obedient to the new commandment to love one another, we will experience His love in a new and powerful way. The disciples were specially chosen to serve the Lord. They had to know that they were no greater than those in the world to whom they would take the Gospel.
On Maundy Thursday, we also celebrate the New Covenant Jesus instituted at that supper. The Passover Seder was a meal to remember the deliverance of the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. It was highly symbolic, recalling the bitterness and affliction in Egypt, as well as the rebirth and joy of their new life of freedom in the Promised Land. The Passover was celebrated yearly with the expectation that one day the Messiah would come. The ritual remembered the Exodus but looked forward again to God’s promised salvation for them.
This particular Passover was a hopeful celebration because the people believed they had found the Messiah.
Jesus never promised that He’d be an earthly king. Instead, He made a New Covenant through the elements of the Passover meal. He took the bread, gave thanks to God and gave it for all to eat. He was the bread of life; His body is truly and substantially in, with, and under the bread of the sacrament. As we eat this bread, we remember that He is the true Bread of Life. After the supper He took the cup, symbolic in the Seder ritual of the redemption of Israel. He gave thanks and gave it to all to drink. “All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins.” We are redeemed and forgiven by the shedding of His blood. This meal fulfilled His shocking words earlier in His ministry about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. At that dinner, Jesus offered a foretaste of the eternal banquet we will share with Christ forever. On Maundy Thursday we join together with believers from every time and place by sharing His meal, taking in His promise for forgiveness in a tangible way in obedience to His Word.
During the dinner, Jesus spoke about humility and service, betrayal and denial. Despite Jesus’ instruction, several of the disciples got into an argument about who would be the greatest among them in the kingdom. They still did not understand. They still sought the power of this world.
After the dinner, Jesus took the disciples to Gethsemane so that He could spend time in prayer. It is at this moment that Jesus Christ makes the final and most incredible act of submission to His Father’s will. He committed to the only path He could take: the path to the cross. The ministry of Jesus Christ was about to close in a most painful and horrible manner, but He stood and walked right into the hands of His betrayer Judas, receiving his kiss. It was the will of God.
Tomorrow we will look at the horror of Good Friday, but I think Maundy Thursday was the harder day for Jesus. Physical death, even horrific physical death, is nothing compared to things He had to experience that day. It was the day He said good-bye to those He loved. It was the day He saw that they still didn’t understand the reason for His life and ministry. It was the day He experienced the betrayal, denial, and abandonment of His disciples. It was the day He agreed to follow the hard path His Father sent Him to follow.
Jesus comforted His disciples even though He knew they would respond for the next few hours against God’s will. He promised that the Holy Spirit would come to them so that they could continue His work. He established a new covenant with His people, a covenant of life, hope, and remembrance. It was the day that He willfully went to prepare a place for us, the day He set His feet on the path that would assure us that we would be born to new a new life that promises eternity in His true Kingdom.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.