Day 5
Maundy Thursday
If there had been no upper room, if there had been no fulfillment of the promises of the Passover, and if Jesus were not the final Passover Lamb, we would simply have no hope in this life or the one to come. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Jesus saying these profound words: “This is my body, which is given for you” and “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Here is Jesus, in that intimate final night with his disciples, saying, “I am the hope of fallen humanity, because I am the promised, spotless Lamb of God.
Just as the blood painted on the Israelites’ doors in Egypt meant that the angel of death would pass over those houses, so all who put their trust in the Messiah Jesus are covered by his blood and therefore will not bear the punishment for their own sin.
It’s not enough that Jesus was a great teacher. If all he had done were teach truth, but had not shed his blood as the fulfillment of all the truth teaches us about sin and redemption, then we would be damned. If all Jesus had done were perform physical healings, then we would still be the spiritual walking dead. If all he had done were confront the false religion of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, but had not gone on to be the sacrificial Lamb that true religion requires, then we would be doomed. If all he had done were send his disciples out with a theological message, but had not been the historical, physical covering, by his shed blood, which that theological message requires, then we would be without hope and without God, sinners alone in this fallen worll
But he is the Passover Lamb. He is the fulfillment of the covenant promises of old. His blood covers and cleanses us. All human history marched to this moment in the upper room and the sacrifice of Jesus’s life that would follow.
Whenever I read the account of the incredible moment in that rented room and hear Jesus talk of his blood that was about to be poured out, a hymn always comes to mind. Its words are near and dear to my heart. It was written in 1876 by Robert Lowry, who was a pastor in Philadelphia.
“Nothing but the Blood of Jesus”
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Refrain:
Oh, precious is the flow
that makes me white as snow;
no other fount I know,
nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing, this I see—
nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea—
nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Nothing can for sin atone—
nothing but the blood of Jesus!
“Naught of good that I have done—nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my hope and peace—nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my righteousness—
nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Now by this I’ll overcome—nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Now by this I’ll reach my home—nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Glory! Glory! This I sing—nothing but the blood of Jesus! All my praise for this I bring—nothing but the blood of Jesus.
~END~
May you attach your sense of self, your meaning and purpose, your moral compass, and your hopes and dreams to the message delivered in that upper room and to the actual moment of sacrifice on that hill outside the city. And may every moment of sin, weakness, and failure be punctuated by you singing to yourself the ultimate answer to the ultimate question, What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Scripture Reading
Matthew 26:17–30
The Last Supper
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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