MATTHEW 26:36-46
Today is Maundy Thursday in the traditional church calendar, the day of Holy Week that commemorates Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper on the night he was betrayed. The phrase mandatum novum (“a new commandment”) from the Latin version of John 13:34 inspired the name “Maundy Thursday.”
Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most gripping scenes of Maundy Thursday. It was in this secluded garden on the Mount of Olives that the Son of God prepared Himself for the epochal events of the next day, which would culminate in His wrath-bearing death on the cross.
We could say a lot about this dramatic scene in the garden. Some commentators are fascinated by Jesus’ biological response (He sweats drops of blood!). Others concentrate on Jesus’ mental struggle in the garden: was he afraid of death or of being separated from the Father, or a combination of the two? Indeed, because of its raw honesty about Jesus’ struggle in the face of death, this passage has frequently perplexed Christian interpreters.
Let us marvel at our Lord’s inconceivable humility as we reflect on the final night of Jesus’ life on this Maundy Thursday. Let us be awestruck by His readiness to take on true humanity and to obey God perfectly through a true human will in our place. Let us be awestruck by the gospel of the grace of God’s Son, who was obedient to death, even death on the cross.
🙏🏼Keep the image of Your Son before our eyes, who, as God, became a Servant for our sake. All praise to Him who, with You and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns as One God now and forever.
