What Is Maundy Thursday?
The Last Supper
Jesus shared the Last Supper with twelve of his most devoted followers (called the disciples or apostles): Peter, John, Matthew, James (son of Zebedee), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas. At the Last Supper Jesus did more than just share a meal with his followers, however. He left them with several last teachings.The first concerned the meaning of his upcoming death. Jesus gave them this teaching in a symbolic way. He took bread, asked for God’s blessing, and broke it, distributing it among his disciples. He told them that the bread was his body. Then he passed them a cup of wine, identifying it as his blood, and asked them to drink it (Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:16-19).
In keeping with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the early Christians interpreted Jesus’ words and deeds at the Last Supper in terms of the Passover themes of sacrifice, redemption, and salvation. What’s more, they identified Jesus’ death as a sacrifice made for their sakes in order to cleanse them of their sins and open the door to a new kind of relationship with God. They created a ceremony called the Eucharist as a way of commemorating Jesus’ sacrifice and as a way of inviting others to participate in the bread and wine of the Last Supper. The Eucharist became the most important ritual in Christian communal worship.
Because it commemorates the Last Supper, Maundy Thursday is sometimes called the “birthday of the Eucharist.” Orthodox Christians sometimes refer to Maundy Thursday as “Holy and Great Thursday of the Mystical Supper.” They also refer to it simply as “Holy and Great Thursday,” “Holy Thursday,” or “Great Thursday.”
After breaking bread with his followers Jesus gave them a commandment and set them a powerful example of how to behave towards one another. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus declares:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).
Jesus demonstrated the kind of love and service he wanted his disciples to offer one another by washing their feet. Afterwards he explained:
“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:12-17)