Read: Matthew 26:17-75

Devotional

In the Christian tradition, today is called Maundy Thursday. Maundy in Latin means “mandate” or “command.” We get this from John 13:34, where Jesus says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Jesus calls his disciples—and consequently, us—to love one another as he has loved us.

Think about that for a moment. This is the night Jesus will be betrayed by one of his disciples, denied by another, abandoned by all of them. And tomorrow, he will be spit on, mocked, beaten, crucified—and worst of all, he will take upon himself the wrath of God that we all deserve for our sin. All of this, Jesus did because he loves us. This is the kind of love he is calling us into and inviting us to participate in. There is no greater love than the love of Jesus.

As you think about this, you may say to yourself, “I can’t love like Jesus did—that would be impossible.” And you’d be right. Jesus goes to the cross not so that people would just emulate his life or try to be more like him, but so that, through the active work of his death and resurrection, he would turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh for all who trust in him.

By the cross, we are given regeneration, new life, new identity, and the Holy Spirit—who empowers us, shapes us, and molds us into the image of Jesus. By the continuous work of the Gospel in our lives, we can love others as Christ loved us, as we sing in our hearts: “Yet not I, but through Christ in me.”

Devotional Written by Josh Gardner