Welcome to the New Mercies podcast. My name is Anthony Caldwell and I am so excited to
bring to you episode number nine. This is a very special episode. The next couple of
days we are looking at Easter and the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we are today celebrating Maundy Thursday. And I want to just give you a little bit
of explanation as to what Maundy Thursday is. If I'm totally honest, when I was a teenager
we had a special service at our church on Thursday night and it was called the Maundy
Thursday service. I was wondering why everyone was mispronouncing the word Monday. And I
was also confused why is it called Monday Thursday. Until as I grew in my understanding,
asked a lot of questions, did a lot of research, I realized it was not Monday Thursday. It
was indeed Maundy Thursday. And that word Maundy comes from a Latin word, Mondatum. Mondatum
is where we get the word mandate. And so this word is, if it's translated directly to English,
is command. This is the day we celebrate Jesus' last supper and his last few moments before
he goes and gets betrayed and gets crucified. And we know that he tells the disciples that
he has a new commandment. He says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will
know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. This is the command,
this is the mandate from Jesus to his disciples moments before he is betrayed, moments before
he is even left alone by his disciples as they fall asleep in the garden. This is a
big, big deal. And it's his last mandate to the group of disciples before he goes and
experiences separation from his Father in heaven, separation from all that is holy,
all that's perfect when he has to take on the sin of the world and die in our place,
this beautiful scene that we celebrate. But today we celebrate that new command, that
new commandment that he gave us, that new mandate that he says, here's what you need
to be about. As he is with his disciples, he's just washed their feet, he's teaching
them and he's training them. This is his last words. These are the last things he chooses
to say to his disciples before the biggest moment in the history of the world. If it's
his last words, we probably should pay attention to them. Today as we celebrate Maundy Thursday,
we need to understand and realize Jesus gave us a command. He gave us a last command while
he was still with his disciples that resonates in our lives today. If you can be about anything
today, let the new commandment that he gives us that we love one another. Not just the
way that we understand love in the human world, but Jesus says just as I have loved you, you
also are to love one another. And if you do that, by that everybody will know that you're
my disciples, that if you have love for one another. Here's what Jesus is saying. The
world is mean. People around can be mean. People around can be miserable. People around can
be selfish. And that's the way of the world. Selfishness, anger, bitterness, grieving,
hurting, all of those pieces are what the world creates in us. But Jesus says, be loving.
Have the love for one another that I have loved you with. You know, Jesus was completely
selfless. He was never thinking of himself alone. He was always glorifying God. He was
always helping others. He was always reaching out to other people in need and showing love
and care that was impartial. He didn't, it didn't matter where you came from. It didn't
matter what family you were born into. Didn't matter what nation you were born into. Jesus
showed love because he is love, because he cares so much for us. And then he takes on
this love that he is commanding us to live. He takes this on in just a few hours and is
crucified. Not because he did anything wrong, but because he loved us. Today, I hope you
are encouraged. Live out this new commandment that Jesus gave us on this Monday, Thursday.