Sermon Illustrations For Maundy Thursday (2017)
Illustration
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
A seminary professor once spoke about lectionary scripture study and stated that it was as important to notice what wasn’t required reading as it was to recognize what was. In this passage, verses 5-10 are optional. Yet the very specifics of the Passover meal preparation are described in these five verses. We discover what lambs are to be chosen, when they are to be butchered, how they are to be cooked, what is to be served with them, and what to do with the leftovers. These instructions seem odd to us now, because usually we don’t raise or butcher our own meat.
Other than this detail, and the actual smearing of lamb’s blood on the lintels and doorposts, the Passover meal is much the same as it has always been. We recall this celebration in our Maundy Thursday worship as a reminder of the ancestral commitment and celebration that Jesus and the disciples engaged in this night. We celebrate the passing over of God’s wrath as we encounter Jesus breaking bread and pouring the cup. Jesus is the Paschal Lamb for us -- the perfect one whose life is sacrificed to exemplify the level of compassion, love, and surrender a righteous life requires. Interestingly, the perfection of the lamb is only mentioned in the verses we are not required to read. Maybe my seminary professor had a point -- what isn’t required can be as or more important than what is.
Bonnie B.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
The story of Passover invites us to live in the past, the present, and the future simultaneously. In the past there is mystery in the hectic preparations, with no foreknowledge of what will play out in the hours ahead. A slave people eat meat together in family units. Meat was a luxury, but there is a sense that it is time to live abundantly, as free people, right now. Everything is hurried. There is no time for the dough to rise, so unleavened bread is used. Something wonderful is about to happen, and something terrible -- the deaths of so many so swiftly.
The meal as shared in the present need not be hectic -- one knows the day of Passover years in advance! It is a chance to re-create a historical event and to put ourselves in it. We read about the preparations, the anxiety, the hope of a slave people, and we are invited to stamp the whole experience with the words “YOU ARE HERE!”
We are also aware of the future -- mindful that this meal will be celebrated in the years to come, after we are gone -- and that one day it will be perfectly fulfilled. We can live these three levels in our own communion and Love Feast preparations during this season of remembrance, where we are present (like the spiritual says, “Were you there?”) now, all the while looking forward to the perfect feast of the Lamb.
Frank R.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Jesus was that lamb, and it was his blood that saved us and freed us from slavery. We don’t have to kill and eat any more animals to celebrate our freedom. All we do is eat the bread (his body) and drink the wine (his blood). We can do that every Sunday and not just once a year. With his blood in us, we are saved.
Jesus still celebrated Passover every year, and he did it on the day before he met his terrible end on the cross. His disciples did not know what was going to happen. Even Judas did not know exactly what would happen after his betrayal, but when he did know he killed himself!
All outsiders will die. Only those who obey his will and believe will survive. He also destroyed all the other gods who the people honored.
Our job as missionaries is to let our people know that their gods are gone forever. They never existed in the first place. There is only one God (not three Gods as some try to say). As I told one Muslim, I am only one person -- but I am a father, I am also a son, and I am also a husband, but I am still only one person.
We still celebrate that last supper today after a couple thousand years. It is a reminder of that last supper the Lord celebrated.
A converted Jewish rabbi gave us a Passover feast in our church. He told us how much different he felt about it when he allowed the Lord into his life.
When we take the Lord’s Supper in our church, we should think how it has changed from the original without having to kill that poor lamb and drain its blood.
Jesus became that lamb and suffered that horrible death so we could be free. It is in God’s house -- his church -- that we find freedom.
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The gentleman goes every Tuesday and Friday. He brings a chair each time. Some days he carries a newspaper. Other times he brings a magazine. Sometimes he brings nothing more than himself. He walks up the small, sloping hill and sets his chair in nearly the same place every time -- just a little to the left, facing the stone. The stone is the gravestone that marks the place where his wife of over 60 years is buried. He goes there every Tuesday and Friday to talk to her, to read, to share with her, but mostly to remember.
Remembering is important. There are significant events or people in our lives that should not be forgotten. What they did or what that event meant is invaluable and is still a part of everyday life. In our walk with Jesus Christ, is there any more important event to remember than the crucifixion? Jesus gave his body and poured out his blood to atone for my sin and your sin. He knew how important that act was and about our need to remember. The night before he was crucified, Jesus shared a final meal with his disciples. At that meal he took bread, broke it, and gave it to them. “This is my body,” he told them. Remember. Later he took the cup and told them to drink it, remembering him.
Jesus’ sacrifice is one of those milestone events. It deserves and demands to be remembered. As often as we eat the bread and drink the cup, let’s remember Jesus until that glorious day he comes back.
Bill T.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
After the retirement of Robert H. Schuller in 2011, the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California, went bankrupt. After five decades of a very prosperous ministry, constituents stopped making financial contributions. This is because the church was ruled by nepotism. Schuller, wanting to be an unchallenged autocrat over his ministry, did not allow any outsiders to serve on his board of directors. Instead, the board was composed of his sisters, his children, and his mother. This assured that Schuller would always have a “yes” vote on everything he proposed. Upon his retirement, the church did not have the leadership it needed to sustain itself. What further complicated the leadership vacuum was that each family member fought with one another to gain control.
Application: The fellowship of the Upper Room demonstrates to us good Christian leadership.
Ron L.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper makes life better. Neurobiologists have observed that rituals like the sacraments seem as capable of facilitating the flow of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine as spiritual reflection does (Andrew Newberg, Why We Believe What We Believe, p. 189). Eating a common family meal together and the socializing that comes with it is not a typical experience for many Americans. According to a 2009 CBS News poll, 74% of the public claim they eat as a family, but 33% say the television is on during the meal. Thus only 41% of our families still have fellowship daily at meals. At least we can have that on Sundays in communion, for we receive the body of Christ (each other) in that meal. Martin Luther offers some thoughts about the great comfort the Lord’s Supper can provide: “People should learn that the highest science is to know that the sacrament does not depend on our worthiness.... On the contrary, we go because we are poor, miserable men and just because we are unworthy” (What Luther Says, p. 816).
The Lord’s Supper is about fellowship and affirmation, for we get to have a meal and fellowship with the King, the Creator!
Mark E.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The response to footwashing during the celebration of Maundy Thursday is usually met with mixed reviews. As a pastor, to me it has always been one of the most sacred of the celebrations of that day. There is something about kneeling in front of those whom you lead, preach to, and teach that is spiritual, filled with love and humility. Some folks just can’t wrap their heads around the idea, and I know some pastors who offer the washing of hands as an alternative to make folks comfortable. I tend to opt for the discomfort of washing feet.
After all, Jesus, the Messiah, knelt in front of his disciples and washed their feet. I’m sure they were uncomfortable. Peter almost refuses completely, until Jesus re-educates him. There is spiritual power and holiness in the simple act of pouring water, massaging the soles, and drying the water from the feet of our neighbor. Perhaps if we each spent some time kneeling in front of one another, caring for one another, there would be more compassion and love in the world. I am willing to struggle through a little discomfort to achieve that.
Bonnie B.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Feetwashing was slave’s work. When you arrived at your destination, clean except for your feet because of the dusty nature of the roads, you washed your own feet or a slave washed your feet. Your host did not wash your feet. And yet Jesus donned a towel and midway through the meal washed the feet of his disciples. Like last Sunday’s lectionary text from Philippians tells us, Jesus took on the form of a slave because of his love for his own. Some denominations literally follow the command of Jesus to do this in his memory. Some people cannot.
What does this mean? The clue is found in the words Jesus spoke in the new commandment recorded a few verses later: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (vv. 34-35).
Frank R.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The whole purpose of Christ’s coming is to show his love for all his people in the world. The main word in the Bible we need to know is “love.” He loves us all! One of the things Jesus did that night was to show his love by becoming a servant and washing the disciples’ feet. Even Peter thought that was too lowly a job. If it was a sign that he was loved, then he wanted Jesus to give him a whole bath. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas, his traitor!
In Nepal we had a footwashing ceremony one day for all the pastors. Old pastor Tir, the first Christian in Nepal and the one who helped train most of those pastors, went to wash the feet of one of his former students. We all cried because we wanted to wash his feet.
Jesus and pastor Tir were setting an example of how we should treat others.
One church wanted to continue that practice, but they had the people come to the front and put their shod feet on the altar rail where the pastor came around and dusted their shoe with a cloth. They felt it was only a symbol like baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus called it an example. It was never a sacrament.
Few will ever have to face what Jesus endured the next day. All we can do is obey his command to love one another. The hardest part is to love one another as he has loved us!
What can you do for the people in your church? How can we show that we love each other -- even those we may disagree with? How far will we go to obey Jesus’ command? Don’t just use that dustrag!
Bob O.
A seminary professor once spoke about lectionary scripture study and stated that it was as important to notice what wasn’t required reading as it was to recognize what was. In this passage, verses 5-10 are optional. Yet the very specifics of the Passover meal preparation are described in these five verses. We discover what lambs are to be chosen, when they are to be butchered, how they are to be cooked, what is to be served with them, and what to do with the leftovers. These instructions seem odd to us now, because usually we don’t raise or butcher our own meat.
Other than this detail, and the actual smearing of lamb’s blood on the lintels and doorposts, the Passover meal is much the same as it has always been. We recall this celebration in our Maundy Thursday worship as a reminder of the ancestral commitment and celebration that Jesus and the disciples engaged in this night. We celebrate the passing over of God’s wrath as we encounter Jesus breaking bread and pouring the cup. Jesus is the Paschal Lamb for us -- the perfect one whose life is sacrificed to exemplify the level of compassion, love, and surrender a righteous life requires. Interestingly, the perfection of the lamb is only mentioned in the verses we are not required to read. Maybe my seminary professor had a point -- what isn’t required can be as or more important than what is.
Bonnie B.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
The story of Passover invites us to live in the past, the present, and the future simultaneously. In the past there is mystery in the hectic preparations, with no foreknowledge of what will play out in the hours ahead. A slave people eat meat together in family units. Meat was a luxury, but there is a sense that it is time to live abundantly, as free people, right now. Everything is hurried. There is no time for the dough to rise, so unleavened bread is used. Something wonderful is about to happen, and something terrible -- the deaths of so many so swiftly.
The meal as shared in the present need not be hectic -- one knows the day of Passover years in advance! It is a chance to re-create a historical event and to put ourselves in it. We read about the preparations, the anxiety, the hope of a slave people, and we are invited to stamp the whole experience with the words “YOU ARE HERE!”
We are also aware of the future -- mindful that this meal will be celebrated in the years to come, after we are gone -- and that one day it will be perfectly fulfilled. We can live these three levels in our own communion and Love Feast preparations during this season of remembrance, where we are present (like the spiritual says, “Were you there?”) now, all the while looking forward to the perfect feast of the Lamb.
Frank R.
Exodus 12:1-4 (5-10) 11-14
Jesus was that lamb, and it was his blood that saved us and freed us from slavery. We don’t have to kill and eat any more animals to celebrate our freedom. All we do is eat the bread (his body) and drink the wine (his blood). We can do that every Sunday and not just once a year. With his blood in us, we are saved.
Jesus still celebrated Passover every year, and he did it on the day before he met his terrible end on the cross. His disciples did not know what was going to happen. Even Judas did not know exactly what would happen after his betrayal, but when he did know he killed himself!
All outsiders will die. Only those who obey his will and believe will survive. He also destroyed all the other gods who the people honored.
Our job as missionaries is to let our people know that their gods are gone forever. They never existed in the first place. There is only one God (not three Gods as some try to say). As I told one Muslim, I am only one person -- but I am a father, I am also a son, and I am also a husband, but I am still only one person.
We still celebrate that last supper today after a couple thousand years. It is a reminder of that last supper the Lord celebrated.
A converted Jewish rabbi gave us a Passover feast in our church. He told us how much different he felt about it when he allowed the Lord into his life.
When we take the Lord’s Supper in our church, we should think how it has changed from the original without having to kill that poor lamb and drain its blood.
Jesus became that lamb and suffered that horrible death so we could be free. It is in God’s house -- his church -- that we find freedom.
Bob O.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The gentleman goes every Tuesday and Friday. He brings a chair each time. Some days he carries a newspaper. Other times he brings a magazine. Sometimes he brings nothing more than himself. He walks up the small, sloping hill and sets his chair in nearly the same place every time -- just a little to the left, facing the stone. The stone is the gravestone that marks the place where his wife of over 60 years is buried. He goes there every Tuesday and Friday to talk to her, to read, to share with her, but mostly to remember.
Remembering is important. There are significant events or people in our lives that should not be forgotten. What they did or what that event meant is invaluable and is still a part of everyday life. In our walk with Jesus Christ, is there any more important event to remember than the crucifixion? Jesus gave his body and poured out his blood to atone for my sin and your sin. He knew how important that act was and about our need to remember. The night before he was crucified, Jesus shared a final meal with his disciples. At that meal he took bread, broke it, and gave it to them. “This is my body,” he told them. Remember. Later he took the cup and told them to drink it, remembering him.
Jesus’ sacrifice is one of those milestone events. It deserves and demands to be remembered. As often as we eat the bread and drink the cup, let’s remember Jesus until that glorious day he comes back.
Bill T.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
After the retirement of Robert H. Schuller in 2011, the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, California, went bankrupt. After five decades of a very prosperous ministry, constituents stopped making financial contributions. This is because the church was ruled by nepotism. Schuller, wanting to be an unchallenged autocrat over his ministry, did not allow any outsiders to serve on his board of directors. Instead, the board was composed of his sisters, his children, and his mother. This assured that Schuller would always have a “yes” vote on everything he proposed. Upon his retirement, the church did not have the leadership it needed to sustain itself. What further complicated the leadership vacuum was that each family member fought with one another to gain control.
Application: The fellowship of the Upper Room demonstrates to us good Christian leadership.
Ron L.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper makes life better. Neurobiologists have observed that rituals like the sacraments seem as capable of facilitating the flow of the pleasurable brain chemical dopamine as spiritual reflection does (Andrew Newberg, Why We Believe What We Believe, p. 189). Eating a common family meal together and the socializing that comes with it is not a typical experience for many Americans. According to a 2009 CBS News poll, 74% of the public claim they eat as a family, but 33% say the television is on during the meal. Thus only 41% of our families still have fellowship daily at meals. At least we can have that on Sundays in communion, for we receive the body of Christ (each other) in that meal. Martin Luther offers some thoughts about the great comfort the Lord’s Supper can provide: “People should learn that the highest science is to know that the sacrament does not depend on our worthiness.... On the contrary, we go because we are poor, miserable men and just because we are unworthy” (What Luther Says, p. 816).
The Lord’s Supper is about fellowship and affirmation, for we get to have a meal and fellowship with the King, the Creator!
Mark E.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The response to footwashing during the celebration of Maundy Thursday is usually met with mixed reviews. As a pastor, to me it has always been one of the most sacred of the celebrations of that day. There is something about kneeling in front of those whom you lead, preach to, and teach that is spiritual, filled with love and humility. Some folks just can’t wrap their heads around the idea, and I know some pastors who offer the washing of hands as an alternative to make folks comfortable. I tend to opt for the discomfort of washing feet.
After all, Jesus, the Messiah, knelt in front of his disciples and washed their feet. I’m sure they were uncomfortable. Peter almost refuses completely, until Jesus re-educates him. There is spiritual power and holiness in the simple act of pouring water, massaging the soles, and drying the water from the feet of our neighbor. Perhaps if we each spent some time kneeling in front of one another, caring for one another, there would be more compassion and love in the world. I am willing to struggle through a little discomfort to achieve that.
Bonnie B.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Feetwashing was slave’s work. When you arrived at your destination, clean except for your feet because of the dusty nature of the roads, you washed your own feet or a slave washed your feet. Your host did not wash your feet. And yet Jesus donned a towel and midway through the meal washed the feet of his disciples. Like last Sunday’s lectionary text from Philippians tells us, Jesus took on the form of a slave because of his love for his own. Some denominations literally follow the command of Jesus to do this in his memory. Some people cannot.
What does this mean? The clue is found in the words Jesus spoke in the new commandment recorded a few verses later: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (vv. 34-35).
Frank R.
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
The whole purpose of Christ’s coming is to show his love for all his people in the world. The main word in the Bible we need to know is “love.” He loves us all! One of the things Jesus did that night was to show his love by becoming a servant and washing the disciples’ feet. Even Peter thought that was too lowly a job. If it was a sign that he was loved, then he wanted Jesus to give him a whole bath. Jesus even washed the feet of Judas, his traitor!
In Nepal we had a footwashing ceremony one day for all the pastors. Old pastor Tir, the first Christian in Nepal and the one who helped train most of those pastors, went to wash the feet of one of his former students. We all cried because we wanted to wash his feet.
Jesus and pastor Tir were setting an example of how we should treat others.
One church wanted to continue that practice, but they had the people come to the front and put their shod feet on the altar rail where the pastor came around and dusted their shoe with a cloth. They felt it was only a symbol like baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus called it an example. It was never a sacrament.
Few will ever have to face what Jesus endured the next day. All we can do is obey his command to love one another. The hardest part is to love one another as he has loved us!
What can you do for the people in your church? How can we show that we love each other -- even those we may disagree with? How far will we go to obey Jesus’ command? Don’t just use that dustrag!
Bob O.
