Thursday of Holy week was a little like the Thursday of Thanksgiving week. There was a lot to do to prepare for the cherished annual celebration. The special day, spent with family and closest friends, brought plenty of joy-filled experiences and memories!
On the Thursday of Holy Week, every Jewish family gathered to celebrate Passover.
Passover was the holiest of holy-days. During the memorial supper, Jewish families remembered the miraculous way that God had led their ancestors out of Egyptian captivity. It was a day of worship! God had set them free! Hallelujah!
For this particular Passover celebration, Jesus gathered His disciples and gave them instruction concerning the final fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover. After this Passover, an innocent young lamb would never need to be sacrificed again! Everything about Passover was transformed.
Jesus, the flawless Lamb of God, was about to pay the atoning sacrifice with His life! He would die on Calvary’s cross and His blood would be shed, once for all.
So, the Old Testament Passover becomes the New Testament Lord’s Supper. During this New Testament celebration, we remember Jesus, the Lamb that was sacrificed to set us free from slavery and death.
The New Covenant is celebrated as His followers gather to break bread symbolizing Jesus’ broken body and to drink the fruit of the vine symbolizing the shed blood of the sinless Savior. Like the Jews, we worship the Emancipating God who provided our eternal freedom.
We can’t gather at the church building this season.
But we can gather in our homes. You may want to use bread and juice in your celebration. Regardless, you can enjoy a solemn time in your home by worshipping our Savior, whose body was broken and whose blood was shed... This could be the holiest of holy-days!