Celebration: Jesus? Last Supper
Scripture Reading — John 13:1-17
He now showed them the full extent of his love.
John 13:1
What is the most important meal you celebrate every year? Christmas? Easter? Your birthday? Passover is still the most important annual meal for Jewish people. It recalls God?s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt more than 3,500 years ago.
The Bible mentions at least four Passover meals that Jesus celebrated. In Luke 2 we read of the 12-year-old Jesus teaching religious leaders at the temple in Jerusalem during a Passover feast. And the book of John mentions two other Passover occasions (see John 2:13; 6:4) in addition to the last supper Jesus celebrated with his disciples on the night before he was crucified (13:1).
During this final Passover celebration Jesus showed his followers ?the full extent of his love.? He knelt in front of his disciples and washed each one?s feet. He even washed the feet of Judas, who would betray him. Then he told his followers to ?wash one another?s feet.?
How do you prepare to celebrate your most important meal of the year, month, or week?
Do you serve others joyfully? Do you live like the Creator of the universe who knelt even at the feet of his betrayer?
Jesus gave himself for people like us who are capable of betrayal.
Praise God!
Jesus, ?fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have from you.? Teach us to kneel at the feet of our friends, to live like the Master who acts as a slave. Amen.
About the author — James and Rose Dekker
James C. Dekker is the pastor of Covenant Christian Reformed Church in St. Catharines, Ontario. Previously he served other congregations in Alberta and Ontario. Rose Dekker serves as a refugee coordinator for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Canada. She also serves as a certified spiritual director. The Dekkers were missionaries for nine years with Christian Reformed World Missions, serving in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Cuba.
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