It was on Holy Week Thursday, Maundy Thursday, maundatam Thursday, that the betrayed Jesus gave His people all a new mandate, that command of the Last Supper:

But it’s painful to tenderly realize that, too often, the way we actually live that?

You’d think it was some flimsy, take-it-or-leave-it suggestion.

You’d think disciples are actually known by the number of points of their creeds, or the acceptable books on their shelves, or the right conferences on their calendars, or the approved names they drop in the church foyer.

You’d think Christ’s own were known by who they avoid, who they disdain, who they call out, who they label — instead of who they pray for, who they have compassion for, who they have grace for.

Sometimes instead of shooting someone a clarifying question – we shoot arrows. 

Why does it feel like we are all tearing each other apart?

That it feels like something in the dark that is trying to rip us brothers and sisters apart at the holy limbs, that love is laughed at as the anemic brother of muscular truth — and that acidic rhetoric seems like the blood flow through the Body, not love?

And there is Jesus before Calvary, Christ crushed beneath that Cross, begging that prayer of Maundy Thursday:

“Christians need to be most careful with words if we are the most Christ-full.”

Who will keep His new commandment and who will be the answer to Christ’s prayers? Who will love as He lived? Who will live what He said: “Blessed are the peacemakers – for they will be called children of God.”

If we don’t live peace – whose children would we be then?

Only those who love, are sent by Christ. 

Without love — Christ didn’t send you.

Christians need to be most careful with words if we are the most Christ-full.

Instead of waging attack on the implicit issues of another’s faith life – isn’t the call to spend our lives openly encouraging an explicit faith in the living Christ?

The Body of Christ has a thousand angry opinions, a thousand fractions and divisions and circles, all these cliques of circles, all these walls. But the tender truth of it is: Not one of us is not broken.

And acknowledging our own brokenness is what makes high walls between people crumble. Because when you are broken– it’s always your own pointing finger that is actually broken and you realize you can’t point at anyone else as the only sinner.

Brokenness breaks us from our need to be “right” and breaks us open to our need to extend the grace we have received at the foot of the Cross.

Because while we were yet sinning directly against Him, Christ reached out wide to us and directly took the nail and literally gave us His heart for our hurting ones.

If we truly believe someone’s soul is in danger — why demonize them instead of evangelize them? Why not win them over with love, than overwhelm them with your disdain? Instead of waging attack on the implicit issues of another’s faith life – isn’t the call to spend our lives openly encouraging an explicit faith in the living Christ?

“Obedience to the law of Love is the most expedient way to preach the gospel.“

Because there’s Christ before Calvary, Christ crushed beneath that Cross, and what did He do but live the law of love?

What does God do but live the law of love: “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

God loves us while we sin, God holds out His hand to the disobedient, and love is what makes God the most potent of all. 

Obedience to the law of Love is the most expedient way to preach the gospel.

Love is the the most radically subversive activism of all, the only thing that ultimately ever changed any one at all.

“Love is the the most radically subversive activism of all, the only thing that ever changed any one at all.”

We never have to be afraid to find ways to love — as if love might gag truth and kill God.

Love never negates truth. Because love never silences Truth. Love is the very foundation of Truth: without love, Truth crashes, a clanging gong. 

Love is the language of Truth and grace is the dialect of God and Truth is only understandable if spoken with understanding love.

And without love, Christ didn’t send you.

Christ prayed that new mandate on Maundy Thursday, that we might lovingly be brought to complete unity — and unity doesn’t mean that we paper over our differences. It means we open the papers of His Word and dialogue — not open fire and destroy.

God’s people may not have doctrinal unanimity, but we must have definite unity, if we’re ever to have deep credibility.

It could happen like this: We could stop confusing unity with unanimity. God’s people may not have doctrinal unanimity, but we must have definite unity, if we’re ever to have deep credibility.

The eminent theologian, J.I. Packer, he had prayed for the “visible church as a single worldwide, Spirit-sustained community, within which ongoing doctrinal and denominational divisions, though important, are secondary rather than primary.”

True, there is always this tension between practicing Unity and preaching Truth – but it is the tension of two people hanging fiercely on to each other, like the tension of a bridge, that the Gospel might go forth into all the world. If we let go of loving each other — the Gospel goes nowhere.

And this is a real heartache: What can wound Christ more than Christians cannibalizing each other?

What can wound Christ more than Christians cannibalizing each other?

Is Christ divided?

Puritan Richard Baxter in his work The Reformed Pastor brazenly wrote:

“He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the Church consequentially; but Division and Separation demolish it directly…”

And we get on our knees and pray: Division and separation demolish the Church directly.  

On the night when Jesus was betrayed — He gave thanks. If Jesus can give thanks in that kind of heartbreak — how can we not give thanks in ours?

And we can see Jesus there on Maunday Thursday, doing just this: “On the night when Jesus was betrayed — He gave thanks.“

If Jesus can give thanks in that kind of heartbreak —  how can we not give thanks in ours? In the midst of our own wounds, our own tender stories, our own relational heartaches… there is still a way to give thanks, because we trust nothing is wasted and everything can make us more like Christ.

If Jesus can give thanks in the ultimate heartbreak — it’s possible for us to give brave thanks in anything.

If even betrayal didn’t keep Jesus from being grateful — why are we letting any of life betrayals keep us from being grateful — and being like Jesus through them?  

And then, Jesus, who’s been betrayed too, He comes to sit down beside you.

And He breaks this bit of soft bread, and we can feel it, how our broken hearts soften too. And then He reaches out with one hand, to hand the bread to Judas — and with the other hand, He hands the bread to us.

We are all the Judases who have betrayed Jesus too. And on the night Jesus was betrayed — we are the one who can give thanks too. We can give thanks that He gave grace to all the Judases like us too.

Every single one of us: We are all the Judases who have betrayed Jesus too.

And what can we do but take the bread — and murmur our heartfelt thanks too?

Because this is no less true too: On the night Jesus was betrayed — we are the one who can give thanks too.

We can give thanks that He gave grace to all the Judases like us too.

And when we think how great our own sins are — how can not have great gratefulness and great grace for every other broken sinner?

When we know how much grace we’ve been given to cover our own betrayals of Jesus — how can we not give others grace for theirs?

It’s Maundy Thursday — and the Mandate is to love every day, like Jesus loved us to death on His last day.

And when we give thanks for God’s grace, even in our hard places — we see we actually have more than enough of God’s grace to pass on to others in theirs.

When we know how much grace we’ve been given to cover our own betrayals of Jesus — how can we not give others grace for theirs?

Christians could be the ones known for living like the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal.5:6)  The people who know, not just in our cerebral synapses, but in the chambers of our bravely pounding hearts: that if we have right doctrine, but have not love, we are nothing more than a clanging gong.

On Maundy Thursday, turns out:

You only get to be known as a disciple, if you’re known for your love.

We get to be known as Christ’s disciple, if we are known for our love — and if we keep reaching out in ways that others know Christ’s undying love for them.

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Take Time to Linger on a Transformative Holy Week Pilgrimage

Enter into Holy Week with a Holy Week Pilgrimage — a free tool with these illustrated, Scripture cards to help you encounter Jesus through Holy Week, inspired by the Stations of the Cross.

Linger each day of Holy week with Love laid down — so you can rise up and be love.

Take a pilgrimage on the Way of the Cross this Holy Week — slow and steep in each day’s scripture and gaze on the Lamb of God – and feel yourself move through the narrow gate into the narrow way that expands your heart.

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