What Is Maundy Thursday Anyway? - Encouragement for Today - April 2, 2026

Encouragement for Today

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Carole Holiday April 2, 2026

What Is Maundy Thursday Anyway?
CAROLE HOLIDAY

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Editor’s Note: Today’s devotion is part of our Holy Week series! Journey with us as we experience the power of Jesus’ love, remember His sacrifice, and walk in the victory of His resurrection. We pray this series prepares your heart for the joy of Easter. Subscribe now.

Perhaps we should put the “maundy” back into Maundy Thursday.

But what does that mean?

Though I’ve been a Jesus follower for decades, I've often thought of this strangely named day during Holy Week as nothing more than “Good Friday Eve.” It’s a prelude to the big weekend events. Sandwiched between the oft-celebrated Ash Wednesday and the deep reverence of Good Friday, Maundy Thursday’s importance seems overshadowed.

But the scriptures describing this Thursday have all the excitement of a big-screen thriller: As Jesus sat down to the Last Supper with His disciples, there was prophetic foreshadowing and a meal ripe with symbolism, betrayal, and agony, then eventually bloody violence and arrest. For a day that feels hard to define, it sure packs a punch.

The setup was nothing spectacular. Jesus chose a nondescript upper room and huddled in with the 12 disciples to share the familiar Jewish Passover meal (Mark 14:15). No one except our Lord knew what an epic cascade of events would emanate from this simple space.

Not a whole lot of hype for an up-and-coming King. Awfully subdued for a Savior.

Just days before, Jesus was perceived as a conquering hero: Crowds lined the road into Jerusalem, waving palms and shouting “Hosanna” as He entered (Matthew 21:9). They cheered in expectation that Rome’s shackles would soon be loosed from Israel.

True to His ways, though, Jesus didn’t don the breastplate of war. Instead, in that modest upper room, He knelt in humility.

This is where “maundy” comes in — a short form of the Latin word mandatum, meaning “command.” On Maundy Thursday, Jesus issued this mandate:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

John's Gospel records that Jesus spoke those words after He washed His disciples' feet, modeling the greatest humility by removing His outer garments and serving others. King Jesus wiped caked mud from the feet of the ones He knew would abandon Him in His own darkest hours.

He also said, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:14-15, NIV).

Love and serve others with humility. Even when they don’t deserve it.

That’s really, really hard to do, isn’t it?

Some days I don’t want to be nice. I’m tired or grumpy. My day’s not going well. Therein lies the dilemma of metaphorically washing someone’s feet when I feel like that someone should be washing mine.

No human naturally embraces this command from Jesus. It's the command none of us can embrace without Him.

And that’s why the mandatum challenges me today.

More of this maundy Savior, less of me.

Lord, show me Your ways, which are not my ways. I want to see life through Your eyes and respond to life as You would respond. Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Holy Week has a way of slowing us down in the best way. It pulls our attention back to the cross, back to the empty tomb, back to the truth that our hope rests on what Jesus has already finished. Each day of this series is another opportunity to let that truth sink in a little deeper. If you haven’t already, subscribe to receive our Encouragement for Today Devotions so you can walk through all eight days with us — and continue opening God’s Word together long after Easter has passed. And as you reflect on these devotions, we’d love to know how God is meeting you. Is He renewing your perspective? Giving you peace in a hard place? When you’re ready, share how this Holy Week series has impacted your faith. Your story could be the steady reminder someone else needs right now.

ENGAGE

Follow Carole Holiday at caroleholiday.com for monthly musings and recipes from her cottage cooking school days.

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Mark 14:24, “‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them” (NIV).

Read the following scriptures for four accounts of Maundy Thursday in the Gospels:

Jesus indicates that His shed blood settles the score of sin and ratifies a new agreement for those who trust in Him. How would you explain this new covenant in your own words?

How might this make you feel different about taking Communion, a sacrament that may be familiar but never loses its sacredness?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

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