Holy Thursday: So great and wonderful was the work...

"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" Matthew 20:28

So great and wonderful was the work that Jesus had to do for the sinner, that nothing less was necessary than that he should give Himself to do that work. So great and wonderful was the love of Jesus towards us, that He actually gave Himself for us and to us. So great and wonderful is the surrender of Jesus, that all that same thing for which He gave Himself can actually and completely come to pass in us. For Jesus, the Holy, the Almighty, has taken it upon Himself to do it: He gave Himself for us. . . .And now the one thing that is necessary is that we should rightly understand and firmly believe this His surrender for us. . . .

When I receive Him, when I believe that He gave Himself to do this for me, I shall certainly experience it. I shall be purified through Him, shall be held fast as His possession, and be filled with zeal and joy to work for Him. ...Andrew Murray image

Full Meditation

Holy Thursday: And when they had sung a hymn...

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

How fitting that on this very night Christ, the coming King, would give voice to songs penned centuries earlier just for Him....Imagine the Son of God singing these words as the seconds ticked toward the cross...."The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?...The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Whatever Christ sang as the Passover meal concluded that night, the words had significance for Him that the others could never have comprehended. I wonder if His voice quivered with emotion. Or did He sing with exultation? Perhaps He did both, just as you and I have done at terribly bittersweet moments when our faith exults while our sight weeps. One thing we know: Christ, above all others, knew that He was singing more than words. That night He sang the score of His destiny. ...Beth Moore art