Why do we call the Thursday before Easter Maundy Thursday?  Maundy Thursday is part of the Christian celebration of Easter and marks the night of the Last Supper as told in the Bible. 

The word “maundy” is derived from the Latin word meaning mandate or command. In this case it refers to the new commandment the Lord gave His twelve disciples at a meal they shared together on Thursday of Holy Week, when He told them to "Love one another as I have loved you.” Then Jesus also washed the feet of his disciples as an act of kindness and to teach them to be servants. It was an ultimate act of "servant leadership”, where the main goal is to serve others rather than only self.

He instituted His new commandment by telling them that the bread represents His body and the wine represents His blood. As believers, we are to eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of Him. Today Christians call the ritual The Lord’s Supper or Communion, and it is always done to commemorate Jesus’ sacrifice for us when He was crucified for our sins on the cross.

All four New Testament gospels (Matthew 26:24–25, Mark 14:18–21, Luke 22:21–23 and John 13:21–30, as well as 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) tell of His new commandment. 

After they had shared the meal together, Jesus and His disciples walked the short distance to the Garden of Gethsemane. This garden, which sits on the Mount of Olives, is a quiet place of solitude that Jesus chose so He could pray. His prayer time was interrupted by a crowd of Jewish church leaders, including a Temple guard of several soldiers, who came to arrest Him.

After His arrest, Jesus went through several “rigged” trials that included false witnesses. Three of the trials were in religious courts (Sanhedrin), and three others in Roman courts before Pontius Pilate. The locations of the trials were just a few blocks apart.

According to both Jewish law and Roman law, trials were all to be held during the day-time, but all of these trials were held at night — the same night that Jesus was arrested. It was just within a few hours that Jesus was arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced, beaten and flogged, and then sentenced to die on a cross. 

Jesus did not put up any resistance, making clear that He was being arrested because He allowed it to happen, not because He was powerless to prevent it.“This has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56). Jesus knew it was all part of God’s plan for Him to die, as it was foretold by the Old Testament prophets. 

In attempting to put up resistance, the disciples showed they did not understand this. The disciples must have been very devastated, disillusioned and depressed. They deserted Him and fled; Peter denied knowing Him three times. After all, they had given up much to be followers of Jesus — their jobs, time with family, etc. They had been following Jesus for three years, claiming Him to be the Messiah. Then, with the arrest, trials, and pending crucifixion, they may have felt the only thing left were memories and their depression.  

The day Jesus was crucified is called “Good Friday”. Since it is the day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary, (a “bad” Friday)… why is it called Good Friday? Originally the word “good” had an obsolete meaning of something “pious” and/or ”holy.” However, to the disciples of Jesus they must have thought the day was nothing but blackness, despair and hopelessness. Their Master and Messiah was dead!  Good Friday now commemorates Jesus’ death on the cross as our Savior; its name is a reminder that humans can only be considered “good” because of what happened on that day. 

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Good “Holy” Friday is a day of mourning and sorrow over the sacrificial
death of Jesus Christ and a reminder that the sins of all people
made it necessary for him to die in the first place.

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In answer to the question, “What is good about Good Friday?” Dr. Billy Graham wrote:

“If you had spoken with Jesus’ family and followers on that Friday I suspect they would have agreed with you. Then all hope seemed lost; Satan and his servants seemed to have won; evil and death seemed to have triumphed. But if you had spoken with them only a few days later, you would have heard something entirely different! Then they knew all was not lost; Satan and his servants had not won; evil and death had not triumphed. In fact, the opposite was the case: The forces of evil had been defeated, death had been destroyed, and from that point onward human life would never be the same.

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Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events among Christians worldwide. It is a holiday that celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. After his crucifixion, death, and burial three days later, He arose from the grave. In doing so, He conquered death and redeemed us from sin—if we believe in Him.

On Easter Morning, remember…

HE IS RISEN!
HE IS RISEN INDEED!

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