Daily Devotional For Thursday, April 2, 2026
Good day Southside! This week is Holy Week in the Christian faith. On this day, 2,026 years ago in the evening, Jesus had a meal with His 12 disciples in the Upper Room. From this, came a celebration Christians and the church have celebrated ever since. But even in this celebration, all was not well. Jesus knew the events that were about to unfold – Judas selling Him to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver; His arrest; going through 6 illegal trials; being scourged within inches of His life, being crucified and then dying. The disciples are all on a high. This is the most important Jewish holiday – Passover. They are about to eat the Passover meal with Jesus. There had to be a lot of energy and excitement in the Upper Room.
So, let me ask you a question: If you knew you were going to die in a few hours and you had to be around your family and closest friends, how would you react? What would be your attitude? Jesus by all appearances seems calm before the storm. Passover is well under way and it includes a seven day festival called the Festival of the Unleavened Bread. This reminded the Jews and the Israelites of Exodus 12.
All Jewish males 12 years old and older were required to attend this in Jerusalem based on Deuteronomy 16:5-6. The town of Jerusalem would swell from 50,000 to several hundred thousands. The Jewish religious leaders had already decided that Jesus must die and were simply looking for the right opportunity (Mark 14:1). While the religious leaders should have been celebrating Passover, they were conspiring to murder Jesus.
What would be the murder of Jesus, God, who was always in charge, would turn it into a masterpiece of salvation for the world. As Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover Lamb, the real Passover Lamb, Jesus was preparing for His own death. This had to be agonizing for Him to do this, knowing the shedding of lamb’s blood would remind His own blood that would be shed. From this, Jesus gave the church a celebration called The Lord’s Supper. Many churches celebrate this but only as a ritual in their worship services. It is not a ritual we do, but a celebration of worship where we remind ourselves of what Jesus did for us.
Reflection Assignment: With this being Holy Week, and knowing what Jesus endured for our salvation, how do you plan to remind yourself of His sacrifice for you? When you participate in The Lord’s Supper, do you just go through the motions or are you emotionally moved by the celebration? Are you mechanical or mystified by what God did for you?
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 14:25, “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I do not want to simply go through the motions of communion void of any emotions. Please forgive me when I take for granted what You did for me. I do not want to be so mechanical with communion. I want to be worshipful. I thank You Lord. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly