Thursday Scripture:
John 13:3-20 (Jesus washes the disciples’ feet), Matthew 26:17-30 (Jesus shares a meal with the disciples)
 

• Tell the story: Jesus and the disciples were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. They gathered to share the passover meal together, but before they ate, Jesus washed their feet. As they ate, Jesus began to prepare them for what was to come.
  • Read John 13:3-20 and Matthew 26:17-30
  • Read pages 260 and 264 in the Shine On story Bible.

• Prime the pump:
  • Things to notice:
    • Read Matthew 26:26-28. Where have you heard those words before? When we celebrate communion, this is the story we are enacting.
    • Read Matthew 30. What is Jesus foreshadowing?
  • Background information:
    • This meal was the Passover meal, but it would have been different from the meal Jews share in our time. That ritualistic meal was developed by rabbis later. This one was a simpler paschal lamb meal.
  • Conversation starters:
    • You know the story they’re remembering with this meal! Re-sing and re-tell the story of “Ten Strange Signs” and “By the Sea God Saves Them.” What connections can you make with that story of deliverance and the story of deliverance we’re in the middle of now?
    • John 13 has some poetic language about the love Jesus had for the disciples. Read this story imagining Jesus’ thoughts and feelings as he did this act of service for the people he loved before he died.
• Activity prompt:
  • Wash each others’ feet, then eat a special meal together as you read this scripture.