Before the Cross, He Knelt to Serve

The grocery list is growing. The Easter baskets are halfway filled, Pinterest-inspired centerpieces are prepped, and little dresses are laid out for Sunday. Maybe your house smells like sugar cookies, or you’re frantically checking Amazon for that one item you forgot. Easter is almost here. But before we rush into the celebration, let’s pause. Not just for a moment but truly pause.

Because this week is more than a holiday.

It’s the center of our faith.

All of scripture—from Genesis to Revelation—points to this moment in time: Christ crucified and risen. Before we celebrate the empty tomb, we must slow down and step into the upper room. And from there, to the garden, the cross, the tomb… and glory.

Over the next four days, I’ll be sharing a short reflection each day. Starting with Maundy Thursday and continuing through Easter Monday so we can walk together through the final hours of Christ’s earthly ministry and the glory that followed. I pray these posts help you set your heart on Jesus and reflect deeply on what this weekend truly means.

The Servant King

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus did something astonishing. He got up from the table, wrapped a towel around His waist, and washed His disciples’ feet (John 13:3-5). This wasn’t a symbolic act for show. This was real humility. Dirty feet, dusty roads, and the Savior of the world stooping low.

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)

He wasn’t just giving them a practical lesson on servanthood. He was preparing them for the full extent of His love. The next day, He would go lower still. Taking the form of a servant all the way to the cross (Philippians 2:8), the One through whom all things were made chose to kneel. To wash. To serve. And to die.

This is our Jesus.

The Garden of Sorrow

After the meal, Jesus and His disciples went out to the Mount of Olives, to a place called Gethsemane. Here, the weight of what was ahead pressed down. Jesus prayed with such agony that His sweat became like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). He asked the Father, if it was possible, to let the cup pass but ultimately surrendered, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.”

This wasn’t fear or panic. Jesus wasn’t overwhelmed by anxiety the way we might be. He is fully God—eternally sovereign, omniscient, and unchanging. He knew what He came to do. And He knew He would accomplish it.

So what was the agony?

It wasn’t the physical pain that distressed Him. It was the spiritual weight. The wrath of God would be poured out on Him for the sins of the world. The holy Son, who had never known sin, would bear the full judgment for it. That’s what was in the cup. And only He could drink it.

This moment in the garden echoes Isaiah’s words:

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth… Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief. – Isaiah 53:7, 10

It was not nails that held Him to the cross. It was love. A love that was willing to suffer and be crushed for sinners like you and me.

Pause with Jesus

Maundy Thursday reminds us of Christ’s intentionality. Nothing was random. Every action, every word, every fulfilled prophecy was all part of God’s sovereign plan to redeem His people. Even as the shadow of the cross loomed, Jesus served, taught, prayed, and prepared His disciples for what was to come.

Before the shouts of “Crucify Him,”
Before the silence of the tomb,
Before the joy of Resurrection Sunday,
There was the towel. The bread. The cup. The garden.

Let this day lead you to remember not just what Jesus did but why. Let it stir in you a deeper awe at the mercy of God and a holy stillness as you consider the gravity of this week.

Take a Moment Today

Read John 13, Luke 22, and Isaiah 53.
Let the Word draw you into worship.
And thank Jesus—not just for what He’s done, but for who He is: the Servant King who came to save.