Today is a day that is called Maundy Thursday. This is a day set aside to remember the betrayal of Jesus and to remember the night when He gave us the gift of Holy Communion. It begins the darkness that is Good Friday.

Before the dawn and light of Easter Sunday, we must go through the darkness of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

And, if you happen to be in the Petal, MS area tonight, and you’ve never experienced a Maundy Thursday service, I hope you’ll be able to come out and be with us tonight at Asbury.

Before Jesus is betrayed, He left this disciples, and us, with some words to remember. Before He was handed over, He wanted them, and us, to know what was most important.  Listen to what He tells them, and us, in John today:

As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will soon give glory to the Son. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

They will know you are my disciples not by your theology.  Or by your denomination.  Or by your beliefs.  Or by what you wear.  Or by what you listen to.  Or any of these things.

We try to make Christianity about so many different things that is not about.

Before Jesus was handed over, He told us what was most important.  He told us what mattered the most.  He told us what we must do to prove to the world that we are His disciples.

They will know you are my disciples by your love.

Today, do “they” – your friends, your family, your co workers, your neighbors, the people in your life – do they know you are His disciple?

Are you living a life of love in front of them?

Before He was handed over, he told us what is most important.  He told us what matters most.  Love.

They will know you are my disciples by your love. Today, may all the world know that we are His disciples.