Maundy Thursday Liturgy
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus gathered with His disciples, washed their feet, and broke bread with them. Maundy Thursday invites us to step into that sacred moment—to remember the humility of Christ, the weight of His love, and the command to love one another as He has loved us.
Ford Madox Brown’s painting The Washing of the Feet (1852) captures the radical humility of Christ in vivid, human detail. Unlike many depictions of biblical scenes, Brown chose to portray Jesus not as distant or untouchable, but tender and present—stooping to serve, His hands on the dusty feet of a disciple.
The image confronts us with the shocking intimacy of that moment: the Lord of all, kneeling like a servant. As we reflect on Maundy Thursday, this work of art invites us to see not only what Jesus did, but who He is—Love incarnate, bending low to lift us up.
To help you enter into this moment, walk through this Maundy Thursday Liturgy at home—alone, with your family, or in community.
Use + to expand section.
+ Call to Worshipⓘ
Let us together prepare our hearts in worship.
Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before
he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in
remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy
mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever.
Amen.
+ Silence & Confession of Sins ⓘ
For a moment, let us sit in silence reflecting on our actions this past week and together, we will confess and be reminded that we are the forgiven community.
Let us hear the word of the Lord from the book of Exodus.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: “This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to their fathers’ households, one animal per household. If the household is too small for a whole animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each person will eat. You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they eat them. They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire – its head as well as its legs and inner organs. Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain before morning. Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.
I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am Yahweh; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute.
- Exodus 12:1-14
+ Psalmⓘ
Let us hear the word of the Lord from the Psalms.
He led them with a cloud by day
and with a fiery light throughout the night.
He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink as abundant as the depths.
He brought streams out of the stone
and made water flow down like rivers.
But they continued to sin against Him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
They deliberately tested God,
demanding the food they craved.
They spoke against God, saying,
“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out;
torrents overflowed.
But can He also provide bread
or furnish meat for His people?”
He gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
He rained manna for them to eat.
He gave them grain from heaven.
People ate the bread of angels.
He sent them an abundant supply of food.
- Psalm 78:14-20, 23-25
+ The Apostles’ Creed ⓘ
Let us affirm our faith with the words of the Apostles’ Creed.
Let us receive the teaching of the apostles.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Let us open the scriptures and learn the story of Christ.
Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him.
He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterward you will know.”
“You will never wash my feet – ever!” Peter said. Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
“One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “You are not all clean.”
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.
- John 13:1-15
+ Lord's Prayer ⓘ
As our Savior taught us, so we pray;
+ Confession of the Mysteryⓘ
Let us confess the Mystery of our Faith.
+ Commissioning ⓘ
May we go from this place prepared to reveal the Kingdom of Jesus, together.
This night is our calling to go into the world,
scattered to the ends of the earth
to love as Christ loved
and serve in the name of Christ.
It is our calling to remember,
even in our darkest hour,
who we are.
We remember that Christ is always with us.
And we remember that on this night,
we were taught how to love.
On this night, eternity begins
and the fullness of God’s Reign begins to spill into our lives.
So go into the world to give yourself for others,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Go into the world and love
in the name of the One who loved you until the end.
It all begins and ends and begins again with Love.