Day 3 :: Just Like That
“So, they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”
Luke 22:13(7-13)
It’s no secret that we’re a church that likes to eat. From our earliest days, we’ve made a point of enjoying meals together. Thanksgiving meals have been a particular highlight. Every time it’s been a big logistical operation, cooking turkeys, setting tables, and communicating with guests. It takes a ton of communication between a lot of people to make it all happen, and it can be a challenge!
Today we read about Jesus’ disciples preparing for the Passover feast. It was probably the most significant get-together that Jews would have each year. Jerusalem would have been buzzing with a festival atmosphere as families gathered from far and wide.
This was the Thursday of the week, and it’s worth noting that Jesus and his disciples would share the Passover meal that night, and other Jews would be having it the next day, the Friday. Jews from the north and south had different ways of calculating their days – in the north they counted a day from sunrise to sunrise, and in the south from sunset to sunset.
Jesus sent Peter and John to check the logistics were sorted and to prep for the meal. The Passover had to be eaten within the city walls, so he sends them there and gives some slightly cryptic instructions. They were to look for a man carrying a water jug, who they were to follow into whatever house he enters. Then they were to say to the homeowner that ‘The Teacher’ was looking for a room they could have the meal in. Clear and simple, eh?!
Who was this man with the water jug? We’re not told!
Who was the homeowner, was he carrying the water? I don’t know!
Where was this home, and what was his room like? No idea!
Did the disciples know this guy, or had they been to the home before? I can’t help you with that one either I’m afraid.
It’s likely the water carrier was a follower of Jesus. Certainly, despite there being countless teachers in Jerusalem for the festival, it looks like he knew who the disciples meant by ‘The Teacher.’ He wasn’t one of the 12 disciples, but someone working behind the scenes, and that’s all we can figure out.
‘…they went and found it just as he had he had told them…’ (v13)
What we do know is that Peter and John obeyed and found Jesus’ words to be true. There was a big room, and it was already furnished. The table was set and ready for them. Jesus had already taken care of logistics.
It seems Jesus was looking for secrecy, peace and quiet to share Passover meal, so that he might have uninterrupted time with his disciples. This would be his last Passover meal, and it would also be the most significant meal ever as Jesus showed himself to be the true Passover lamb who would die that his people might live.*
While organising a thanksgiving meal can prove to be a huge task and challenge for us, organising this Passover meal was simple for the one who spoke all creation into existence.
Jesus gave instructions, told them how it would be, and they found it to be true.
God has given us his written word, the Bible, and we can find it to be true.
God’s word is solid. We can trust each and every promise.
As we go through Lent towards Easter, let’s pray that we would know more of the beautiful reality that God’s word is true and can be trusted. Let’s pray that we would know more of what God has promised to those who are in Jesus, and let’s trust those promises wholeheartedly.
- *We’ll think more of the significance of the Passover meal in a few days. John 13-17 gives the deepest account of the Passover meal. We’ll not read all of these chapters through our Lent devotions, but I’d recommend taking time over the next few days to read through them.
Passages to read: Luke 22:7-13, Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16
A thought to remember: Jesus spoke truth that can be trusted wholeheartedly.
A question to ask: What promises in the Bible have most encouraged you, and how might that help you today?
A song to sing: Speak O Lord