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Luke 22:7–13
“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it’” (vv. 7–8).
Passover commemorated the exodus from Egypt and the constitution of Israel as a nation, so it was vital in the life of the ancient Jews. Everyone had to keep the Passover; not even travel or ritual uncleanness could absolve one of the responsibility. Those who could not keep the feast on its appointed day—the fourteenth day of the first month—because they were traveling or unclean (this would include many illnesses) had to keep it on the fourteenth day of the second month (Num. 9:1–14). To not keep the feast of Passover would be to commit a serious transgression of the law that would cut a person off from the people (v. 13).
Thus, it is not surprising that Jesus kept the Passover even when it occurred during the last week of His life. After all, He had to fulfill all righteousness and keep the law perfectly to offer an effectual atonement for our sin as our sinless substitute (Matt. 3:15; 1 Peter 2:21–25). In today’s passage, we read about how the disciples prepared the Passover.
On the day of the Passover sacrifice, Jesus instructed Peter and John to prepare the feast, explaining that they would encounter a man carrying a jar of water who would show them a furnished upper room in his house where Jesus and His disciples could eat the meal (Luke 22:7–12). Residents of Jerusalem in those days would provide rooms for the Passover pilgrims to celebrate the festival meal, and one commentator notes that guests often compensated their host by giving him the skin of the sacrificed lamb and the vessels used in the feast. The description of the upper room as furnished likely indicates that it was located in the home of a wealthy individual. Following Jesus’ instructions, Peter and John made the feast ready (v. 13).
Jesus somehow knew that Peter and John would find a man who was prepared to give Him a room for the Passover. Some commentators see this as evidence of supernatural knowledge—Jesus did not meet with the man beforehand, and yet He knew what the disciples would have to do to access the room. Luke, however, does not tell us this specifically. It could be that Jesus had made arrangements with the man earlier. In any case, other texts make plain that Jesus possesses supernatural knowledge of events and persons that are not in His immediate presence (e.g., Matt. 8:5–13). This understanding is a manifestation of His divine nature.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The knowledge of Jesus regarding a place where He could celebrate the Passover indicates His control of the events leading up to His death. He had ordained everything, down to the very place where He would eat His final meal. Although Jesus would suffer at the hands of others in His death, He remained in full control of all that happened. His enemies could go no further than He allowed them to go. He remains in control of all things even today.
for further study
- Exodus 12:1–28
- Hebrews 11:28
the bible in a year
- Jeremiah 36–37
- Philemon 1–25
- Jeremiah 38–43
- Hebrews 1–2