And they went and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:13 ESV1
Read Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16 & Luke 22:7-13
I was tired and eagerly anticipated my arrival at my destination where I planned to take a few moments to close my eyes and rest. I had traveled for sixteen hours across the country to serve at a ministry. My vehicle was packed with everything I would need for the next five weeks. With much prayer, I had planned spiritually for the role I would be filling. As I composed and checked off items on a list, I worked out all the conceivable physical details for my time away from home and my work in the ministry. I felt abundantly prepared for this opportunity.
But when I got to the vacation rental I had reserved months before, it wasn’t available! The owner was living there. She had no idea I was scheduled to arrive nor that I had reserved her home for the next five weeks. She didn’t even realize the listing for her home was active; she thought she had removed it almost a year before when she moved into their rental after she and her husband became separated.
At the Right Time
I believe Jesus’ closest disciples may have regularly experienced the unsure and vulnerable emotions I felt at that moment. Consider the following example:
“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed” (Luke 22:7). “The disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Where will You have us prepare for You to eat the Passover’” (Matthew 26:17b)?
It was the day the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed and none of the details for the Passover celebration were in place! Did they even have a lamb to sacrifice?
Now, there were entrepreneurs in Jerusalem taking advantage of opportunities to make a profit selling the animals needed for sacrifices at elevated prices to those who arrived in Jerusalem without them. So, maybe the disciples still had a chance to purchase a lamb before the designated time of sacrifice, but Jesus wasn’t a fan of those selling such items.
John recounted an earlier Passover when Jesus was in Jerusalem.
“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple, He found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And He poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And He told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make My Father’s house a house of trade’” (John 2:13-16).2
Just days before this Passover, Jesus did the same thing:
“Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you make it a den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:12-13).
So, maybe Jesus and the disciples had planned for the occasion and had a traveling lamb or two with them. After all, the Law required that they would have needed this lamb in their possession for a handful of days before the Passover.
“‘On the tenth day of [Abib], every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight’” (Exodus 12:3b-6).
Without a doubt, this group of devout followers of the LORD was planning on observing this mandatory celebration. They couldn’t, because of a lack of preparation, decide to skip celebrating this year. The LORD instructed the Jews:
“‘Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the LORD will choose, to make His name dwell there. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning’” (Deuteronomy 16:1-4, emphasis added).
In the Right Place
All Jews, including Jesus and His disciples, knew this required feast had to be celebrated in a specific place.
“‘You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, but at the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make His name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the LORD your God will choose. And in the morning, you shall turn and go to your tents. For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day, there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it’” (Deuteronomy 16:5-8).
Many generations before Jesus walked the Earth, the LORD chose Jerusalem as the place for His name. Therefore, Jerusalem was the place to celebrate the Passover. The Scriptures record that Jesus and His disciples had been making their way to Jerusalem for several months.
“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).
“He went on His way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem” (Luke 13:22).
“When He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem” (Luke 19:28).
Even when Jesus was purposely staying away from Jerusalem because it wasn’t time for Him to fulfill His purpose for coming, He stayed close enough to Jerusalem, for people from there to reach Him or for Him to travel there when necessary:
“Again, they sought to arrest Him, but He escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there He remained. And many came to Him. And they said, ‘John did no sign, but everything that John said about this Man was true.’ And many believed in Him there” (John 10:39-42).
“From that day on, they made plans to put Him to death. Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there He stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? That He will not come to the feast at all?’ Now, the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest Him. Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. (John 11:53-12:1).
With Everything Needed
Since they were in the correct location for the Passover celebration and there at the appropriate time, let’s assume Jesus and His disciples had the necessary lamb(s) on hand, but they didn’t have a place to cook and eat the meal!
“Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.’ They said to Him, ‘Where will You have us prepare it’” (Luke 22:8-9)?
Now, Jerusalem would have been bursting at the seams with visitors. According to the instructions recorded in the Law, we know that every able-bodied man in Israel would have been in Jerusalem for this feast.
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16, see also Exodus 32:14-17).
All of these out-of-towners would have been looking for a place to celebrate the Passover. Jesus and His closest disciples needed a place big enough for at least thirteen people. What are the chances they could find any available place?
In my experience, even if one plans, there are no guarantees. Remember, the vacation rental I had reserved was unexpectedly unavailable. Fortunately, the owner of that rental was a super-kind lady and a real estate agent. She used all of her connections within the vacation rental and real estate businesses to try to help me find another place. Unfortunately, everything the size of her home and near the price range of her listing was booked. Alternate housing options were non-existent.
Never Early But Never Late
Like me in my dilemma, the more organized disciples were probably starting to panic concerning the potential lack of places for them to celebrate the Passover. But Jesus had a plan. His instructions didn’t come until they needed them. When they needed a place to celebrate and someone to prepare the meal, Jesus chose who should go, told them where to go, what they should notice, what they should say, and what they should do.
“He said to them, ‘Behold when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, “The Teacher says to you, ‘Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’” And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.”’ (Luke 22:10-12).
Suddenly, things started to look up but Peter and John still needed faith. They were to look for a man carrying a jar of water. This strange request was a gift. Even in a city bursting at the seams with people there to observe the Passover feast, seeing a man carrying a water jar would have been unusual; carrying water was a woman’s job.
I wonder what misfortune came upon the household to which Jesus sent His disciples. Why was there no woman in that household available to carry the water? For some reason, the master of the house seemed to have a shortage of servants. If you remember the Last Supper scene, there was no one to wash the feet of those in attendance.
I imagine, that after Peter and John made their request, the response of the homeowner went something like this, “We are stretched to the limit with our responsibilities at the moment. You can use my upper room, but you are on your own. I have no servant to help you in any way.”
No matter the situation, the master of the household graciously let Jesus and His disciples use his upper room. My desire to use someone’s home was also met with great grace. Since there was no place available for me to stay, the owner of the place I had hoped to rent, did a very selfless thing. She called her husband and asked if she could move back home for the next five weeks! I was ecstatic and thanked her profusely.
I imagine Peter and John, breathing a sigh of relief, were likewise quite grateful for a place to prepare and eat the Passover.
“And they went and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover” (Luke 22:13).
Now they had access to all the ingredients and equipment, including a roasting fire, necessary for the preparation of the meal. The menu was simple but the recipe was specific.
“‘They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn’” (Exodus 12:8-10).
After securing the place, Peter and John probably left to butcher the lamb(s) and collect all the remaining items.
For His Manifold Purposes
After I was assured that I had a place to stay, I left to get some groceries and allow my host to collect her belongings. When I came back a few hours later, her husband had come and gotten all of her clothing and her parents and niece were cleaning the place. I thanked them each excessively. Then I asked the owner what her husband thought about her moving back home. She said, “He’s excited about it! What you have done is a Jesus thing and an answer to his prayers. We are Believers and he has wanted me to come home.”
Her husband had been praying for her to have a reason to return home! God put me in the right place at the right time with a need that forced the answer to that prayer. God had His hand on all of the details. Surprisingly, no one else had tried to rent the place for the past year. That is why the owners were never alerted to the fact that the listing was active. The price I paid was $20 less a night than they charged when they were renting it. I wouldn’t have even considered this place for the more expensive price. God had a reason for bringing me there.
I expressed that I too was a Believer and that I would be praying for their marriage. I wanted their reunion to be pleasant not only so I would continue to have a place to stay but for their sake and the glory of God.
I believe Jesus also had a multifaceted purpose for sending Peter and John on His errand. Peter was the oldest and John was the youngest of the disciples. There was a good deal of competition between them. Humorously, while referring to himself rather anonymously, John records some of those interactions:
“Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So, she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him. So, Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed” (John 20:1-8).
“Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is it that is going to betray You?’ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’ So, the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?’” (John 21:20-23).
Jesus had an elaborate plan for sending Peter and John to complete the task of securing a place and preparing the Passover meal. They had to learn to work together. God had an unfathomable plan for me and the couple from whom I rented an apartment. I was going where God led me to do what He had prepared for me. I needed an affordable place to live in a convenient location while I served in a ministry position. This couple was joined in the eyes of God. They needed a push to get back together.
Though it was a surprise and there were moments of great doubt, like the disciples, I ultimately “found it just as He had told [me], and I prepared [for] the [calling He had for me]” (Luke 22:13). I prayed that the couple who also experienced some emotional upheavals were able to see God’s faithfulness and fulfill His plan for them and their relationship. It seems as if that prayer was answered. They are back together and their vacation rental is listed again for travelers visiting their area and in need of a place for an extended stay. In fact, I have rented it again for the next five-week stint that I will be serving in that same ministry! May God continue to pour out His abundant enabling grace for just what is needed for His plans to be fulfilled through His people.
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2 For my commentary on this event, check out: https://blueturtletrails.com/holy-house-cleaning/