And they going, found as he had said to them and made ready the pasch.
απελθοντες δε ευρον καθως ειρηκεν αυτοις και ητοιμασαν το πασχα
12 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 20 commentaries
But as they knew not to whom they were sent, He gave them a sign, as Samuel to Saul, as it follows, And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. (1 Sam. 10:3.)
Now on the same fifth day He sends two of His disciples to prepare the Passover, namely, Peter and John, the one in truth as loving, the other as loved. In all things shewing, that even to the end of His life He opposed not the law. And He sends them to a strange house; for He and His disciples had no house, else would He have kept the Passover in one of them. So it is added, And they said, Where will thou that we prepare?
He sends them for this reason to an unknown man: to shew them that He voluntarily underwent His Passion, since He who so swayed the mind of one unknown to Him, that He should receive them, was able to deal with the Jews just as He wished. But some say that He gave not the name of the man, lest the traitor knowing his name might open the house to the Pharisees, and they should have come and taken Him before that the supper was eaten, and He had delivered the spiritual mysteries to His disciples. But He directs them by particular signs to a certain house; whence it follows, And ye shall say to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, &c. And he will shew you an upper room, &c.
By the day of unleavened bread, we must understand that conversation which is wholly in the light of the Spirit, having lost all trace of the old corruption of Adam’s first transgression. And living in this conversation, it becomes us to rejoice in the mysteries of Christ. Now these mysteries Peter and John prepare, that is, action and contemplation, fervid zeal and peaceful meekness. And these preparers a certain man meets, because in what we have just mentioned, lies the condition of man who was created after the image of God. And he carries a pitcher of water, which signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the pitcher is humbleness of heart; for He giveth grace to the humble, who know themselves to be but earth and dust.
First observe the greatness of His divine power. He is talking with His disciples, yet knows what will happen in another place. Next behold His condescension, in that He chooses not the person of the rich or powerful, but seeks after the poor, and prefers a mean inn to the spacious palaces of nobles. Now the Lord was not ignorant of the name of the man whose mystery He knew, and that he would meet the disciples, but he is mentioned without a name, that he may be counted as ignoble.
Now in the upper parts he has a large room furnished, that you may consider how great were his merits in whom the Lord could sit down with His disciples, rejoicing in His exalted virtues.
Or the pitcher is a more perfect measure, but the water is that which was thought meet to be a sacrament of Christ; to wash, not to be washed.
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But I think that the man who meets the disciples as they enter into the city, carrying a pitcher of water, was some servant of a master of a house, carrying water in an earthen vessel either for washing or for drinking. And this I think is Moses conveying the spiritual doctrine in fleshly histories. But they who follow him not, do not celebrate the Passover with Jesus. Let us then ascend with the Lord united to us, to the upper part in which is the guestchamber, which is shewn by the understanding, that is, the goodman of the house, to every one of the disciples of Christ. But this upper room of our house must be large enough to receive Jesus the Word of God, who is not comprehended but by those who are greater in comprehension.
And this chamber must be made ready by the goodman of the house, (that is, the understanding,) for the Son of God, and it must be cleaned, wholly purged of the filth of malice. The master of the house also must not be any common person having a known name. Hence He says mystically in Matthew, Go ye to such a one.
But we should know that they who are taken up with banquetings and worldly cares do not ascend into that upper part of the house, and therefore do not keep the Passover with Jesus. For after the words of the disciples wherewith they questioned the goodman of the house, (that is, the understanding,) the Divine Person came into that house to feast there with His disciples.
But should any one say, “If on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples of our Saviour prepare the Passover, on that day then should we also celebrate the Passover;” we answer, that this was not an admonition, but a history of the fact. It is what took place at the time of the saving Passion; but it is one thing to relate past events, another to sanction and leave them an ordinance to posterity. Moreover, the Saviour did not keep His Passover with the Jews at the time that they sacrificed the lamb. For they did this on the Preparation, when our Lord suffered. Therefore they entered not into the hall of Pilate, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
(John 18:28.) For from the time that they conspired against the truth, they drove far from them the Word of truth. Nor on the first day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover ought to be sacrificed, did they eat their accustomed Passover, for they were intent upon something else, but on the day after, which was the second of unleavened bread. But our Lord on the first day of unleavened bread, that is, on the fifth day of the week, kept the Passover with His disciples.
Our Lord, in order to leave us a heavenly Passover, ate a typical one, removing the figure, that the truth might take its place.
By the day of unleavened bread of the Passover, He means the fourteenth day of the first month, the day on which, having put away the leaven, they were accustomed to hold the Passover, that is, the lamb, towards evening.
As if to say, We have no abode, we have no place of shelter. Let those hear this, who busy themselves in building houses. Let them know that Christ, the Lord of all places, had not where to lay His head.
To explain this Passover, the Apostle says, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. (1 Cor. 5:7.) Which Passover in truth must needs have been slain there, as it was so ordained by the Father’s counsel and determination. And thus although on the next day, that is, the fifteenth, He was crucified, yet, on this night on which the lamb was slain by the Jews, being seized and bound, He consecrated the beginning of His sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.
They prepare the Passover in that house, whither the pitcher of water is carried, for the time is at hand in which to the keepers of the true Passover, the typical blood is taken away from the lintel, and the baptism of the lifegiving fountain is consecrated to take away sin.
They went and discovered everything as the Lord had instructed them regarding the Passover (Luke 22:13). All unfolded exactly as the Lord had mentioned: the man they encountered at the city entrance was precisely as the Lord had described, and the house owner was gracious, willingly accommodating the Master's wishes; the room was as the Lord had indicated. How could the disciples not feel in their hearts that their Master was a great prophet! They made preparations for the Passover, purchasing and preparing the paschal lamb in accordance with the law, and organizing all the essentials for the festive meal.
While the other apostles were unaware of these matters, the Lord possessed full knowledge and patiently awaited the appointed time. He anticipated departing from His disciples before the imminent feast and sought to imbue His final meal with them with profound significance, aligning it with the Passover meal, or more accurately, establishing it as the Christian Eucharist that succeeds the Old Testament observance. On the thirteenth of Nisan, He was likely in Bethany, spending His final moments with His followers. Nevertheless, early that morning, He instructed Peter and John to journey to Jerusalem to inform the owner of the house where He planned to celebrate this Last Supper about His desire to arrange the necessary provisions for the Passover.
In sending His two most faithful disciples, He refrained from disclosing the owner's name, likely to prevent Judas from recognizing it and relaying the information to the chief priests. It was essential for the Lord that this Supper occur in serene confidentiality.
Peter and John traveled to Jerusalem where they encountered a man with a jar at the entrance. They shared with him the instructions that Jesus had given them, made all necessary preparations according to the Law of Moses in the designated room, and then set out to inform Jesus about it, likely heading toward Bethany.
The Lord instructed the apostles Peter and John to travel to Jerusalem, indicating to them a sign of significance. He told them they would encounter a servant carrying a pitcher of water at the entrance of the gate, which had been drawn from one of the evening meal’s springs. They were to follow him to a house, where they were to inform its master of the Lord's desire to celebrate the Passover with His disciples in that location. This master—often believed to be Joseph of Arimathea—would readily provide them with a fully prepared upper room, equipped with the necessary tables and beds. They discovered everything as Jesus had revealed, and on that very day, they made preparations for the Passover.
Passages read together with this verse.
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THEOSIS