Friday, January 19, 2007
Preparation
As the time of Passover drew near, the disciples wanted to know what Jesus planned to do during this special celebration. In typical Jesus form, He instructed two disciples to help make preparations. Jesus involved His disciples in the day-to-day work of ministry. Jesus never did everything for them. Jesus provided direction and power while calling them to take an active role.
This time, Jesus called Simon and John to go and make preparations. He gave them explicit instructions, which might have sounded a bit odd. Jesus did not give them an address of where they would be celebrating the Last Supper. Scholars debate the location and who might have owned the house. Many believe it was a follower of Jesus or possibly even a relative or friend of one of the disciples. Nobody knows for sure. It is curious that Jesus did not give Simon and John the name of someone to contact.
Rather Jesus gave them a sign to follow. These instructions required the men to have faith in the words of Jesus. He said, " Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresover he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, 'The Master saith, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?'"
Jesus told them what they would then find. And it happened exactly as He described it. Just like what happened in this story, God will provide direction for those who call Him, "Lord." While we may not have such detail, we will know if we are in the right place. Sometimes we will just have a small piece of information to work from to find the next step.
Simon and John were assigned to make the Passover preparations. This would have likely included taking the lamb to the Temple to be prepared for Passover. They would have gone back to the area where Jesus had recently cleansed the Temple. Maybe the area was still abuzz over what He had done.
At the very least, they would have seen the priests prepare the lamb. This act foreshadows what was about to happen to Jesus as he would be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world. The area would be covered in blood. A priest would have caught the blood from the dying lamb. The blood would have been sprinkled on the altar.
While this was going on, the Levites would have chanted Psalms. Imagine these words, "Save now, I beseech thee Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be He that cometh in the Name of the Lord."
These words may have sounded deeply significant to Simon and John. Their minds likely flooded with many of Jesus' sayings and predictions. I can imagine them trying to process His teachings and being overcome by a number of different thoughts. Would they think back to this as Jesus was hoisted onto a cross?
This time, Jesus called Simon and John to go and make preparations. He gave them explicit instructions, which might have sounded a bit odd. Jesus did not give them an address of where they would be celebrating the Last Supper. Scholars debate the location and who might have owned the house. Many believe it was a follower of Jesus or possibly even a relative or friend of one of the disciples. Nobody knows for sure. It is curious that Jesus did not give Simon and John the name of someone to contact.
Rather Jesus gave them a sign to follow. These instructions required the men to have faith in the words of Jesus. He said, " Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresover he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, 'The Master saith, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?'"
Jesus told them what they would then find. And it happened exactly as He described it. Just like what happened in this story, God will provide direction for those who call Him, "Lord." While we may not have such detail, we will know if we are in the right place. Sometimes we will just have a small piece of information to work from to find the next step.
Simon and John were assigned to make the Passover preparations. This would have likely included taking the lamb to the Temple to be prepared for Passover. They would have gone back to the area where Jesus had recently cleansed the Temple. Maybe the area was still abuzz over what He had done.
At the very least, they would have seen the priests prepare the lamb. This act foreshadows what was about to happen to Jesus as he would be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world. The area would be covered in blood. A priest would have caught the blood from the dying lamb. The blood would have been sprinkled on the altar.
While this was going on, the Levites would have chanted Psalms. Imagine these words, "Save now, I beseech thee Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be He that cometh in the Name of the Lord."
These words may have sounded deeply significant to Simon and John. Their minds likely flooded with many of Jesus' sayings and predictions. I can imagine them trying to process His teachings and being overcome by a number of different thoughts. Would they think back to this as Jesus was hoisted onto a cross?
