Preparations for the Passover
TRANSLATION
(1) Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread called Passover was approaching. (2) The chief priests and teachers of the Law were looking for a way to be rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. (3) Then Satan entered Judas called Iscariot, one of the twelve. (4) And he went to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. (5) They were delighted and arranged to give him money. (6) He agreed and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when there was no crowd present.
(7) Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. (8) And Jesus sent Peter and John saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover meal.” (9) They asked him, “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” (10) And he said to them, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters, (11) and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ (12) And he will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparation there.” (13) They left and found things just as he had told them. So, they prepared the Passover.
OBSERVATIONS
The events described in Luke 22 & 23, the climax of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, all took place within a twenty-four-hour period. Repetitions in this segment included “the Feast of Unleavened Bread” (vss. 1 & 7), “Passover” (vss. 1, 7 & 8, 11 & 13), “Judas” (vss. 3 & 4), “house” (vss. 10 & 11), “eat” (vs. 8 & 11), and “room” (vss. 11 & 12). Was the unnamed man (vs. 10) someone Jesus personally knew? Had the guest room been previously reserved by Jesus on an earlier trip to Jerusalem or was this a miraculous provision to demonstrate Jesus’ sovereignty? Whatever the case, we know that sharing this final Passover meal in close fellowship with his disciples was of the utmost importance to Jesus in the hours prior to his death.
OUTLINE
I. Judas made preparations to betray Jesus. (1-6)
II. The disciples made preparations to eat the Passover meal together with Jesus. (7-13)
IDEA STATEMENT
While Satan was prompting Judas to arrange for Jesus’ betrayal, the other disciples were following Jesus’ instructions to prepare for the Passover meal.
APPLICATION
Everything in our lives can be classified under two headings, that which we do for the sake of Jesus as opposed to that which advances the program of Satan. When we refuse to obey the master’s voice and fail to carry out his commands, we inevitably find ourselves on the wrong side of this cosmic conflict. The events leading up to his last Passover with the disciples effectively illustrate the choices with which we are constantly faced. Juxtaposed with Peter and John making preparations for the Passover according to Jesus’ instructions, we find Judas plotting with the chief priests and the teachers of the Law to betray Jesus into their hands. While we may never go as far as Judas did in opposing Christ, we need to realize that anything less than wholehearted devotion to our Savior inevitably contributes to the enemy’s program.
What prompted Judas to turn against the one whom he had been following as a disciple for years? Some have speculated that Judas was disappointed with Jesus for not meeting his expectations regarding how the Messiah should act in opposing and overthrowing the hated Romans and establishing a Jewish kingdom. Clearly he was greedy for the money the Jewish leaders had agreed to give him for his betrayal. John in his Gospel described how Judas had earlier criticized Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume: “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” John then furnished this analysis of his true motivation: “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (Jn. 12:5 & 6). Whatever the reasons for his betrayal, Judas allowed himself to become a tool of Satan in the enemy’s final attempt to defeat the Messiah. Little did he know that what he was doing would actually facilitate God’s powerful purpose for redeeming humanity through the execution of his Son on a Roman cross.