Luke 22:11-15
Luke 22:11 (KJB)
And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee,
Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
They were to follow this man to a certain home and wherever he goes in, then
they are to contact the goodman or the owner of the house and tell him that
Jesus and his disciples are going to celebrate the Passover there because Jesus’
time was at hand. This man may have been a follower of Jesus and that is why he
obeyed the request without hesitation. It is apparent that Jesus had made prior
arrangements with this man for the use of the guest chamber. In Israel, it was a
rule that if a home owner had a spare room, they were to allow people to
celebrate the Passover in that room. Jesus was to be the host at the Passover
and His disciples were to be the guests.
Luke 22:12 (KJB)
And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.
This is the famous upper room where Jesus not only celebrated His last Passover
but right on the heels of it, He instituted the Lord’s Supper. The room would
have already been furnished with a table and couches for 13 men to recline
around the table. It was at this time that Jesus was showing His disciples that
the end of the Mosaic law and all its ceremonies was at hand and now the new
Covenant was about to begin. (Jer 31:31-34 KJV) Behold, the days come, saith
the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the
house of Judah: {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith
the LORD: {33} But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my
people. {34} And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least
of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Luke 22:13 (KJB)
And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the
passover.
Only these two disciples that Jesus had dispatched were to set everything up for
the Passover meal, the rest were not involved in the preparation. The identity
of the man whose home they celebrated the Passover in is not known. It was Peter
and John who were the ones dispatched to get everything ready and they were
successful in their task as everything was now ready. Everything was found
according to the word of the Lord. This was another evidence of the omniscience
of Jesus as He told them to look for a man carrying a pitcher of water.
Luke 22:14 (KJB)
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
Now all the disciples were with Jesus at this time when He began the ceremony.
Normally at the Passover meal, the father of the family or the chief man over
the house would open the feast by pronouncing two blessings. Then the first cup
of wine was drunk and then the food was brought in. After the first part of the
song of praise had been sung, the second cup was drunk. The father or chief took
the bread and pronounced a blessing, then broke it and shared it and only then
was the Passover lamb consumed. After the meal was complete, a third cup of wine
was drunk and then a concluding prayer of thanksgiving. Then finally the second
part of the praise song was sung.
Luke 22:15 (KJB)
And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you
before I suffer:
This was not going to be a normal Jewish Passover because Jesus had desired to
eat this Passover meal with them to not only celebrate the last Passover but to
teach the disciples the meaning of His death. In the upper room discourse in
John 13-17, Jesus speaks about all the coming things which are going to happen
including Heaven. This Passover would also be different because no longer would
they celebrate it because at this meal Jesus was going to institute the Lord’s
Supper which replaced the Passover meal. The Lord’s Supper was to be a
remembrance of the first coming of Jesus and the looking forward to His return.
He also wanted to spend some intimate time with them before His suffering. It
was the fellowship that Jesus desired to have with them.