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Daily
Scripture |
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Thursday
(December 9, 2010)* |
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Daily Office
Lectionary, The Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal
Church in the U.S.A., 1979; cf. The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL),
Abingdon Press, 1992 |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Common Worship, the Presbyterian Church in the |
Daily
Lectionary, Book of Worship Inter-Lutheran Commission on
Worship, c. 1978 (2002 printing) ‡ |
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http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/index.htm http://www.pcusa.org/cgi-bin/lectiond.cgi YOU MAY NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THESE URLs
IN YOUR BROWSER |
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‡
Daily Lectionary, Evangelical Lutheran Worship,
ELCA, 2006. In the Evangelical Lutheran Worship book of 2006, the
Daily Lectionary (pp. 1121-1153) is revised to correlate with the Sunday
Lectionary (the Revised Common Lectionary) on the three year cycle: Year A,
Year B, Year C (now current). “The readings are chosen so that the days
leading up to Sunday (Thursday through Saturday) prepare for the Sunday
readings. The days flowing out from Sunday (Monday through Wednesday) reflect
upon the Sunday readings” (p. 1121). |
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Unless
otherwise indicated, the scripture texts quoted are from The New Revised
Standard Version ( |
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Thursday AM Psalm
37:1-18 PM Psalm
37:19-42 Isa. 7:1-9 2 Thess. 2:1-12 Luke 22:1-13 Eucharistic Psalm 145:1-4, 8-13
Isaiah
41:13-20; Matthew 11:7-15 |
Thursday Morning: Psalm 18:1-20; 147:12-20 Isaiah 7:1-9 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Luke 22:1-13 Evening Pss.: 126, 62 |
Thursday Morning Psalm
18:1-20;
147:13-21 Isaiah 7:1-9 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Luke 22:1-13 Evening Pss.: 126,
62 |
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Year A, Daily Psalm 146:5-10 Ruth 1:6-18 2 Peter 3:1-10 |
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*Thursday in the
week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One |
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Isaiah 7:1-9
Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz (2 Kings 16.5; 2 Chr 28.5-15)
7:1
In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of
Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went up to attack Jerusalem, but
could not mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David heard that
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 and say to him, Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Aram-with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah-has plotted evil against you, saying, 6 Let us go up against Judah and cut off Jerusalem and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it; 7 therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
8 For the head
of
and the head of
(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.)
9 The head of
Ephraim is
and the head of
If you do not stand firm in faith,
you shall not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:1-9, NRSV)
The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from December 11, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 14, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One),when comments were repeated with revision and supplement here from December 9, 2004, (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), when there was repetition from an email message of December 12, 2002.
Today’s reading begins by referring to the attempted attack
of
According to Sommer, “the Arameans
and Ephraimites did not succeed in their efforts;
At the
LORD’s direction Isaiah tells Ahaz that he should not fear the coalition of
“The more common use of this term is to describe an
artificial channel or aqueduct designed to carry water from its source to a
particular location, usually inside a city. One such channel is referred to as
‘the conduit of the upper pool’ and it brought water from the Gihon sp[ring
down along the side of the Kidron valley to the lower, ‘old pool’ (Isa. 22:9,
11) or ‘King’s Pool’ (Neh. 2:14). It was along this conduit that Isaiah met
Ahaz (Isa. 7:3), and that the officers of Sennacherib taunted Hezekiah (2 Kings
18:17; Isa. 36:2). (The HarperCollins
Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1996, s.v. conduit)
According
to Suzanne Richard, a “fuller” is “a person whose occupation it is to clean,
whiten, bleach, thicken, shrink, or dye cloth.” After a process which she
describes, “The cloth was then spread out on the ground to be bleached by the
sun. There were areas outside the city, the fuller’s field (2 Kings 18:17; Isa.
7:3), designated for these professional laundering and cleaning services” (The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 2nd
ed., 1996, s.v. fuller). Isaiah is to meet Ahaz at a location that will insure
privacy. The message for Ahaz is to downplay the threat to
Isaiah,
speaking for the LORD to Ahaz, continues. “Because (-yKi Nfay1, ya‘an kî-) Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah [i.e. Pekah]—has
plotted evil against you, saying, Let us go up against Judah and cut off
Jerusalem and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it;
therefore . . .” (Isa. 7:5, 6, and the first word of v. 7).
The “therefore”
used by the NRSV to begin verse 7 (cf. “yet” TNIV, nothing but inference
AV/KJV) is inferred, relating to the strong “because” (-yKi Nfay1, ya‘an kî-) at the beginning of verse 5. Isaiah pronounces God’s
judgment on
It shall not stand, / and it shall
not come to pass. / For the head of
(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.)
The head of Ephraim is
Ephraim cannot be much of a threat if they are to go out of
existence “within sixty-five years” (v. 8). As Isaiah sees it,
This word of the Lord from Isaiah for Ahaz can be a word of the Lord for us. We may hear and heed it even though Ahaz did not. Are we threatened by smoldering stumps or firebrands? It may be time to call the fire department to put out some fires: a mountain of chores? financial shortages? worries? Name your own smoldering stumps. But take Isaiah's promise to heart: “Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint” (v. 4).
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
The Man of Lawlessness
2:1
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to
him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or
alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the
effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in
any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the
lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 4 He opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes
his seat in the
The following comments are based on relevant comments on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 of May 7, 2010 (Friday in the Fifth Week of Easter, Year Two), when comments were based on comments on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 13-17 of December 13, 2009 (the Third Sunday of Advent, Year Two), on relevant comments on 2:1-12 and13-3:5 of December 11 and 12, 2008 (Thursday and Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), and earlier comments as indicated there.
Paul promised in his first letter to the Thessalonians that
“the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with
the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ
will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the
clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with
the Lord forever” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). In the first letter, he added an implicit
warning to be ready, “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the
Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2). This promise
apparently left some with an intense focus on an immediate Second Coming. In
his Second Letter, Paul reassures them: “As to the coming (parousiva,
parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to
him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or
alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the
effect that the day of the Lord is already here” (2 Thess. 2:1-2). “Let no one
deceive you in any way,” says Paul; for that day will not come unless the
rebellion (ajpostasiva,
apostasia) comes first and the lawless one (oJ a[nqrwpoV th:V ajnomivaV,
ho anthrÇpos t‘s
anomias) is revealed, the one destined for destruction (oJ uiJo;V th:V
ajpwleivaV, ho huios t‘s apÇleias)”
(v. 3). According to Abraham Smith, “though the identity of the lawless one
is unknown, some identify him as a false prophet or an emperor” (NOAB, 3rd
ed., augmented, 2007, on 2 Thess. 2:3).In other words, says Paul, the parousia
hasn’t happened yet, and will not happen before certain events, the “rebellion”
and the revealing of the “lawless one.” This “lawless one” is described
further. “He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to
be God” (v. 4; Smith compares “Isa. 14:13; Ezek. 28:2; Dan. 11:36,” ibid., on
v. 4). With a rhetorical question that expects an affirmative answer–introduced
by the negative particle ouj (ou)–Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he has
told them about these things. “Do you not (ouj, ou) remember that I told
you these things when I was still with you? (v. 5). Paul continues to refresh
their memory. “And you know,” he says, “what is now restraining him (to; katevcon,
to katechon, ‘the thing [neuter] restraining [him]’), so that he
(aujtovn,
auton, masculine pronoun) may be revealed when his time comes” (v. 6).
This thing that restrains seems to be a person or personality, referred to as
first neuter gender, then masculine, as is made explicit in Paul’s
continuation. “For the mystery of lawlessness (musthvrion . . . th:V
ajnomivaV, myst‘rion . . .
t‘s anomias) is already at work, but
only until the one who now restrains it (oJ katevcwn a[rti, ho katechÇn
arti, ‘the person [masculine] now restraining [it]’) is removed” (v.
7). According to Jouette M. Bassler, “the author does not say what (and who;
see v. 7) is now restraining him. Suggestions include the
As for the “lawless one” himself (v. 3), when the time comes “then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming (parousiva, parousia)” (v. 8). As to the identity of the “lawless one,” according to Warren A. Quanbeck and William A. Beardslee, “There are three main conjectures, none of which is entirely satisfactory: (a) The Roman Empire and emperor; (b) A supernatural power; ( c) Satan himself” (NOAB, 2nd ed., 1994, on 2 Thess. 2:1-12). However, we are warned about what his coming will bring. “The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (vv. 9-10). Those so deceived by these works of Satan will come under God’s judgment. “For this reason,” says Paul [‘because they refused to love the truth and so be saved,’ v. 10], “God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned” (vv. 11-12).
Whatever this evil power is, we should be grateful for “what is now restraining him” (v. 6), and that “the Lord Jesus will destroy [the lawless one]” (v. 8). While some believe they see contradictory “eschatological timetables” implied for these two passages, it is likely that Second Epistle offers a clarification of the First. Paul had to leave Thessalonica early, ahead of persecution (Acts 17:10-15). First Thessalonians was written soon after, very likely within weeks of his departure. So, in a sense, both Epistles may be seen as clarification of misunderstandings at Thessalonica.
After a brief comparison of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians, Beverly Roberts Gaventa asks a question: “How do we account for this curious combination of similarities in the structure and language of these letters, on the one hand, and the differences in content and tone, on the other?” (First and Second Thessalonians, Interpretation, 1998, p. 93 in the Introduction to 2 Thess.). As noted above, some of these issues can be resolved by Paul’s hasty departure, and the need to explain misunderstandings. But one of these issues, what some see as significant differences related to Paul’s teaching about the Second Coming of Christ, that is, about eschatology, comes to the fore in chapter 2. Gaventa admits that she belongs to “an increasing number of scholars, myself included [she says, who] find themselves unable to reconcile 2 Thessalonians with 1 Thessalonians and, indeed, with the remainder of the Pauline letter corpus” (ibid.).
Paul J. Achtemeier, Joel B. Green and Marianne Meye Thompson respond to those who find the teaching about the second coming of Christ in Second Thessalonians so different from that of First Thessalonians that they must be from different authors by admitting that “The signs that will precede Christ’s second coming named in 2 Thess. 2:1-12 are nowhere else mentioned by Paul, and the fact that such observable events seem to contradict Paul’s claim in the first letter that there would be no such signs (1 Thess. 5:2) may point to someone other than Paul as author” (Introducing the New Testament, 2001, p. 443). But they add:
Yet both ideas–observable events preceding the coming of the Messiah and the suddenness of the events–are held in apocalyptic Judaism, which influenced Paul and other early Christians in these matters. Paul is apparently reminding his readers of what he told them when he was with them (2:5). Also to be noted are the different situations addressed. In the first letter the problem is potential despair over the long delay in Christ’s return; in the second letter the problem is anxiety about the fact that Christ may already have returned. The two problems require different solutions. (ibid., pp. 443-444).
The “anxiety about the fact that Christ may already have returned” is indicated in Paul’s instruction “not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here” (2 Thess. 2:2, cited above). It seems that someone else has written a letter pretending to be from Paul but misrepresenting his teaching, which leads him to authenticate this letter (2 Thess. 3:17): “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.” F. F. Bruce notes that some repetition has been seen as an indication of “a separate letter,” but he adds, “It is more satisfactory to recognize in this thanksgiving the resumption of the introductory thanksgiving of 1:3, just as 1 Thess. 2:13 resumes the introductory thanksgiving of 1 Thess. 1:2” (1 & 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary, 45, 1982, p. 189 on 2 Thess. 2:13-17). Bruce notes that the thanksgiving is
to God that he has chosen these Thessalonians believers–not simply that he chose them in Christ before all worlds but that his eternal choice of them has now been manifested in time by their wholehearted response to the gospel. This response was made when in due course they heard his call–“those whom he predestined; he also called” (Rom. 8:30)–and his call to them proved to be effectual in faith and life.
It is a travesty of God’s electing grace to suppose that, because he chooses some for salvation, all the others are thereby consigned to perdition. On the contrary, if some are chosen for special blessing, it is in order that others may be blessed through them and with them. This is a constant feature in the pattern of divine election throughout the Bible story, from Abraham onward. Those who are chosen constitute the firstfruits, bearing the promise of a rich harvest to come. (ibid., p. 191)
Luke 22:1-13
This reading from Luke is found in the right-hand column of
the following table, excluding the passage from Luke 7 which is similar to the
Anointing at
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The Plot against Jesus; Preparations for Passover † |
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Matthew 26:1-5* |
Mark 14:1-2 * |
Luke 22:1-2 * |
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26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, "Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people." |
14 It was two days before the Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him; 2 for they said, "Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people." |
22:1 Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. Cf. Jn. 11:47-53 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the
council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the
Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." 49 But
one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You
know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to
have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation
destroyed." 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest
that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and
not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of
God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death. |
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Matthew 26:6-13 |
Mark 14:3-9 |
Luke 7:36-50 |
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6 Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. 8 But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, "Why this waste? 9 For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor." 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her." |
3 While he was at |
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him-that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "speak." 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." 48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." |
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Matthew 26:14-16 |
Mark 14:10-11 |
Luke 22:3-6 |
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14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. |
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. |
3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4 he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. 5 They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present. |
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Matthew 26:17-19 |
Mark 14:12-16 |
Luke 22:7-13 |
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17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 18 He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.' " 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. |
12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" 13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." 16 So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. |
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it” 9 They asked him, "Where do you want us to make preparations for it?" 10 "Listen," he said to them, "when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, "Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" ‘ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there. 13 So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. |
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† Cf. Kurt Aland, ed., Synopsis of the Four Gospels, 1982; rev. printing, 1985, secs. 305-308, pp. 276-280. * NRSV |
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The following comments are based on relevant comments from those on Luke 21:37-22:13 of June 23, 2009 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 22, Year One), when comments were repeated from December 11, 2008 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One, when comments were repeated from December 14, 2006 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One), when comments were repeated with revision and supplement from December 9, 2004 (Thursday in the week of the Second Sunday of Advent, Year One).
This reading from Luke begins with reference to the Passover. “Now the festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near” (Lk. 22:1; cf. Mk. 14:1a; Mt. 26:2a). According to David L. Tiede, revised by Christopher R. Matthews, “Luke again provides a nonspecific chronological reference” (The HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lk. 22:1). They refer to their earlier note where they point, with reference to Luke 19:47-48, that “Luke eliminates all the specific chronological references of Mark’s ‘passion week’ (e.g., Mk. 14:1) and represents Jesus’ time in Jerusalem as an extended time of teaching” (ibid., on Lk. 19:47-48). Luke has previously reported the desire of the chief priests, scribes and leaders to put Jesus to death (Lk. 19:47; 20:19, 26), which is repeated here. “The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people” (Lk. 22:2; cf. Mk. 14:1b; Mt. 26:3-5; Jn. 11:47-53). Tiede and Matthews say, “The standoff between the leaders and the people continues” (ibid., on 22:2). Note that Caiaphas is named in Matthew and also in John, where this decision comes in response to Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead and the response of many Jews who “believed in him [Jesus]” (Jn. 11:45).
Luke continues immediately with Judas’ bargain with the
chief priests and officers of the temple (Lk. 22:3-6; cf. Mk 14:10-11; Mt.
26:14-16), which follows the Anointing at
The reading continues with
preparations for the Passover meal (Seder) by Jesus, Peter and John. “On the
first day of Unleavened Bread,” says Mark, “when the Passover lamb is
sacrifices, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the
preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ ” (Mk. 14:12; cf. Mt. 26:17). From
this, it appears that the disciples have taken the initiative. Luke’s
introduction differs, emphasizing the necessity of sacrificing the Passover
lamb on that day. “Then came the day of Unleavened bread,” he says, “on which
the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed ((ejn) h|/ e[dei quvesqai to; pavsca, [en]
h‘(i) edei thyesthai to pascha)” (Lk.
22:7). But Luke makes it clear that Jesus takes the initiative. The disciples’
question, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” (Lk. 22:9) comes
in response to Jesus’ instructions to Peter and John (cf. “two of his
disciples,” Mk. 14:13), “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may
eat it” (Lk. 22:8). But the detailed instructions about the sign of “the man
carrying a jar of water” (Mk. 14:13) and the conversation with the owner of the
house about the guest room (vv. 14-15) indicate that Jesus in fact took the
initiative in planning according to Mark’s version, as well. Luke also includes
these details. “ ‘Listen,’ he said to them, ‘when you have entered the
city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he
enters and say to the owner of the house, “the teacher asks you ‘Where is the
guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ” ‘He will
show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us
there’ ” (Lk. 22:10-12). Matthew, however, passes over most of these
details—no pun intended—having Jesus say only, “Go into the city to a certain
man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the
Passover at your house with my disciples’ ” (Mt. 26:18). When the
disciples went and did as instructed, they “found everything as he had told
them; and they prepared the Passover meal” (Lk. 22:13; cf. Mk. 14:16; Mt.
26:19). According to Tiede and Matthews, “Jesus’ explicit instructions (vv.
10-12) are understood to have been prophetic” (op. cit., on v. 13).
Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.