Jesus Had Two Disciples Prepare the Passover
In our last topic, we saw that we want to help our physical and spiritual children learn to explain the lessons Jesus taught when He was anointed by Mary, just two days before the Passover. In our study today, we will see that Jesus sent two of the disciples with instructions to go and prepare the Passover meal so Jesus could eat that last meal with His disciples before He went to the cross.
In the previous verses, Judas had complained about the waste of money when Mary anointed Jesus with expensive oil. We saw that he complained because he was a thief and carried the money box for the disciples. Now, we see that Judas showed the true condition of his heart by what he did as a result. Matthew 26:14-16 says, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.” Here, we see that Judas was willing to do whatever he did for self-gain. He knew that the chief priests wanted to destroy Jesus. As a result, he went to see what they would pay him for delivering Jesus to them when no one was around. Mark 14:10-11 says, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.” We see that the chief priests were glad when they heard his offer to betray Jesus to them.
Exodus 21:32 says, “‘If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.’” This verse shows us that thirty shekels of silver was the price the Jews were to pay to the owner of a slave who was killed by the ox. Zechariah 11:12-13 adds, “Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.” We will see in chapter twenty-seven that the chief priests used the money given to Judas to buy a field in which to bury strangers who died in Jerusalem. This shows us that Judas had no more respect for Jesus than he had for a slave.
Judas immediately began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus to the chief priests when none of the people were there to see it happen. Luke 22:6 says, “So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.” The chief priests realized that there was the possibility of a riot if they arrested Jesus in front of a large group of people. That is why we go on to read about the way that Jesus kept it a secret from Judas where He was going to eat the Passover. Matthew 26:17-19 says, “Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He said, ‘Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, “The Teacher says, ‘My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’”’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.”
Luke gives us more details about the way that Jesus kept the place where they would eat the Passover a secret from Judas. Luke 22:8-12 says, “And He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.’ So they said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to prepare?’ And He said to them, ‘Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, “The Teacher says to you, ‘Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.’” Normally, it was the women who carried the water pitchers. The fact that Peter and John were to look for a man carrying a water pot and follow him told them how to find the right place to prepare the Passover. In this way, Judas could not betray Jesus while He was eating the Passover with His disciples.
We see that Peter and John followed the instructions of Jesus and found the house where there was a large upper room that Jesus and His disciples would use that night to eat the Passover. Apparently, this upper room became the place where the disciples continued to gather after the resurrection. Luke later wrote in Acts 1:12-13, just after Jesus ascended into heaven, “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.” Peter and John talked to the owner of the house with the large upper room and then spent the day preparing the Passover meal that Jesus and the disciples ate that evening.
Jesus also told Peter and John to tell the owner of the house that His time was at hand. We are not given any information in the Bible about how this man would know what the disciples meant. Possibly God had revealed this information to him just as God revealed other things to those who were true followers. When Jesus was just forty days old, we read in Luke 2:25-28, “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said.” God had revealed this information to Simeon through the Holy Spirit.
We go on to read about the Passover meal in Matthew 26:20-25, where we read, “When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, ‘Lord, is it I?’ He answered and said, ‘He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’ Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’ He said to him, ‘You have said it.’” Here, we see that while Jesus and the disciples were talking together during the Passover meal, Jesus mentioned that one of them would betray Him.
We notice one very interesting response from the various disciples. We see that each of them began to question, “Is it I?” This makes it clear that Jesus had shown the same love and respect for Judas that He had for each of the other disciples. None of the other disciples even suspected that Judas was going to betray Jesus. Instead, each of them was concerned that he might be the one who would betray Jesus. Then, Jesus explained what the one who would betray him would do. Mark 14:20 says, “He answered and said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.’” Here, we see that Jesus told what the one who would betray Him would do. In this way, Jesus could let Judas know that He knew, without the other disciples finding out at this time.
Obadiah 1:7b says, “‘Those who eat your bread shall lay a trap for you. No one is aware of it.’” In this verse, we see that none of the disciples would recognize that Judas would be the only one who knew that Jesus knew when he dipped his bread at the same time Jesus did. John 13:27-30 says, “Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What you do, do quickly.’ But no one at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, ‘Buy those things we need for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.” Here, we see that the other disciples had two thoughts. Some thought Judas had gone to get something for the feast. Others thought that he went to give something to help the poor. The disciples did not understand until the moment Judas betrayed Jesus.
Jesus also warned of the judgment that would come to the one who betrayed Him. Jesus said, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” The word translated “woe” is an expression of great grief. Later that evening, Jesus said in His prayer in John 17:12, “‘While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.’” In Philippians 3:18-19, we read, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.” Judas had set his mind on earthly things and the result was that his end would be destruction.
When Judas asked if he was the one who would betray Jesus, we see that Jesus just answered, “You have said it.” The other disciples did not even understand this statement or realize that Judas was the one who was going to betray Jesus. We will see that Jesus continued to treat Judas with respect, even at the moment Judas betrayed Him. In the same way, we want to help our physical and spiritual children learn to show respect, even to those who treat them with a complete lack of respect. That is the love that Jesus demonstrated by the respect that Jesus showed to Judas. May the Lord richly bless you as you help your children grow in learning to show respect to others.
