7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”9“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.10He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,11and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’12He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:7-13 NIV
The Passover is probably the most important time period in Jewish culture due to its significance when God freed his people from the land of Egypt (Exodus 11&12). The fact that Jesus and his disciples were Jews, they would have practiced the Passover since birth, and this year would be no different. What I would like to highlight from this passage is that Jesus instructions that Jesus gives to Peter and John, and the result of their obedience/faith. I would like to use a quote that I heard from a Dharius Daniels sermon where he said that; “God either gives instructions without a destination, or a destination without instructions.” Now honestly that quote may not be accurate but the gist is the same that God doesn’t disclose everything or the full picture at once, and the unknown is to be filled or replaced with our faith. Peter and John who were arguably Jesus’ two closest disciples had witnessed the greatness of Jesus and had learned to trust him through their experiences with him
- Jesus sends out the 12 (Luke 9) and the 72 (Luke 10)
- fed the 5000 (Matthew 14)
- fed the 4000 (Mark 8)
- Jesus pays his and Peter’s temple tax with a coin found in a fish (Matthew 17)
I use the above examples to support the point that Peter and John had personally experienced the value of trusting/following Jesus’ word without doubt. Each time Jesus commissioned or sent his disciples with instructions whether they understood them, or was able to do them of their own ability, he always performed a miracle to bring it to fruition, or enabled them to do it with a power that they did not possess at the time of the instruction. A unique point in this passage is the sign that they would be met by a man carrying a jar of water which was unorthodox at the time because woman transported water via the large jars during that time, so seeing a man do this would be out of the ordinary. God sometimes uses the non-ordinary things as a sign of his word coming to pass so that we can’t question the source of the miracle/blessing. Peter and John witnessing things unfold exactly as Jesus’ instructions said they would provided clear evidence to them that this was Jesus at work. They would not experienced these events, nor been able to develop their faith had they not started walking or moved based on his guidance. As they walked, they realized that Jesus had already made the provisions before they arrived, because he does not send us anywhere unless he has already made a way.
Reflection Time
Has God ever provided for you ahead of sending you somewhere or asking you to do something? Do you move when God instructs you to, and do you actually follow the instructions that he has for you? If you don’t move when God provides instructions, why? What do you need to see or hear from God in order to follow him in faith?
