Anticipation of the cross overshadows everything in these final chapters. The scene at Bethany (14:1-11), so full of Mary’s appreciation of her Lord, confirmed that the time of His death was very near (vv7-9). Those who plotted His destruction had found a willing assistant in Judas (vv10-11). The next scene is in an upper room in Jerusalem (14:12-25) and the shadow of death rests upon it.
The Preparation for the Passover (vv12-16)
On the eve of the crucifixion, the disciples ask the Lord a Question (v12), “Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?”1 The disciples must have recognised the increasing animosity of the religious leaders. If so, they may have wondered how they could return to Jerusalem, and eat the passover with their Lord, without some confrontation.
The Lord gave Instructions (vv13-15). Two disciples, whom Luke identifies as Peter and John (Luk 22:8), must go to Jerusalem where, upon arrival, they would receive the sign of “a man bearing a pitcher of water,” whom they should follow. The man would be noticeable because women usually carried pitchers. Having followed the man to a house, they must ask the owner, “Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover into “a large upper room furnished and prepared” where they could prepare to eat the passover.
The Lord “knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him” (Joh 6:64) and His arrangements were essential. “The chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him” (11:57). Richard Wurmbrand, describing the persecution of Christians under communism in Tortured for Christ, notes, “I never understood why Jesus, wishing to have the last supper arranged, did not give an address but said, ‘Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water’ (Mark 14:13). Now I understand. We also give such secret signs of recognition in the work of the Underground Church.”
The wealthy and courageous owner of the house in Jerusalem, by placing his home at the disposal of his Lord, set the scene for the institution of the Supper. Supporting the Lord in such adverse circumstances will surely not be without reward (Mar 9:41).
Notice the disciples’ Actions (v16). The Lord’s instructions were followed to the letter, showing complete confidence in Him and His arrangements: “And they made ready the passover” (v16).
The Predictions of the Betrayer (vv17-21)
Gathered with the twelve, and reclining to eat with them, the Lord uttered three distinct predictions about His betrayal.
First, He said, “Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me” (v18). The shock of these words caused consternation among the disciples. To eat with someone was a sign of fellowship. Psalm 41 aptly expresses how contemptible this treachery was: “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me” (v9). The disciples “began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I?” (Mar 14:19). Their questions show a profound awareness of their own weakness, which contrasts with later self-confidence (vv26-31). For eleven of the twelve, this was an honest enquiry, and, as F.B. Meyer notes, “Those whose hearts misgive them are not likely to commit the deed of treachery.” But for Judas, who joined in the chorus, it was the final closing of the door upon repentance. The Lord restated His prediction so that there could be no doubt: “one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish” (v20).
Second, “The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him” (v21). Nothing would stop the ultimate fulfilment of every Old Testament prophecy concerning the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus. He would be “delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Act 2:23). They would fulfil all “that was written of him” (13:29).
Third, the Lord added, “Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Good were it for that man if he had never been born” (Mar 14:21). Judas’ involvement in the Lord’s betrayal was the result of his own wilful choices, and he would receive the punishment he deserved. The Lord would later describe him as the “son of perdition” (Joh 17:12).
The Presentation of the Supper (vv22-25)
When Judas had gone and the eleven remained (Joh 13:30-31), the Lord instituted His supper. Taking the bread, He blessed and broke it, and “gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body” (v22). And taking the cup, He gave thanks and “gave it to them” saying, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many” (vv23-24).
The bread symbolised His body; the cup, His blood. Aware that He would soon bear “our sins in his own body on the tree” (1Pe 2:24) and shed His blood for sinners, the Lord provided simple symbols designed to call Him to remembrance and to proclaim His death “till he come” (1Co 11:23-26).
He concluded the Supper with a two-fold promise: “I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God” (Mar 14:25). He would never again, prior to the setting up of the Kingdom, drink wine. These words constitute a farewell to His disciples. He is determined to accomplish the suffering He has long predicted. But He will “drink it new in the kingdom.” This conveys the hope of resurrection, essential to the fulfilment of all God’s plans for His kingdom.
The Lord’s anticipation and acceptance of His destiny of suffering are seen in His arrangements for the Passover meal, His exposure of the betrayer, and His institution of the Supper. Such wisdom and full submission to God’s will show again the features of the perfect Servant (Isa 52:13; 53:7).
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV.
