Matthew 26:17-19

Matthew 26:17-19

And on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciple drew near to Jesus while saying, “Where do you desire that we should prepare for you to eat the Passover?”  And He said, “Go away to the city to the certain one and say to him, ‘The teacher says: my time is near.  I will keep the Passover with my disciples at your place.’”  And the disciples did as Jesus commanded them and they prepared the Passover.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Here we see a neat move on the disciples – or at least I am interpreting it as neat.  The disciples come proactively to Jesus and ask about the Passover.  Now, it is possible that they were jumping the gun and getting ahead of Jesus.  After all, He is God and one could assume that His timing would be perfect.  But I’m going to give these disciples the benefit of the doubt here.  I believe they want to help Jesus out.  As Passover draws near, they finally feel comfortable.  They know the meal has to be prepared and they know how to accomplish that.  They have something that they can do, and it will keep Jesus from having to prepare the Passover.  They proactively come to Jesus – I believe – because they realize that Jesus has more important ways to spend his time than preparing a meal that they have been raised to know how to prepare!  Here we see the disciples step forward in faith and get it right!  Here the disciples are collectively helpful in God’s plan and God’s ministry here on earth.

Why is it important to see the disciples assert themselves and be successful in doing so?  When have you been confident, asserted yourself in confidence, and got it right?  How does that feel?

Second Thought:

Jesus gives them instructions.  In the middle of those instructions, Jesus tells His disciples that His time is near.  In fact, that is the message that they are to pass along to the unknown recipient.  His time is near.  Jesus’ ministry is coming to a close.  The true Passover Lamb has arrived in Jerusalem and is about to die for the sake of the world.  His time was indeed near.

What does it say about Jesus that He knew His time was near and He still obediently followed the plan of the Father?  Would you have had the courage to walk towards your own crucifixion knowing that you could easily escape it if you just went away quietly?

Third Thought:

His disciples obey.  They follow the marching orders of Jesus.  In Jesus’ moment of need, they obey.  They don’t just discern –as I spoke about in the opening thought for today – they act.  The get a plan and live it out.  They hear from God and follow.  It is really neat to see that as God’s plan comes together, the disciples really do start getting things right.  They start showing competency and living out God’s will.  Yes, we have a few dark moments yet to come.  But honestly, I don’t know who would have acted any differently than they did when Jesus is actually arrested and crucified.  But barring those few moments of intense stress, we see the disciples maturing in both mind and action in these verses.  It is good to see.

Have you ever thought of this passage in such terms as confidence and obedience?  What was the process of getting the disciples to this point where they could obey confidently?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 26:20-25