Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near, 2 and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas, the one surnamed Iscariot, who was counted among the Twelve, 4 and he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss a plan for handing him over to them. 5 They were pleased and agreed to pay him money. 6 He accepted their offer and sought a favorable opportunity to hand him over to them in the absence of a crowd.
7 When the day of the feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover lamb, 8 he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” 9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make the preparations?” 10 And he answered them, “When you go into the city, a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and 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?”’ 12 He will show you a large upper room that is furnished. Make the preparations there.” 13 Then they went off and found everything exactly as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover.
Unleavened bread was eaten with the Passover meal and during the seven days after Passover. As Jesus predicted, the chief priests and the Scribes rejected him and plotted to kill him (Lk. 9:22). Jesus was going to celebrate the Exodus of God’s chosen people from slavery, and he was also going to his own Exodus (Lk. 9:31). The forces trying to harm Jesus, the townspeople (Lk. 4:28-29), the scribes and Pharisees (Lk. 11:53-54) and the High Priest (Lk. 19:47) failed in their attempts to put him to death. But one of the twelve disciples closest to him agreed to betray him for money. It was not only Judas’ love of money that allowed Satan to enter his heart (1 Tim. 6:10), he also did not believe even though he was so close to Jesus. The opportune moment for the devil had arrived (Lk. 4:13). Jesus was victorious when tempted by the devil in the desert. He would again be victorious when tempted this time to abandon his Father’s will (Lk. 22:42).
Peter and John, future leaders of the Church, had accompanied Jesus when he raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Lk. 8:51) and at the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:28). They were faithful to Jesus unlike Judas the betrayer. Jesus had previously made arrangements for a place where they could eat the Passover meal since the Passover meal was a family celebration and he was celebrating it with his ‘true’ family (Lk. 8:19-21). A man carrying a water jar would be unusual because water jars were usually carried by women (v. 10). The Passover meal involved sacrificing a lamb in the Temple early in the evening, burning anything in the house that had been leavened, and putting together the side dishes for the meal – five types of bitter herbs, parsley, wine, oil, unleavened bread, honey, figs and almonds. Four goblets of wine were drunk with the meal.
Loving Father, as we enter this season of Lent help us to renew ourselves spiritually through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Grant us the grace to hear and ponder your word more deeply as we journey with Christ through his suffering death and resurrection. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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