7 Then the day of Unleavened Bread came. That was the time the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John on ahead. “Go,” he told them. “Prepare for us to eat the Passover meal.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10 Jesus replied, “When you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters. 11 Then say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, “Where is the guest room? Where can I eat the Passover meal with my disciples?” ’ 12 He will show you a large upstairs room with furniture already in it. Prepare for us to eat there.”
13 Peter and John left. They found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover meal.
Read Luke 22:7-13 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Sometimes, when I read a passage, I am fascinated by what is said or not said about one or two of the characters in it. A great example of a passage is the one for this journal entry, where there are two characters we know very little about who play very significant roles in the event.
The first of these characters is the servant with the jar of water. It is fully within Jesus’ ability to have seen this event transpire, and for the Holy Spirit to prompt the details surrounding this meeting, but I also wonder if this servant was an angel in disguise. Perhaps a disguised angel would be easier to help describe how the disciples found the perfect home to prepare their Passover meal, but that leads me to another key person we know almost nothing about.
The owner of the home is probably the most fascinating character in this event, because all we know about him is that he is rich enough to have a home with a furnished upstairs room (multi-level house), and he is generous enough to allow a group of strange men access to this guest room using the key questions “The Teacher asks, ‘Where is the guest room? Where can I eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’” (v. 11)
I am sure that Jesus was well known enough for people to recognize Him and want to invite Him over, but these closest followers would not be as easy to spot. Sure, they would be recognizable, but without Jesus next to them, they could easily be missed by those who were not paying attention.
What is amazing is that the disciples don’t even name-drop Jesus to this home owner, and the home owner is still willing to let them use the room. Perhaps he recognized these disciples, or perhaps he was a generous person. Either way, we do know he was generous enough to let these disciples prepare for their Passover meal, and because of this man’s generosity, he has been anonymously famous for centuries since then.
This draws me to the conclusion: We should be ready to be generous with what God has blessed us with. Our blessings (i.e. stuff, time, talents, money, etc.) are best used to help others when God sends opportunities our way. This home owner had no idea his simple act of generosity would be this significant, and this tells us that we should be generous even if we have no idea what will happen as a result of our generosity.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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