Fully Prepared

And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” _{Mark 14:12}

From the beginning of his ministry, when he was led into the desert to be tempted by the devil, until the final Passover meal with his disciples, there was nothing that Jesus was unprepared for. Many of those coming into Jerusalem this week would probably have relatives they could stay with or at least eat with. For the disciples, even if one of them did have family there, it would be unfair to also add an additional 12 men, and possibly some women, to the invite list. Apart from that, this meal would be a private time for Jesus and them to be together. So, how could they get all the necessary components together when they didn’t have anywhere to prepare them? The only thing to do was to ask Jesus how he wanted them to handle the preparations.

“Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

We don’t know how Jesus made these arrangements and we don’t know when but we can be sure that it wasn’t a last-minute thought. Jerusalem would have hundreds of thousands of people this week and guest rooms would have been sought out and requested well in advance. Twilight, on the 14^th day of Nisan was extremely important in the Jewish calendar and preparation for it took time. Thousands upon thousands of lambs were sacrificed and then prepared for the meal of remembrance.

Jesus was fully prepared for everything that was about to take place. Having made the preparation for where they would eat the Passover meal, Jesus would now prepare the disciples for what was to come and then finally, prepare himself to be offered as the sacrificed Lamb of God.

Take time this week to prepare your heart for the remembrance of the One who sacrificed his life for your benefit.