Mark 14:12-16, The Passover with the Disciples Part I

¹² And on the first day of Unleavened Bread [properly speaking the first day of Passover ran from Nisan 15 to 21, but Passover day itself was Nisan 14 on the evening of which leaven was removed from the houses], 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?” [John’s Gospel clearly dates the Last Supper on the night that began Nisan 14, meaning Jesus died on the afternoon of Nisan 14 as the Passover lambs were being killed. According to astronomical calculations and my research, Nisan 15 fell on a Saturday in AD 31. However, not all Jews agreed on the dating of Passover, meaning certain groups celebrated it on different days at the time of Jesus. Jesus knew he would die as the Passover lamb and therefore held his Passover meal with his disciples one day early, reinventing Passover for a new people of God. This explains why there is no lamb at Jesus’ meal.] ¹³ And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. [Jesus has prepared this in advance.] Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” ¹⁶ And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. [In order to keep the place where they will eat the Passover secret from Judas, Jesus must keep it secret from the Twelve. Once again Mark’s narrative conjures the atmosphere of danger and the consequent need for secrecy, now heightened since the plot to kill Jesus has been made and Judas has offered to make his arrest possible. Several commentators believe that this house belongs to the father of John Mark, the gospel writer. One question that arises about Mark being the naked man in the Garden of Gethsemane. Why would Mark be there? If his father owns the house, then perhaps he owns the garden outside the city walls as well. Mark, then, is the host in the garden and possibly was helping serve at the Last Supper.]