Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Mark 14:12 - 14:16
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_14:12-16
12On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 13And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' 15And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there." 16The disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
Mar_14:12 "first day of Unleavened Bread" There is a great problem as to which day the Lord and His disciples ate the Last Supper, Nisan 13th or 14th. John seems to imply 13th (cf. Joh_18:29; Joh_19:14; Joh_19:31-32), while the Synoptic Gospels state the 14th. Possibly the difference is related to
1. the use of the Roman calendar versus the Jewish lunar calendar
2. the different ways to start a day, i.e., evening for the Jews vs. morning for the Romans
3. the evidence that the Dead Sea community, following a solar calendar, had the Passover a day earlier as a symbol of rejecting the priestly leadership in Jerusalem
The four Gospels are eyewitness accounts written for theological and evangelistic purposes. The authors had the right, under inspiration, to select, adapt, and arrange the life and words of Jesus. This accounts for most of the perceived difficulties in the Gospel accounts (cf. Fee and Stuart's How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp. 126-129). The very fact that they are different speaks of their genuineness. The early church accepted the four versions without trying to unify them (except for the Diatessaron of Tatian in the late second century).
Hermeneutically the Gospels need to be interpreted in light of their own context (their author's intent) and not compared to other Gospels, just to get more historical information.
Mar_14:13 "two of His disciples" Luk_22:8 says it was Peter and John. From rabbinical sources we know that only two from each household were allowed in the temple to offer the lamb with the help of a priest.
▣ "'and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water'" It was highly unusual in this culture for a man to carry water and especially to carry it in a pitcher. If men were needed to carry large amounts of water they used sheep or goat skins, not clay pitchers. This is another eyewitness account of Peter.
Mar_14:14 "'say to the owner of the house'" Many believe that this was John Mark's (the compiler of Peter's sermons in Rome into the Gospel of Mark) home, the probable location of the Last Supper and post resurrection appearances. John Mark was Barnabas' cousin and a participant in the initial part of the first missionary journey of Barnabas and Saul (i.e., Paul). He was also Peter's companion and apparently the author of the first Gospel, using Peter's memories or sermons. This seems to be a prearranged event, not a prediction.
Mar_14:15 This was also the location of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances (cf. Act_1:12). This room became the Jerusalem headquarters for the disciples.