11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples
12aNow on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they1 killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out 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.
14Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
15Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, aone of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?”1 And another said, “Is it I?”
20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.
21aThe Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper
22aAnd as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take,1eat; this is My bbody.”
23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the1new covenant, which is shed for many.
25Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26aAnd when they had sung1 a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
27aThen Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble1because of Me this night, for it is written: b‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’
Whereas Matthew's account has Jesus saying, “I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples” (Matthew 26:18), Mark's clarifies the phrase “keep the Passover” with “eat the Passover.” This is an essential detail because some have tried to explain His words away by claiming He merely mentions preparing for the Passover. But Mark brings out the fact that on this same occasion He meant He would eat the Passover with His disciples, not simply make preparations.
We again see His intention to use the guest (or upper) room of that certain man's house. Did our Messiah mean what He said? Are any words of God untrustworthy? If He did not mean what He said here, it means that either the sovereign God's will was thwarted, or else Jesus duplicitously said one thing while intending to do another. As Paul says, God forbid!
