Revelation

  “Where do you want us to prepare it (the Passover meal)?” they asked. He (Jesus) replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you.” Luke 22:9-10

  This is another wonderful insight from Sunday’s service. Jerusalem would have been packed with people gathering to celebrate the Passover. I had always assumed that the Disciples would have been able to find this particular water carrying man because of Divine guidance. How else would they have been able to distinguish the right one?

  Carrying water was women’s work. It still is in many cultures. Women went to the well. Women made sure there was sufficient water to carry on the household tasks of washing, cooking and cleaning. It would have been a laborious and time consuming task.

  But here was a man, confident enough to do women’s work in public. He would have been an unusual sight and therefore easy to spot.

  That’s as much as was discussed in Sunday’s teaching but as I think upon this, I wonder if it isn’t yet another example of how Jesus came to bring acceptance and equality to the genders. Did he use this unusual man to demonstrate to the Disciples that traditional roles were going to be shaken to their core in a very short while?

  Hmmmm….

  Jewish Priests would collect water for certain rituals and celebrations. This gathering of water was done with great ceremony, parades and prayers of rejoicing. (www.biblegateway.com has more detail if you are interested in Jesus, the Source of Living Water.) The water was poured over the Altar as a sacrifice.

  So maybe this man is very significant because he led the Disciples to the Upper Room, through the streets of Jerusalem, symbolically emulating the Priests’ ceremonial parade as he carried a mundane, and oh, so humble household pitcher.

  Wow.

 

  Would the Disciples have understood the connection, the symbolism?

  The Upper Room is where Jesus would join them for the Passover feast right before He was taken, tortured and crucified. It is the place where Jesus served The Last Supper; the place where He released Judas so He could sacrifice Himself for all mankind.

  The Living Water would pour Himself out for all who are thirst for righteousness.

  All because a humble man was willing to do a woman’s work so that Jesus would be able to honour the Law in order to fulfill the Law.

  

  Thank You, my Lord, for showing me this, for Bible Gateway, for the Meeting House and for the Holy Spirit who guided me to this understanding. AMEN!