“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!
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