Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 26:18

"And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Teacher saith, My time is at hand; I keep the passover at thy house with my disciples." — Matthew 26:18 (ASV)

Go into the city to such a man. That is, Jerusalem, called "the city" preeminently. Luke says that the disciples whom he sent were Peter and John. It seems he did not mention by name the man to whom they were to go, but he told them that when they came into the city, a man would meet them carrying a pitcher of water.

See Mark and Luke. They were to follow him, and in the house which he entered they would find a room prepared. The name of the man was not mentioned. The house in which they were to keep the passover was not mentioned. The reason for this probably was that Christ wished to conceal from Judas the place where they would keep the passover.

He was aware of Judas’s plan to betray him. He knew that if Judas knew the place beforehand, he could easily inform the chief priests, and it would give them a favourable opportunity to surprise them and apprehend him without causing a disturbance. Although it was certain that he would not be delivered up before the time appointed by the Father, yet it was proper to use the means to prevent it.

There can be little doubt that Jesus knew this man and that he was a disciple. The direction which he gave his disciples most clearly proves that he was omniscient. Amid such a great multitude going into the city at that time, it was impossible to know that a particular man would be met—a man carrying a pitcher of water—unless Jesus had all knowledge and was therefore Divine.

The Master saith. This was the name by which Jesus was probably known among the disciples, and one which he directed them to call him. See Matthew 23:8, 10. It means, literally, the teacher, as opposed to the disciple, or learner; not the master, as opposed to the servant or slave. The fact that they used this name as if the man would know whom they meant, and the fact that he understood them and made no inquiries about him, shows that he knew Jesus and was probably a disciple himself.

My time is at hand. That is, it is near. By his time here may be meant either his time to eat the passover or the time of his death. Many have supposed that Jesus, in accordance with a group of the Jews who rejected traditions, anticipated the usual observance of the passover, or kept it one day sooner. The Pharisees had devised many ways of ascertaining when the month began. They placed witnesses around the heights of the temple to observe the first appearance of the new moon; they examined the witnesses with much formality and also endeavoured to obtain the exact time by astronomical calculations. Others held that the month properly began when the moon was visible. Thus, it is said a difference arose between them about the time of the passover, and that Jesus kept it one day sooner than most of the people. The foundation for the opinion that Jesus anticipated the usual time of keeping the passover is the following:

1. In John 18:28, it is said that on the day on which our Lord was crucified, and of course the day after he had eaten the passover, the chief priests would not go into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover—evidently meaning that it was to be eaten that day.

2. In John 19:14, the day on which he was crucified is called the preparation of the passover; that is, the day on which it was prepared to be eaten in the evening.

3. In John 19:31, the day in which our Lord lay in the grave was called the great day of the Sabbath, an high day. That is, the day after the passover was killed, the Sabbath occurring on the first day of the feast proper, and therefore a day of peculiar solemnity. Yet our Savior had partaken of it two days before, and therefore the day before the main body of the people. If this opinion is true, then the phrase my time is at hand means, my time for keeping the passover is near. Whether the opinion is true or not, there may also be a reference to his death. This man was probably a disciple of his, though perhaps a secret one. Jesus might have intended to keep the passover at his house so that he might inform him more particularly about his death and prepare him for it. He therefore sent to him and said, I will keep the passover at thy house.

Mark and Luke add that he would show them a large upper room, furnished and prepared. Ancient writers remark that at the time of the great feasts, the houses in Jerusalem were all open to receive guests; that the houses were, in a way, common to the people of Judea; and there is no doubt, therefore, that the master of a house would have it ready on such occasions for company. It is also possible that there might have been an agreement between this man and our Lord that he would prepare his house for him, though this was unknown to the disciples. The word rendered furnished means, literally, spread; that is, spread with carpets and with couches on which to recline at the table, in the manner of the East. See notes on Matthew 23:6.