Charles Ellicott 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)

To such a man—The Greek word is the one used when the writer knows but does not care to mention the name of the person being referred to. St. Mark and St. Luke recount the sign that was given to them. They were to meet a man bearing a pitcher of water and follow him, and were to find the place for their preparations in the house he entered. The master of the house was probably a disciple, but secretly, like many others, for fear of the Jews (John 12:42), and this may explain the suppression of his name. He was, in any case, one who would acknowledge the authority of the Master in whose name the disciples spoke. In the other two Gospels, our Lord describes the large, furnished upper room that the disciples would find on entering. The signal may have been agreed upon beforehand or may have been the result of supernatural prescience. Scripture is silent, and either supposition is legitimate.

My time is at hand—For the disciples, the “time” may have seemed to be the long-expected season of Him manifesting Himself as King, and the memory of such words as those of John 7:8, My time is not yet full come, may have seemed to strengthen the impression. We read, as it were, between the lines and see that it was the “time” of the suffering and death which were the conditions of His true glory (John 12:23; John 13:32).