John Calvin 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. Matthew specifies a certain man; the other two Evangelists relate that the disciples were sent to an unknown individual, because a sign was given to them of a man carrying a pitcher of water. But this difference is easily reconciled. Matthew, passing over the miracle, describes the man who was then unknown to the disciples, for it cannot be doubted that when they came to the house, they found he was one of their acquaintances.

Christ authoritatively instructs the man to prepare a lodging for Himself and His disciples, calling him master, and the man immediately complies. But though He might have expressly pointed out the man by name, He chose instead to direct His disciples to him by a miracle so that when they shortly afterwards saw Him reduced to a state of weakness, their faith might remain firm, being supported by this evidence.

It was a significant confirmation that, a few hours before He was put to death, He had given an undoubted proof that He was God, so that they might know He was not compelled by necessity but yielded of His own accord. And though at the very time when this trial occurred, this was perhaps of no advantage to them, yet the recollection of it was afterwards useful. Just as even today, to rise above the offense of the cross, it is very important for us to know that, along with the weakness of the flesh, the glory of divinity appeared in Christ around the very time of His death.

My time is near. Though He celebrated the passover correctly according to the requirement of the Law, He appears to assign this reason specifically to avoid the blame of self-will. He says, therefore, that there are reasons why He must hurry and not comply with an established custom, because He is called to a greater sacrifice.

And yet, as we have said, He introduces no change in the ceremony but repeats again and again that the time of His death is near, to inform them that He gladly hastens to do what the Father had appointed. Regarding His connecting the figure of the sacrifice with the reality, in this way He exhorted believers to compare the ancient symbols with what He accomplished in reality.

This comparison is well suited to illustrate the power and efficacy of His death. For the passover was prescribed for the Jews, not merely to remind them of an ancient deliverance, but also so that they might expect a future and greater deliverance from Christ. This is the meaning of what Paul says:

Christ our passover is sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).