His Time Was At Hand

And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover (Matthew 26:18-19).

The entire drama of the Passover event had been orchestrated by the foreknowledge and plan of Jesus. It is unlikely the disciples knew the ‘certain’ man they were to talk to in securing a place for the Seder. But Jesus knew ahead of time who the man was and that he would be carrying a water pot (Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10). The man was most certainly a servant in the house where the Passover was to be observed, for it is highly unlikely that the master of the household would undertake such a menial task.

After all the arrangements had been made, it was simply a matter of time to wait until sundown. Jesus didn’t let the other disciples know where and when they would assemble for the meal, knowing that Judas Iscariot would use the opportunity to have the Temple guards waiting for them to arrive so they could arrest Jesus. He could not let that happen because there were so many things left for Jesus to tell His disciples before the arrest, trials, scourging, and crucifixion. It was imperative that the disciples, minus Judas Iscariot, know the Lord’s final instructions without the hindrance of Judas being there (see John 13 - 17).

One of the key matters Jesus needed to speak to the disciples about was the Lord’s Supper replacing the Passover Seder. It signaled the end of the Old Covenant under Mosaic Law and the establishment of the New Covenant under Jesus Christ. His shed blood on the cross would fulfill the shedding of the blood of the Passover lamb. His broken body on the cross would fulfill the breaking of the unleavened bread. His death on the cross while bearing our sin would fulfill the meaning of the scape goat that bore the sins of Israel into the wilderness where it would die. All of these matters, and more, had to be conveyed to the disciples in order to complete their training and instruction from the Lord.

Jesus told Peter and John (Luke 22:8) that His time was at hand. This was for their benefit, not for the benefit of the ‘certain’ man they would find carrying the water pot. The word for ‘time’ used here is not chronos, which is the normal word used, but kairos, which refers to a specific and predetermined period when something would take place. In using this word, Jesus was telling Peter and John that the Father’s timetable of events, especially the crucifixion of Jesus, had come. For three years Jesus had ministered to Israel in preparation for this event. All of His life He had been moving toward this time. It was for this time that He left the courts of heaven and became incarnate man so that He could go to the cross to win our salvation. In other words, this ‘time’ had been divinely ordained and would now be fulfilled.

Nothing, my friends, is accidental, incidental, or circumstantial with God. Nor is it with us. Since God is truly the sovereign Lord over all creation, and since His perfect will for all of creation, including your life and mine, will be done, we can be confident that throughout the rest of our lives we are participating in God’s perfect plan for the ages. Amen. 

Pastor