“Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?’ He sent two of his disciples and told them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, “The Teacher says, ‘Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ So the disciples left, went into the city, and found things just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” —Mark 14:12–16
In these verses we find Jesus continuing to do the miraculous even as He approaches His death. Describing to His disciples in exact detail what they will discover as they prepare for the Passover, Jesus proves yet again His omniscience. Jesus gave His disciples step-by-step directions, teaching them to depend on God’s specific plan. Our God has all knowledge and all control of the future.
These verses in Mark remind me of a passage in Isaiah:
“Remember this, so you can be brave! Think about it, you rebels! Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire.’” —Isaiah 46:8–10
This is an important lesson for us as well! We are told in Proverbs:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.” —Proverbs 3:5–6
Human wisdom at its best is flawed. When we lean on our own understanding, disregarding the Lord’s way, we will not experience God’s best. His way is so far above our own; it is like playing in the sandbox when we could be running on the beach!
“‘Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds,’ says the LORD, ‘for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.’” —Isaiah 55:8–9
“’For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers. When you seek me in prayer and worship, you will find me available to you. If you seek me with all your heart and soul.’” —Jeremiah 29:11–13
It is no wonder, therefore, that King David pleaded with the Lord as he waited for God’s deliverance:
“Teach me how you want me to live, LORD; lead me along a level path because of those who wait to ambush me!” —Psalm 27:11
Wales Goeble wrote:
“We as Christians know that faith is taking God at His Word. And we realize that faith does not get us around our problems, but it gets us through them. Such a promise is found in Psalm 48:14, ‘For this is God, our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.’ His promise then is no matter how difficult we may find life to be, He will guide us all the way home. Isaiah 42:16: ‘And I will bring the blind by a way they know not. I will lead them in paths that they have not known.’ This is the way God leads His own. You and I are blind to the future, but He is not, and He has promised to lead all who will put their trust in Him. Sometimes, because our circumstances are totally out of our control, we not only have to believe these promises, but we must put them to the test.”
Become More
God is always working in our behalf—always for our ultimate good and His glory.
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” —Hudson Taylor
“O God, never suffer us to think that we can stand by ourselves, and not need Thee.” —John Donne
“And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28
Further Reflections
“Whoever desires to do the will of the Lord, and prayeth earnestly for instruction, shall certainly know his will. But he must not be wise in his own conceit, nor lean to his own understanding, nor expect that the wisdom or learning of this world will explain the things of God.” —K.H. Von Bogatzky
“We must have a continual regard for God’s providence, must depend on it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts; we must believe that he is able to do what he wills, wise to do what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us, if we love him, and serve him.” —Matthew Henry