And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Con. Evan, ii, 80: Mark saysa pitcher, Luke a two-handed vessel; one points out the kind of vessel, the other the mode of carrying it; both however mean the same truth.
He means by the first day of the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when they throw aside leaven, and were wont to sacrifice, that is, to kill the lamb at even. The Apostle explaining this says, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” .For although He was crucified on the next day, that is, on the fifteenth moon, yet on the night when the lamb was offered up, He committed to His disciples the Mysteries of His Body and Blood, which they were to celebrate, and was seized upon and bound by the Jews; thus He consecrated the beginning of His Sacrifice, that is, of His Passion.
And it is a proof of the presence of His divinity, that in speaking with His disciples, He knows what is to take place elsewhere; wherefore it follows, “And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them; and they made ready the Passover.”.
Or else, the water is the laver of grace, the pitcher points out the weakness of those who were to show that grace to the wor...
But the unleavened bread which was eaten with bitterness, that is with bitter herbs, is our redemption, and the bitterness is the Passion of Our Lord.
For they say, “Where wiltthou that we go?”, to show us that we should direct our steps according to the Will of God. But the Lord points out with whom He would eat the Passover, and after His custom He sends two disciples, which we have explained above; wherefore it goes on, “And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and He saithunto them, ‘Go ye into the city.’ “.
And in a mystical sense the city is The Church, surrounded by the wall of faith, the man who meets them is the primitive people, the pitcher of water is the law of the letter.
That is, him who leads to the lofty place, where is the refreshment prepared by Christ. The lord of the house is the Apostle, Peter, to who the Lord has entrusted His house, that there may be one faith under one Shepherd. The large upper-room is the wide-spread Church, in which the Name of the Lord is ...
Ostom: Whilst Judas was plotting howto betray Him, the rest of the disciples were taking care of the preparation of the Passover: where it is said, “And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto Him, ‘Where wilt thou that we goand prepare where thou mayest eat the Passover?’ “.
ostom: Not our Passover, but in the meanwhile that of the Jews; but He did not only appoint ours, but Himself became our Passover. Why too did He eat it? Because He was “made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law,” and Himself gave rest to the Law. And lest any one should say that He did away with it, because He could not fulfil its hard and difficult obedience, He first Himself fulfilled it, and then set it to rest.
From the words of the disciples, “Where wilt thou that we go?”, it seems evident that Christ had no dwelling-place, and that the disciples had no houses of their own; for if so, they would have taken Him thither.
He who is baptized carries the pitcher of water, and he who bears baptism upon him comes to his rest, if he lives according to his reason; and he obtains rest, as being in the house. Wherefore it is added, “Follow Him.”.
Or else, the lord of the house is the intellect, which points out the large upper room, that is, the loftiness of intelligences, and which, though it be high, yet has nothing of vain glory, or of pride, but is prepared and made level by humility. But there, that is, in such a mind Christ’s Passover is prepared by Peter and John, that is by action and contemplation.
