Preparations for the Passover Meal
Jesus tells his *disciples where to prepare for the Passover meal
Marion Cooper
This study is one of a series of Studies in Mark’s Gospel in EasyEnglish.
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
Mark 14:12-16 (see Mark's Gospel in EasyEnglish)
All *Jews had to eat a special meal at Passover time every year. It was to remind people about when the Jews escaped from *Egypt a long time before. At that time God had told the Jews to *sacrifice young sheep. They had to put blood from young sheep on their door-posts. When the '*angel of death' saw the blood he passed over their houses. So their first-born sons remained alive. God told the Jews how to cook the young sheep meat. He told them to eat the meat with flat bread and special leaves. Jews still had to cook the meal in the same way. And they had to eat it in the way God had told them.
V12 What was the '*Feast of *Unleavened Bread'?
V12 What happened at the first Passover?
V12 It was important to prepare with great care. Why was that?
V12 The disciples did not know where to prepare the meal. Why?
V13 Why did Jesus send two disciples?
V13 Why would it be special to see a man who was carrying a jar of water?
V14 It seems that Jesus had already agreed that they could use the room. Perhaps he knew the person to whom it belonged. Why had Jesus kept it secret?
V15 What did the disciples need to prepare?
V16 When the disciples went to the city what were they thinking? Do you think they were afraid?
V16 The time to eat the Passover meal was not until the evening of the next day. Did the disciples expect Jesus to do something special at Passover?
Jesus' words must have seemed very strange to the disciples. But they did what he told them to do. Do we obey immediately when Jesus speaks to us?
Angel of death ~ a servant that God sent to cause death to people who would not obey him.
Disciple ~ a person who wants to do the same things as another person and learn from them; a person who does what Jesus taught.
Egypt ~ a country in Africa where Pharaoh was the king.
Feast ~ a time of eating and drinking.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
Sacrifice ~ when you put an animal on the altar to offer it to God. To give something valuable, or die for someone, or for God.
Unleavened bread ~ bread that people make without *yeast.
Yeast ~ people put yeast into flour and water to make bread. The yeast grows in the bread and it makes the bread rise.