Follow The Man Bearing the Pitcher of Water
“And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover (the lamb was killed), His disciples said unto Him, Where will You that we go and prepare that You may eat the passover? (A place had to be prepared.) And He sent forth two of His disciples (refers to Peter and John [Lk. 22:8]), and said unto them, Go ye into the city (Jerusalem), and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water (this was seldom done by men): follow him (in a spiritual sense, this man was a type of the Holy Spirit). And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house (believed to have been owned by John Mark, or his family, who wrote the gospel according to Mark), The Master says, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples? (Actually says, ‘My guestchamber.’) And he (the owner of the house) will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared (was in a state of readiness): there make ready for us (has to do with the preparation of the passover ingredients). And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the passover (meant that Peter and John took the paschal lamb to the temple where it was there killed, with the priests officiating, with the blood poured out at the base of the brazen altar; the carcass of the lamb would have then been brought back to this house, where it would have been roasted and prepared by the disciples)” (Mk. 14:12-16) (The Expositor’s Study Bible).
The baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues is God’s greatest gift to the church. It is through the Holy Spirit that God works in the church and in our lives. Actually, one could say that the Spirit is the executive of the Godhead, working in us and on behalf of us.
The infilling of the Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct work of grace afforded to us by and through what Christ did at Calvary.
With the Holy Spirit, the believer and the church are vibrant and dynamic. Without the Holy Spirit, the work that could be done is greatly hindered.
In this account given to us in Mark, we are given a glimpse of the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Passover
In verse 12, the Scripture tells us that it was the time of the Passover.
As you know, the Passover typified Calvary and our salvation. This tells us that all of the great benefits of Calvary (healing, deliverance, joy, peace, etc.) can only come to us after our conversion and the infilling of the Spirit, for power and service can only come after one has been saved.
During the Passover week, there could have been up to 2 million people gathered in Jerusalem.
During Passover, approximately 250,000 lambs would be offered up in sacrifice. A quart of blood would be drained out of each lamb. The blood would fall into a golden bowl, and then the bowl would be passed down from priest to priest until it reached the brazen altar, and then the blood was poured over it. There were conduits running out from the brazen altar in which the blood would be carried to the brook Kidron, where for days it would run red with the blood.
However, in spite of all the lambs being offered up during the entirety of the dispensation of the law, and all the blood that would flow from the lambs being offered up, the sin of man could only be covered. However, when Christ, the Lamb of God, died on Calvary, one drop of His blood was enough to atone for all sin—past, present, and future.
When the Passover was observed, the entire lamb was to be eaten, except for some of the inward parts, meaning, you must accept all of Christ and not just the part of Him you desire.
They were to eat the lamb in a reclining or resting position, typifying the rest that comes to man through Christ (Mat. 11:28-30).
They were to eat the lamb with bitter herbs, meaning, they were never to forget that they were once slaves in Egypt, unable to free themselves. Today, man cannot free himself from sin except through the blood of Christ. Man cannot earn it, buy it, or inherit it. Only through the acceptance of Christ as man’s Redeemer can one be free from the bitter slavery of sin.
They would eat the meal with unleavened bread, meaning, there could be no sin in the Passover.
Then they would drink a cup of wine, with the wine representing joy—the joy that comes to man when he knows that all sin has been forgiven and cleansed.
The Man Bearing A Pitcher Of Water
When the disciples inquired of the Lord as to where they would eat the Passover, He told them to go into the city “and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water.”
There are two things that are important here:
• The water is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 17:6; Ezek. 36:25-27; 47:1; Jn. 3:5; 4:14; 7:38-39). The Holy Spirit is the fountain of Living Water, the purest and the best. The Holy Spirit is a veritable River of Life. As natural water purifies, refreshes, and quenches thirst, so the Holy Spirit purifies, refreshes, and quenches our spiritual thirst. As natural water is an indispensable source of physical life, the Holy Spirit is an indispensable element of spiritual life. As the song says:
There’s a river of life,
Flowing out from me,
Makes the lame to walk,
And the blind to see;
Opens prison doors,
And sets the captive free,
There’s a river of life,
Flowing out from me.
• Men in those days didn’t carry water. This was a task reserved for women, thus, a man carrying water would stand out amongst the entire crowd crossing the streets of Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit stands out. He cannot be hidden. You can spot a person, work, or a church that is full of the River of Life; they stand out.
Immediately upon the acceptance of Christ, the Lord sends the believer to meet the man bearing a pitcher of water. It is the will of the Lord that after salvation, the believer go on and be filled with the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:1-4.
Follow Him
The Lord instructed the disciples to follow the man.
This speaks to the fact that as believers, we are to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Everything we do is to be done in accordance with the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit.
When the Lord first called His disciples, He stated, “Follow Me,” and now He says, “Follow Him,” the Holy Spirit.
Upper Room
The Lord said, “He will show you a large upper room.” This pertains to all we need for life and godliness. Everything is found in the upper room. Notice that He said, “Large upper room.” Everything the Lord has for us is big.
Furnished
The room is already furnished; we don’t add anything to it. The Holy Spirit knows what we need.
Prepared
The large upper room is furnished and prepared by the Holy Spirit and not man, a church, or a denomination, but by the Holy Spirit alone.
So, follow the man bearing a pitcher of water!
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