Could there be something significant about the man in Matthew 26:18?

Question

Christ instructs his disciples to go to a certain man in the city to prepare the Passover meal.

Matthew 26:18 ESV

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.’”

Not much is said about this certain man throughout the bible. Could there be something significant about him? Could someone have biblical or extra-biblical information about this particular man?

Answer 1

Short Answer: The identity of the “certain man” in is not explicitly revealed in the Bible. As for extra-biblical sources, there isn’t any historical or archaeological evidence I know of that provides additional information about this particular man. The early Christian writings such as the writings of the early Church Fathers or the Apocryphal Gospels, do not appear to mention him either. Even if they did it would be hard to associate it with a nameless man from the Bible.

Let's look at all the relevant verses from the Bible:

• Matthew 26:18 NKJV - 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.” ’ ”
• Mark 14:13-14 NKJV - And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. 14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
• Luke 22:10-12 - And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”

Matthew 26:18

1. He’s a certain man, not necessarily a random one.
2. He knew who “the Teacher” referred to.
3. He had a house in the city of Jerusalem.

We can probably assume this house was large enough to accommodate Jesus and His disciples for the Passover meal.

This may infer that the man was well-off.

Mark 14:13-14

1. He had a house in the city of Jerusalem.
2. A man (likely a servant) from his house was carrying a pitcher of water.
3. The disciples were to follow this man to the house.
4. The owner of the house would understand who “the Teacher” was.
5. His house has a guest room.

We can probably assume this room was large enough to accommodate Jesus and His disciples for the Passover meal.

This may infer that the man was well-off.

Luke 22:10-12

1. Another man (likely a servant) from his house was carrying a pitcher of water.
2. The owner of the house will understand who “the Teacher” is.
3. The owner has a large upper room which is furnished and prepared.

We can probably assume this room was large enough to accommodate Jesus and His disciples for the Passover meal.

This may infer that the man was well-off given that he had a large, furnished upper room that could accommodate Jesus and His disciples for the Passover meal.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers says on Matthew 26:18:

To such a man.—The Greek word is that used when the writer knows, but does not care to mention, the name of the man referred to. St. Mark and St. Luke relate the sign that was given them. They were to meet a man “bearing a pitcher of water” and follow him. and were to see in the house into which he entered that in which they were to make their preparations. The master of the house was probably a disciple, but secretly, like many others, “for fear of the Jews” (John 12:42), and this may explain the suppression of his name. He was, at any rate, one who would acknowledge the authority of the Master in whose name the disciples spoke.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says on Matthew 26:18:

There can be little doubt that Jesus was acquainted with this man, and that he was a disciple. The direction which he gave his disciples most clearly proves that he was omniscient. Amid so great a multitude going at that time into the city, it was impossible to know that "a particular man would be met" - a man bearing a pitcher of water - unless Jesus had all knowledge, and was therefore divine.

Gill's Exposition says on Matthew 26:18:

and say unto him; not to the man bearing the pitcher of water; but, as the other Evangelists say, to the good man of the house, the owner of it, who probably might be one of Christ's disciples secretly; for many of the chief rulers in Jerusalem believed on Christ, though they did not openly confess him, for fear of the Pharisees, as Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea; and this man might be one of them, or some other man of note and wealth; since they were to find, as they did, a large upper room furnished and prepared. For, it seems, that without mentioning his name, the man would know him by their language...

Answer 2

There was nothing special about renting out rooms during Passover and other festivals, when Jerusalem would be flooded with pilgrims. Any resident of Jerusalem with a spare room might have done so. But there is a clue to the the answer in Mark and Luke, where a some details are included which Matthew omits:

Mark 14

13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”

Here, the meeting seems to have be previously arranged, with a signal being given to disciples (the jar of water) to let them identify the man. Because of the clandestine signal, many commentators understand him to be a secret disciple. Less dramatically, he may have simply been the room's owner (or his servant), who did not want his hosting the meeting be be known publicly. Another possibility is some kind of supernatural communication given to the man. (This explanation works better with Matthew's account, where the pre-arranged nature of the meeting is not specified.)

Conclusion: In Mark and Luke, the room has been prepared ahead of time, and we also have the detail of the man carrying a jug of water as a sign. Since this is obviously the same incident as the one described in Matthew, it seems clear that the meeting was previously arranged. The man was probably secret supporter of Jesus, or the servant of such a man. But we should not rule out the possibility that the room owner was simply a private person - not a secret disciple - who routinely rented out rooms during festivals, but did not want to be associated with Jesus' movement.