Preparations for the Passover 26:17-19 (cf. Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13)

26:17 The first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread would have been Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan (cf. Exod. 12:18).⁹⁸¹The Jews commonly spoke of Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread as the feast of Unleavened Bread.⁹⁸²

26:18-19 The city was Jerusalem. The identity of the man to whom Jesus referred His disciples, Peter and John (Luke 22:8), was not important enough for any of the evangelists to record. Obviously Jesus was planning this Passover meal carefully. To the disciples and the man responsible for the room, the time to which Jesus referred was the time of the Passover. Later the disciples realized that the time Jesus meant was the time Jesus would culminate His mission. They complied with Jesus' instructions.⁹⁸³

Perhaps Jesus kept the location of the Passover secret so Judas could not inform the religious leaders.