Luke 22:7-13 (ESV)

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

This passage has a “mission impossible” feel to it. Peter and John must have felt like asking, “What guy with a jar?” “How do you know this?” and a zillion other questions. Instead, they held their tongues and did what they were told.

But imagine the conversation they had on the way to the city. They must have discussed the impossible coincidences in this plan. Coping with the abnormality of life with Jesus would have needed talking through. Every moment of every day was supernatural.

Prior to meeting Jesus, everything worked normally. Fish were caught where fish are expected to be. People behaved rationally. Life was uncomplicated and uninteresting.

Now nothing is normal. Huge crowds follow them. People love them – though some people hate them. Miracles are common. Peter and John have even worked a few miracles themselves. It’s scary.

But if you think that’s scary, wait ‘til you see what’s next. This is just a warm-up. Jesus is intentionally making even simple dinner preparations feel like a high drama mission. Stress is about to show up by the truckload, and they need as much acclimation as possible.

In a sense, they’re in boot camp.

Life in Christ is not supposed to be normal. Almost anything is possible – persecution, spiritual attack, success, suffering, surprising new directions and challenges, you name it.

The one thing that should not happen is nothing, boredom, the same-old-same-old. I could handle suffering (I think) but I definitely couldn’t handle life in Christ being a big, fat nothing. Faith without action is almost as dead as faith without works.

We need to invite Jesus to take us out of our comfort zone – to really take over. This is just different words for the classic confession of faith – Jesus is Lord. It’s what “Lord” means.

But be forewarned, this isn’t far from the exact opposite of many prayers. Comfort is not the objective here. Healing is good only insofar as it advances the kingdom.

Remember, many disciples had short lives.

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