The preparation of the Passover in 14:12–16 is reminiscent of the preparation of the entry into Jerusalem in 11:1–6; both show Jesus’s foreknowledge and governance of events as his “hour” (14:35) approaches. “The first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread” technically began at sundown on the fifteenth of Nisan (Thursday evening), but Mark appears to place the beginning of Passover on Thursday afternoon, the fourteenth of Nisan, when Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple. The mood of expectancy and urgency produced by the great influx of Passover pilgrims in Jerusalem is reflected in the triple occurrence of the Greek word for “prepare” in verses 12–16. The disciples are given what appear to be undercover instructions to meet “a man carrying a jar of water” (14:13). This must lo…