Luke 22:11
in Luke 22and say to the owner of that house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall say unto the master of the house, The Teacher saith unto thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
KJV
And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
⋯
This verse in Luke 22
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the owner of that house
on Luke 22:11-13
He will show them a large upper room, already furnished, spread with cushions for the reclining posture of a formal meal. They found it just as Jesus had told them. And they prepared the Passover, securing the lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs and wine the meal required.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Let us then ascend with the Lord united to us, to the upper part in which is the guestchamber, which is shown by the understanding, that is, the goodman of the house, to every one of the disciples of Christ. But this upper room of our house must be large enough to receive Jesus the Word of God, who is not comprehended but by those who are greater in comprehension.
The Medieval Church4 voices
Now on the same fifth day He sends two of His disciples to prepare the Passover, namely, Peter and John, the one in truth as loving, the other as loved. In all things showing, that even to the end of His life He opposed not the law. And He sends them to a strange house; for He and His disciples had no house, else would He have kept the Passover in one of them. So it is added, And they said, Where will thou that we prepare? He sends them for this reason to an unknown man: to show them that He voluntarily underwent His Passion, since He who so swayed the mind of one unknown to Him, that He should receive them, was able to deal with the Jews just as He wished. But some say that He gave not the name of the man, lest the traitor knowing his name might open the house to the Pharisees, and they should have come and taken Him before that the supper was eaten, and He had delivered the spiritual mysteries to His disciples. But He directs them by particular signs to a certain house; whence it follows, And ye shall say to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, &c. And he will show you an upper room, &c. By the day of unleavened bread, we must understand that conversation which is wholly in the light of the Spirit, having lost all trace of the old corruption of Adam's first transgression. And living in this conversation, it becomes us to rejoice in the mysteries of Christ. Now these mysteries Peter and John prepare, that is, action and contemplation, fervid zeal and peaceful meekness. And these preparers a certain man meets, because in what we have just mentioned, lies the condition of man who was created after the image of God. And he carries a pitcher of water, which signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the pitcher is humbleness of heart; for He giveth grace to the humble, who know themselves to be but earth and dust.
And because this sign was directive, he therefore adds: Follow him into the house into which he enters, and you shall say to the master of the house: The Master says to you: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with …
Spiritually, however, by the city is understood the Church, which is a firm city: Psalm: "Its foundations are in the holy mountains"; and after: "Glorious things are said of you, O city of God"; and again: "Who will lead me into the fortified city"? A …
And you will say to the head of the household: The Teacher says to you: Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? The names of either the water-bearer or the Lord of the house are deliberately omitted, so …
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
As if to say, We have no abode, we have no place of shelter. Let those hear this, who busy themselves in building houses. Let them know that Christ, the Lord of all places, had not where to lay His head.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Though Judas has already been guilty of an overt act of treason, yet, it not being publicly known, Christ admits him to sit down with the rest at the passover. How Christ bids this passover welcome, to teach us in like manner to welcome his passover, the Lord's supper, and to come to it with an appetite (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house,.... The master of it; for the man bearing the pitcher of water seems to be a servant only: the master saith unto thee: by these his two disciples, Peter and John; it looks as if the word "master", as peculiar to Christ, and by way of eminency belonging to him, Mat 23:10 was well known to those who believed, and were followers of him, as the man of this house might be; see Joh 11:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The chapter which opens with these verses, begins Luke's account of our Lord's sufferings and death. No part of the Gospels is so important as this. The death of Christ — was the life of the world. No part of our Lord's history is so fully given by all the gospel writers as this. Only two of them describe the circumstances of Christ's birth. All four dwell minutely on Christ's death. And of all the four, no one supplies us with such full and interesting details as Luke.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
The chapter which opens with these verses, begins Luke's account of our Lord's sufferings and death. No part of the Gospels is so important as this. The death of Christ — was the life of the world. No part of our Lord's history is so fully given by all the gospel writers as this. Only two of them describe the circumstances of Christ's birth. All four dwell minutely on Christ's death. And of all the four, no one supplies us with such full and interesting details as Luke. We see, firstly, in these verses — that high offices in the church do not preserve the holders of them from great blindness and sin. We read that "the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Jesus." The first step in putting Christ to death, was taken by the religious teachers of the Jewish nation. The very men who ought to have welcomed the Messiah — were the men who conspired to kill Him. The very teachers who ought to have rejoiced at the appearing of the Lamb of God — had the chief hand in slaying Him. They sat in Moses' seat. They claimed to be "guides of the blind," and "lights of those who were in darkness." (Romans 2:19.) They belonged to the tribe of Levi. They were, most of them — in direct succession and descent from Aaron. Yet they were the very men who crucified the Lord of glory! With all their boasted knowledge — they were far more ignorant than the few Galilean fishermen who followed Christ. Let us beware of attaching an excessive importance to Christian ministers because of their office. Ordination and religious office confer no exemption from error. The greatest heresies have been sown, and the greatest practical abuses have been introduced into the church — by ordained men! Respect is undoubtedly due to high official position. Order and discipline ought not to be forgotten.
How the passage was read
On Luke 22:1-23On Luke 22:1-23
The cups on the table
Luke alone records TWO cups (22:17, 22:20), and the detail is at home in the feast: the Passover meal was ordered around four cups of wine, a structure already fixed in the Mishnah, the first written code of Jewish oral law (Pesachim 10:1). Passover (Pesach) is the spring feast remembering the exodus; its meal, the seder (“order”), moved through blessing, story, and psalm with a cup at each station. Jesus takes the feast's own furniture, and at the cup after supper says the words that made it new: “this cup... is the new covenant in my blood.”
The seder as Jewish families keep it today descends from the same order, reshaped after the Temple fell in AD 70; the lamb on the table then is matzah and remembrance now.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Pesachim 10:1 (the four cups) · The Lord's Supper (this site's study)
The words behind it
22 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἐρεῖτε | ereite | you will say | G4483 → | 46 times |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οἰκοδεσπότῃ | oikodespote | master | G3617 → | 12 times |
| τῆς | tes | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οἰκίας· | oikias | house; | G3614 → | 93 times |
| λέγει | legei | Says | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| σοι | soi | to you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| διδάσκαλος· | didaskalos | Teacher; | G1320 → | 58 times |
| ποῦ | pou | Where | G4226 → | 47 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κατάλυμα | kataluma | guest room | G2646 → | |
| ὅπου | hopou | where | G3699 → | 82 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πάσχα | pascha | Passover | G3957 → | 29 times |
| μετὰ | meta | with | G3326 → | 461 times |
| τῶν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μαθητῶν | matheton | disciples | G3101 → | 260 times |
| μου | mou | of Mine | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| φάγω; | phago | I may eat? | G5315 → | 93 times |
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἐρεῖτεyou will say
ereiteG4483 →46 times
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
οἰκοδεσπότῃmaster
oikodespoteG3617 →12 times
τῆςof the
tesG3588 →19766 times
οἰκίας·house;
oikiasG3614 →93 times
λέγειSays
legeiG3004 →1325 times
σοιto you
soiG4771 →2973 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
διδάσκαλος·Teacher;
didaskalosG1320 →58 times
ποῦWhere
pouG4226 →47 times
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
κατάλυμαguest room
katalumaG2646 →
ὅπουwhere
hopouG3699 →82 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
πάσχαPassover
paschaG3957 →29 times
μετὰwith
metaG3326 →461 times
τῶνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
μαθητῶνdisciples
mathetonG3101 →260 times
μουof Mine
mouG3165 →1936 times
φάγω;I may eat?
phagoG5315 →93 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
it leads to
- Luke 12:36–37
Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.
- Revelation 19:9
Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
- John 14:21–23
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Matthew 24:33
So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.
- Song of Solomon 5:2–4
I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with…
- Luke 12:36–37
Through
Matthew 21:3If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 17:25
Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1–2
Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies25
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Covenants
- Forgiving Yourself: What Scripture Says
- Gethsemane (The Garden Called the Oil Press)
- Hospitality
- Jesus on Discipleship
- Jesus on the Kingdom
Show the next 6 titles
About Luke

This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 22; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.
