Jesus gives Peter and John the exact words to say. The question is His, spoken through them: "The Master saith unto thee." It asks for a room where He can keep the Passover with His disciples. He calls it "the guestchamber," as if the room were already set apart for Him. Barnes, in his notes on the parallel in Mark 14:13, says the meeting with the man carrying water "could have been known only by the infinite knowledge of Christ."

Jesus had already told them what the man would do: "he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready" (Luke 22:12). That is what happened. "They went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover" (Luke 22:13). The master of the house's words are not recorded, but his answer was the room itself.

"Goodman of the house" is old English for the head of the household. Barnes says the phrase "signifies simply the 'master' of the house" and says nothing about his character. Gill notes that "the man bearing the pitcher of water seems to be a servant only."

The word for "guestchamber" is kataluma, which Thayer defines as "an inn, lodging-place" or a dining room. It appears only three times in the New Testament: here, in Mark 14:14, and in Luke 2:7, where there was "no room for them in the inn" at Jesus' birth. The "large upper room furnished" was, Barnes says, spread "with a carpet, or with 'couches' such as were used in eating."

This question shows Jesus' knowledge and authority as His suffering drew near. He knew the man, the house, and the room before His disciples arrived, and everything happened just as He said (Luke 22:13). He was not being swept along by events; He was arranging them.

It also shows His love for His disciples. He asks for a room where He may eat the Passover "with my disciples." Soon He would tell them, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15). The One who once had no room in the kataluma at His birth now asks for a kataluma where He can share His last meal with His friends.