Mark 14: 13 - 16 (RSV):
[13] And he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,
[14] and wherever he enters, say to the householder, `The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?'
[15] And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us."
[16] And the disciples set out and went to the city, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover.
While looking back at "Existence is not a Predicate" (Kant, Logical Positivism, et. al.), I read this Section of Mark, not as another Miracle Story, but as a Puzzle Clue that tells of someone who Was There and knew of the small Twists and Quirks of Life at the Temple
AND SURROUNDS.
From
New Testament Origins (
https://www.amazon.com/New-Testament-Or ... C91&sr=1-1 ):
"By way of example, if you travel to to the Hawaiian island of Oahu you might ask directions to the "Chinaman's Hat". When you get to the small bay, you will not see a "Chinaman's Hat" until you look into the bay. There in the middle of that bay is a small island that looks like a "Chinaman's Hat". You may purchase various souvenirs including prints of the “Chinaman's Hat”, which shows the “hat” out of the water with a drawing of a seated old man underneath..."
Existence is not a Predicate. I assert a Type of Existence when I assert that there was Man Carrying a Jar of Water but that is no guarantee that there was an "Actual, Real" Man Carrying a Jar of Water - It doesn't matter if only Women carried the water or not back then.
The Passage points to something else. The "Man Carrying a Jar of Water" might be a shadow that aligns with a door that leads to the Priestly Rooms in Antonia in the Spring. Various possibilities arise with the Topography of Jerusalem, even including the old Hasmonean Palace in the City. We know however that there is a "Large Upper Room furnished and ready". It should be in Antonia and it is probably Anecdotal, not at all referring to a "Real Man Carrying a Jar of Water'.
The Text points to something very old but a Text that was very malleable to Roman Ends. Hence, the "ancient" (Hasmonean) Text remained.
CW
PS: The Chinaman's Hat:
PPS: You may consider "Antonia" as a "Place-Marker" for whatever building stood there for the housing of the Priesthood. Herod built a passageway from Antonia to the eastern front of the Temple and that plays a huge part in understanding the NT. This limits the position of the Priestly goings-on and may imply that there was something *
before* the building of Antonia - Hasmonean Texts that name an obliterated Site.
I am confident that the "Man Carrying the Water Jar" tells a Symbolic Tale, not an actual one. This Anecdote, however, would probably NOT be known to the Roman Editors and Redactors. There appear to be Texts from some who survived - Zakkai, again - who helped compose the NT. They left Clues that would not have been noticed by the Roman Overlords. This should point to Hasmonean (Pre-Roman) writings.