Luke 22

1 Now the feast of unleavened bread was near, which is called the Passover.

2 And the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a chance to put him to death, but they went in fear of the people.

3 And Satan came into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve.

4 And he went away and had a discussion with the chief priests and the rulers, about how he might give him up to them.

5 And they were glad, and undertook to give him money.

6 And he made an agreement with them to give him up to them, if he got a chance, when the people were not present.

7 And the day of unleavened bread came, when the Passover lamb is put to death.

8 And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and make the Passover ready for us, so that we may take it.

9 And they said to him, Where are we to get it ready?

10 And he said to them, When you go into the town you will see a man coming to you with a vessel of water; go after him into the house into which he goes.

11 And say to the master of the house, The Master says, Where is the guest-room, where I may take the Passover with my disciples?

12 And he will take you up to a great room with a table and seats: there make ready.

13 And they went, and it was as he had said: and they made the Passover ready.

14 And when the time had come, he took his seat, and the Apostles with him.

15 And he said, I have had a great desire to keep this Passover with you before I come to my death;

16 For I say to you, I will not take it till it is made complete in the kingdom of God.

17 And he took a cup and, having given praise, he said, Make division of this among yourselves;

18 For I say to you, I will not take of the fruit of the vine till the kingdom of God has come.

19 And he took bread and, having given praise, he gave it to them when it had been broken, saying, This is my body, which is given for you: do this in memory of me.

20 And in the same way, after the meal, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new testament, made with my blood which is given for you.

21 But the hand of him who is false to me is with me at the table.

22 For it will be done to the Son of man after the purpose of God, but unhappy is that man by whom he is given up.

23 And they were wondering among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing.

24 And there was an argument among them about which of them was the greatest.

25 And he said, The kings of the Gentiles are lords over them, and those who have authority are given names of honour.

26 But let it not be so with you; but he who is greater, let him become like the younger; and he who is chief, like a servant.

27 For which is greater, the guest who is seated at a meal or the servant who is waiting on him? is it not the guest? but I am among you as a servant.

28 But you are those who have kept with me through my troubles;

29 And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me,

30 So that you may take food and drink at my table in my kingdom, and be seated like kings, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

31 Simon, Simon, Satan has made a request to have you, so that he may put you to the test as grain is tested:

32 But I have made prayer for you, that your faith may not go from you: and when you are turned again, make your brothers strong.

33 And he said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.

34 And he said, I say to you, Peter, before the cock's second cry today, you will say three times that you have no knowledge of me.

35 And he said to them, When I sent you out without money or bag or shoes, were you in need of anything? And they said, Nothing.

36 And he said to them, But now, he who has a money-bag, or a bag for food, let him take it: and he who has not, let him give his coat for money and get a sword.

37 For I say to you that these words will be put into effect in me, And he was numbered among the evil-doers: for what has been said in the Writings about me has an end.

38 And they said, Lord, here are two swords. And he said, It is enough.

39 And he came out, and went, as his way was, to the Mountain of Olives, and the disciples went with him.

40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, Make a prayer that you may not be put to the test.

41 And he went a little distance away from them and, falling on his knees in prayer, he said,

42 Father, if it is your pleasure, take this cup from me: but still, let your pleasure, not mine, be done.

43 And an angel from heaven came to him, to give him strength.

44 And being in great trouble of soul, the force of his prayer became stronger, and great drops, like blood, came from him, falling to the earth.

45 And, getting up from prayer, he came to the disciples, and saw that they were sleeping for sorrow.

46 And he said, Why are you sleeping? Get up, and give yourselves to prayer, so that you may not be put to the test.

47 And while he was saying these words, there came a band of people, and Judas, one of the twelve, was in front of them, and he came near to Jesus to give him a kiss.

48 But Jesus said to him, Judas, will you be false to the Son of man with a kiss?

49 And when those who were with him saw what was coming, they said, Lord, may we not make use of our swords?

50 And one of them gave a blow to the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

51 But Jesus, answering, said, Put up with this, at least. And touching his ear, he made it well.

52 And Jesus said to the chief priests and the captains of the Temple and the rulers, who had come against him, Have you come out as against a thief, with swords and sticks?

53 When I was in the Temple with you every day, your hands were not stretched out against me: but this is your hour, and the authority of the dark power.

54 And they made him a prisoner and took him away to the house of the high priest. But Peter went after them at a distance.

55 And a fire was lighted in the middle of the open square, and they were seated together, and Peter was among them.

56 And a certain woman-servant, seeing him in the light of the fire, and looking at him with attention, said, This man was with him.

57 But he said, Woman, it is not true; I have no knowledge of him.

58 And after a little time, another saw him and said, You are one of them; and he said, Man, I am not.

59 And after about an hour, another man said, with decision, Certainly this man was with him, for he is a Galilaean.

60 And Peter said, Man, I have no knowledge of these things of which you are talking. And straight away, while he was saying these words, there came the cry of a cock.

61 And the Lord, turning, gave Peter a look. And the words of the Lord came to Peter's mind, how he had said, This night, before the hour of the cock's cry, you will be false to me three times.

62 And he went out, weeping bitterly.

63 And the men in whose hands Jesus was, made sport of him and gave him blows.

64 And, covering his eyes, they said to him, Are you prophet enough to say who gave you that blow?

65 And they said a number of other evil things against him.

66 And when it was day, the rulers of the people came together, with the chief priests and the scribes, and they took him before their Sanhedrin, saying,

67 If you are the Christ, say so. But he said, If I say so you will not have belief;

68 And if I put a question to you, you will not give an answer.

69 But in the future the Son of man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

70 And they all said, Are you then the Son of God? and he said, You say that I am.

71 And they said, What more need have we of witness? we have the very words of his mouth.

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Luke 22 Commentary

Chapter 22

The treachery of Judas. (1-6) The passover. (7-18) The Lord's supper instituted. (19,20) Christ admonishes the disciples. (21-38) Christ's agony in the garden. (39-46) Christ betrayed. (47-53) The fall of Peter. (54-62) Christ confesses himself to be the Son of God. (63-71)

Verses 1-6 Christ knew all men, and had wise and holy ends in taking Judas to be a disciple. How he who knew Christ so well, came to betray him, we are here told; Satan entered into Judas. It is hard to say whether more mischief is done to Christ's kingdom, by the power of its open enemies, or by the treachery of its pretended friends; but without the latter, its enemies could not do so much evil as they do.

Verses 7-18 Christ kept the ordinances of the law, particularly that of the passover, to teach us to observe his gospel institutions, and most of all that of the Lord's supper. Those who go upon Christ's word, need not fear disappointment. According to the orders given them, the disciples got all ready for the passover. Jesus bids this passover welcome. He desired it, though he knew his sufferings would follow, because it was in order to his Father's glory and man's redemption. He takes his leave of all passovers, signifying thereby his doing away all the ordinances of the ceremonial law, of which the passover was one of the earliest and chief. That type was laid aside, because now in the kingdom of God the substance was come.

Verses 19-20 The Lord's supper is a sign or memorial of Christ already come, who by dying delivered us; his death is in special manner set before us in that ordinance, by which we are reminded of it. The breaking of Christ's body as a sacrifice for us, is therein brought to our remembrance by the breaking of bread. Nothing can be more nourishing and satisfying to the soul, than the doctrine of Christ's making atonement for sin, and the assurance of an interest in that atonement. Therefore we do this in rememberance of what He did for us, when he died for us; and for a memorial of what we do, in joining ourselves to him in an everlasting covenant. The shedding of Christ's blood, by which the atonement was made, is represented by the wine in the cup.

Verses 21-38 How unbecoming is the worldly ambition of being the greatest, to the character of a follower of Jesus, who took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross! In the way to eternal happiness, we must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger. Unless we watch and pray always, we may be drawn in the course of the day into those sins which we were in the morning most resolved against. If believers were left to themselves, they would fall; but they are kept by the power of God, and the prayer of Christ. Our Lord gave notice of a very great change of circumstances now approaching. The disciples must not expect that their friends would be kind to them as they had been. Therefore, he that has a purse, let him take it, for he may need it. They must now expect that their enemies would be more fierce than they had been, and they would need weapons. At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spake only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.

Verses 39-46 Every description which the evangelists give of the state of mind in which our Lord entered upon this conflict, proves the tremendous nature of the assault, and the perfect foreknowledge of its terrors possessed by the meek and lowly Jesus. Here are three things not in the other evangelists. 1. When Christ was in his agony, there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. It was a part of his humiliation that he was thus strengthened by a ministering spirit. 2. Being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Prayer, though never out of season, is in a special manner seasonable when we are in an agony. 3. In this agony his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down. This showed the travail of his soul. We should pray also to be enabled to resist unto the shedding of our blood, striving against sin, if ever called to it. When next you dwell in imagination upon the delights of some favourite sin, think of its effects as you behold them here! See its fearful effects in the garden of Gethsemane, and desire, by the help of God, deeply to hate and to forsake that enemy, to ransom sinners from whom the Redeemer prayed, agonized, and bled.

Verses 47-53 Nothing can be a greater affront or grief to the Lord Jesus, than to be betrayed by those who profess to be his followers, and say that they love him. Many instances there are, of Christ's being betrayed by those who, under the form of godliness, fight against the power of it. Jesus here gave an illustrious example of his own rule of doing good to those that hate us, as afterwards he did of praying for those that despitefully use us. Corrupt nature warps our conduct to extremes; we should seek for the Lord's direction before we act in difficult circumstances. Christ was willing to wait for his triumphs till his warfare was accomplished, and we must be so too. But the hour and the power of darkness were short, and such the triumphs of the wicked always will be.

Verses 54-62 Peter's fall was his denying that he knew Christ, and was his disciple; disowning him because of distress and danger. He that has once told a lie, is strongly tempted to persist: the beginning of that sin, like strife, is as the letting forth of water. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. 1. It was a convincing look. Jesus turned and looked upon him, as if he should say, Dost thou not know me, Peter? 2. It was a chiding look. Let us think with what a rebuking countenance Christ may justly look upon us when we have sinned. 3. It was an expostulating look. Thou who wast the most forward to confess me to be the Son of God, and didst solemnly promise thou wouldest never disown me! 4. It was a compassionate look. Peter, how art thou fallen and undone if I do not help thee! 5. It was a directing look, to go and bethink himself. 6. It was a significant look; it signified the conveying of grace to Peter's heart, to enable him to repent. The grace of God works in and by the word of God, brings that to mind, and sets that home upon the conscience, and so gives the soul the happy turn. Christ looked upon the chief priests, and made no impression upon them as he did on Peter. It was not the mere look from Christ, but the Divine grace with it, that restored Peter.

Verses 63-71 Those that condemned Jesus for a blasphemer, were the vilest blasphemers. He referred them to his second coming, for the full proof of his being the Christ, to their confusion, since they would not admit the proof of it to their conviction. He owns himself to be the Son of God, though he knew he should suffer for it. Upon this they ground his condemnation. Their eyes being blinded, they rush on. Let us meditate on this amazing transaction, and consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.