Luke 22

1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

2 And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him: for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

4 And he went, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him to them.

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

6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude.

7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare for us the passover, that we may eat.

9 And they said to him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

10 And he said to them, Behold, when ye have entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth.

11 And ye shall say to the master of the house, The Master saith to thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I may eat the passover with my disciples?

12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

13 And they went and found as he had said to them: and they made ready the passover.

14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

15 And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.

16 For I say to you, I will not any more eat of it until it shall be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide [it] among yourselves.

18 For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke [it], and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup [is] the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

21 But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me [is] with me on the table.

22 And truly the Son of man goeth as it was determined: but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!

23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.

24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

25 And he said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them, are called benefactors.

26 But ye [shall] not [be] so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

27 For which [is] greater, he that sitteth at table, or he that serveth? [is] not he that sitteth at table? but I am among you as he that serveth.

28 Ye are they who have continued with me in my temptations.

29 And I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed to me;

30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you, that he may sift [you] as wheat:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

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

34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, before thou wilt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

35 And he said to them, When I sent you without purse, and sack, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

36 Then said he to them, But now he that hath a purse, let him take [it], and likewise [his] sack: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

37 For I say to you, that this which is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.

38 And they said, Lord, behold, here [are] two swords. And he said to them, It is enough.

39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

40 And when he was at the place, he said to them, Pray, that ye enter not into temptation.

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.

42 Saying, Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.

43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground.

45 And when he arose from prayer, and had come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow:

46 And said to them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

47 And while he was yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near to Jesus to kiss him.

48 But Jesus said to him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?

49 When they who were about him, saw what would follow, they said to him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

50 And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to him, Are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staffs?

53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

54 Then they took him, and led [him], and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed at a distance.

55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.

56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.

58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.

59 And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying, In truth this [man] also was with him; for he is a Galilean.

60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he was yet speaking, the cock crowed.

61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, Before the cock shall crow, thou wilt deny me thrice.

62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

63 And the men that held Jesus, mocked him, and smote [him].

64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?

65 And many other things blasphemously they spoke against him.

66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes came together, and led him into their council,

67 Saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said to them, If I tell you, ye will not believe.

68 And if I also ask [you], ye will not answer me, nor let [me] go.

69 Hereafter will the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said to them, Ye say that I am.

71 And they said, What need have we of any further testimony? for we ourselves have heard from his own 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.