Luke 22:1-71
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 entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.
5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto 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 us the passover, that we may eat.
9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
10 And he said unto them,Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.
11 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?
12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.
13 And they went, and found as he had said unto 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 unto them,With desirea I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it 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 unto 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 brake it, and gave unto 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 unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
23 And they began to enquire 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 unto 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 whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.
28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 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 unto 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 shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
35 And he said unto them,When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.
36 Then said he unto them,But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
37 For I say unto you, that this that 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 unto 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 unto 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 be willing, removeb this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him 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 down to the ground.
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
46 And said unto them,Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
47 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
48 But Jesus said unto him,Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto 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 unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him,Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
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 took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.
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, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.
60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him,Before the cock crow, thou shalt 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 spake they 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, saying,
67 Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto 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 shall 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 unto them,Ye say that I am.
71 And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.
Luke 22:1. The feast of unleavened bread drew nigh. See Matthew 26:2.
Luke 22:3. Then Satan entered into Judas, by divine permission, his reigning sin of covetousness having proved his destruction. Judas after that was Satan's instrument.
Luke 22:4. He went his way, and communed with the chief priests and στρατηγοι, captains. The offices of priests and levites, of the twenty four courses, had each a superior; but these were captains of the temple, and called by that military name because they bore arms. Those captains were rulers of the temple, and saw the brazen gates shut at night by a guard of strong men.
Luke 22:5. They were glad, and covenanted to give him money. Christ was valued, as Jeremiah says; a price was set upon him, as the chief enemy of the temple.
Luke 22:15. With desire, yea, with the supreme desire of consummating my work and victory, have I desired to eat this passover. The transactions of the last supper are full of grace, and claim our special attention.
Luke 22:19. He took bread, a figure of his body broken for us. Collectively considered, this is a figure of his church, composed of many members, as the loaf is composed of many grains of wheat. His flesh spiritually sustains the divine life, as bread sustains the life of the body. Adorable mystery, where faith is lost in the plenitude of redeeming love.
Luke 22:20. This cup is the new testament in my blood, or covenant, which is shed for you, for the remission of sins. When princes made covenants, they drank wine; and when the highpriest offered sacrifice, he poured out a libation of wine on the victim. Here is the ransom, here is remission of sins, here is joy for the righteous. Here is the cup of memorial: this do in remembrance of me. The jews ate the paschal supper in remembrance of the emancipation from Egypt, a national memorial, local and small compared with the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a cup once for all. “I will not drink of the fruit of the wine, until the kingdom of God shall come:” Luke 22:18. What a felicitous transition of thought, and what burning words to enkindle the heart with a flame of devotion.
Luke 22:21. The hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. It seems quite plain from this chapter, that Judas was present at the sacrament with Christ; and yet the first of critics are divided in opinion on this subject. It is also contended that this was not the paschal supper, but the common supper which preseded it. Grotius contends that the Lord having desired with strong desire to eat the passover before his passion, celebrated it one night before the time. Now, though Grotius held a first rank as a learned lawyer; yet as a divine he is guilty of temerity in a hundred places. Let it be remarked, that St. Matthew does not mention the time that Judas went out, neither does St. Mark. St. John mentions the sop, but not the supper: chap. Luke 13:26. This sop, according to Erasmus, was psomion, panem, buccella, sive offula; bread, morsel, or fragment of flesh. It was probably a piece of unleavened bread dipped in the sauce of bitter herbs and gravy. In that case our Lord would not eat with the traitor, but sent him away.
Luke 22:22. Woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. See Dr. Whitby's remarkable note on this verse. Also on this head, a striking comment of Chrysostom will be found on Jeremiah 36:3.
Luke 22:25. The kings of the gentiles exercise lordship. Matthew 20:26.
Luke 22:29. I appoint, covenant, give, dispose, or prepare for you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed, or disposed to me a kingdom; that is, the mediatorial kingdom, and also the everlasting kingdom. What a gift at parting. Some, in regard of the feast at which these words were spoken, would read, “I grant you to eat bread at my table in my kingdom, seeing my Father hath given me a kingdom.”
Luke 22:31. Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you. From the sacred scriptures we everywhere learn, that Satan could hurt neither Job nor Peter, nor any saint, without the divine permission. Christ was privy to that permission, being in his divine nature associate in the council of the Godhead. He therefore prayed for Peter, that his faith and courage might not fail. When Satan is permitted to tempt a man, he will try and sift him to the extent of his commission. Our Lord forewarns and foreärms men against the day of trial. He showed Peter his glory on the mount, he warned him of his fall, he capitulated with the multitude that his disciples should go their way; and here he told Peter that he prayed for him that his faith should not fail. Hence there was no absolute necessity that Peter should fall; the prediction that he should thrice deny his Master was no more positive than the sentence against Ahab, Hezekiah, and Nineveh. But at the same time let the converted backslider strengthen his brethren: he is under a thousand obligations so to do.
Luke 22:37. The things concerning me have an end; that is, all the prophecies concerning my sufferings have their accomplishment in my exit from the world.
Luke 22:44. Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly. St. Mark says he began to be sorely amazed, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground. Biblical critics quote Aristotle, a physician, and Diodorus Siculus, who both affirm that violent wrestling and exertions will produce these effects. And who can conceive the conflict of wrestling under the divine displeasure against a guilty world?
Luke 22:54. Peter followed afar off. See on Matthew 26:75; John 21.