Luke 22:7-38

Applebury's Comments

The Last Passover Feast
Scripture

Luke 22:7-38 And the day of unleavened bread came, on which the passover must be sacrificed. 8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and make ready for us the passover, that we may eat. 9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we make ready? 10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house whereinto he goeth. 11 And ye shall say unto the master of the house, The Teacher saith unto thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall 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 unto them: and they made ready the passover.

14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the apostles with him. 15. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 for I say unto you, I shall not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And he received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 for I say unto you, I shall not drink from henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me, 20 And the cup in like manner after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, even that which is poured out for you. 21 But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of man indeed goeth, as it hath been determined: but woe unto that man through whom he is betrayed! 23 And they began to question among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
24. And there arose also a contention among them, which of them was accounted to be greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them; and they that have authority over them are called Benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is the greater among you, let him become as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For which is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am in the midst of you as he that serveth. 28 But ye are they that have continued with me in my temptations; 29 and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed unto me, 30 that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and ye shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: 32 but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren. 33 And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, until thou shall thrice deny that thou knowest me.
And he said unto them, When I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. 36 And he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. 37 For I say unto you, that this is which is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerneth me hath fulfilment. 38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Comments

The day of unleavened bread came.This day began on Thursday at sundown and ended on Friday at sundown. The passover meal was eaten on Thursday night. The crucifixion of Christ occurred on Friday. Luke says it was the day of Preparation and the sabbath was beginning (Luke 23:54-55). Mark says that it was the day of Preparation; that is, the day before the sabbath (Mark 15:42). John calls it Preparation of the passover (John 19:14). John was speaking of those Jews who didn-'t want to enter the judgment hall and become defiled, making them unable to eat the feast, meaning not the passover itself but the feasts of that entire week. They apparently had no thought of being defiled by their murderous plot to destroy the Son of God. John's reference makes it clear that the word passover was sometimes used synonymously with the expression the feast of unleavened bread. Luke also adds that after the burial of the body of Jesus, the women prepared the spices and rested on the sabbath (Luke 23:55). John calls it a high sabbath because it was the sabbath of this passover week. (John 19:31).

Go make ready for us the passover.Peter and John were given the task of preparing the passover meal for Jesus and His apostles. Jesus gave them detailed directions which they were to follow. Did this indicate His supernatural knowledge or had He previously spoken to the master of the house about the place where He and His disciples were to keep the feast? We are well aware of the fact that the Scriptures indicate that Jesus knew all things. Some of the things in the account suggest that Jesus had already contacted the owner of the house. Peter and John were to say, Where is the guest chamber where the Teacher is to eat the passover with His disciples? They were shown the large upper room, and they prepared for the passover.

And when the hour was come, He sat down and the apostles with Him.This was not a hurried meal as some have suggested, but the regular passover at the regular time. Jesus had His heart set on keeping this passover because it was soon to be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.Is this a reference to the eternal kingdom of Godheaven itselfor to the church? The slaying of the passover lamb looks forward to the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God. The Lord's Supper, which was instituted at this particular passover feast, looks back to His crucifixion and forward to His coming again. It would seem, therefore, that this is a reference to the kingdom which began on the day of Pentecost; that is, the church.

and he received the cup.This was the passover cup. He said, Divide this among yourselves, for He would not eat again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God should come; that is, the church.

He took the bread.Having pointed out the significance of the passover, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by taking the bread and pointing out that it represented His body which was given for them. They were to eat it in remembrance of Him. After the supper, He took the cup and said, This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. The new covenant was sealed in the blood of Christ. Its blessing, the remission of sins, was made available through the shedding of His blood (Matthew 26:28). Paul calls it a cup of blessing because it represents the remission of sins. He also calls it a cup which we bless because we praise God for the thing which He did for us. It is a participation in the remission of sins through the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16). See Studies in First Corinthians, Pgs. 187-191 and 208-212.

the hand of him that betrayeth me.When Jesus indicated that the traitor was in their midst, the disciples began to wonder which one it was. Even Judas dared ask, Is it I, Rabbi? (Matthew 26:25) Did he assume that this would keep Jesus from knowing that he had already bargained to betray Him to the enemy for 30 pieces of silver?

which of them was accounted to be greatest.Judas was not the only one who had mistaken notions about the kingdom of Christ. James and John had attempted to use family influence to gain a special position in that kingdom, but apparently all of them were wondering which one was to be the greatest. This attitude characterized the kings of the Gentiles, not the servants of the Lord. He was in their midst as one who serves; to be humble like Him was to be great.

I appoint unto you the kingdom.Even though the task He had for them was to be performed with genuine humility, it was actually great. They were to sit at His table in His kingdom as His honored servants. The parable of the Pounds indicates that this is the church. The work of that kingdom was to be carried on through His inspired apostles.

thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.See also Matthew 19:28. Paul mentions the authority that the Lord gave to the apostles (2 Corinthians 10:8). The twelve tribes of Israel represent the church, for Paul indicates that the believers are the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). Their activity was to be carried on during the regeneration; that is, during the period when men become new creatures through obedience to the gospel which they preached (Titus 3:3-5). In this Christian age, Christ exercises authority through His apostles. The New Testament is the record of the judgment of that court. It is as binding on the followers of Christ as the words spoken by Him in person.

Satan asked to have you.Satan desired to sift all the apostles as one would sift wheat to separate it from the chaff. This may suggest that he believed that all of them were chaff just as Judas had demonstrated himself to be. But Jesus said to Simon Peter that he had made supplication for him that his faith fail not. While His prayer did not prevent Peter's denial, it did leave the way open for him to return to the Lord. Long after this experience, Peter wrote these words, For hereunto were you called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps: who did no sin (1 Peter 2:21-22).

both to prison and to death.Paul had something to say about presumptuous boasting: Wherefore let him who thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). No doubt Peter was sincere when he said to Jesus that he would go with Him both to prison and to death but he had not reckoned on the trial through which he was soon to go.

lacked ye anything.The first mission of the apostles had been to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They were to be shown hospitality by their own Jewish brethren. It was not necessary for them to take extra clothing or provisions for that journey. The first mission had been a training experience for them. Now they were being sent out into the whole wide world with the gospel. They were to face hardships of every sort. They would have to protect themselves against enemies. That is why Jesus said, He that hath none let him sell his cloak and buy a sword. This, of course, did not mean that they were to go out and wage war. It did mean, however, that they would face situations in which it would be necessary for them to protect themselves. When they showed the Lord the two swords which they had, He said, It is enough. Two swords would afford them some protection, but certainly would not equip them to wage literal warfare. They were to fight the good fight of the faith, preach the gospel of Christ, and tell the world torn by strife and faction about the Prince of Peace.