Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, was betrayed into the hands of wicked men by His own familiar friend, and as the spotless Lamb of God was led away to the slaughter, for the purpose to which He had consecrated Himself, the shedding of His blood for the putting away of sin. He faced the issue alone, victorious over all Satanic attempts to turn Him from the divine purpose, and forsaken by His own, went forth to be slain.
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 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 desire 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, remove 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 22:1-3 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:4-18 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:19-23 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:24-30 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:31-34 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:35-38 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:39-40 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:41-44 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:45-54 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:55-71 – J. Vernon McGee
Luke 22:1-13 – Selling or Serving the Master
The world seemed in arms against the greatest Lover of souls that had ever trod earth’s soil. Satan entered the heart of Judas, for it was his hour, and he gathered all his strength for one last prodigious effort to overthrow the Son of man and thwart His sublime purpose of redemption. Judas, one of the inner circle, did not hesitate to choose thirty pieces of silver rather than love, purity, compassion, as they were incarnate in the Son of man. The religious leaders of the age also eagerly caught at their chance.
In the meanwhile the Lord girded Himself for the conflict by gathering to His heart the remainder of the apostolic band, though none of them really understood. The arrangement of the man with the waterpot was evidently to elude arrest during the supper, as Judas could not inform his accomplices beforehand of the selected supper room. Remember that Jesus asks each of us for the guest chamber of our heart! Ask Him, not to be as a wayfaring man who tarries for the night, but to abide always. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:14-23 – The Feast of Love and Its Shadow
The human soul of Jesus needed this sweet fellowship with loyal friends to nerve it for its sorrows; and He desired to transmit it as a perpetual legacy for His Church in after-days. We may think of that table being elongated till it reaches down the centuries to where we are seated. Look down the long vista and at the end behold the Master Himself!
These two allusions to the kingdom of God, Luke 22:16, 18, point onward to the marriage supper when the full purpose of redemption will be consummated. As we partake of bread for our natural strength, so spiritual strength to suffer, to resist temptation and to serve is possible only in proportion as we feed on Christ by meditation and appropriation. And let us never forget that the wine is the emblem of His blood, by which the new covenant was sealed. See Hebrews 9:18. When therefore at the sacred feast we place the wine to our lips, we may quote the provisions of that covenant, and hold God pledged to fulfill them. See Hebrews 8:8, etc. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:20 – I dare assert, without fear of successful contradiction, that the inspired writers attribute all the blessings of salvation to the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If we have redemption, it is through His blood; if we are justified, it is by His blood; if washed from our moral stains, it is by His blood, which cleanseth us from all sin; if we have victory over the last enemy, we obtain it not only by the word of the divine testimony, but through the blood of the Lamb; and, if we gain admittance into heaven, it is because we “have washed our robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God” (Revelation 7:14-15). Everything depends on the blood of Christ; and “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). (R. Newton)
Luke 22:24-34 – Disciples Who Grieve Their Lord
It is probable that this dispute about priority took place on their entering the supper room. It could hardly have taken place after the tender scene of John 13. But doubtless the irritated feelings which that contention engendered prepared the way for the testing, sifting and ultimate fall of Peter. It is the little waves that eventually become the mighty billows which wreck the big ships and engulf human lives.
Satan cannot assail us until he has asked and obtained permission, Luke 22:31. God does not tempt, though He permits us to be tempted, as in the case of Job; but with the temptation there is always a way of escape, if we wait on Him, I Corinthians 10:12-13. How often does our Lord anticipate our trial hours by His prayers, Luke 22:32! We owe it to them, either that we do not fall, or that, having fallen, we turn back. This is the best use we can make even of our failures; they teach us humility, pity, and how to help others. How little do we know ourselves! See Luke 22:33-34. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:31-32 – God’s wheat must go through Satan’s sieve, but their faith shall not fail.
Luke 22:31—Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
The blaster apparently did not pray that temptation should be withheld. The quick eye of his affection had discerned the tempter’s approach. His quick ear had detected Satan’s request of the Father; as though he said, “Let me have the chance for one brief hour, and I will show that these men, so far from being gold, silver, and precious stones, are only wood, hay, and stubble.” But though He knew all this, the Master did not request that the winnowing wind should be withheld. Why? Because temptation is part of the present order of the world. Why it is so we cannot tell; that it is so we know assuredly. Why the Almighty permitted the evil one to intrude into paradise, and to assail every single soul of woman born, that has passed to years of consciousness, we shall probably never understand until mystery drops from our eyes in the meridian light of heaven. We only are sure that the permission of temptation is not inconsistent with His almightiness or beneficence.
Because temptation tests character and reveals us to ourselves and to one another.—Was it not well that Peter should know how weak he was; that he might become truly penitent and converted? Was it not befitting that Judas should be exposed before the Day of Pentecost? Was it not best that the foundation stones of the Church should be well tested? It is better to learn our weakness now and here than at the Judgment-seat.
But if Satan tempts, our Advocate pleads. He anticipates the advent of temptation by storing up his prayers. He warns the soul when the hawk begins to hover. If He may not arrest temptation, He will at least ask that our faith may not fail; and will seek us out as He did Peter. —Our Daily Homily
Luke 22:35-46 – Drinking the Cup for Others
Our Lord knew to what He was going. All lay naked and open before His eyes. He laid down His life of Himself; but in this supreme act of love He suffered beyond words. It was not that He feared physical pain, but it was the horror of standing before the universe identified with the sin and sorrow of the world, as though these were His own.
In these instructions to His Apostles, as to wallet, purse and sword, we must understand that He meant them to realize that the storm was about to burst upon them with furious intensity.
Some think that our Lord prayed most of all that His body should not give way under His awful anguish. He feared lest He should die before He could reach the Cross! See Hebrews 5:7. “Oh, my Lord, thy chosen disciples failed thee in that hour; but so have we! What can we say! Help us to share thy vigil and thy prayer!” —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:47-53 – “The Power of Darkness”
It may have been about midnight when the lights and movement of feet indicated the approach of Judas and his band. The kiss of Judas was probably intended to hide his treachery from his fellow-disciples; but it did not deceive his Master, who even in that sad hour sought to touch his heart, Luke 22:48.
When Malchus’ ear was almost severed from the body, it was needful that our Lord should interpose, because, if Peter had been arrested, the gaze of mankind would have been diverted from the spectacle of Christ’s atonement, and a struggle might have ensued at the gate of the garden which would have justified the worst accusations of the high priest.
The quiet remonstrance with which the Lord met that ruffian band, reminding them of their cowardice in the daylight and amid the crowds, was followed by His submission to be led “as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:54-62 – The Disciple Who Denied His Lord
Peter loved Christ truly, but miscalculated his strength. Be very careful not to adventure yourself into the midst of temptation. If God leads you thither, that is another matter. We do well to remember Psalm 1:1-3. Let us beware of warming ourselves at the world’s fires. It was the firelight falling on his face that revealed Peter, and his brogue that betrayed him.
If, even at that hour, however, He had looked to God, a way of escape would have been found. “He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth,” Daniel 6:27. But Peter sought to save himself from the results of his folly and sin; only to land deeper and deeper in the morass.
What a look that must have been, Luke 22:61! But, even now, when we sin, Christ looks at us from out of His holy heaven, with such mingled pity and love, that these constitute the worst torment. There is no need of literal fire to make hell. Disappointed love is hotter than “coals of juniper” (Psalm 120:4). —Through the Bible Day by Day
Luke 22:61 – We wonder sometimes when God is so great, so terrible in majesty, that He uses so little violence with us, who are so small. But it is not His way. His way is to be gentle. He seldom drives, but draws. He seldom compels, but leads. He remembers we are dust. So God is gentle with us all – molding us and winning us many a time with no more than a silent look. Coarse treatment never wins souls. So God did not drive the chariot of His omnipotence up to Peter and command him to repent. God did not threaten him with the thunderbolts of punishment. God did not even speak to him. That one look laid a spell upon his soul which was more than voice or language through all his after life. (Drummond)
Luke 22:63-71 – “Rejected of Men”
This scene of mockery is very terrible. How difficult the twelve legions of angels must have found it to restrain themselves. See Matthew 26:53. Here we have an exhibition of the hidden evil of the human heart, which is drawn forth in contact with infinite purity, as the stench of stagnant water is elicited by the summer sun.
Our Lord answered not a word to all the false accusations that were leveled against Him. He left the false witnesses to refute each other. But as soon as His divine claims were challenged, He could not keep silence. It is very noticeable that, in this Gospel, which lays such stress on Christ’s pure humanity, Luke makes it so clear that the unwavering affirmation of His equality with God was the cause of His death, John 5:18. Is there not a sense in which the eye of faith always beholds Him seated at the right hand of God’s power? —Through the Bible Day by Day