Luke 22

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 ¹Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called ²the Passover.

2 And the chief priests and the scribes ³were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

Judas to Betray Jesus

3 ⁴Then ⁵Satan entered into ⁶Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and ⁷officers how he might betray him to them.

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

6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to ⁸betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

The Passover with the Disciples

7 ⁹Then came ¹⁰the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

8 So Jesus^[a] sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it."

9 They said to him, "Where will you have us prepare it?"

10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters

11 and tell the master of the house, ¹¹'The Teacher says to you, Where is ¹²the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'

12 And he will show you ¹³a large upper room furnished; prepare it there."

13 And they went and found it ¹⁴just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Institution of the Lord's Supper

14 ¹⁵And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the 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 tell you I will not eat it^[b]16 until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."

17 And he took a cup, and ¹⁷when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves.

18 ¹⁸For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine ¹⁹until the kingdom of God comes."

19 ²⁰And he took bread, and ²¹when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ²²"This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ²³"This cup that is poured out for you is ²⁴the new ²⁵covenant in my blood.^[c]

21 ²⁶But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is ²⁷with me on the table.

22 For the Son of Man goes ²⁸as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"

23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

Who Is the Greatest?

24 ²⁹A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

25 ³⁰And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles ³¹exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.

26 ³²But not so with you. Rather, let ³³the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

27 For who is the greater, ³⁴one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But ³⁵I am among you as the one who serves.

28 "You are those who have stayed with me ³⁶in my trials,

29 and ³⁷I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,

30 ³⁸that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and ³⁹sit on thrones judging ⁴⁰the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

31 "Simon, Simon, behold, ⁴¹Satan demanded to have you,^[d]42that he might sift you like wheat,

32 but ⁴³I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, ⁴⁴strengthen your brothers."

33 Peter^[e] said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both ⁴⁵to prison and ⁴⁶to death."

34 ⁴⁷Jesus^[f] said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me."

Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus

35 And he said to them, ⁴⁸"When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing."

36 He said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

37 For I tell you that ⁴⁹this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ⁵⁰'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For ⁵¹what is written about me has its fulfillment."

38 And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two ⁵²swords." And he said to them, ⁵³"It is enough."

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

39 ⁵⁴And he came out and went, ⁵⁵as was his custom, to ⁵⁶the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.

40 ⁵⁷And when he came to ⁵⁸the place, he said to them, ⁵⁹"Pray that you may not ⁶⁰enter into temptation."

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and ⁶¹knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, ⁶²"Father, if you are willing, remove ⁶³this cup from me. ⁶⁴Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."

43 And there appeared to him ⁶⁵an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And ⁶⁶being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.^[g]

45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,

46 and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and ⁶⁷pray that you may not enter into temptation."

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 ⁶⁸While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called ⁶⁹Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him,

48 but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike ⁷⁰with the sword?"

50 And one of them struck the servant^[h] of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

51 But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and ⁷¹officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

53 When ⁷²I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is ⁷³your hour, and ⁷⁴the power of darkness."

Peter Denies Jesus

54 ⁷⁵Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, ⁷⁶and Peter was following at a distance.

55 ⁷⁷And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of ⁷⁸the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.

56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him."

57 But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."

58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not."

59 And after an interval of about an hour still another ⁷⁹insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean."

60 But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

61 And the Lord turned and ⁸⁰looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ⁸¹"Before the rooster crows today, you will ⁸²deny me three times."

62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

Jesus Is Mocked

63 ⁸³Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.

64 ⁸⁴They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, ⁸⁵"Prophesy! ⁸⁶Who is it that struck you?"

65 And they said many other things against him, ⁸⁷blaspheming him.

Jesus Before the Council

66 ⁸⁸When day came, ⁸⁹the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their ⁹⁰council, and they ⁹¹said,

67 ⁹²"If you are ⁹³the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe,

68 and if I ask you, you will not answer.

69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated ⁹⁴at the right hand of the power of God."

70 So they all said, "Are you ⁹⁵the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, ⁹⁶"You say that I am."

71 Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips."

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.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1, 2, see Matthew 26:2-5; Mark 14:1, 2
• 2. See John 6:4
• 3. John 11:53; See Matthew 21:46
• 4. For ver. 3-6, see Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10, 11; [John 13:2, 27, 30]
• 5. [Acts 5:3]
• 6. Luke 6:16; Matthew 27:3; Acts 1:16; [John 6:71; John 12:4]
• 7. Acts 4:1; Acts 5:24, 26
• 8. See Matthew 20:18, 19
• 9. For ver. 7-14, see Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16
• 10. Exodus 12:18; 1 Corinthians 5:7
• 11. See John 11:28
• 12. Luke 2:7(Gk.)
• 13. [Acts 1:13]
• 14. Luke 19:32
• 15. Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17
• 16. [ver. 30; Luke 14:15; Revelation 19:9]
• 17. See Matthew 15:36
• 18. Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25
• 19. [See ver. 16 above]
• 20. For ver. 19, 20, see Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
• 21. [See ver. 17 above]
• 22. 1 Corinthians 10:16; [John 6:53]
• 23. [See ver. 19 above]
• 24. See 2 Corinthians 3:6
• 25. Exodus 24:8; [Zechariah 9:11; Hebrews 13:20]
• 26. For ver. 21-23, see Matthew 26:21-24; Mark 14:18-21; [John 13:21-26]
• 27. [Psalms 41:9; John 13:18]
• 28. Acts 2:23
• 29. Luke 9:46; Mark 9:34
• 30. For ver. 25-27, [Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45]
• 31. 1 Peter 5:3
• 32. Luke 9:48; [Matthew 23:11]
• 33. [See ver. 25 above]
• 34. [Luke 12:37]
• 35. See Matthew 20:28
• 36. [See Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15]
• 37. 2 Timothy 2:12; [John 17:18]; See Matthew 25:34; Matthew 28:18; Acts 14:22; Revelation 1:6
• 38. [ver. 16; Luke 13:29; Luke 14:15; Matthew 8:11]
• 39. See Matthew 19:28
• 40. Acts 26:7; James 1:1; Revelation 21:12
• 41. Job 1:6-12; Job 2:1-6; [2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:8]; See 1 Corinthians 5:5
• 42. Amos 9:9; [John 16:32]
• 43. John 17:9, 11, 15
• 44. [Psalms 51:13; John 21:15-17]
• 45. [Acts 12:4]
• 46. [John 21:19]
• 47. [Matthew 26:33-35; Mark 14:29-31; John 13:37, 38]
• 48. Luke 9:3; Luke 10:4; Matthew 10:9, 10; Mark 6:8
• 49. [Acts 1:16]; See Luke 13:33; Matthew 1:22
• 50. Cited from Isaiah 53:12
• 51. [John 17:4; John 19:30]
• 52. [ver. 49]
• 53. [Deuteronomy 3:26; Mark 14:41]
• 54. Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; [John 18:1]
• 55. Luke 21:37; John 18:2
• 56. See Matthew 21:1
• 57. For ver. 40-46, see Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42
• 58. John 18:2
• 59. 1 Peter 4:7
• 60. Matthew 6:13
• 61. See Acts 7:60
• 62. Hebrews 5:7
• 63. See Matthew 20:22
• 64. See Matthew 6:10
• 65. Matthew 4:11; [Hebrews 1:14]
• 66. [See ver. 42 above]
• 67. ver. 40
• 68. For ver. 47-53, see Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-50; John 18:3-11
• 69. ver. 3
• 70. ver. 38
• 71. See ver. 4
• 72. [John 8:2]; [Luke 2:46; John 18:20]
• 73. [Mark 14:35, 41; John 12:27; John 16:4]
• 74. Ephesians 6:12; [Acts 26:18]
• 75. Matthew 26:57; Mark 14:53
• 76. Matthew 26:58; Mark 14:54; John 18:15
• 77. For ver. 55-62, see Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; John 18:16-18, 25-27
• 78. See Matthew 26:3
• 79. Acts 12:15
• 80. See Mark 10:21
• 81. ver. 34
• 82. [Acts 3:13, 14]
• 83. [Matthew 26:67, 68; Mark 14:65; John 18:22, 23]
• 84. [See ver. 63 above]
• 85. [Luke 7:39]
• 86. [Luke 7:39]
• 87. See Matthew 27:39
• 88. Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1; John 18:28
• 89. Acts 22:5(Gk.)
• 90. See Matthew 5:22
• 91. For ver. 67-71, [Matthew 26:63-66; Mark 14:61-64; John 18:19-21]
• 92. John 10:24, 25
• 93. See Matthew 1:17
• 94. Mark 16:19; Acts 7:56; Hebrews 1:3
• 95. See Matthew 14:33
• 96. Luke 23:3; Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; [Matthew 26:25]

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek he
• [b]. Some manuscripts never eat it again
• [c]. Some manuscripts omit, in whole or in part, verses 19b-20 (which is given... in my blood)
• [d]. The Greek word for you (twice in this verse) is plural; in verse 32, all four instances are singular
• [e]. Greek He
• [f]. Greek He
• [g]. Some manuscripts omit verses 43 and 44
• [h]. Greek bondservant