Luke 22

1 And the holiday of therf loaves, that is said pask, approached. [+Forsooth the holy day of therf loaves, which is said pask, came nigh.]

2 And the princes of priests and the scribes sought, how they should slay Jesus, but they dreaded the people.

3 And Satan entered into Judas, that was called Iscariot, one of the twelve.

4 And he went, and spake with the princes of priests, and with the magistrates, how he should betray him to them.

5 And they joyed, and made covenant to give him money.

6 And he promised, and he sought opportunity, to betray him, without the people. [And he promised, and he sought covenability, that he should betray him, without the companies.]

7 But the days of therf loaves came, in which it was need, that the sacrifice of pask were slain [in which it was need, that pask, that is, the sacrifice of pask, be slain].

8 And he sent Peter and John, and said [saying], Go ye, and make ready to us the pask, that we eat.

9 And they said, Where wilt thou, that we make ready?

10 And he said to them, Lo! when ye shall enter into the city, a man bearing a vessel of water shall meet you; follow ye him into the house, into which he entereth.

11 And ye shall say to the husbandman of the house, The master saith to thee, Where is a chamber [Where is the harbourgerie], where I shall eat the pask with my disciples?

12 And he shall show to you a great supping place strewed, and there make ye ready.

13 And they went, and found as he said to them, and they made ready the pask.

14 And when the hour was come, he sat to the meat [he sat to meat], and the twelve apostles with him.

15 And he said to them, With desire I have desired to eat with you this pask, before that I suffer;

16 for I say to you, that from this time I shall not eat it, till it be fulfilled in the realm of God.

17 And when he had taken the cup, he did graces [he did thankings], and said, Take ye, and part ye among you;

18 for I say to you, that I shall not drink of the kind of this vine [soothly I say to you, I shall not drink of the generation of this vine], till the realm of God come.

19 And when he had taken bread, he did thankings, and brake, and gave to them, and said, This is my body, that shall be given for you; do ye this thing in mind of me. [And the bread taken, he did graces, or thankings, and brake, and gave to them, saying, This is my body, which shall be given for you; do ye this thing into my commemoration, or into mind of me.]

20 He took also the cup, after that he had supped, and said, This cup is the new testament in my blood, that shall be shed for you. [Also and the chalice, after that he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you.]

21 Nevertheless lo! the hand of him that betrayeth me, is with me at the table.

22 And [soothly] man's Son goeth, as it is determined; nevertheless woe to that man, by whom he shall be betrayed.

23 And they began to seek among them[selves], who it was of them, that was to do this thing.

24 And strife was made among them, which of them should be seen to be greatest.

25 But he said to them, Kings of heathen men be lords of them, and they that have power on them be called good doers, [Forsooth he said to them, Kings of heathen men be lords, or lordship, of them, and they that have power upon them be called good doers,]

26 but ye not so; but he that is greatest among you, be made as a younger [be made as the younger], and he that is [a] before-goer, as a servant.

27 For who is greater, he that sitteth at the meat, or he that ministereth? whether not he that sitteth at the meat? And I am in the middle of you [Forsooth I am in the midst of you], as he that ministereth.

28 And ye [it] be, that have dwelled with me in my temptations; [Soothly ye it be that have dwelt with me in my temptations;]

29 and I assign to you, as my Father hath assigned to me, a realm, [and I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a realm,]

30 that ye eat and drink on my board in my realm, and sit on thrones, and deem the twelve kindreds of Israel [deeming the twelve kindreds of Israel].

31 And the Lord said to Simon, Simon, lo! Satan hath asked (for) you, that he should riddle you as wheat;

32 but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and thou sometime converted [and thou converted sometime], confirm thy brethren.

33 Which said to him, Lord, I am ready to go into prison and into death with thee. [Which said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, and into prison and into death.]

34 And he said, I say to thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow to day, till thou thrice forsake that thou knowest me.

35 And he said to them, When I sent you without satchel, and scrip, and shoes, whether any thing failed to you? And they said, Nothing.

36 Therefore he said to them, But now he that hath a satchel, take also and a scrip; and he that hath none [and he that hath not], sell his coat, and buy a sword.

37 For I say to you, that yet it behooveth that thing [this thing] that is written to be fulfilled in me, And he is areckoned with wicked men; for those things that be of me have an end.

38 And they said, Lord, lo! two swords here. And he said to them, It is enough.

39 And he went out, and went after the custom into the hill of Olives [And he gone out, went by custom into the hill of Olives]; and the disciples followed him.

40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, Pray ye, lest ye enter into temptation.

41 And he was taken away from them, as much as is a stone's cast; and he kneeled, and prayed,

42 and said [saying], Father, if thou wilt, do away this cup from me; nevertheless not my will be done, but thine [nevertheless not my will, but thine be done].

43 And an angel appeared to him from heaven, and comforted him [comforting him].

44 And he was made in agony, and prayed the longer [And he made in agony, either anguish, prayed longer]; and his sweat was made as drops of blood running down into the earth.

45 And when he was risen from prayer [And when he had risen from prayer], and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for heaviness.

46 And he said to them, What sleep ye? Rise ye, and pray ye [Rise ye, and pray], that ye enter not into temptation.

47 Yet while he spake, lo! a company, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them; and he came [nigh] to Jesus, to kiss him.

48 And Jesus said to him, Judas, betrayest thou man's Son with a kiss?

49 And they that were about him, and saw that that was to come, said to him, Lord, whether we smite with sword?

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

51 But Jesus answered, and said, Suffer ye till hither. And when he had touched his ear, he healed him.

52 And Jesus said to them, that came to him, the princes of priests, and magistrates of the temple [and magistrates, or masters, of the temple], and elder men, As to a thief ye have gone out with swords and staves?

53 When I was each day with you in the temple, ye stretched not out [the] hands into me; but this is your hour, and the power of darknesses.

54 And they took him, and led to the house of the prince of priests; and Peter followed him afar.

55 And when a fire was kindled in the middle of the great house, and they sat about, Peter was in the middle of them.

56 Whom when a damsel had seen sitting at the light [+Whom when some handmaiden/handmaid had seen sitting at the light], and had beheld him, she said, And this was with him.

57 And he denied him, and said [saying], Woman, I know him not.

58 And after a little another man saw him, and said, And thou art of them. But Peter said, A! man, I am not.

59 And when a space was made as of one hour, [soothly] another affirmed, and said [saying], Truly this was with him; for also he is of Galilee.

60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And at once [And anon] yet while he spake, the cock crew.

61 And the Lord turned again [And the Lord turned], and beheld Peter; and Peter had mind of the word of Jesus, as he had said, Before that the cock crow, thrice thou shalt deny me.

62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

63 And the men that held him scorned him, and smote him.

64 And they blindfolded him, and smote his face, and asked him, and said, Declare, thou Christ, to us, who is he that smote thee? [And they veiled him, and smote his face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy thou, who is it that smote thee?]

65 Also they blaspheming said against him many other things. [Also they blaspheming said many other things against him.]

66 And as the day was come, the elder men of the people, and the princes of priests, and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, and said [saying],

67 If thou art Christ, say to us. And he said to them, If I say to you, ye will not believe to me;

68 and if I ask, ye will not answer to me, neither ye will deliver me. [soothly and if I shall ask, ye shall not answer to me, neither ye shall let go.]

69 But after this time man's Son shall be sitting on the right half of the virtue of God.

70 Therefore all said, Then art thou the Son of God? And he said, Ye say that I am.

71 And they said, What yet desire we witnessing? for we ourselves have heard of his mouth.

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.