What does Luke Chapter 22 mean?
Luke 22 is often broken into two major sections. Luke 22:1–38 records selected material around and during the Last Supper. Luke 22:39–71 describes what happens in the garden of Gethsemane and at Jesus’ trials before the Jewish leadership.
Luke 22:1–2 is an introduction. Mark places this two days before Passover (Mark 14:1–2). Local religious leaders are faced with Jesus’ power to raise Lazarus (John 11) and His ability to defend His authority against the priests, elders, Pharisees, and Sadducees (Luke 20). This makes them desperate to put Him to death. But those same events have made Him popular, so the leaders are afraid of public reactions to an arrest. This introduction is also found in Matthew 26:3–5 and Mark 14:1–2.
In Luke 22:3–6, Judas comes to the religious leaders’ rescue. In an era without photography, identifying people usually required someone who knew them personally. Arresting Jesus in front of a crowd is risky, but the leaders don’t know where to find Him otherwise. Judas offers to identify Jesus in a safe place, away from the crowds—for a price. The priests rejoice at their good fortune and agree. Matthew 26:14–16 and Mark 14:10–11 also record Judas’s scheme.
In Luke 22:7–13, Jesus instructs Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal. As with the triumphal entry (Luke 19:29–34), Jesus knows exactly where they need to go and what they need to do. The two disciples follow His instructions, and everything is arranged. Matthew 26:17–19 and Mark 14:12–16 also record the preparations for the Last Supper.
Luke 22:14–20 finds the disciples celebrating the Passover meal. They soon learn they’re also experiencing the start of the new covenant. Jesus adjusts the formal meal which commemorates the rescue of the Israelites from Egypt. In doing so, He establishes a commemoration of what is soon to come: the shedding of His blood to rescue His followers from their sin and eternal death. Much of the passage is paralleled in Matthew 26:26–29 and Mark 14:22–25 and repeated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23–25.
In Luke 22:21–23, Jesus speaks of His betrayer. None of the Gospels record that Jesus identified Judas clearly. Nor do any suggest the disciples realized it was him at that time. Matthew 26:21–25, Mark 14:18–21, and John 13:21–30 add more detail.
Luke 22:24–25 shows the disciples defending their claims to authority by arguing over who is greatest. Jesus warns them that such ambition characterizes Gentile-like lordship. In this context, that means it’s an ungodly and unspiritual approach. That is not how He called these men to be. Only Luke records this argument here, but this isn’t the first time they’ve had this debate (Mark 9:33–34; Luke 9:46–48). Some scholars think it prepares the scene for Jesus’ foot-washing in John 13:1–20.
In Luke 22:26–30, Jesus pulls the disciples back to reality. He is the authority. They cannot clutch for power like worldly leaders. They will receive authority from Him as His Father designates. And they will receive thrones from which to rule the twelve tribes: as servants, not despots.
Luke 22:31–34 records Jesus’ warning to Peter. Satan will test the disciples to see if they will remain loyal to Jesus. After Peter fails and is restored, he is to restore the others and rebuild their faith. Peter insists he would ever deny Jesus, but Jesus warns him that he will. Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial is also in Matthew 26:31–35, Mark 14:27–31, and John 13:37–38.
In Luke 22:35–38, Jesus updates His instructions given in Luke 9:1–6 and 10:1–12 regarding what supplies to take when spreading the message of the kingdom of God. When teaching children to ride a bicycle, a key moment is when “the training wheels are off.” The early safeguards are gone, and they must continue without them. As the disciples begin to build the church, they will need to take supplies. Only Luke includes these instructions.
Luke 22:39–46 records Jesus’ last free moments. He warns the disciples to pray so that they might remain faithful, but they can’t keep their eyes open. Jesus deeply mourns the coming hours. What He anticipates is not just physical torture. He’s also going to bear the sins of the world. However, when it is time, He knows He has the strength to do what He must. Matthew 26:36–46 and Mark 14:26–42 have more detail while John 18:1 merely says they go to a garden across the Kidron brook.
In Luke 22:47–53, Judas betrays Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders. In Luke 22:54–62, Peter denies that he knows Jesus. Through it all, Jesus is present. He heals the servant whom Peter wounds and looks at Peter at his moment of failure. Matthew 26:47–56, Mark 14:43–50, and John 18:2–12 nicely complement Luke’s account, each giving different details. Luke 22:54–62 records Peter’s denial all in one block. Matthew 26:58, 69–75, Mark 14:54, 66–72, and John 18:15–18, 25–27 weave Peter’s actions around the Sanhedrin’s attempts to find witnesses who claim Jesus has broken the Mosaic law.
Through the four Gospels, various details combine to explain the trials which Jesus experienced:
•First Jewish trial: an illegal meeting at the home of chief priest Annas (John 18:13–24). This trial seems to include a betrayal by Peter that is not included in the predicted three.
•Second Jewish trial: an illegal meeting at the home of the high priest Caiaphas, including Peter’s three denials (Matthew 26:57–75; Mark 14:53–72; Luke 22:54–65; John 18:24–27).
•Third Jewish trial: a legal meeting before the Sanhedrin meant to officially finalize the charges against Jesus (Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66–71).
•First trial before Pilate: the Sanhedrin brings their charges to the Roman governor (Matthew 27:2, 11–14; Mark 15:1–5; Luke 23:1–5; John 18:28–38).
•Trial before Herod Antipas: Pilate sends Jesus to the ruler of Galilee, but Jesus will not answer him (Luke 23:6–12).
•Second trial before Pilate: the Sanhedrin insists Jesus should die although Pilate knows He is not guilty of anything (Matthew 27:15–26; Mark 15:6–15; Luke 23:13–25; John 18:39—19:16).
Luke 22:63–65 gives a brief overview of the abuse Jesus suffers in the home of the high priest Caiaphas. Matthew 26:57, 59–68 and Mark 14:53, 55–65 give more detail about what happens at Caiaphas’s house.
In Luke 22:66–71, day breaks and Jesus is taken to an official trial before the Sanhedrin. Before the chief priests, scribes, and elders, Jesus clearly states He is the Son of God. The religious leaders finalize their accusations for Pilate. Matthew 27:1 and Mark 15:1 briefly explain that Jesus is tried before the Sanhedrin and that they decide to charge Him with a capital offense.
Scholars have suggested that parts of this chapter form a chiasm: a mirrored presentation which emphasizes the inflection point. One such arrangement is as follows:
A: Luke 22:1–2; Religious leaders’ preparation
B: Luke 22:3–6; Betrayal preparation
C: Luke 22:7–13; new covenant introduction preparation
D: Luke 22:14–20; new covenant introduction
E: Luke 22:21–23; Warning of Christ’s betrayer
F: Luke 22:24–25; Worldly leadership
F’: Luke 22:26–30; Christlike leadership
E’: Luke 22:31–34; Warning of Christ’s deniers
D’: Luke 22:35–38; new covenant spreading introduction
C’: Luke 22:39–46; new covenant work preparation
B’: Luke 22:47–62; Betrayal and denial
A’: Luke 22:63–71; Religious leaders’ work
In this structure, the most important theme is whether we accept the new covenant and our place in God’s kingdom. Do we reject Jesus’ authority (Luke 20), reject His servanthood example, betray Him, and use Him for our own gain? Or do we accept Jesus’ authority and servanthood example, emulate His servant-leadership, and fill the needs of others?
Luke 23 continues Jesus’ trials before Pilate and Herod Antipas. He is then led to the cross where He forgives His murderers and saves a thief before He dies. In Luke 24, Jesus rises from the dead, meets two disciples while they travel, and explains to them how the Old Testament prophesied the death of the Messiah. In the final scene of the gospel, Jesus is reunited with His disciples, blesses them, and ascends into heaven.
Chapter Context
Luke 23 continues Jesus’ trials before Pilate and Herod Antipas. He is then led to the cross where He forgives His murderers and saves a thief before He dies. In Luke 24, Jesus rises from the dead, meets two disciples while they travel, and explains to them how the Old Testament prophesied the death of the Messiah. In the final scene of the gospel, Jesus is reunited with His disciples, blesses them, and ascends into heaven.
Verse by Verse
Verse 1. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.
Luke often adds asides to provide context or material that doesn’t warrant a larger exposition. Luke 21:37—22:2 is remarkably similar to Luke 19:47–48:
And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
Passover is a feast celebrating God’s rescue of the Israelites from Egypt. The last plague God used to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go was the death of every firstborn son. The Israelites followed God’s instruction to kill a lamb and paint their doorposts with the blood so their sons would be spared (Exodus 12:1–13, 21–32). God ordained that the Jews should repeat this meal once a year and added the weeklong Feast of Unleavened Bread to extend the memorial (Exodus 12:14–20). Because the two are strongly linked, both “Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened Bread” are used to refer to the entire eight-day event.
Luke says the “Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near.” Mark specifies the Passover is two days away (Mark 14:1). The meeting includes the chief priests, scribes, and elders, and is held at Caiaphas’s house (Matthew 26:3–5). Jesus will go to Bethany where a woman will anoint Him with oil (Matthew 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9). After Judas has seen a “waste” of money for the second time in a week (John 12:1–8), he will go to the chief priests and coordinate his betrayal of Jesus (Luke 22:3–6).
Context Summary
In Luke 22:1–2, the Sanhedrin prepares for Jesus’ arrest. In Luke 22:3–6, Judas prepares for his betrayal. Next, Jesus will prepare for the Passover meal (Luke 22:7–13). Luke 22:1–2 is essentially a restatement of Luke 19:47–48 and a continuation of Luke 21:37–38. The leaders have lacked a secret place to capture Jesus, where crowds cannot object. Judas’s betrayal is what they need. Judas will lead them to Jesus in the quiet dark of night, away from the public. Matthew and Mark also record this turn of events (Matthew 26:1–5, 14–16; Mark 14:1–2, 10–11).
Verse 2. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees and Herodians sought to destroy Jesus in Galilee (Mark 3:6). When Jesus’ influence reached Jerusalem, more leaders, including priests, scribes, and Sadducees, joined the fight. Luke mentions their efforts after the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:47–48). John indicates the tipping point came when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:45–54). In fact, Lazarus’s resurrection was such a powerful display of Jesus’ power and had such an effect on the people that the chief priests sought to kill Lazarus, as well (John 12:9–11).
Because of Jesus’ popularity, His enemies are forced to consider their strategy. Their fear of the common people proves they aren’t really in control. They can’t be directly associated with Jesus’ death. Their goal is to get the Romans to do the dirty work.
Luke mentions the “chief priests and the scribes.” Matthew includes the “elders of the people” (Matthew 26:3). The elders are typically non-religious businessmen. They may have owned some of the booths that Jesus cleared from the temple Court (Luke 19:45–46). “Chief priest” as used in the New Testament is not a God-ordained position. The “high priest” is the single priest supervising the temple for that year. Chief priests are typically former high priests or relatives of the high priest who have political influence. At this time, Caiaphas is the high priest but Annas, his father-in-law, holds the power. Besides Caiaphas, five of Annas’s sons become high priest after him. When chief priests, scribes, and elders are mentioned together, the reference is to part, if not all, of the Sanhedrin—the religious ruling council of the Jews.
Verse 3. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.
Judas has spent three years seeing the devastating effects of demon possession. He has watched Jesus free victims from that torment. It’s possible he’s expelled demons, himself (Luke 9:1–6). For some untold reason, however, he is in such a state of moral brokenness he is vulnerable to the direct control of Satan. We aren’t told why, although Jesus calls him “a devil” (John 6:70).
Between the religious leaders’ strategizing (Luke 22:2) and Judas’s offer of betrayal, Matthew 26:6–13 and Mark 14:3–9 include the account of a woman who anoints Jesus’ head with oil. The disciples criticize her for wasting such a valuable gift (Matthew 26:8). A week before, Mary of Bethany had anointed Jesus’ feet. In this earlier event, it is Judas who begins the conversation about the foolish use of money. John reveals it is because he is a thief; he wished Mary had given them cash, instead, so he could pilfer it (John 12:1–8). It’s not clear why Luke completely skips over the anointings or even if they are Judas’s motivation for betraying Jesus. It is interesting how Luke juxtaposes Judas’s betrayal with proper, Christlike servant-leadership and how Judas basically sells his birthright of kingdom authority for a bag full of silver (Luke 22:21–30).
Scholars debate about the meaning of “Iscariot.” The two most favored interpretations are that either he is from the village of Kerioth or he was a Sicarius. The Sicarii, “dagger-men,” are particularly violent Zealots who hide daggers in their cloaks and like to stab and kill Romans and Jewish collaborators before ducking into the crowd. They will have a prominent role in the rebellion against the Romans as well as the civil war inside Jerusalem. That conflict will result in the destruction of the city in AD 70. There’s no external evidence that Judas was a Sicarius.
It’s worth mentioning that the Bible mentions Satan possessing only two men: Judas and the Antichrist, both of whom are referred to as the “son of destruction” (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). The likelihood of Satan, himself, attacking an individual Christian is extremely low. It seems only Judas and the Antichrist are strategically important enough for direct possession.
Verse 4. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.
Possessed by Satan (Luke 22:3), Judas intentionally seeks out the chief priests for the purpose of betraying Jesus for money. The priests had no idea how to get to Jesus without facing an angry crowd. They are glad for this help, promising to pay Judas thirty pieces of silver. Judas coordinates with the temple guard as to when and where they will find Jesus apart from the people who would defend Him (Matthew 26:15–16; Mark 14:10–11; Luke 22:5–6).
It’s unclear what Judas thinks will happen to Jesus. He seems to have no problem betraying Jesus and watching Him be arrested. Yet when he realizes Jesus’ fate, he throws back the money and hangs himself (Matthew 27:3–10). Judas chooses to betray Jesus; it’s possible that his possession by Satan was a catalyst to push Judas to do what he’d already decided to do without thinking too much about it.
Judas’s name is ironic. “Judas” is taken from “Judah” which means “to throw out a hand in an exclamation of praise.” Psalm 55:20–21 describes him in a different way:
My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
Most priests are Sadducees and descendants of priestly families who supported Herod the Great and escaped his paranoid persecution. The leader of the temple guard is also a Sadducee. His position comes with a reputation for power and cruelty. The temple guard itself is made of Levites; they are not Roman soldiers.
Verse 5. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
The Pharisees and Herodians have been trying to destroy Jesus since early in His ministry (Mark 3:6). The religious leaders in Jerusalem joined the fight after He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:45–53). Their problem is that it’s Passover: Jerusalem is filled with visitors and Jesus is becoming more popular every day. The religious leaders can’t figure out how to grab Jesus without antagonizing the crowds. They may be high-ranking priests, teachers, and businessmen, but they are still vulnerable to both public opinion and public violence (Luke 22:2; Matthew 26:3–5).
Their luck changes when one of Jesus’ primary disciples comes with an offer: he will safely lead the temple guards to Jesus, in private, if they pay him. The chief priests are thrilled. They get more than they had hoped: an opportunity to hide their deeds from the crowd and a scapegoat if they’re caught. They negotiated a price of thirty pieces of silver. This was the price of a slave in the Old Testament (Matthew 26:14–15; Exodus 21:32).
Judas consents to the price and watches for an opportunity (Luke 22:6). He knows that even though Jesus is surrounded by adoring crowds during the day, He retires to the Mount of Olives at night (Luke 21:37–38). Judas doesn’t have long to wait.
That the chief priests and officers “agreed” means Judas at least suggested the payment and might have haggled for it (Matthew 26:15).
Verse 6. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
The Pharisees have been trying to destroy Jesus for three years (Mark 3:6). The chief priests joined them when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This incredible display of God’s power made Jesus even more popular with the people, and the religious leaders want Him gone (John 11:45–53). They tried to discredit Jesus with accusations and theological debates, but Jesus bested them every time—making the people love Him even more (Luke 20). The growing crowds around Jesus have a double effect: the leaders are more desperate to get rid of Him, but they’re also more afraid for their own safety (Luke 22:2).
Suddenly, Judas, one of Jesus’ closest twelve disciples, shows up and presents an offer. He will help them identify Jesus far from adoring crowds if they pay him. The leaders are so relieved they rejoice and agree to a price (Luke 22:3–5). Judas consults with the temple guard and carefully monitors Jesus’ movements to choose the best time.
Judas is a bad person with bad motives. Even when Jesus chose him, He knew he was “a devil” (John 6:70). But despite his motives and planning, he gives the impression of someone without much initiative. It seems he planned to betray Jesus but didn’t take actual steps until Satan possessed him (Luke 22:3). Despite his attempts to find a good time to bring the temple guards to Jesus, it is Jesus who tells him when to go and Satan who gets him to move (John 13:27). Judas proves to be an example of Matthew 5:22, which ties anger with murder. Even if Judas lacks the courage to act on his own, his hatred allows Satan to use him as an accessory to Jesus’ murder.
Verse 7. Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
Passover is a remembrance of the night before the Israelites escaped Egypt. The people were told to slaughter a one-year-old male lamb or goat and paint their doorposts with the blood. They were to roast the lamb and eat it all with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. While they ate, they were to be dressed for travel. That night, God swept through Egypt and killed the firstborn males of any house that did not have blood on the doorposts (Exodus 12:5–13).
To continue the commemoration of such an event, the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread immediately followed (Exodus 12:14–20). Through the years, the two titles—the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread—were used to identify the entire eight-day celebration. Once the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the Passover celebration is mentioned very rarely. Joshua led it immediately after Israel crossed the Jordan (Joshua 5:10–12). About seven hundred years later, Hezekiah celebrated it (2 Chronicles 30). About a century after Hezekiah, Josiah ordered it (2 Kings 23:21–23). After the return of the exiles from Babylon, it became more regular (Ezra 6:19–22).
The Passover lamb was to be slain the afternoon before Passover: between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Passover day began that sunset and the lamb was to be eaten after sunset (Numbers 9:2–3).
The “day” of Unleavened Bread, then, can mean the time of the eight-day celebration or the day before Passover as a day of preparation. Either way, on that day tens of thousands of Jews have descended upon Jerusalem to properly observe the feast. Jesus has waited until the last minute to tell the disciples to prepare, showing how firmly He has things under control.
Context Summary
Luke 22:7–13 is a preparation. The Sanhedrin has prepared for Jesus’ arrest, and Judas is prepared for his betrayal of Christ (Luke 22:1–6). Now, Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare for the Passover dinner. The disciples have witnessed Jesus’ supernatural knowledge, so of course they follow His oddly specific instructions and find a room already prepared for them. Matthew 26:17–19 and Mark 14:12–16 also record the preparations.
Verse 8. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”
It is hours before Jesus and the disciples are to celebrate the Passover. The disciples only now ask Jesus where they should eat (Mark 14:12). Traditionally, they should eat in the temple courts. But by this time too many people come for the courts to hold them all, so families slay their lambs at the temple but feast elsewhere in the city.
Preparation doesn’t just mean finding a lamb and slaughtering it. It means finding a room big enough for Jesus and all twelve disciples. They must collect oil, wine, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. Tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of travelers have flooded Jerusalem. Peter and John don’t seem too concerned about this; they’ve seen Jesus perform some pretty amazing miracles. They simply ask Jesus where they should meet (Luke 22:9).
This is the day before Passover. Peter and John will have to find a lamb and take it to the temple courts between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. to slaughter it. The meal must be ready by sunset: the beginning of Passover Day (Numbers 9:2–3).
This is the first mention of just Peter and John together. Until now, John’s brother James and sometimes Peter’s brother Andrew always accompanied them (Luke 8:51; 9:28; Mark 13:3). In the book of Acts, Peter and John will be together for significant events including the healing of a lame man at the temple, the first arrest of Jesus’ disciples, and the mass conversion of Samaritans (Acts 3—4; 8:14–17).
Verse 9. They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”
It is the day before Passover. Jesus has told Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal for Himself and the disciples. They know they need to find a year-old lamb, slaughter it at the temple Court, and roast it. They also need to find oil, bitter herbs, wine, and unleavened bread. In a city that hosts the Passover celebration every year, this shouldn’t be too hard to do. But they also need to find a place where thirteen people can meet, and they need to do it all by sundown.
They have seen Jesus feed two large crowds with little food (Mark 8:1–10; Luke 9:10–17). More recently, they witnessed Jesus knowing exactly where to find a donkey colt that He could ride (Luke 19:30–34). It’s unclear if Jesus already set up the room or if He merely knows the room is available. Regardless, Peter and John trust that He will have an answer. The original Greek wording shows they are eager to do His bidding.
They are right to trust Him. He tells them to go into Jerusalem and look for a man carrying a jar of water; this is a task usually relegated to women. They are to follow him and inquire about a guest room in the house he enters (Luke 22:10–11). Peter and John follow Jesus’ instructions and find the upper room where they and the other disciples will spend some intense time with Jesus (John 13—17).
Verse 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
Jerusalem is teeming with people; some estimates say hundreds of thousands. They have come to celebrate Passover. In a few scant hours, those people will sit at dinner with family and friends, eating roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and oil with herbs, and drinking wine. Jesus has decided it’s time for Peter and John to prepare the meal for Himself and the twelve disciples (Luke 22:8).
Peter and John trust that Jesus knows what they should do. Getting supplies shouldn’t be a problem: the merchants are used to providing for all the travelers. Where to hold the dinner would be a problem if they didn’t have Jesus.
Most homes in Jerusalem don’t have their own water supply. Women are usually tasked with going to public fountains to draw water for the household, but sometimes male servants do, as well. The wording in Matthew 26:18 suggests that Jesus may have prearranged both the room and the meeting with the man, but it’s unclear.
Regardless, Peter and John follow the man into a house in the city and tell the owner, “The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” (Luke 22:11). Peter and John follow Jesus’ instructions and find things exactly as He had said.
Verse 11. and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
Jesus and the disciples have been in the Jerusalem area for about a week (John 12:1). Jesus has been spending His days teaching in the temple courtyard and His nights sleeping on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37). The disciples have witnessed Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and many debates where Jesus destroyed the arguments of the religious leaders (Luke 19:28–46; 20). It’s almost understandable if they’ve forgotten why they’re there: to celebrate the Passover Feast.
Jesus hasn’t forgotten. He has been longing to have this moment with the disciples (Luke 22:15).
To prepare for the Passover Feast, the disciples must get a lamb, sacrifice it in the temple, and find bitter herbs, unleavened bread, fruit, and wine. On top of all that, they need a place to celebrate.
A proper site for the meal is the biggest obstacle. When Jesus tells Peter and John to prepare the meal, the location where they will eat dinner is their only question. Jesus gives them curious instructions: go into Jerusalem. By the gate, find a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him to a house (Luke 22:8–10).
The man should be easy enough to find; typically, it is the job of women to carry water. The man must be a servant if he is doing it. That means he doesn’t own the house. So, it’s reasonable for Peter and John to find and ask the homeowner if they can use a room.
Not only does the homeowner have a room, but it’s already furnished (Luke 22:12). Peter and John do as Jesus says and go on to have one of the most important nights of their lives.
Verse 12. And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.”
Jerusalem is filled with tens or hundreds of thousands of travelers, not to mention residents. Ideally, Passover is to be celebrated in the temple court. But when Jerusalem is filled with too many people, groups meet throughout the city. Jesus has told Peter and John to prepare a meal for thirteen people: Jesus and the twelve disciples. They can get the food easily enough, but they need a room (Luke 22:7–9).
Jesus gives them seemingly random instructions: go into the city gate and follow a man carrying a jar of water. This man will lead them to a house. Tell the master of the house that “The Teacher” is coming and wants to know where the guest room is (Luke 22:10–11). Not only will they find a room, but it will be fully furnished with a table and enough reclining couches for all of them.
Considering all Jesus wants to say to His disciples (John 13–17), the upper room is ideal. It is here that Jesus will wash the disciples’ feet in a living example of servant-leadership. He will tell the disciples that one of them will betray Him but all of them will abandon Him. Most heart-breaking, He will reveal that He is leaving—returning to the Father—and they cannot follow.
But He also promises them the Holy Spirit: God in them. The Holy Spirit will guide them as they spread the news about Jesus’ resurrection and build the church. In fact, within fifty days of this meal, Jesus will have died, resurrected, and ascended into heaven. The Spirit will have indwelt His followers. And Peter will stand before a crowd of thousands who have come to Jerusalem for Pentecost, sharing the good news (Acts 2).
Verse 13. And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
Jesus’ crucifixion fulfills dozens of prophecies. Some He spoke Himself. The day and night before proved that He is fully aware of what is going on around Him. He tells Peter and John to prepare for the Passover meal. They ask where they should have it. Jesus gives specific instructions:
“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 and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples.’” (Luke 22:10–11).
Of course, everything happens exactly as Jesus said.
That’s not the end, however. He will soon tell them that one of them will betray Him (Luke 22:21); that night, Judas does just that (Luke 22:47–48). Jesus says the disciples will fall away (Mark 14:27); they do (Mark 14:50). He says Peter will deny Him three times (Luke 22:34); Peter does (Luke 22:54–62). And Jesus says He will be “numbered with the transgressors,” in part because the disciples carry swords (Luke 22:36–38); He is (Luke 23:1–2). He will even predict that He will not celebrate the Passover or drink wine again until He can do so in God’s kingdom (Luke 22:16–18).
But Jesus also prophesies great things. The new covenant in His blood is coming (Luke 22:20). The disciples will reign with Him, judging the twelve tribes (Luke 22:28–30). Peter will be restored and lead the others to a deeper faith (Luke 22:32). And “from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69).
May we understand that we can trust Jesus with all things, tiny and great.
Verse 14. And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
The original Passover feast was eaten standing, dressed for travel as the Israelites had to flee Egypt that night (Exodus 12:11, 33–37). As with other feasts at the time of Jesus, the disciples celebrate while reclining on couches. The switch represents that the Jews are free and safe and can eat at leisure.
The “hour” is twilight. The lamb is to be slain at the temple court in the afternoon, then roasted. It is to be eaten the next “day;” since in the Jewish calendar days start at twilight, the dinner begins when the sun goes down.
When we read of Jesus’ ministry and see that He is with “the disciples,” that often means the greater number of followers. In Luke 10:1, He sent seventy-two to minister to people. In Acts 1, about one hundred and twenty people waited for the Holy Spirit. In some cases, Jesus is with just the Twelve. Here, Luke calls them “apostles,” which is how Theophilus (Luke 1:1–4) would know them.
This verse can be taken as one of Luke’s asides which introduces a section. John includes a great deal more about this night, including Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, a long discourse about what His leaving means, and the High Priestly Prayer (John 13—17). Luke alone includes an argument about who is the greatest (Luke 22:24–30). Disputes over greatness occurred more than once; Matthew and Mark include similar discussions earlier (Matthew 18:1–4; 20:24–28; Mark 9:34–35; 10:41–45). Luke also records instructions for travel the other Gospel writers do not include (Luke 22:35–38).
Context Summary
Luke 22:14–20 records the Last Supper. Bible scholars debate at what point, exactly, Judas left this gathering, raising the unanswered question of whether he, too, participated in what we now call “communion.” Jesus has warned the disciples of the hardships they will face. Yet He promises they will not perish and encourages them to remain faithful (Luke 21). The Last Supper gives them the symbols to remind them their faith is not in vain: Jesus gave His life for them, ushered in the new covenant, and rose from the dead, and He will return. The disciples’ fear and doubt described in the following verses are a demonstration of our need for Jesus’ work on the cross (Luke 22:21–34). Parallel accounts of the Last Supper include Matthew 26:20, 26–29; Mark 14:17, 22–25; and 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.
Verse 15. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
A week prior, Jesus entered Jerusalem as if He were a king come for His coronation. Since then, the disciples have watched Him establish His authority over the religious leaders (Luke 20). Following Jesus’ instructions, Peter and John have prepared the Passover meal and found a room for the core group of Jesus’ followers (Luke 22:7–13).
The Passover is the annual memorial celebration of the night God told the Israelites they were finally going to be free from their Egyptian slavery (Exodus 12). The disciples are still riding high on the triumphs they have witnessed. Now, Jesus says He has wanted to share this meal with them. They may wonder: is this the Passover meal before the Jews are freed from Roman rule?
They still don’t understand that Jesus isn’t talking about freedom from Rome. He’s talking about rescue from death and sin. The night before the first Passover meal, God struck down the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Soon, Jesus will be struck down: the Lamb slain for the sins of the world (John 1:29; Revelation 5:6).
Ultimately, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover Feast. The Hebrews were protected from God’s judgment by the blood of a lamb, freed from slavery in Egypt, and invited into the Promised Land. Jesus is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19), by whose blood we can be forgiven (Romans 5:8–11). God frees us from sin and invites us into true life (Ephesians 1:3–14; 2:1–10). It was at this meal that Jesus instituted what is known as the Lord’s Supper or Communion. He took part of the Passover ritual and explained how He was instituting the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34) by shedding His blood and giving His body (Luke 22:19–20). When believers today partake in the Lord’s Supper, they both proclaim the reality of Jesus’ sacrifice and look forward to His return (1 Corinthians 11:25–26). Someday, there will be another feast: the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6–10).
This Passover for the disciples began with celebration and ended with mourning. But a time is coming when it will all be joy (Revelation 21—22).
Verse 16. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Along with the Twelve disciples, Jesus is eating the Passover meal. This is His last Passover—His last festival—during His ministry on earth. The Passover looks back to when God “passed over” the homes of the Israelites as He killed the firstborn males of the families of Egypt. Ironically, the next afternoon, God’s only begotten Son will be killed so God’s judgment can pass over those who trust Him for salvation (John 3:16–18).
Some have taken Jesus’ statement to mean He does not eat the meal. In the previous verse, He says, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15), indicating He is, in fact eating. Others claim more allegory than is necessary. The “it” He is talking about eating is not death; it is the meal. The “it” that will be fulfilled is not every promise God ever made. Nor does it refer to the Lord’s Supper which begins later (Luke 22:19). It is the Passover which will be fulfilled with His death.
The pertinent question is: what is the fulfilled Passover? Jesus may be alluding to the reinstitution of feasts during the millennial kingdom. Or He may mean when He will be the guest of honor at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6–10). The church, His bride, will celebrate that they will experience no more death, sickness, or sin. The kingdom of God will have arrived.
This verse gives context to Jesus’ later comment: “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18). When Jesus is on the cross, the soldiers give Him sour wine (Luke 23:36). This leaves people confused as Jesus says He will not drink wine. He means He will not drink wine in a celebratory meal, not that He will never touch something made from grapes.
Verse 17. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
Jesus is leading the Passover meal with the disciples. It is the evening before His crucifixion. On the cross, He will be the perfect sacrifice that will bring life to those who ask for it (Hebrews 9:28). This is in fulfillment of the symbol of the lambs that died to protect the Israelites as they awaited liberation from their Egyptian slavery (Exodus 12).
The Passover seder includes four cups of wine to represent sanctification, judgment, redemption, and praise. This is the first cup. Before the first cup of wine in a Passover meal, the patriarch of the family blesses God for creating the fruit of the vine. This is the “thanks” Jesus gives. The cup Jesus uses during the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:20) is the third cup.
Although Jesus distributes the cup to the disciples, there’s no reason to suggest He doesn’t also drink this first cup. It is the third cup where the distinction comes in, where He says He will “from now on…not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:18).
Some people insist that Jesus never drank alcohol: they presume alcohol is inherently sinful, therefore Jesus could never have consumed it. In truth, wine is common in Jesus’ culture; most water isn’t healthy to drink (1 Timothy 5:23). Wine is especially used in celebrations (John 2:1–11). The wine Jesus drinks may be watered down, but there’s no biblical reason to insist Jesus never drinks it. There are good reasons to avoid alcohol (1 Corinthians 6:12; 8:9–13), and people are welcome to refrain from alcohol as they feel convicted, but there’s no reason to insist drinking alcohol is always a sin (Romans 14:1–4).
Verse 18. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Jesus is presenting the first cup of wine of the Passover seder to the disciples. Presumably, He has taken a drink as here He makes a distinction between His prior and future actions. Scholars suspect this is the first cup of wine, which represents sanctification, because He gave thanks for it as is tradition (Luke 22:17); during the meal, the father thanks God for the “fruit of the vine” before the first cup.
Jesus’ words here can be confusing. He is given some type of wine (Luke 23:36) on the cross. Does that imply a contradiction? Luke 22:15–16 gives context. Jesus says He has been looking forward to eating the Passover and He will not eat it again until God’s kingdom is fulfilled. Considering the similarities in the wording, Jesus may be saying He will not drink wine at the Passover until after His second coming. Conversely, He may be referring to a cup of wine at a meal with friends.
Beyond that, the liquids mentioned at the cross don’t apply. Soldiers offered Him sour wine. This is not the “fruit of the vine” Jesus is referring to: it’s vinegar. Or a vinegar-water-spice mix commonly consumed by Romans. In addition, the passage doesn’t explicitly say Jesus drinks the sour wine. The argument that the Bible is unreliable because of this verse shows how important context is.
Verse 19. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
It is halfway through the Passover meal: a ceremonial dinner celebrating God’s protection of the Israelites in Egypt. Jesus and the Twelve have thanked God for wine and had the first cup, representing sanctification. They have dipped “bitter herbs”—possibly parsley—into salt water or vinegar. They have drunk the second cup, representing judgment. Now, they break unleavened bread and dip it in bitter herbs and a mixture of fruits, nuts, honey, and wine.
This is the bread of affliction (Deuteronomy 16:3). Pharaoh had witnessed God send nine plagues to judge the Egyptians. The tenth and last was the deaths of the firstborn males of each family. The Israelites took lamb’s blood and spread it on their doorposts as God instructed. That night, death “passed over” their homes.
As the Israelites ate, they were dressed for travel. They did not have time for the bread to rise because when the last plague descended, the Egyptians begged the Israelites to leave. The dough the Israelites carried in their bowls was unleavened (Exodus 12).
At this point, Jesus introduces the Lord’s Supper. He veers into territory He introduced in John 6. After He fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, the people followed. Food was hard to come by, and Jesus knew they wanted to make Him king because they thought He would provide them with all they could eat.
Instead, He said something odd: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Then He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51).
Jesus doesn’t mean His followers need to eat His literal flesh. Nor does bread turn into His body when it is presented for the observance of the Lord’s Supper. He means that as God sent manna to nourish the Israelites, so He sent the Son to bring His children the spiritual nourishment they need (John 6:31–33). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be enlivened—directed and empowered—by the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:7–11).
Verse 20. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
As Jesus presents the third cup of wine at the Passover seder, He talks about the new covenant. This was already promised in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31–34), and Jesus the means to fulfill it.
The covenants of God are t promises made to certain people. Some of these involved actions which people needed to perform. In all cases, however, and in all times and places, people must have faith in God and what He has revealed to them in their place and time to be saved. Looking through Hebrews 11:7–12, we see that Noah displayed his faith by building an ark. Abraham showed His faith by being willing to offer his son. In the new covenant, we must believe that Jesus’ death paid for our sins. If we admit we have sinned against God, desire to stop sinning against Him, and ask Jesus to forgive our sins—if we have faith in Jesus—He will forgive our sins and we will be reconciled to God (John 3:16–18; Romans 10:9–13; Ephesians 2:1–10).
Neither the Abrahamic nor Mosaic covenants involved taking blood from a live animal. Both required killing animals (Genesis 15:7–10; Exodus 12:3–6). When the Bible talks about Jesus’ “shed blood,” it’s not literally speaking about body fluid. The emphasis is on His sacrificial death. Jesus says the wine is “poured out.” Genesis 9:5 says that blood means life. Isaiah 53:12 says, “he poured out his soul to death.”
Crucifixion doesn’t typically involve massive bleeding. It was designed to induce unimaginable pain, exposure, and eventual suffocation. The beatings and scourging (John 19:1–3) caused Jesus’ blood to flow freely. When the guard puts his spear into Jesus’ side (John 19:34), blood and water flow out. Jesus’ “blood sacrifice” refers to His death and not merely His literal blood.
Jeremiah 31:31–40 describes the new covenant. It promises the people will have the law written on their hearts. They shall all know Him. Jerusalem—all of Israel—will be restored. The new covenant is possible because Jesus died. We participate in Communion—eating bread and drinking wine (or grape juice) with fellow believers—to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
Verse 21. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
Jesus and the disciples are celebrating Passover. Jesus is re-introducing to them the concept of new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34): the promise that because of His sacrifice, those who have faith in Him will be cleansed of their sins and reconciled to God (Romans 3:23–25). Now, Jesus breaks the news that this promise will not be accepted by everyone (John 3:36).
The Gospel writers had different themes and emphases as they recorded Jesus’ life. The same is true of this moment. Matthew focuses on Judas’s identity as the betrayer; Mark on the curse Judas is under; John on Judas’s actions.
In the mirror-like structure of Luke 22—called a “chiasm”—this passage introduces the heart of the chapter. Will the disciples be worldly leaders, like Judas, or servant leaders, like Christ? This passage leads up to that discussion. One of their number will walk away in a shockingly vile way. In the companion passage, Jesus gives a parallel warning: all the disciples will succumb to fear over faith; one, Peter, in a shocking way (Luke 22:31–34).
The fates of the two players are distinctive. Judas receives a “woe”: a cry of lament for the judgment of his soul (Luke 22:22). He will later kill himself (Matthew 27:3–10). Peter will publicly denounce Jesus (Luke 22:54–62). But then, as a foil for Judas, his sorrow will lead to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10) and restoration (John 21:15–19) and lead the others to a renewed faith (Luke 22:32).
Matthew 26:23 says, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.” That may mean Jesus and Judas shared a place setting, specifically a bowl of oil with bitter herbs (Psalm 41:9; Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11).
Context Summary
Luke 22:21–23 records the first of three events at the Last Supper which prove the world needs Jesus to die for us. The first is Judas’s betrayal. Judas receives the Passover bread and wine, but he rejects Jesus’ flesh and blood for forgiveness. He leaves to gather the soldiers and servants to arrest Jesus later in the night (Luke 22:47–53). Shortly after, the disciples argue over who is greatest and Jesus reveals the disciples will abandon Him and Peter will deny Him (Luke 22:24–34). Matthew 26:21–25, Mark 14:18–21, and John 13:21–30 also record Jesus’ warning about Judas.
Verse 22. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”
The disciples are hearing a puzzling warning from Jesus: that one of them will betray Him. They are still at the table, eating. The disciples are slowly learning that this Passover is different from any other they have celebrated. This revelation shocks them to the core.
Scripture never says exactly why Judas betrays Jesus. The likeliest and simplest answer is for money (John 12:4–6). He may have been angry at Jesus for not being the conquering warlord Judas expected. Or perhaps Judas rejected the idea of a sacrificial Messiah and thought that forcing a fight on Jesus would spark the revolution. Like most things people do, Judas probably had several intertwined motives.
The spiritual situation around this betrayal is more complicated. From different angles, it appears God, Jesus, and Satan are all involved.
God chose Judas to be one of Jesus’ disciples. He also chose him to be a “son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Does that make God responsible for Judas’s choice? No. It makes God responsible for putting Judas in a position where his choice, although evil, furthers God’s plan. God knows who Judas is and uses that knowledge. That doesn’t mean God tempts or forces Judas to sin. God places him in a situation where he can demonstrate the depth of his faith (1 Peter 1:6–7). Judas chooses to fail, as God knew he would.
Nor is Jesus responsible for Judas’s actions. Jesus specifically says:
“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This is the charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17–18).
Jesus knows He will die and allows others to kill Him. That doesn’t absolve Judas of his own contribution to Jesus’ death.
Finally, Satan is not responsible for Judas’s choices. John explains that at this moment, Satan enters Judas and Jesus tells him to do what he has planned to do (John 13:27). But Satan isn’t changing Judas’s heart, making him want to betray Christ. Satan joins in the work Judas already wants to do, perhaps strengthening his resolve, after Jesus notifies them of the proper timing for that work.
Judas is responsible for his attitudes, his rejection of Jesus, and his choice to offer Jesus to the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:10–11). He is responsible for going to the chief priests and leading a group of temple soldiers and servants to arrest Jesus. The fact that Satan is involved doesn’t mitigate Judas’s own culpability, nor does the fact that Judas realizes the repercussions of his actions when Jesus is condemned to crucifixion (Matthew 27:3–5).
Though our choices may be different, the role of sin in our lives is the same. God knows how we will react to our circumstances. But those influences in our lives don’t relieve us of responsibility for our own actions. The more we know, the more we are guilty (John 9:41), but we cannot blame our choices on others (1 Corinthians 10:13). The “woe,” or judgment, Judas receives is well-deserved, as is the judgment against us (Romans 6:23).
Verse 23. And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
Jesus and the disciples are celebrating the Passover meal. He has just told the group that one of them will act as a traitor (Luke 22:21–22). They are worried, wondering which one of them He means. Yet their worry takes an interesting, surprisingly humble form. They don’t accuse each other of being the betrayer; each disciple is worried that it’s himself (Mark 14:19). On some level, they all seem to understand that they have the capability of betraying Jesus.
Luke’s version of this revelation is short and to the point. This verse introduces the heart of the chapter. One moment, the Twelve are worried they will betray Jesus. The next, they are arguing over who is the greatest. Jesus uses their debate to teach about proper leadership in God’s kingdom. Are they going to rule like the leaders of the world: lording over their people and grasping for power, even while knowing they are capable of great treachery? Or are they going to choose to lead like Jesus, serving each other and eventually being rewarded by Him (Luke 22:24–30)?
After the chapter’s core message, Luke presents a parallel to Jesus’ warning about Judas. Each disciple is worried that he will betray Jesus; yet all of them will lose faith in Jesus. Only Judas truly betrays Jesus. Only Peter denies Him in a shameful, public way (Luke 22:31–34). But because Peter ultimately stays with Jesus, he does not share Judas’s judgment. He will be reconciled to Jesus and return to strengthen the other believers (2 Corinthians 7:10; Luke 23:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5; John 21:15–19).
Verse 24. A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
The disciples go from fretting about which of them will betray Jesus to arguing over which will be the greatest. It is a common discussion among these men by now (Matthew 18:1); the tone ranges from joking to outright combat. Jesus isn’t amused. Luke is the only writer who puts this discussion in the Last Supper. There’s no reason to believe Jesus didn’t have to teach this material more than once (Matthew 20:20–28; Mark 10:35–45; Luke 9:46–48). Some scholars suggest this originally followed Luke 22:16. This would suggest that Jesus’ comments about His betrayer come after Jesus’ promise about the twelve thrones (Luke 22:30), and that Luke rearranged the sections for effect.
That’s possible, as ancient writers were focused on concepts, not strict chronology. Not long before, Jesus had told the disciples that He would return in glory (Luke 21:25–28), and they still think Jesus is about to become king. Now, He reaffirms their high ranking in His kingdom (Luke 22:28–30). Some scholars think this argument sets the scene for Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet in a show of humble servant leadership (John 13:1–11).
The way it is placed here presents the events in a chiasm—a mirrored arrangement—that sets Luke 22:24–30 in the center. The focal point of the chapter becomes: Who do we want to be? Do we want to scrabble for power and rule harshly? Or do we want to follow Jesus’ example of servant-leadership and accept the position and authority the Father has prepared for us?
Context Summary
Luke 22:24–30 is the heart of Luke 22. The disciples have a choice: will they grasp for worldly power like the Gentiles or will they strive to be servant-leaders like their Messiah? New covenant leadership in God’s kingdom is service. The disciples’ self-involvement fits perfectly between Jesus’ warnings of Judas’s betrayal (Luke 22:21–23) and Peter’s denials (Luke 22:31–34). Some scholars suggest this exchange provides a springboard for Jesus to wash the disciples’ feet in a demonstration of servant leadership (John 13:1–17). This passage contains information unique to this gospel.
Verse 25. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
Luke describes an argument during the Last Supper. He is the only one to include it, though some scholars think it is the catalyst for Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17). The dispute and Jesus’ response is the core of the chapter: the disciples are going to be leaders; what kind of leaders will they be?
Will they be like Gentile rulers? Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist because John spoke the truth. Then he beheaded John because Antipas got caught in a foolish vow (Matthew 14:1–12). Pilate stole from the temple treasury to build aqueducts, had those protesting beaten, crucified Jesus because the Jewish leaders blackmailed him (John 19:12), and killed Samaritans who had gotten caught by a charlatan (Josephus, War 2.9.4, 175–77; Antiquities 18.3.32, 60–62; 18.4.1–2, 85–89).
It is these men—Antipas, Pilate, and the one who deceived the Samaritans—who are called “benefactors.” A benefactor should refer to those who do good for the community, like the centurion who built a synagogue (Luke 7:5). But by this time, the title “benefactor” is also bestowed on tyrants who rule through cruelty.
Jesus gives them a better way. Don’t lord over people; serve them. Follow His example. The disciples will receive authority over the twelve tribes of Israel as God the Father dictates and in His timing; they don’t have to fight for that right. They just need to remain faithful and learn how to lead well (Luke 22:26–30).
Verse 26. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.
It’s the Passover meal: the Last Supper. Jesus has given the bread and the wine, inaugurating the new covenant. He then warns the disciples that one of them will betray Him. Disturbed, they discuss who it could be, even doubting themselves (Luke 22:14–23; Mark 14:19).
But now the disciples are arguing—again—over who is the greatest. Some sources say this is a common thing for students to do. Jesus doesn’t treat it as harmless posturing; He wants to go deeper. He tells them to stop acting like abusive Gentile “benefactors” who lord over people in return for public accolades. Instead, they are to be servants (Luke 22:24–27).
In John, however, He gives an object lesson. He removes His cloak, ties a towel around His waist, and washes the disciples’ feet (John 13:3–5). He then gives an impassioned explanation: He is their Teacher and Lord, and yet He serves. They are to follow His example by dedicating their lives not just to spreading His message but to doing so with a servant heart. If they do such things, they will be blessed (John 13:12–17).
In the chiasm—the mirror-like structure—of this chapter, the core of the message is in two parts. Luke 22:24–25 describes the worldly leader: the one who longs to be the “greatest” and acts like a Gentile. Luke 22:26–30 describes the Christlike leader: one who sacrifices for those in his charge. In return, God will assign the servant-leader greater authority.
Verse 27. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
This chapter compares the disciples’ and religious leaders’ beliefs about the Messiah to the truth of the new covenant. Here is the heart of Jesus’ message: the Messiah is One who serves. He is not one who needs the approval of the priests, kings, and civil leaders. He does not march His army into Jerusalem and drive out the Romans. He does not wrestle for power against His peers. He lays down His life. He is like a host who has invited a group to a formal meal: such as twelve disciples for Passover. Then He serves by washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17).
Will the disciples take His example? Will we? Will we demand authority in the church, lord over those we lead, and walk proudly in the accolades of the people? Or will we assume menial jobs when they need to be done and think of others higher than ourselves (Philippians 2:3)?
Jesus does recline at the table at the Last Supper. The foot-washing is a small part of the evening compared to the meal and Jesus’ extensive teaching (John 13:21—17:26). He will take authority over His kingdom with force (Revelation 19:11–21). The disciples will be given authority to rule over Israel, and church leaders will be rewarded for their service (Luke 22:28–30).
Here, however, Jesus serves by going to the cross. The disciples will serve by giving their lives to spread the gospel. That is the kind of leadership to which Christ-followers are called.
Verse 28. “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials,
Jesus is talking about good leadership. The disciples have been arguing—again—about who is greatest. Jesus responds with a warning that leaders in the worldly system strive for power and then abuse it. Even those who do good exult in their title of “benefactor.” The disciples should not look at leadership like that. They should look at Jesus’ example: He who welcomes children and washes feet (Luke 18:15–16; John 13:1–17).
They know Jesus’ leadership style because they have been with Him. They saw His hometown reject and try to murder Him (Luke 4:16–30). Countless times, they have seen the religious leaders try to best Him—even arrest Him. They know Herod Antipas wants to kill Him (Luke 13:31). They are slowly realizing that Jesus will die.
The disciples will flee when the soldiers arrest Jesus; this doesn’t erase their belief in Him. They have traveled with and learned from Jesus for three years. They dropped everything when Jesus called, and they will be rewarded. They will rule; what they will rule is up to God, not their own “greatness.” But they will eat at the table of the king and judge Israel (Luke 22:29–30).
The Twelve are not Jesus’ only disciples. Shortly after Jesus sent out the Twelve to spread the news of the coming of the kingdom of God, He commissioned seventy-two with the same purpose and the same power. They were to preach the coming kingdom of God, to heal infirmities, and to cast out demons (Luke 9:1–6; 10:1–12). After Jesus’ ascension, one hundred and twenty people will cram into a room in Jerusalem, waiting for the Holy Spirit. At least two of those present are men who were with Jesus from His baptism to after His resurrection; when Judas’s place needs to be filled, they have options (Acts 1:12–26).
Verse 29. and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,
As Jesus speaks, He knows Judas has met with Jerusalem’s religious leaders. They discussed how to lead guards and servants to the Mount of Olives to arrest Jesus and put Him on trial. He knows the other disciples will fall asleep instead of praying to remain strong in temptation. He knows that the disciples will flee when He is arrested and that, while He is being interrogated and beaten, Peter will deny Him.
Even now, the disciples are arguing over who will be the greatest in His kingdom. Jesus has explained that His kingdom is not about status but serving. Despite this, Jesus gives them a hope to hold onto: they will be leaders in His kingdom.
First, they have a role in God’s kingdom now. This is God’s influence over the world: the manifestation of His glory and sovereignty. The disciples display this authority by staying with Jesus during His trials (Luke 22:28). This seems to mean Jesus’ earthly life and the temptations which came with it (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15). After the ascension, they will have the authority to spread the good news in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). They will be the leaders of the church, representing Jesus’ rule and blessing to the world.
But the structure of the kingdom of God is not as simple and its fulfillment not as quick as they think.
1. God the Father chose God the Son to save the world and rule before the world was created (1 Peter 1:19–21).
2. God the Father sent God the Son as a sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16).
3. God the Son chooses to lay down His life (John 10:18).
4. God the Father will give God the Son dominion over the world (Daniel 7:13–14; 1 Corinthians 15:27).
5. God the Son will vanquish His enemies and return the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24–26).
6. God the Father has prepared roles for the disciples (Matthew 20:23).
7. God the Father gives Jesus the authority to assign those roles.
Those roles will include honor and responsibility. The disciples will sit at Jesus’ table and judge over Israel (Luke 22:30). When will that happen? That’s up to God the Father (Acts 1:6–7). First, they have a job to do: spreading the gospel and building the church (Acts 1:8).
Verse 30. that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Considering the context of this chapter, this night, and the day to come, this is an extraordinary promise. It is the Passover meal. Jesus and His disciples are having a private celebration. Jesus has spoken of the new covenant and the method by which He will usher it in. He will pay for the sins of the world and reconcile people with God through giving His body and His blood.
But this night, Judas has gone to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3–6). The disciples argue about who is the greatest (Luke 22:24). Then they’ll sleep when they should be praying and run when they should remain with Jesus (Luke 22:39–46; Mark 14:50). And Peter will deny Him three times (Luke 22:54–62).
Despite the disciples’ inconstancy, Jesus identifies them as “those who have stayed with me in my trials” (Luke 22:28). Despite their inappropriate grasping for power, He promises them a kingdom, a place at His royal table, and thrones on which to judge the tribes of Israel. In twenty-four hours, when Jesus is in a tomb and the disciples are in hiding, they will find this exceedingly difficult to believe.
It will happen, but the exact details and timing are God’s responsibility. Earlier, when James and John’s mother asked Jesus to give her sons special places in His kingdom, Jesus said, “To sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23). Moments before Jesus returns to heaven, the disciples will ask, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus responds, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).
The disciples learn that they can’t assume authority by subjecting people to their power: they don’t have any power. But they will lead when God gives them power and authority.
Verse 31. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
The account of Jesus telling Peter that he is going to deny Jesus three times is well known. Luke does something interesting with it, however. In the mirrored “chiasm” of Luke 22, this segment is placed opposite Jesus’ warning that one of the disciples will betray Him. The disciples’ reaction to the first warning is to discuss among themselves who it will be (Luke 22:21–23). Specifically, each man worries that it is he (Mark 14:19).
Of course, Jesus’ betrayer is Judas. Yet it’s important that the other eleven understand they have that potential in their hearts. Jesus now reveals how their faithlessness will manifest: Satan wants to sift all of them: the “you” is plural. Peter will not be the only one to find his faith staggered. All except Peter and John will run away when Jesus is arrested (Mark 14:50). All of them will hide when Jesus is in the tomb (John 20:19).
Peter will fall the furthest: denying that he follows Jesus where Jesus can hear. But he will also recover the most. Satan wishes to pick apart the disciples into tiny pieces, but he will find he merely separated the chaff of their weakness from the kernel of their faith. Peter will reconcile with Jesus (John 21:15–19), preach before thousands (Acts 2:14–41), be the first—with John—to be arrested (Acts 4:3), and defend the disciples’ right to teach that Jesus has risen from the dead (Acts 4:19–20).
Meanwhile, Luke’s use of Peter’s names reveals another great irony. Here, Jesus calls him “Simon,” which means “hearing” or “listening.” Jesus wants “Hearing” to hear the warning, but “Peter,” the rock, doesn’t. Jesus warns “the Rock,” who is supposed to be strong and steady, that he will deny Jesus three times (Luke 22:33–34). It’s difficult to have strong, resolute faithfulness to God when we won’t even listen to Him.
There are times in the Bible when God grants Satan permission to attack or tempt us (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–7). But we shouldn’t assume that evil spirits are responsible for every temptation and hardship. James 1:14–15 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Sometimes, we’re just foolish; other times, we fall victim to the fallen world. Even if we are tempted, and even if we fall into that temptation, we cannot fall out of God’s hand (John 10:29; Jude 1:24–25). And someday, our accuser will be destroyed (Revelation 12:10).
Context Summary
Luke 22:31–34 records the last of three stories of how the disciples fail Jesus at the Last Supper. Jesus has already revealed that one of them will betray Him (Luke 22:21–23). The disciples have revealed that their goal in Christ’s kingdom is still positions of authority and power (Luke 22:24–30). Now, Jesus says they will abandon Him and Peter will deny Him. But Peter will recover and lead the disciples into restoration and a deeper faith. Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s denial is also in Matthew 26:31–35, Mark 14:27–31, and John 13:37–38. Peter’s recovery is in Luke 24:34 (cf. Mark 16:7; 1 Corinthians 15:5), John 21:15–19, and Acts 1—5 and 10—11.
Verse 32. but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Peter is being warned about what he and the other disciples are going to do. In a move reminiscent of Job 1:8–12, Satan has asked God permission to test the faith of the disciples. He wants to sift them like wheat: metaphorically tear them apart. God will only allow Him to sift in a more traditional way: throw them in the air to blow away the unusable chaff of their weak character from the good grain of their faith (Luke 22:31).
Jesus has called Peter “Simon,” which means “listening;” He wants Peter to hear Him. Jesus has prayed that Peter’s faith won’t fail; He knows that it will and that Peter will deny that he knows Jesus. But Jesus has also prayed that when Peter returns—reconciles—with Him, he will lead the other disciples in the way they should go.
Peter does this from the day of Jesus’ ascension. He leads them in finding a replacement for Judas (Acts 1:12–26), preaches to thousands in Jerusalem (Acts 2:14–41), defends Jesus’ resurrection before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1–22), and continues preaching when the Sanhedrin threatens the disciples (Acts 5:17–42). He makes some missteps, largely related to his confusion about the inclusion of Gentiles in the church (Galatians 2:11–14). But he finds that Jesus was right when He said those who are forgiven much love much (Luke 7:47).
“Fail,” here, has the sense of disappearing completely. When Peter denies Jesus, he will have a kernel of faith still active as proved by his intense mourning (Luke 22:54–62). Peter will lose his courage, not his love for Jesus. “Turned again” means “repent.” Jesus will lead Peter to repentance and restoration on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when He tells Peter “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15–17).
Verse 33. Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”
Jesus is trying to explain to Peter what will happen so Peter will know how to respond. He calls him “Simon” which means “hearing.” He wants Peter to hear and understand. Satan is going to try the faith of the disciples. Their faith will waver. But Peter, in the most dramatic example, will return. Then he will help the others renew their own faith (Luke 22:31–32). “Simon” the “hearer” will not listen. “Peter” the “rock” insists that his faith is immoveable. He claims he will never betray Jesus. He would rather go to prison, or even die.
Of course, the “rock” proves to be as steady as sinking sand. It’s tempting to look down on his fearful response to being tied to Christ. But that ignores the circumstances which lead Peter to deny Jesus. He starts strong, if foolishly. When Judas leads the temple guards to the Mount of Olives, Peter tries to defend Jesus by drawing his sword. He manages to slice off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away and heals the servant’s ear. Then He allows the group to arrest Him (Luke 22:47–54; John 18:10–11).
Even with this setback, Peter follows. John helps him enter the courtyard of the high priest where Jesus is being interrogated (John 18:15–16). That’s when Peter likely realizes where he is. He is not merely in the home of a powerful religious leader who seems to have control over Jesus’ fate. He’s also in an enclosed area surrounded by the company that recently arrested Jesus. Peter is near to a relative of the man he had attacked (John 18:26).
Peter proves he is willing to join an army and follow Jesus into war. He doesn’t expect that Jesus will tell him to stop fighting or that Jesus will meekly submit to arrest and beatings. The “rock” tries to be steadfast but finds himself alone in enemy territory wanting to save someone who doesn’t want to be rescued.
Years later, Peter goes to prison (Acts 12:1–17), but he does so with a great amount of courage and faithfulness. At one point, he falls asleep the night of his execution; an angel hits him to wake him up (Acts 12:6–7). And, in a twist to Jesus’ prophecy (John 21:18–19), church tradition says Peter was crucified upside-down.
Verse 34. Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
This completes Jesus’ warning that the disciples will soon abandon Him. The catalyst is that Satan has asked to “sift [them] like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Satan means to attack God’s plan: perhaps even to hinder the creation of the church. God uses the disciples’ failure to reveal their weaknesses. When the Holy Spirit comes, they will be ready to submit to His leadership and empowerment (Acts 2:1–3).
Jesus has specifically prayed that when the disciples are lost and confused, Peter will be reconciled to God and encourage their faith (Luke 22:32). Jesus’ prayer comes true; the book of Acts shows Peter boldly risking his life for the gospel.
For now, Peter relies on his own strength, refusing to accept that he would ever deny Jesus. He claims he would go to prison or even die for Jesus (Luke 22:33). Here in the dark, making their way to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30), surrounded by his friends and beside the man who can calm a raging sea (Mark 4:35–41), Peter has reason to be bold. Even after the soldiers come, it is Peter who draws his sword to protect Jesus (John 18:10).
Jesus knows this bravado will not last. In the courtyard of the chief priest, surrounded by the guards and servants who arrested Jesus, Peter’s courage will fail (Luke 22:54–62). But just as Jesus’ prophecy comes true, so does His prayer. Peter will recover and reconcile with Jesus (Luke 24:34; John 21:15–17). Then he will lead the disciples to preach the gospel, even defending their message against the very men who will have Jesus killed (Acts 4).
Sharp-eyed readers note that Matthew and Mark place Jesus’ warning to Peter after they have left the upper room (Matthew 26:30–35; Mark 14:26–31). Luke’s promise to give Theophilus an “orderly account” of Jesus’ life doesn’t necessitate a chronological account (Luke 1:3). Some scholars think Luke wanted to group all of Jesus’ teaching together. Another option is that by placing this passage here, it aligns with Jesus’ warning about His betrayer in the mirrored arrangement of Luke 22 (Luke 22:21–23).
The identity and number of the cock crow is a tangled issue for some Bible scholars. Mark says, “before the rooster crows twice” (Mark 14:30) and records the cock crowing only twice (Mark 14:68, 72). Some think Jesus means “the crow of the cocks” which refers to the Roman guard watch from midnight to 3 a.m.
Verse 35. And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”
During the last evening with the disciples, Jesus gives new instructions for their future journeys. Luke is the only gospel writer to include this section. This is fitting, as the Book of Acts, recording how the disciples travel and spread the gospel, is the sequel to the gospel of Luke.
Jesus introduces the instructions by referring to when He sent them out with no supplies. In Luke 9:1–6, He instructed the Twelve, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics” (Luke 9:3). In Luke 10:1–12, He told seventy-two disciples, “Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals” (Luke 10:4). The instruction to carry “no sandals” is interpreted to mean they were not to take a backup pair. Both groups found their needs met.
After Jesus’ ascension, however, their travel will be longer. At least at the beginning, welcoming friends will be fewer and farther between. Jesus tells them to take money and a knapsack. He also makes a curious comment about taking a sword that scholars still argue about (Luke 22:36).
God still provided for the early church. Initially, in Jerusalem, people in the new church supported each other by sharing what they had and selling property (Acts 2:44–47; 4:32–37). Later, particularly during a famine, the planted churches supported their mother church (Acts 11:27–30). Sometimes, however, leaders ministered where the people weren’t prepared to support them. In Corinth, Paul found it easier to share the gospel when his audience didn’t have to worry about paying him (2 Corinthians 11:9).
Instead of “knapsack,” The King James Version uses the term “scrip”. This was a handwritten note saying the bearer had a right to receive something, like money. The “scrip” may refer to what would have been inside the knapsack.
Context Summary
Luke 22:35–38 contains material unique to this gospel. Jesus updates the instructions He gave in Luke 9:1–6 and 10:1–12. As before, the disciples will travel, spreading the message of the kingdom of God. But they can no longer rely on the kindness of strangers as they build the church (Acts 1:8). Theologians and Bible scholars are typically more concerned about what Jesus means about taking swords. Next, Jesus leads the disciples to the Mount of Olives where He will pray before Judas returns with the soldiers to arrest Him (Luke 22:39–53).
Verse 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.
Jesus is updating His instructions for the disciples’ future travel. In the past, He told them to take only absolute essentials; those with whom they shared the gospel would provide what they needed (Luke 9:1–6; 10:1–12). Before, they weren’t supposed to take an extra tunic or pair of sandals or a bag, but now they are. They will be going through places that will not be as hospitable as they are used to.
Paul certainly experienced this. He strongly insisted that church leaders should be financially compensated by those to whom they minister (1 Timothy 5:17–18). Yet he also recognized that financial concerns sometimes got in the way of ministry. When he arrived—alone—in Corinth, he realized that the people needed his teaching more than the discipline of supporting him. He found the tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla and worked with them to support his needs. Once Timothy and Silas arrived, they found work so Paul could concentrate on preaching (Acts 18:1–5).
Luke is the only gospel writer to include this section and the only one to comment on the swords. Literary analysis sees this as an example of the “Chekhov’s gun” principle. This means that if an item—such as a gun or sword—is specifically mentioned in an early part of a story, it must reappear before the end. Luke is foreshadowing the sword that Peter will later use to slice off the ear of the high priest’s servant (Luke 22:49–51; John 18:10–11).
Scholars debate over why Jesus tells them to bring a sword. Some say it’s for protection from the bandits they’ll meet on the road. Jesus later condemns Peter’s inappropriate use of the sword. Notably, reaction to violence against the early church is largely passive (Acts 4:25–31; 8:1–3; 9:1–2; 12:1–5). Others say this is a metaphor for the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12–13) or for readiness to face a hostile world. It’s possible that when the Sanhedrin tells Pilate that Jesus is leading an insurrection, they’re noting that His followers carry swords and attacked a servant (Luke 22:49–50; 23:5).
Verse 37. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”
Jesus is telling the disciples what they should bring on their travels as they spread the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). He has told them to bring money and a bag, and that a sword will be more important than a cloak (Luke 22:35–36).
Scholars debate over why Jesus tells them to take a sword. Some scholars think it is a metaphor to warn the disciples they will be persecuted as He is. They think that when Jesus says He will be “numbered with the transgressors,” He is referring to the crucifixion when He will be persecuted unfairly between two thieves.
But it may be that the “transgression” He will be accused of is insurrection. The religious and civil leaders believe Jesus is a “transgressor”: lawless, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:12. While Pilate questions Jesus, Jesus tells him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). When Pilate tries to release Jesus, the council incites the crowd to threaten Pilate with accusations of treason: “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar” (John 19:12). Pilate understands the lies in their argument, but he still fears Caesar.
That two disciples carried weapons (Luke 22:38) and Peter cut off the ear of one of their servants (Luke 22:49–51; John 18:10–11) may have emboldened the Sanhedrin to make such accusations. In Jesus speaking of His fulfillment of the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy, He also calls to mind the end: “yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:34). This would explain why Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away. Jesus may be “numbered with the transgressors,” but that doesn’t mean He is one.
Verse 38. And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”
According to Jesus, when the disciples travel in the future, they should be well-supplied. They will need money, a knapsack, and a sword. Although the meaning of the terms “moneybag,” “knapsack,” “sandals,” and “cloak” are almost always taken literally, some scholars take the term “sword” as a metaphor. To make their case, they point to this verse as well as passages when the early church withstood persecution without physically defending themselves (Acts 4:25–31; 8:1–3; 9:1–2; 12:1–5). Because Jesus tells Peter to put his sword away (Luke 22:51; John 18:10–11), they suggest that the “sword” merely means the disciples should be ready to face persecution.
Scholars who hold to this interpretation suggest that Jesus is ending the conversation because the disciples, once again, misinterpret what He is saying. The disciples somehow still think Jesus is going to defeat the Romans and take His throne. Jesus is telling them to be ready to die but they think He’s telling them to be ready to fight.
Others note that Jesus’ explanation of these items seems very literal. He tells Peter to “put away” the sword, not “throw away” the weapon. They also note that there is a difference between submitting to faith-based persecution and random criminal mayhem, such as robbers.
There is yet another option. Jesus mentioned the idea of being considered a lawbreaker (Luke 22:37) using a quote of Isaiah 53:12. Most scholars apply this to the fact Jesus was crucified between two thieves. But the Jewish religious and civil leaders also accused Jesus of sedition against the emperor. In this way, they grouped Him with a long line of Jews who led futile revolutions against the Roman occupation (John 19:12).
When the guards and servants go to arrest Jesus, Peter slices off the servant Malchus’s ear (Luke 22:50). Only one sword was needed to give Jesus’ enemies room to claim this was a revolt.
Verse 39. And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.
Ever since Jesus entered the region, He has been teaching in Jerusalem during the day and sleeping on the Mount of Olives at night (Luke 21:37–38). This makes it easy for Judas to lead the temple guards to Him. Jesus knows this (John 6:70), but He goes anyway.
Luke mentions three events tied to the mountain:
A week before, Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem on a donkey while crowds shouted, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37–38). Jesus entered as king.
The second event is when Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James, and John about the horrors of the events of AD 70, the church age, and the tribulation. The temple will be destroyed, the world will be filled with false teachers, war will plague the earth, and even the heavenly bodies will be shaken (Luke 21:5–36; Mark 13:3). Jesus will return.
The third event is recorded here: Jesus’ arrest. Jesus and the disciples have spent a pleasant Passover meal together. Throughout, Jesus has told them some interesting things. The disciples are going to rule Israel on twelve thrones (Luke 22:29–30). But they are all going to fall away from Him—especially Peter (Luke 22:31–34). And they are to carry swords (Luke 22:36–38).
Jesus told the disciples that Satan was going to attack them. At the time, He mentioned that He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail, and that when he turned back he would lead the other disciples into restoration. Now, Jesus tells Peter and the others to pray for their own faith—that they would not fall into temptation (Luke 22:40). They will all run away: Jesus knows this. But how far will they run?
Context Summary
Luke 22:39–46 is a summarized account of Jesus’ prayers at the Mount of Olives. He and the disciples have finished the Passover meal. There, Jesus warned them of coming trials. The disciples argued over who was best (Luke 22:14–30). Now, Jesus expresses sincere apprehension about the crucifixion. Yet He humbly submits to His Father’s plan. He knows who He is and why He was sent: only He can save the world. Meanwhile, the disciples sleep instead of praying that their faith will keep them from temptation. Matthew 26:36–46, Mark 14:32–42, and John 18:1 also record Jesus’ time in the garden.
Verse 40. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
The disciples are about to face the second-most horrific night of their lives. In response, Jesus tells them to pray.
Luke’s account is shorter than Matthew’s and Mark’s. The other writers detail that Jesus tells Peter, James, and John (Mark 14:33), “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch” (Mark 14:34). Then He prays that the Father would take the cup (Mark 14:36). He rises and sees the three are sleeping and says to Peter (Mark 14:37), “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). He goes to pray a second time, and again finds the disciples sleeping. The third time, “he came to the disciples and send to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Matthew 26:45).
Does Jesus tell all three disciples to pray they won’t fall into temptation? It’s likely, although Peter is the main subject. It was Peter who had the pride to insist he would go to jail or death in loyalty to Jesus. But it is he whom Jesus says will deny Him three times (Luke 22:31–34).
What are they to pray against? Although Luke’s words are more vague, Jesus has already definitively said they will all fall away (Mark 14:27). He’s also already said they will sit on thrones in His kingdom and judge Israel (Luke 22:30), so we know they will not entirely abandon faith; they will be restored.
Jesus gives these instructions to three specific disciples: Peter, James, and John. That night, only John refuses to fall into temptation. Only John follows Jesus to the trials and, along with several women, is at His crucifixion (John 19:25–27). James scatters, although as John’s brother he would have been as familiar with the high priest (John 18:15). Peter falls the furthest. At first, he acts on his previous insistence that Jesus would not die (Matthew 16:22–23), by chopping off the ear of one of the men who comes to arrest Jesus (John 18:10). Not long after, he denies knowing Jesus three times (Luke 22:54–62).
Although Peter does not follow through on Jesus’ instructions, the Holy Spirit honors Jesus’ prayer (Luke 22:32). Peter will turn back to Jesus (John 21:15–17) and lead the other disciples. Even when they are persecuted, they will not resort to swords but instead to prayer (Acts 4:24–31).
Verse 41. And he withdrew from them about a stone ‘s throw, and knelt down and prayed,
Jesus and the disciples are in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39; Mark 14:32). Jesus has asked the disciples to sit while He prays. He takes Peter, James, and John a little bit away and tells them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me” (Matthew 26:38). He also tells them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40).
Now, He separates from them; the Greek can refer to an emotional distance as well as a geographic one, but they are close enough that they can hear Him. Jesus falls on His face and prays, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42; Matthew 26:39).
Earlier in His ministry, Jesus fell asleep in a boat in a raging storm. When the disciples woke Him up, He commented on their lack of faith. He could do so because He knew that in that moment, He was in His Father’s will; nothing would happen to them. Then, He was safe (Mark 4:35–41).
Now, Jesus is in the Father’s will and most certainly not safe (Luke 9:22). He knows that within hours He will be scourged and crucified. Even worse, He will carry the weight of the sins of the world. His earthly life is in grave danger, so He does the only thing He can: talk to His Father.
Verse 42. saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Eight of the disciples are asleep a good distance from Jesus as He prays in the garden of Gethsemane. Peter, James, and John are also asleep, but closer. Judas is on his way with a squadron of temple guards and servants of the high priest (Luke 22:39–40; Mark 14:32).
Jesus can’t sleep. He knows that by this time the next day, He will have been interrogated, beaten, scourged, and crucified. He will have felt the crushing weight of all the sins of every person in history. He will have died and been placed in a cold tomb in the stone. He is fully God (Colossians 2:9). He knows He has come to earth for the purpose of going to the cross (John 12:27). So, is He asking God the Father to change the plan?
Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully man (Hebrews 4:15). There is no truth in the Gnostic belief that the spirit is good and the physical body is evil. Yet we also need to recognize that Jesus’ humanity sometimes wanted something different than His divinity. Theologians have struggled to give sufficient explanations, but the most accurate is that Jesus is one Person with two natures: a divine nature and a human nature. This is referred to as the “hypostatic union.”
The important part, which Christ-followers need to emulate, comes at the end of the verse: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” We only have a human nature, but we can follow Jesus’ example and submit to God in obedience even when it’s unimaginably difficult (Philippians 4:12–13; Philippians 2:12–13). The author of Hebrews elaborates:
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:7–10).
“Perfect,” here, doesn’t mean sinless or flawless. It means complete. In submitting to the Father’s will in this, Jesus completely obeyed the Father in His earthly life. Thus, He experienced the fullness of obedience. That obedient submission was the last task Jesus had to complete to qualify as the perfect, singular sacrifice for our sins.
Around the Age of Enlightenment, people began to think that humans could discover every truth through science. Humanism taught that mankind could control its destiny and become greater, reaching spiritual righteousness on its own. This verse, along with Hebrews 5:7–10, is one used to support the “example theory” of atonement. The example theory claims that Jesus didn’t literally carry our sins, but rather Jesus’ death on the cross was merely an example to humanity of the self-sacrifice needed to fully obey God. This is completely wrong, as proved in verses like 2 Corinthians 5:21 which reads, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Hebrews 9—10 also details the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice and demonstrates it was far more than exemplary. Surely, the extreme dread Jesus is under is not just for His physical death but for the spiritual task He is facing.
A “cup” was often used as a metaphor for someone’s fate; to drink the cup is to do or experience what God has determined is necessary. It is especially connected to God’s wrath. We see this when James and John ask for places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom (Mark 10:35–38), but it is also frequently used in the Old Testament (Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15–17; 51:7).
Verse 43. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.
Luke 22:43–44 is not found in the oldest manuscripts. Nor is the content repeated in the other Gospels. However, it doesn’t demand any unique theology. Jesus is on the ground in the garden of Gethsemane, praying that God the Father might choose a different way to save the world (Luke 22:42; John 3:16). It appears the Father has sent His answer. The angel strengthens Him. Then Jesus prays “more earnestly; and his sweat [becomes] like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
Scholars debate as to how an angel could “strengthen” God the Son. Jesus has just expressed his human nature’s desire that He not suffer this terrible experience. His divine nature is ready to follow the Father’s instructions wherever they may lead. It seems the angel is confirming that the original plan stands. The angel is strengthening Jesus’ commission but also supporting Him as He mourns what is to come.
This is a bit different than the last time angels ministered to Jesus. That was at the end of forty days of fasting and three temptations by Satan (Matthew 4:11). In one of those temptations (Matthew 4:6), Satan quoted Psalm 91:11–13:
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
It’s interesting to compare these verses to what is happening here. Later, Peter will refer to Jesus as “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:8). Jesus avoids tripping on the desire to avoid the cross. As a result, He dies and rises again, trampling the “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8) and crushing the head of Satan, the serpent in the garden (Genesis 3:15).
Verse 44. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Given what has happened (Luke 22:43), one would expect Jesus’ weeping to lessen. He is praying on the Mount of Olives while the disciples give in to sleep. With great anguish, He has asked Father God to do something, make some kind of change, so He doesn’t have to die under the weight of humanity’s sin. He honestly expresses what His human nature feels (Hebrews 4:15) even as He remains totally committed to the Father’s will.
Then an angel arrives to strengthen Him (Luke 22:39–43). Jesus’ prayers become more fervent. Mark says, “And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words” (Mark 14:39). He is still praying that God the Father will make a way. He knows there is no escape from the cross (Luke 13:33), and He goes willingly (John 10:18), but that doesn’t make it easy.
Meanwhile, the disciples are sleeping. Jesus is especially concerned with Peter. Matthew and Mark describe Jesus going away from the disciples to pray three times, finding them asleep after each return (Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42). The first time, Jesus says, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:37–38). Ideally, Peter should follow Jesus’ example: pray that He may remain loyal to his calling.
Jesus doesn’t stay here, though. When it is time, He rises, wakes the disciples, and greets the crowd who has come to arrest Him (Luke 22:45–47).
Luke says, “his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.” The word “like” suggests that the sweat merely appeared similar to drops of blood. That would mean Luke is foreshadowing Jesus’ impending, bloody death. Others suggest Jesus may have experienced hematohidrosis. In this rare condition, small blood vessels around the sweat glands rupture and blood comes out of the sweat gland. It can be caused by extreme physical exertion, fear, or psychological distress.
Like Luke 22:43, this verse is not found in the earliest manuscripts of the gospel of Luke.
Verse 45. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,
In tremendous distress, Jesus has been praying on the Mount of Olives for God the Father to remove “the cup”: to change His plans so that Jesus won’t have to go to the cross. Yet He ends, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:41–44).
Jesus now rises, setting aside His fear and taking on a strong resolve to do what He must. The author of Hebrews puts these moments into perspective, summarizing Jesus’ decision to obey God: “Behold, I have come to do your will” (Hebrews 10:9). The author also puts that decision in context, saying, “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). It is God the Father’s will, so it is God the Son’s will. Because the Son obeys the Father, we can be saved.
While He prayed, Jesus wanted the disciples to stay awake and pray also. They were to ask that the coming events wouldn’t cause them to sin—to abandon Him in fear (Luke 22:40). People usually stayed up on Passover night, anyway. This time, the disciples can’t. Sleep is their only defense against the sorrow enveloping them.
Luke doesn’t define this sorrow, but John does. Earlier in the evening, Jesus had told them, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’” (John 13:33). After promising the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues, “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart” (John 16:6).
But then He promises:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:20–22).
The disciples mourn that, somehow, Jesus is leaving them. But Jesus promises that joy will come and never leave.
Verse 46. and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Matthew 26:38–46 and Mark 14:34–42 describe how Jesus first tells Peter, James, and John to watch over Him. When they fall asleep, He wakes up at least Peter and tells him to pray so he won’t fall into temptation. He comes back a second time but doesn’t wake them up. At the third time, Judas and the arresting guards are approaching, so He wakes them up and tells them His betrayer is at hand.
The temptation is that they will fall away. That the Sanhedrin will “strike the shepherd” and like sheep, the disciples will scatter (Mark 14:27). Peter has promised he won’t; he would rather go to prison or even die for Jesus (Luke 22:33). Jesus told him that’s not going to happen: “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:34).
All the disciples scatter except Peter and John (Matthew 26:56). John knows the high priest and is confident—or faithful—enough to follow the mob that arrests Jesus and then arrange for Peter to come in (John 18:15–16). We don’t know how long John stays or if he witnesses Jesus’ trials before Pilate and Herod Antipas, but we know he’s at the foot of the cross. He’s so close he can hear Jesus tell him to take care of Mary (John 19:25–27).
Peter does not pray. He falls asleep. He has enough bravado to follow John and walk through the high priest’s gate, but then he loses his nerve. He realizes he is standing with friends and family members of the servant he attacked with his sword (John 18:10–11, 26). Peter comes to the limit of his natural courage and denies that he knows Jesus (Luke 22:54–62).
Verse 47. While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him,
Jesus has been praying in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. While He prays, the disciples sleep. At least twice, He has awakened them, telling them to pray so they don’t fall into temptation. But now, their chance to prepare themselves is over (Luke 22:39–46; Matthew 26:36–46).
Pharisees and those loyal to Herod Antipas have been trying to destroy Jesus since the beginning of His ministry (Mark 3:6). The Pharisees hate Him because He doesn’t support their extra-biblical rules. The Sadducees join in because His miracles make Him so popular. Of note is how He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:45–53). Then His triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple sent the different groups on a crusade to tear down His authority; they all failed (Luke 19—20). Opposition to Jesus has joined the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and elders of Jerusalem to a single purpose: to eliminate Him.
The biggest obstacle to this is that the people love Jesus. If the religious and civil leaders arrest Him, the people will riot and kill them (Luke 22:2). Fortunately for them, Judas, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, agrees to betray Jesus in a quiet place, away from the crowds (Luke 22:3–6). During the Last Supper, Jesus tells Judas it is time and dismisses him (John 13:26–27).
Judas has gone to the chief priest. The priests have given him servants and members of the temple guard. Judas knows that Jesus spends His nights on the Mount of Olives. It’s dark. The disciples are groggy with sleep. Judas leads the guards, armed with swords and clubs, to Jesus (Mark 14:43).
Judas cries, “Rabbi!” and kisses Jesus (Mark 14:45). Jesus wants Judas to feel the weight of what he is doing. Kissing one’s teacher is a sign of honor. Judas uses it as a sign for the guards to identify which dark shape on a dark mountain they have come for. Judas doesn’t fully understand until he realizes the priests, scribes, and elders don’t merely want to arrest Jesus; they want Him dead (Matthew 27:3–5).
Hundreds of years before, David described the heartbreak of this moment:
For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God’s house we walked in the throng (Psalm 55:12–14).
Context Summary
Luke 22:47–53 records Jesus’ betrayal by Judas and arrest by members of the Sanhedrin. After spending years trying to destroy Jesus, the religious leaders have found an ally in one of His disciples. Judas leads soldiers and servants to where Jesus spends His nights. The arrest will be in the dark, away from the crowds. Peter, quick to prove his loyalty, cuts off a servant’s ear. Jesus heals it and allows Himself to be taken. Jesus’ arrest is also recorded in Matthew 26:47–56, Mark 14:43–50, and John 18:2–12.
Verse 48. but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Judas led a squad of temple guards to the Mount of Olives so they can arrest Jesus. It’s dark. There would have been many people sleeping on the Mount; the soldiers don’t know which one is Jesus. This would have been common in an era long before photography. Jesus’ enemies need Judas so they can recognize which shadow is their target.
Judas has already coordinated with the guards, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard” (Mark 14:44). Jesus, however, stops him short.
Jesus often referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.” He is fully God and in His incarnation He is fully man. He must be human to pay for the sins of humanity, and He must resurrect with a human body to redeem our own physical forms.
But that’s not the only reason Jesus is the Son of Man. He is also the figure Daniel spoke of. One day, He will return from heaven, surrounded by clouds (Acts 1:9–11). The Ancient of Days—God the Father—will give Him authority over the earth “that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” His reign will not end at the millennium, but it will continue for eternity (Daniel 7:13–14).
This is the Person Judas is betraying in return for a bag of money. The other disciples will run and hide when Jesus is arrested. Yet Jesus will restore them and give them thrones from which they will judge the tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28–30). The timing is uncertain—they think it will be sooner rather than later—but Judas can’t even wait that long. Jesus’ words mean nothing to Judas. The miracles He performed didn’t line Judas’s pockets. This moment does. Jesus knows this and tells Judas, “Friend, do what you came to do” (Matthew 26:50).
It appears, however, that Judas doesn’t know the full plan of the priests who paid him. He hasn’t thought beyond Jesus’ arrest. When he finds out the Sanhedrin wants to execute Jesus, he never recovers from the shame and grief (Matthew 27:3–5).
Verse 49. And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
The disciples’ emotions and understandings are scattered. Jesus told them He is going to be killed (Luke 9:21–22, 44; 18:31–34) but full understanding “was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it” (Luke 9:45). During the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus mentioned several times that He is “going away” (John 13—17). The disciples don’t know what this means but they take it seriously enough to be sad (Luke 22:45).
It doesn’t make sense to them. Jesus keeps talking about the coming of the kingdom of God. And just recently, He told the disciples, “Let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one” (Luke 22:36). The Pharisees have wanted to destroy Jesus for a long time (Mark 3:6). Surely this is the time to act. The guards and high priest’s servants are closing in on Jesus. Peter, James, and John are nearest. Jesus has mentioned that in their future travels, they will need a sword. Peter thinks the time has come to use it.
As this question goes out, the guards and servants have reached out and grabbed Jesus (Matthew 26:50). It’s dark and crowded and their Master is being arrested on the orders of toxic religious leaders. The disciples feel they must act now.
Peter won’t wait for a reply (Luke 22:50). He draws his sword and strikes. His sword finds Malchus, one of the servants of the high priests, and slices through his ear (John 18:10).
This isn’t the plan. Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword. Then He heals Malchus’ ear and surrenders to the mob (Luke 22:51; Matthew 26:52).
Verse 50. And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
Temple guards and servants, accompanied and sent by the chief priests and elders, have come to the Mount of Olives in the middle of the night to arrest Jesus (Matthew 26:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:52; John 18:3). Judas has brought them and identified Jesus by kissing Him: a mark of honor from a student to a teacher, which Jesus notes is not appropriate. The soldiers and servants grab Jesus. One of the disciples asks, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” (Luke 22:47–49). Peter doesn’t wait for an answer; he just swings (John 18:10).
When Jesus updated His instructions for what the disciples should take as they traveled, He told them to buy a sword (Luke 22:35–38). Luke is the only gospel writer to record this. That mention echoes a narrative principle called “Chekhov’s gun.” Chekhov, a playwright, said that if you point out some unique item early in the story, such as a gun or a sword, it must be used later in the plot.
Jesus immediately tells Peter to put his sword away, saying, “For all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). When Jesus told Peter to stay up and pray that he would not fall into temptation (Luke 22:40), it may be this moment He had in mind.
Earlier, Jesus justified the sword by saying, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’” (Luke 22:37). When the servant is maimed, witnesses can say that Jesus’ intent is violence. Jesus saves Peter by healing Malchus’s ear (Luke 22:51; John 18:10). But knowing Jesus’ follower used a sword may give the religious leaders more confidence when they claim Jesus is setting Himself up as king against Caesar (Luke 23:2; John 19:12).
Even after this, Peter will have the courage to follow John to the high priest’s house. He will even warm himself by the fire with members of this mob. But he cannot admit to following Jesus. He has just attacked one of their own (John 18:25–27). If they recognize him, he may, indeed, die by the sword.
Verse 51. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
As a mob of guards and servants grab Jesus to arrest Him, Peter tries to defend his teacher (Luke 22:49–50). He draws his sword and swings, catching the ear of one of the servants: Malchus (John 18:10). The momentum of his charge is immediately stilled when Jesus tells him to put away his sword (Matthew 26:52). Christ even goes further, healing the maimed man while scolding Peter.
Matthew more thoroughly describes what Jesus is thinking:
“Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” (Matthew 26:52–54)
Jesus and Peter have had this conversation before:
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:21–23)
Jesus has invested much time teaching the disciples that the kingdom of God is near, in their midst. He’s told them that when He comes into His kingdom, they will sit on thrones and judge Israel (Luke 22:28–30). It’s difficult to wait for God’s timing. Peter is trying to show his loyalty to Jesus. He wants to prove he will not deny Him as Jesus warned. Attacking this group of soldiers might lead Peter to the imprisonment or death that he promised to face (Luke 22:31–33).
Jesus doesn’t want a defender, though. He doesn’t need one. He wants followers who will listen to Him, have faith in Him, and do His will. Peter falls into the temptation of grasping for power; soon, he will fall into the temptation of self-preservation. Surrounded by Malchus’s friends and relatives, Peter will deny Jesus. By healing Malchus, Jesus ensures Peter will not have to face jail or death—just his own shame (Luke 22:54–62).
Interestingly, none of the supernatural signs Jesus shows during His arrest result in any of the aggressors changing their minds (John 18:6, 10–11).
Verse 52. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
Judas has led the temple guards, priests, and servants to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. There, Jesus has been agonizing in prayer. Jesus woke up Peter, James, and John as the crowd approached. In a foolish display of loyalty, Peter draws his sword and slashes at one of the servants. Jesus tells Peter to stop and heals the man’s maimed ear (Luke 22:39–51; John 18:10–11).
Now, Jesus addresses His captors. Jesus has done nothing violent other than drive out the merchants on the temple Mount. These merchants cheated the travelers who needed sacrifices and money-changing, and they clogged the courtyard meant for Gentiles to worship (Luke 19:45–46). He is not a violent robber—like the two men He will be crucified next to. Despite their fears, He has not come to Jerusalem to begin an insurrection against them or the Romans. He is in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and die at their hands.
Right before this moment, Jesus reminded the disciples that He is ever in control. He tells Peter to put away his sword and says, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:52–53). Jesus also asks the mob, “Whom do you seek?” They respond, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus tells them, “I am he.” The force of the words that identify Him as God are so great that they step back and fall to the ground. Jesus then tells them to leave the disciples alone because He will not lose any that the Father gave Him (John 18:4–9).
Even in this moment, Jesus is in full control, “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56).
The King James Version uses “staves” instead of “clubs.” Both mean a blunt weapon made of wood.
Verse 53. When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
A mob has come to arrest Jesus. Peter tries to stop them by attacking with his sword, but he only manages to cut off one ear before Jesus stops him. Now, Jesus challenges the priests, temple guards, and elders of the city: “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?” (Luke 22:52).
Jesus asks the obvious question: if He has committed a crime so egregious it deserves imprisonment, why didn’t they take Him in the temple? Why have they let Him teach multitudes of people in the temple Court? Why didn’t they warn the people that Jesus was a false teacher? Why wait to sneak up on Him in the dark?
The question is rhetorical. The chief priests, Pharisees, and elders desperately want to destroy Jesus. They even want to eliminate evidence of Jesus’ power (John 11:45–57; 12:9–11). They haven’t acted yet because they fear the people (Luke 19:47–48; 22:2). The masses love Him too much. That’s why they were so excited that Judas came forward and promised to lead them to Jesus in a place and time where the people wouldn’t see (Luke 22:3–6).
In addition, the religious leaders couldn’t arrest Jesus for false teaching. They know His teaching isn’t false. He fits the qualifications for the Messiah given in the Old Testament prophecies. He matches Moses’ promise of the prophet greater than himself (Deuteronomy 18:15). But He’s so unmanageable that they can’t let Him take His rightful place in Jewish history.
Finally, emboldened and empowered by the power of darkness, the Jewish religious and civil leaders can destroy the man who stands between them and the security of their power.
Verse 54. Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest ‘s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
This trial occurs at the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Only John records that before this, the mob took him to Annas, former high priest and Caiaphas’s father-in-law. Annas retains so much power that he gets to question Jesus first. John’s account is short. Jesus points out that His teaching has been public, so there’s no need for them to question Him. A guard strikes Him, not in punishment but because the guard felt Jesus insulted Annas (John 18:13–14, 19–24).
Caiaphas is the high priest. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and the people flocked to Him, the religious leaders grew afraid that Jesus was building an army to fight the Romans. They feared He would lose and the Romans would take away the rights and authority of the Sanhedrin. So, they gathered to determine what they should do. Caiaphas said, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:49–50). He meant that they would be justified in killing Jesus so the Romans wouldn’t destroy the Jews. The Holy Spirit meant Jesus needed to die for the salvation and the reconciliation of the Jews. Fittingly, this gave the Sanhedrin the impetus they needed to find a way to kill Jesus (John 11:45–53).
Luke says nothing about the trial at Annas’s home and little about the trial at Caiaphas’s. His focus is on Peter’s disloyalty. The chief priests, elders, and teachers of the law have a difficult time finding witnesses who can affirm Jesus has done anything wrong (Matthew 26:57–61). Two finally say that He said He would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days (Mark 14:55–58), a claim He made early in His ministry (John 2:19). But even the two witnesses can’t agree and, of course, Jesus was talking about His body that laid in the tomb for three days (Mark 14:59).
Having a trial at night is illegal. Caiaphas is trying to find a charge to bring against Jesus so he can formally convict Him in the morning before the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66–71) and justify their demand that Pilate crucify Him (Luke 23:1–5).
Context Summary
Luke 22:54–62 begins the account of Jesus’ trials before the religious leaders. These continue through the end of the chapter (Luke 22:71). Peter tried to physically defend Jesus (Luke 22:49–50). Now, he stands next to a relative of the man he maimed (John 18:26). Matthew 26:58, 69–75, Mark 14:54, 66–72, and John 18:15–18, 25–27 heighten the tension by going back and forth between the religious authorities’ attempts to destroy Jesus by getting Him to admit He is the Messiah and Peter’s attempts to save himself by denying he follows Jesus.
Verse 55. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
Peter is trying extremely hard to prove Jesus wrong. Jesus said Peter would deny Him three times (Luke 22:31–34). Peter first tried to prove his faithfulness by attacking the mob that came to arrest Jesus. Jesus told him to put away his sword. Then He calmly allowed Himself to be taken (Luke 22:47–54; Matthew 26:52).
As the soldiers, priests, and servants led Jesus away, most of the disciples scattered (Mark 14:50). Peter and John follow Jesus. John knows the high priest and gets himself and Peter into the courtyard (John 18:15–16). It’s night in the spring, so it’s chilly. Though surrounded by the enemies of his Master, Peter joins them near the fire.
The accounts of Peter’s denials are consistent in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but John’s details are a bit different. He is the only gospel writer to mention that before Jesus is tried before a secret meeting at the high priest Caiaphas’s house, He was first taken to Caiaphas’s father-in-law Annas (John 18:13–14, 19–23). In addition, only John mentions that Peter can’t get into Annas’s courtyard until John tells a servant girl to let him in. That girl is the first to question Peter about his relationship with Jesus (John 18:15–18).
The question is, does Luke 22:55–57—and Matthew 26:69–70 and Mark 14:66–68—correspond with John 18:15–18, which occurs in Annas’s courtyard, or John 18:25 at Caiaphas’s? Or does Peter deny Jesus four times and Jesus only refers to the three times at Caiaphas’s (Luke 22:34)? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, but it’s worth noting those options to deflect false claims that the differences prove the Bible is inconsistent.
Verse 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.”
Inside the estate of the high priest Caiaphas, an illegal court is challenging Jesus. Soon they will start beating Him. Peter, in the courtyard outside, has his own problems. He followed the mob that arrested Jesus when John, who knows the high priest, got him in (John 18:15–16). What does he do now? He can’t rescue Jesus. He sits by the fire and tries to avoid attention.
The sequence of events seems straightforward when reading the Synoptic Gospels; John, who was there in person, adds more detail. The guards don’t take Jesus to Caiaphas’s house first; they take Him to Annas. Annas is a former high priest who holds so much influence he manages to get his sons and his son-in-law—Caiaphas—appointed as high priest after him. Annas is referred to as a “chief priest”: a role not established by the Old Testament. It seems to refer to priests who have a particular amount of power and influence.
John asks a servant girl at Annas’s house to let Peter in (John 18:16). This girl is the first to accuse Peter of being Jesus’ disciples (John 18:17). We don’t know if the girl to whom Luke is referring here is the same one from Annas’s gate or another servant girl. Some scholars think Annas and Caiaphas lived next door to each other with an open gate between their estates; the girl could have followed Peter from Annas’s gate to Caiaphas’s courtyard.
The other theory is that when Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny Him three times (Luke 22:34), He didn’t count the first time at Annas’s gate since it didn’t happen near the larger gathering of Sanhedrin members at Caiaphas’s. We don’t know why the girl recognizes that Peter knows Jesus. It may be because she knows John and John asked her to let Peter in. Or it may be that his accent gives him away as a Galilean (Matthew 26:73).
Verse 57. But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
Peter is beginning to realize that he may have made a mistake. He has followed the crowd of priests, guards, and servants who arrested Jesus to the home of the high priest. He has joined some of the bystanders at a fire. But he doesn’t want to be identified. Unfortunately, a servant girl does recognize him. She tells the men at the fire, “This man also was with him” (Luke 22:56). Peter denies it.
When Judas helped the priests, Pharisees, scribes, and elders arrest Jesus, he didn’t fully understand what was happening. He apparently didn’t know they wanted to arrest Him so they could have Him killed. Peter is in a similar frame of mind. Jesus warned that Peter would deny Him three times that night. Peter insisted his loyalty would never fail, not even if he were sent to prison or killed (Luke 22:33–34). Peter doesn’t seem to realize that Jesus’ warning is coming true at this moment.
We don’t know why Peter is here in the first place. Is he trying to prove Jesus wrong? Does he think he can rescue Jesus? Whatever he thought initially, he now realizes he is in the courtyard of the high priest. Within earshot, members of the Sanhedrin—the ruling Jewish council—are trying to produce charges against Jesus. Peter is sitting amongst some of the men who arrested Jesus. He’s in a very precarious position. Not only can he not save Jesus, but it doesn’t look like Jesus can save him.
So, when the servant girl accuses him of being one of Jesus’ disciples, all he can think to do is lie.
Verse 58. And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
Peter is in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas. Earlier, a servant girl accused him of being one of Jesus’ disciples. Sitting near the fire, surrounded by some of the guards and servants who had arrested Jesus, Peter lied and claimed he was not (Luke 22:54–57).
Since His arrest, Jesus has been the defendant in an illegal trial with very prejudiced judges. Priests, Pharisees, scribes, and elders have been trying to get Jesus to admit that He teaches heresy. When He challenges them to produce witnesses, they strike Him (John 18:19–22). Witnesses are called but even when they lie, their testimony doesn’t agree (Mark 14:55–59). All this is going on as Peter denies that he follows Jesus.
The accounts of Peter’s denials get confusing. This is the second that Matthew, Mark, and Luke record.
Matthew’s account says,
And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” (Matthew 26:71–72)
Mark’s says,
And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. (Mark 14:69–70)
In Luke, Peter’s response is “Man, I am not!” Peter isn’t speaking to the servant girl; he’s speaking to one of the guards or servants who heard the girl and has indicated interest in her accusation.
Verse 59. And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
This is Peter’s third denial as recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He has already denied Jesus before a servant girl (Luke 22:57) and at least one man that another servant girl warned (Luke 22:58; Matthew 26:71–72; Mark 14:69–70). Now, warming himself before a fire surrounded by the temple guards and the high priest’s servants, he is accused again, this time because of his accent.
John’s account is key. He writes “One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’” (John 18:26). At the garden, Peter had attempted to protect Jesus from arrest by drawing his sword and maiming a servant (John 18:10–11). Jesus healed the man and told Peter to put his sword away (Luke 22:49–51). Before Jesus and the disciples had retired to the garden, Jesus had warned Peter that he—and all the disciples—would turn away from Him. Peter vehemently denied it, saying he would die for Jesus. But Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times this very night (Luke 22:31–34).
Peter couldn’t imagine what circumstances could make him deny Jesus. John tells us. He is alone, first walking, then standing in the courtyard of the high priest, surrounded by the crowd of guards who had arrested Jesus. And right beside him is the cousin of the man he had attacked. He’s not a soldier in a battle, surrounded by comrades. He’s more like an untrained spy in enemy territory.
Luke says they recognize that Peter is a Galilean; Matthew 26:73 says Peter’s accent gives him away. Certain Hebrew letters are pronounced with a deep, guttural sound. Galileans did not pronounce these as distinctly as Judaeans.
Verse 60. But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
This is Peter’s third, or possibly fourth, denial that he knows Jesus.
In the first, he denies the accusation of the servant girl who let him into Annas’s house (John 18:17–18). This may be the same event as recorded in Luke 22:56–57 or it may have occurred earlier. In the second denial Luke records, another servant girl tells the men surrounding the fire that Peter was with Jesus; Peter responds to one of the men who heard her (Luke 22:58; Mark 14:69–70).
This last scenario is the most dangerous for Peter. He is standing around a fire with the guards and servants who arrested Jesus. His challenger isn’t a servant girl. It’s the cousin of the man whom Peter had attacked in the garden very recently (Luke 22:49–51; John 18:10–11, 26–27).
Peter vowed he would never deny Jesus—that he would rather go to prison or even die (Luke 22:33). Jesus told him to pray that he would keep his word, knowing he wouldn’t (Luke 22:34, 45–46). When the mob came to take Jesus, perhaps Peter thought this was his moment. He would show his faithfulness to Jesus. But Jesus didn’t fight. In fact, He healed the wounded man’s ear and told Peter to stand down.
Malchus’s cousin asks Peter directly: “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” (John 18:26). He probably knows exactly who Peter is and what he did. Peter is alone. It’s no wonder he denies Jesus one more time.
Verse 61. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
Many of us have been in Peter’s situation. We are so focused on what is happening that we forget where we are and what is going on around us. We can’t doubt his bravery. He is one of only two disciples to follow the mob who arrested Jesus. Thanks to John, Peter entered the estate of the powerful chief priest Annas (John 18:15–16). Then he followed the proceedings to the home of Annas’s son-in-law, the high priest Caiaphas.
As Peter enters Annas’s door, some part of him realizes he is in great danger. When a servant girl asks if he had been with Jesus, he denies it (John 18:17). When another girl accuses him in front of a group of servants and officials, he denies it again (Luke 22:58; Matthew 26:71–72). Then comes the finishing blow. The cousin of the man Peter attacked during Jesus’ arrest confronts him. Peter is in full survival mode. The denial comes easily but with a level of panic (Luke 22:54–60; John 18:26–27).
But as he finishes this time, he hears a rooster crow. Jesus turns to him, and he remembers the larger story. Jesus had told him that all the disciples would soon abandon their teacher but when he returned, Peter was to build the group up again. Peter had refused to believe it: he would go to prison or even die before he abandoned Jesus. He probably meant to prove it by going to Annas’s. Jesus had responded, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:31–34).
Peter realizes what he has done and runs out in shattered sobs (Luke 22:62).
Verse 62. And he went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus had warned Peter that Satan had asked to tempt the disciples to abandon Jesus. God agreed. But Jesus prayed that Peter would return and encourage the future church leaders, to build their faith again. Peter refused to believe he would ever deny Jesus. Jesus responded that before the rooster crowed, Peter would deny him three times (Luke 22:31–34).
Jesus’ prophesy has come true. The disciples have scattered (Matthew 26:56). Peter has followed the mob that took Jesus all the way into the courtyard of the high priest (John 18:15–16). But in fear for his life, Peter has denied that he knows Jesus three times. The third time, Jesus looks at him, and Peter remembers (Luke 22:54–61).
Peter is heartbroken and isn’t thinking about the second part of Jesus’ prophecy. Jesus will rise again. He will restore Peter (John 21:15–17). After Jesus’ ascension, Peter will build up Jesus’ followers. First, he’ll lead them into finding a replacement for Judas (Acts 1:12–26). Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, he will preach to thousands at Pentecost (Acts 2). When the Sanhedrin tells him to stop teaching about Jesus’ resurrection, he’ll ignore them (Acts 4:18–22). When they beat him, he’ll rejoice (Acts 5:27–42). Even when he missteps (Galatians 2:11–14), he rights himself and leads the church to a better understanding of the gospel (Acts 15).
This day, he weeps bitterly. For three days, he will hide in fear (John 20:19). But that is not the end of Peter’s story.
Verse 63. Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
Luke 22:63–65 describes some of the abuse Jesus suffers during His illegal trial. This is being held at the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Outside, Peter is denying Jesus in fear for his own life. Matthew 26:57–68 and Mark 14:53–65 describe the questioning of the religious leaders. They are trying to prove that Jesus has broken the Mosaic law in some egregious way. They find “witnesses,” but their lies don’t match up.
Eventually, two people affirm that Jesus said He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Even then, their testimony doesn’t agree (Mark 14:57–59). This conversation happened early in Jesus’ ministry after the first time He cleansed the temple (John 2:13–17). When the religious leaders confronted Him, He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). The disciples will soon realize He meant His body, not the literal temple (John 2:22). It’s a setback for the Sanhedrin that the witnesses don’t agree; under Roman law, it’s a capital offense to damage a religious structure.
Luke skips the accusations in this trial and gives a fuller picture of the trial in the morning before the whole Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66–71). They ask many of the same questions, trying to get Jesus to make an official statement to prove His guilt. He finally admits to being the Son of God so they have reason to send Him to Pilate (Luke 22:66–71).
The beating Jesus receives is illegal. Roman authorities have a practice of beating a suspect, thinking only pain and violence will convince them to tell the truth (Acts 22:24). The Mosaic law forbids severe punishments unless the person is convicted by the witness of two men (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). The Sanhedrin likely don’t think this qualifies (Deuteronomy 25:1–3).
Context Summary
Luke 22:63–65 occurs at the end of Jesus’ second trial. Only John seems to record the first trial, at Annas’s home (John 18:13–23). The second is at the home of the high priest Caiaphas. Matthew 26:57–68 and Mark 14:53–65 give more detail about Caiaphas’s trial. Luke mentions only Peter’s denials that occur while the trial is ongoing (Luke 22:54–62) and the beatings at Caiaphas’s, but he gives more detail about the official—and only legal—trial in the morning before the whole Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66–71).
Verse 64. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
The Sanhedrin is holding an illegal trial against Jesus in the courtyard of the high priest Caiaphas. In the process, they mock the claim that He is a prophet. This attack has a deeper meaning than they know. Earlier, Pharisees told Jesus to flee because Herod Antipas was trying to kill Him. Jesus responded with His schedule for the next few months, saying He would go to Jerusalem “for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:31–35). He also told the scribes, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs” (Luke 11:47–48).
When Stephen gives his defense for his devotion to Jesus, He agrees with Jesus, saying, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered” (Acts 7:51–52).
In the Mosaic law, it is a capital offense to give a prophecy that doesn’t come true (Deuteronomy 18:20–22). Ironically, Jesus has just been proved to be a true prophet. He said that Peter will deny Him three times and Peter just has (Luke 22:31–34, 54–62). His prophecies will continue to come true as the religious leaders beat and kill Him (Luke 9:22, 44–45; 11:29–30; 18:31–34).
In truth, Jesus knows who is striking Him. He knows the motives of their hearts (Hebrews 4:13). He knows who will be responsible for convincing Pilate to crucify Him. And while He is hanging from the cross, He will say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Verse 65. And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
Luke’s account of the abuses Jesus suffers during the illegal trail at the home of the high priest Caiaphas is mercifully short. The guards mock and beat Jesus. They blindfold Him, strike Him, and demand that He prophecy who was the culprit (Luke 22:63–64). It’s difficult to say which is more painful. Probably it was not the beatings. Perhaps it was the fact that Judas, one of Jesus’ closest friends, betrayed Him to men that want to kill Him (Luke 22:47–48), or that Peter , who so often acted as if he were the self-appointed leader of the Twelve, denied that he knew Jesus and then ran into the night (Luke 22:54–62). The greatest torture may be that the religious and civil leaders of the Jews are presently rejecting their Messiah. Jesus has admitted to being “the Christ, the Son of God.” He has warned them that they will see Him sitting at God’s right hand. The high priest’s response is to dramatically tear his robes as if in mourning and declare Jesus’ words blasphemous (Matthew 26:63–65).
A high priest should know better. He should know the Jewish Scriptures so well that when he looks at Jesus, the words of the prophets leap off the page and shout, “This is Him! This is the One you have waited for” (John 5:39–40)! The high priest should lead the Sanhedrin and then the people into worship of their God incarnate. Let the Romans crucify Him for other reasons, but let the Jews worship their God!
Jesus knows this can’t happen. He told the disciples He must be arrested so that the prophets would be fulfilled (Matthew 26:56). The prophecy of the Suffering Servant must come true (Isaiah 52:13—53:12). Not just that He will be pierced, carry our griefs, and refuse to defend Himself; the entire prophecy will come true.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
Verse 66. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said,
This is Jesus’ third trial of the night, but the first which is vaguely legal. After Jesus’ arrest, the guards and servants took Him to the home of Annas, the priestly power broker. John seems to call this man the “high priest,” although at that time he was a chief priest (John 18:13–24).
Annas then sent Jesus to his son-in-law, the current high priest, Caiaphas. Caiaphas needed to find something for which Pilate would crucify Jesus. He and some of the Sanhedrin members brought out witnesses to testify against Jesus, but their accounts didn’t match. Eventually, Jesus admitted to being the Messiah and the Son of God (Matthew 26:57–68; Mark 14:53–65; Luke 22:63–65).
Now, it is daybreak. They take Jesus to the full Sanhedrin council and finalize their charges against Him. Jesus affirms that He is the Christ and the Son of God (Luke 22:67–70).
Not everyone present is Jesus’ enemy. Joseph of Arimathea is a member of the council but also a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 27:1, 57; Mark 15:43). He, along with Nicodemus, will take down Jesus’ body from the cross and bury Him in the stone tomb (John 19:38–42).
More shockingly, not everyone present will remain Jesus’ enemy. The priests should know that Jesus fulfills the prophecies that describe the Messiah. At the time, however, they had no earthly reason to give up their power and position to follow Him. That will change. After watching the disciples boldly preach Jesus’ resurrection—ignoring the Sanhedrin’s warnings and beatings—some will change their minds. Luke will later write: “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
Jesus’ forgiveness of His killers will bear fruit (Luke 23:34).
Context Summary
Luke 22:66–71 records Jesus’ third and only legal trial before the Jewish leaders. Whatever Jesus said in the first two trials doesn’t matter. In this third trial, before the Sanhedrin, they make an official charge: Jesus formally claims to be the Son of God. His claim, they think, blasphemes God and the Roman emperor—a capital offense. Matthew 27:1–2 and Mark 15:1 only say that at this trial the Sanhedrin agree to take Jesus to Pilate (Luke 23:1–5). After Pilate sees Jesus, he’ll send Him to Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6–12) before the Sanhedrin convinces Pilate to crucify Jesus (Luke 23:13–25).
Verse 67. “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,
Jesus’ enemies have held two illegal trials since His nighttime arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. The question they pose and the answer Jesus gives shows they are at cross-purposes. The Sanhedrin is trying to get Jesus to admit that He is a political threat to Rome’s hold on Israel. If He will admit He is the Christ, they have a chance.
When Jesus claimed to fulfill the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, He quoted Isaiah 61:1–2 about how He will “proclaim good news to the poor” and “liberty to the captives,” and heal the blind (Luke 4:18–19). He also claims that His betrayal by Judas and consequent arrest fulfills Scripture (Luke 22:37; John 13:18). More subtly, throughout His entire ministry, He has referred to Himself as the “Son of Man.” That term is what God calls Ezekiel as a kind of representative of humanity (Ezekiel 2:1). But it’s also the name of the prophetic figure to whom the Ancient of Days will give dominion (Daniel 7:13–14).
The Sanhedrin wants Him to admit to being the king of Isaiah 9:6–7. That is the kind of Messiah which Rome would see as a threat. Jesus is considering a different angle. He is the Messiah of the men gathered here and they are rejecting Him. They are the religious and political leaders of the Jews. The nation of Israel, such as it is, will follow where they lead.
He can tell these leaders He’s the Messiah. Tragically, they will not believe, nor will they lead the Jews to salvation through their God. They are completely missing the point. But to ensure the path to the cross goes forward, Jesus does admit to being the Son of God (Luke 22:70).
There appears to be a discrepancy between this passage and the other two Synoptic Gospels. Matthew says, “And the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:63–64).
The difference seems to be that Matthew’s account as well as Mark 14:61–62 occurred at one of the previous illegal trials during the night; Luke 22:63–65 hurried over that trial without detailing what was said. Or, that Mark and Matthew summarize the two events by explaining their basic components. This is the official trial before the Sanhedrin. They need Jesus to speak now so they can have a legal charge for Pilate. Only Luke records this interchange.
Verse 68. and if I ask you, you will not answer.
The Sanhedrin is holding trial against Jesus. The two illegal trials He faced at night mean little for the Jewish leaders. They were just trying to soften Jesus up. Here, they need Him to incriminate Himself. When they asked if He was the Christ, He admitted to it (Matthew 26:63–64). Now, He won’t give them a straight answer. When they say, “If you are the Christ, tell us,” He responds, “If I tell you, you will not believe” (Luke 22:67). The Jewish leaders already know but they will never accept. They are guilty of blasphemy.
The Sanhedrin don’t realize that Jesus is putting them on trial and this is their final conviction. They know He fulfills the prophecies of the Messiah given in their Scriptures (John 5:39–40). The scribes of the Pharisees know those prophecies inside and out. But they refuse to accept the truth because they would rather keep their popularity with the people—an honor Jesus is systematically taking from them (John 11:45–53).
Jesus faced several trials before the crucifixion:
1. At night, at the home of the chief priest Annas (John 18:12–24).
2. At night, at the home of the high priest Caiaphas (Matthew 26:57–75; Mark 14:53–72; Luke 22:54–65; John 18:24–27).
3. At dawn, before the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66–71).
4. Before Pilate (Matthew 27:2, 11–14; Mark 15:1–5; Luke 23:1–5; John 18:28–38).
5. Before Herod Antipas (Luke 23:6–12).
6. Before Pilate again (Matthew 27:15–26; Mark 15:6–15; Luke 23:13–25; John 18:38—19:16).
Verse 69. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
Jesus is at His third trial in the span of several hours, but the first which is legal. The Sanhedrin has been called; those who tried Jesus illegally during the night are trying to get Him to incriminate Himself again. At the previous trial, they gathered witnesses to accuse Him of blasphemy, but none of the witnesses’ testimonies agreed (Mark 14:55–59). Jesus did admit to being the Messiah (Matthew 26:63–64); now, they need Him to repeat that claim before the whole council.
They ask Jesus if He is the Christ. He responds, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer” (Luke 22:67–68). His words reveal that as they are putting Him on trial, He is doing the same to them. They refuse to acknowledge their Messiah and are therefore guilty of blasphemy. Now, Jesus shows how deeply wrong they are. They aren’t just rejecting their Messiah; they’re rejecting their God.
Jesus knows He must walk the road to the cross, so He gives them what they need. He has referred to Himself as “the Son of Man” throughout His public ministry. It’s possible He did so to point out that He is fully man, a representation of humanity, much like how God used the term to refer to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:1). Here, however, Jesus assumes the full meaning, the prophecy of Daniel 7:13–14:
“I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.”
The accusers see their chance. They think Jesus has committed blasphemy by claiming to sit at God’s right hand; in their eyes, this denigrates God’s status as transcendent. Now they go in for the kill by asking Jesus if He is the Son of God; He uses a common expression to agree (Luke 22:70). This is what they need: not only is He claiming equality with their God, but He’s claiming equality with—even superiority over—the emperor.
Verse 70. So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”
After a night of illegal trials and a morning filled with a legal trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders almost have what they need to eliminate Jesus. He has just claimed that He will be “seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69). To Jews of that era, such a statement is a blasphemous insult. The transcendent God could never be in the presence of an unclean human. God would never sit beside any human. In their minds, that makes Jesus guilty of blasphemy. He has broken the Mosaic law. He is technically worthy of death. But that’s only the first step.
They want Jesus destroyed, but they don’t want to complete the act on their own. They’re afraid of the people who love Jesus so much they may stone anyone who kills Him: even their own priests and elders (Luke 22:2). The Sanhedrin wants the Romans to kill Jesus, but to make that happen they need Jesus to break the Roman law. So, they ask Him if He is the Son of God. The thought would disgust them, but it would fill their purposes. To claim to the be the Son of God would claim an equal standing with the emperor.
Jesus’ reply is oblique, as if He does not want to give a straight answer. The Sanhedrin takes it as a definite admission that breaks the Mosaic law and gives them what they need for Pilate. “What further testimony do we need?” they ask themselves. “We have heard it ourselves from his own lips” (Luke 22:71). They don’t understand that what they’ve heard is the truth. Not only will Jesus, fully man, sit at the right hand of God, Jesus, fully God, is with them now.
Verse 71. Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
The Sanhedrin gets the testimony it needs. This is Jesus’ third trial. In the second, some of the same people asked Him the same question: “Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus answered in the same way: “You have said so,” a vague assent. At that point, the high priest tore his robes and the other religious leaders present agreed Jesus deserved death (Matthew 26:63–66).
Luke records little of that trial (Luke 22:63–65). This is the official trial before the whole Sanhedrin. Whatever Jesus said in the previous two trials doesn’t matter legally. They need to get Him to repeat His words.
He does so. First, He claims to be the Son of Man who will sit at God’s right hand (Luke 22:69). The council considers such familiarity with God to be blasphemy. Now, He does not deny that He is the Son of God. Not only is blasphemy according to their point of view, but it is an insult to the Romans: for them, only the emperor is the son of God.
Jesus’ enemies have what they need. They can now take Jesus to Pilate and demand that Jesus deserves death. They frame Jesus’ crime as claiming to be the king of the Jews, a rival to the emperor. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who can’t get Jesus to say anything. Pilate knows Jesus isn’t a threat to the emperor. But he also knows that the Sanhedrin could ruin him if they make good on their threat to send word that Pilate has shown mercy to someone guilty of sedition (John 19:12). So, Pilate gives them what they want and sends Jesus to the cross (Luke 23).
End of Chapter 22.
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