Luke Chapter
22:1-30
Memory verses
for this week: James 5:20 Let him know,
that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall
save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Introduction: We continue our study of
the book of Luke this week as we continue in chapter 22. Last
week, we began our study with the study about how great the widow’s
gift of two mites was to the Lord. Jesus delivered the Olivet
discourse and told about how he would return in great power and
glory. Jesus also foretold the destruction of Jerusalem.
I. Judas
Betrays Jesus to the Chief Priests
Luke
22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called
the Passover.
Luke
22:2 And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill
him; for they feared the people.
The Passover was
a feast of the Jews that was observed by them every year in the
month of April. While Jesus was preparing to keep the feast, the
chief priests and scribes were conferring together how they might
kill Him, not realizing that He was the ante typical Passover Lamb.
The religious leaders were really seeking to destroy the Lord. It
says they would have done it had it not been for fear of the common
people.
Luke
22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the
number of the twelve.
Luke
22:4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and
captains, how he might betray him unto them.
Luke
22:5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.
Luke
22:6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto
them in the absence of the multitude.
Satan moves in
and takes possession of Judas to betray the Lord. Unfortunately
for Judas, he was doing just what God had foreseen would be done.
However, just like Judas, there are many today who associate with
Christians and take part in religious services, but they have never
known Christ themselves. I’m sure Judas thought that no one had
heard the agreement he made with the chief priests and captains.
But God knew all about it as He later revealed. The chief priests
and captains were very glad that Judas had come to them, and they
offered him money. The thirty pieces of silver was worth about $18
in our money today. Judas sought opportunity to betray Christ unto
them in the absence of the multitude.
II. Preparation
of the Passover
Luke
22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must
be killed.
Luke
22:8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the
passover, that we may eat.
The Passover
lamb was to be killed on the 14th day of April. Jesus
sent Peter and John to prepare a place to eat the passover feast.
These two men are mentioned many times in the scriptures. They were
part of what is known as the ‘inner circle’ of friends.
Exo
12:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
saying,
Exo
12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall
be the first month of the year to you.
Exo
12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the
tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
Exo
12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and
his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of
the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count
for the lamb.
Exo
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:
ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Exo
12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall
kill it in the evening.
Luke
22:9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
Luke
22:10 And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the
city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow
him into the house where he entereth in.
Luke
22:11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master
saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the
passover with my disciples?
Luke
22:12 And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there
make ready.
Luke
22:13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they
made ready the passover.
The men ask
Jesus “Where wilt Thou that we prepare?” Jesus had no home in or
about Jerusalem, and this was a valid question. In those days, it
was customary for the Jews to have a special room set apart as a
guest chamber where they might entertain travelers, particularly at
the time of the Passover. Jesus tell them that there would be a man
bearing a pitcher of water that would show them the room where they
were to prepare the passover.
Note some of the
things about these directions.
1. There was
not a definite name given to the man.
2. There was no
definite description to help them identify.
3. How were
they to know they had met the right man?
4. It was an
uncommon thing to see a man to be found in the public streets with a
pitcher of water. This errand was typically done by the women who
generally carried the water in earthen jars upon their heads.
5. Jesus was
making a clear identification of the man by him bearing the pitcher
of water.
6. Note that
the man was evidently a believer in Christ. (verse 11)
7. It may be
that this was the house where John Mark lived. We know this home
had a large upper room where the disciples gathered after the
resurrection of the Lord. This was where the early church held its
first prayer meetings.
8. The
disciples went, and found the man just like the Lord said they
would. You will always find this to be true. Whatever Jesus said,
it always came to pass.
Matthew Henry
said this about the room they sought to partake of the Passover
feast.
The preparation that
was made for Christ’s eating the passover with his disciples, upon
the very day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be
killed according to the law, v. 7. Christ was made under the
law, and observed the ordinances of it, particularly that of the
passover, to teach us in like manner to observe his gospel
institutions, particularly that of the Lord’s supper, and not to
neglect them. It is probable that he went to the temple to preach in
the morning, when he sent Peter and John another way into the city
to prepare the passover. Those who have attendants about
them, to do their secular business for them in a great measure, must
not think that this allows them to be idle; it
engages them to employ themselves more in spiritual
business, or service to the public. He directed those whom he
employed whither they should go (v. 9, 10): they must follow a
man bearing a pitcher of water, and he must be their guide to
the house. Christ could have described the house to them; probably
it was a house they knew, and he might have said no more than, Go to
such a one’s house, or to a house in such a street, with such a
sign, etc. But he directed them thus, to teach them to depend upon
the conduct of Providence, and to follow that, step by step.
They went, not knowing whither they went, nor whom they
followed.
[i]
III. The Last
Passover
Luke
22:14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve
apostles with him.
Luke
22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this
passover with you before I suffer:
Luke
22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it
be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Luke
22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this,
and divide it among yourselves:
Luke
22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the
vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Jesus had often
participated in the Passover feasts in the years that had gone by.
It was a picture of His own approaching death, and His love led Him
to long to have His disciples with Him at this table. Notice that
only the twelve apostles were present with the Lord. Jesus was the
only one in Israel who knew that this Passover prefigured His own
death on Calvary and the salvation which He was to procure by the
shedding of His blood. The ‘Cup’ mentioned in verse 17 had nothing
to do with the Lord’s Supper.
IV. The Lord’s
Supper Instituted
Luke
22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave
unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do
in remembrance of me.
Luke
22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the
new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
The bread that
Jesus brake spoke of His broken body. The cup spoke of His blood
that was shed for the remission of sins. He told them that they
took this bread and cup to remember the Lord’s death.
J. Vernon McGee
said this about these verses.
The Lord took two of
the most frail elements in the world as symbols of His body and
blood. Bread and wine—both will spoil in a few days. When He raised
a monument, it was not made of brass or marble, but of two frail
elements that perish. He declared that the bread spoke of His body
and the wine spoke of His blood. The bread speaks of His body
broken—not a bone broken but a broken body because He
was made sin for us (see 2 Cor. 5:21). I do not believe He even
looked human when He was taken down from that cross. Isaiah had said
of Him, “… his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form
more than the sons of men” (Isa. 52:14); and “… there is no beauty
that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2).
For centuries the
Passover feast had looked forward to the Lord’s coming and His
death. Now He is in the shadow of the cross, and this is the last
Passover. The Passover feast has now been fulfilled. We gather about
the Lord’s Table and search our hearts. What we do at this Table is
in remembrance of Him. We look back to what He did for us on the
cross, and we look forward to His coming again. “For as often as ye
eat this bread, and drink this cup ye do shew the Lord’s death till
he come” (1 Cor. 11:26).
[ii]
V. Jesus
Announces His Betrayal
Luke
22:21 But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on
the table.
Luke
22:22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe
unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
Luke
22:23 And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it
was that should do this thing.
Jesus declares
that the one who would betray Him was sitting at the table. While
this was a horrible time in Christ’s life, it was not a surprise.
In the council halls of eternity, it had been determined that Jesus
would come and die for the sins of the world. He willingly gave up
his throne in glory and came down in the form of man to pay the
price that we could not pay for our sins. Jesus said that it would
have been better that the man who betrayed him had never been born.
Mark
14:21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe
to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for
that man if he had never been born.
The disciples
started inquiring among themselves who it was that would betray
Christ. It is apparent from this that Judas had been able to
conceal his sins from the rest of the disciples. We may can fool
man, but God knows all about our real heart.
VI. Strife
Concerning Who Would be the Greatest
Luke
22:24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should
be accounted the greatest.
Luke
22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are
called benefactors.
Luke
22:26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you,
let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth
serve.
Luke
22:27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that
serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he
that serveth.
It was
immediately after the Lord’s Supper that the disciples began to
quarrel among themselves as to who would have the chief place in the
coming kingdom.
It is sad that
our human drive makes us want to have positions of power and
prestige. Jesus rebukes them by indicating that their ambitious
spirit was common among the nations and sinful men, it should not be
found among His own. Greatness is shown by lowly service. The
kingdom of God is the only kingdom ever known to man where the
greatest are those who take the humblest place.
VII. The
Apostle’s Place in the Future Kingdom
Luke
22:28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Luke
22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed
unto me;
Luke
22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit
on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
When Jesus come
again to reign on this earth for a thousand years, he said the 12
apostles would sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
Who will that 12th apostle be? We know that it won’t be
Judas as he was lost from the beginning and certainly will not be
coming to reign with Christ to judge the nation of Israel. Judas
apparently is in Hell awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment which
comes at the end of the 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ.
Who will the 12th
disciple be? Perhaps it will be Matthias who was voted in to take
Judas place by the church. My personal thinking is that it will be
the apostle Paul. While he never walked with the Lord nor was
trained on earth by him, I believe the efforts he put forth in his
life after salvation warrant him being the 12th man. He
was known as the apostle unto the Gentiles.
Acts
1:23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was
surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
Acts
1:24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the
hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen,
Acts
1:25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from
which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place.
Acts
1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon
Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Rom
11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of
the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Rom
11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my
flesh, and might save some of them.
1
Tim 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I
speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles
in faith and verity.
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[i]Henry,
Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible,
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers) 1997.
[ii]J. Vernon
McGee, Thru the Bible commentary [computer file],
electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.