Luke 22: There are some logistical problems in sorting through the different Gospel accounts of the timing of these events. These problems are easily solved because the problems occur through translational nuances.
Keep in mind that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are all one feast. Passover day is the Preparation Day for Passover. We are told in John that the time of the crucifixion of Messiah was on Passover Day upon which day Pilate would traditionally free a prisoner in Judah (John 18:39). It is stated again in John that this was the preparation day when Yeshua was nailed to a tree (John 19:14-16). We are told that Yeshua died at the ninth hour (at about 3:00 PM) at the time of the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (Luke 23:44-45). The Passover Lamb was to be sacrificed at “twilight” which is sometime between noon and the evening. The middle of that time would be about the ninth hour or three PM our time (Ex. 12:5-6).
(Luke 22:1 NASB) Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching.
(Luke 22:2 NASB) And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people.
(Luke 22:3 NASB) And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.
(Luke 22:4 NASB) And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them.
(Luke 22:5 NASB) And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
Luke 22:5: The text states that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was approaching. We are told in Mark that the Feast (meaning Passover) was still two days away at this point (Mark 14:1, 10-11).
(Luke 22:6 NASB) And he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the multitude.
Luke 22:6: Judas was sly. He was planning this out.
(Luke 22:7 NASB) Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
(Luke 22:8 NASB) And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”
(Luke 22:9 NASB) And they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?”
Luke 22:9: This is where translational difficulties come in to play. Verse 7 says that the first day of Unleavened Bread had come. That cannot be because Yeshua was killed on the first day of Unleavened Bread.
The word “first” is not in the Hebrew passage. The Hebrew word for “came” can also be translated as “coming.” Come – G2064. erchomai, a prim. vb.; to come, go:– arrival(1), arrived(1), brought(1), came(219), come(234), comes(62), coming(88), Expected(m)(3), fall(2), falls(m)(1), go(1), going(2), grown(1), next(1), turned(1), went(18).
Verse 7 should probably read “Then coming upon the first day of Unleavened Bread…” We had just read that the previous events too place two days before the Feast. This was the next day. Notice that Yeshua told them to go an prepare Passover for all of them and they did not know where to do it. Had it been that day, they probably would have already had a place. Yeshua states in verse 15 that He was celebrating this Passover with them before He suffers, so He is eating it with them early because He will be suffering during that time.
(Luke 22:10 NASB) And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.
(Luke 22:11 NASB) “And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”‘
(Luke 22:12 NASB) “And he will show you a large, furnished, upper room; prepare it there.”
(Luke 22:13 NASB) And they departed and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
Luke 22:13: Yeshua told them what they would see when they entered the City and what they were to do. Everything was found just as He said.
(Luke 22:14 NASB) And when the hour had come He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
(Luke 22:15 NASB) And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
(Luke 22:16 NASB) for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 22:16: Yeshua is saying that He will not eat of the Passover meal again until the Passover meal is made full in the Kingdom of Elohim. It is likely that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is a description of a Passover celebration (Isaiah 25:6-9).
(Luke 22:17 NASB) And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
(Luke 22:18 NASB) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
Luke 22:18: Yeshua passes on the wine and does not drink it. He tells them to share it among themselves. He has apparently taken the Nazarite vow until He returns in judgment and glory.
(Luke 22:19 NASB) And when He had taken some bread and 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.”
Luke 22:19: Yeshua said the unleavened bread they were eating is symbolic of Him. He earlier told them that He was the Bread of Life (John 6:33-36).
(Luke 22:20 NASB) And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Luke 22:20: Notice that His blood is not the New , but the New Covenant is IN His blood. It is through His blood that we receive the New Covenant. Just as Moses sprinkled the blood of the covenant on Israel, His blood is the blood of the New Covenant (Ex. 24:6-8). Moses sprinkled the blood on the people to designate their obligation to the Covenant. With the New Covenant, we are sprinkled with clean water which is His Word (Eph. 5:26-27, Ezek. 36:25-27). The blood of Messiah is the blood of the New Covenant which makes us clean in the sight of Elohim because He places His Word in our hearts and minds.
(Luke 22:21 NASB) “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table.
(Luke 22:22 NASB) “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
(Luke 22:23 NASB) And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.
Luke 22:23: It was Judas who was chosen as the one who would betray Yeshua. He was chosen from long ago to do this as it was prophesied 1000 years earlier (Psalm 41:9).
(Luke 22:24 NASB) And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.
(Luke 22:25 NASB) And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’
(Luke 22:26 NASB) “But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.
Luke 22:26: The disciples were arguing amongst themselves over which of them would be regarded as the greatest in the kingdom. Yeshua tells them how to be counted as the greatest. He does a contrast with the kings in the Gentile world. The kings in the Gentile world rule over the common people and the kings call themselves “benefactors” or “doers of good.” But the doers of good are the ones who are the common people who serve others, not the kings who get served.
(Luke 22:27 NASB) “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
Luke 22:27: Yeshua asks, “Who is greater? The one who is served or the one who serves?” The Kingdom of Israel is different than the kingdoms of the Gentiles. The greatest are the ones who serve others.
Yeshua arrived and served others. He healed the sick. He comforted those who mourned. He fed the hungry. This is the challenge for us today. Are we truly showing our love for others in the world today? We should be serving others at all times, for His return is near (Luke 12:37)
(Luke 22:28 NASB) “And you are those who have stood by Me in My trials;
(Luke 22:29 NASB) and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you
(Luke 22:30 NASB) that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Luke 22:30: Yeshua says that His Father has granted Him a Kingdom. To sit at the table with the King is a place of great honor. Those who will sit at His table are the ones who serve the most. Many will come from all parts of the earth and sit at His table. But many for whom the Kingdom was initially intended and had the greatest chance to be a part of it, will be cast out (Matt. 8:11-12).
(Luke 22:31 NASB) “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
(Luke 22:32 NASB) but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:32: Yeshua did not pray that Peter would not encounter Satan, but He prayed that Peter would not fail.
(Luke 22:33 NASB) And he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!”
(Luke 22:34 NASB) And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”
Luke 22:34: Yeshua knows Peter better than Peter himself. He tells Peter that he will deny Yeshua before the sun comes up today.
(Luke 22:35 NASB) And He said to them, “When I sent you out without purse and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” And they said, “No, nothing.”
Luke 22:35: Yeshua is reminding them that they have been provided in a similar fashion as Israel was when they were wandering in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2-3).
(Luke 22:36 NASB) And He said to them, “But now, let him who has a purse take it along, likewise also a bag, and let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one.
Luke 22:36: Up to this time, Yeshua personally saw to it that his disciples were prepared and lacking in nothing. They lacked in nothing. But now their time of persecution is going to begin. He is telling them to prepare for it.
(Luke 22:37 NASB) “For I tell you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘AND HE WAS NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”
Luke 22:37: Yeshua is telling them that they are about to encounter the time of His suffering and death which is described in Isaiah. He quotes the end of the suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53 by saying “and He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).
(Luke 22:38 NASB) And they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”
Luke 22:38: I think the disciples missed the point when Yeshua told them to prepare for difficult times. I don’t think He is necessarily telling them to bring their swords with them right now.
(Luke 22:39 NASB) And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him.
(Luke 22:40 NASB) And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Luke 22:40: Yeshua was telling them to pray that they not to enter into temptation. He is not specific as to what the temptation is in this case. But He wants them to be steadfast in obedience to the Father, especially after He leaves them (Psalm 119:116-118, 133, Prov. 30:8-9).
(Luke 22:41 NASB) And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,
(Luke 22:42 NASB) saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.”
Luke 22:42: Yeshua knows that He is about to take the sins of the people upon Himself. He uses the term “If Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me..” because that is a reference to the cup of the anger of the Father that he is about to endure (Isa. 51:17, 22, Jer. 25:15-17).
(Luke 22:43 NASB) Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.
Luke 22:43: An angel came from the Father to strengthen Him. We are not given details, but it may have been similar to the strengthening that Daniel received also (Dan. 10:16-19).
(Luke 22:44 NASB) And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.
Luke 22:44: Yeshua was in such agony that His sweat became like droplets of blood. The sweat like droplets of blood remind us the sin of Adam that caused him to eat bread by the sweat of his brow until his death (Gen. 3:17).
(Luke 22:45 NASB) And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,
(Luke 22:46 NASB) and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Luke 22:46: The text states that the disciples were “sleeping from sorrow.” I do not fully understand what that means. Sorrow does not usually induce sleep. It could mean they were sleeping instead of feeling sorrow. We are told in Matthew’s account they fell asleep three times and Yeshua seemed frustrated with them (Matt. 26:40-46).
(Luke 22:47 NASB) While He was still speaking, behold, a multitude came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him.
(Luke 22:48 NASB) But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Luke 22:48: The betrayal of Yeshua with is kiss is not directly prophesied, but is alluded to in the Tanakh (Psalm 55:21, Prov. 27:6)..
(Luke 22:49 NASB) And when those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
(Luke 22:50 NASB) And a certain one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
(Luke 22:51 NASB) But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Luke 22:51: We are told in John’s account that this was Peter who drew his sword (John 18:8-11). Yeshua did not want His disciples killed in a sword fight. That was not the intention of their presence with Him. They were there to accompany Yeshua and be with Him during His time of need. But they slept during that…
(Luke 22:52 NASB) And Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber?
(Luke 22:53 NASB) “While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.”
Luke 22:53: Yeshua wants to know why they have swords and clubs. They know He is not a robber or killer. He tells them He was with them daily in the Temple and they could have grabbed Him then. If the Pharisees and other enemies of Yeshua could have had Him arrested at any time, why did they hire the likes of Judas to help them? The answer is that since of His own betrayed Him, it gave credence to their demands for His death.
(Luke 22:54 NASB) And having arrested Him, they led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.
(Luke 22:55 NASB) And after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them.
(Luke 22:56 NASB) And a certain servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.”
(Luke 22:57 NASB) But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
Luke 22:57: Peter denies Yeshua. This is one thing that Yeshua warned His people against (Matt. 10:33). However, we do see the forgiveness of the Father in what happened with Peter (1 John 1:9).
(Luke 22:58 NASB) And a little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
(Luke 22:59 NASB) And after about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.”
(Luke 22:60 NASB) But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, a cock crowed.
(Luke 22:61 NASB) And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a cock crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
(Luke 22:62 NASB) And he went out and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:62: Peter went out and wept bitterly. He was in mourning for his sin. Yeshua said “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 4:4). This Scriptural principle (as all of those mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Brit Hadashah) is rooted in the Tanakh (Psalm 126:5-6, Psalm 130, Jer. 31:18-20).
(Luke 22:63 NASB) And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him, and beating Him,
(Luke 22:64 NASB) and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?”
(Luke 22:65 NASB) And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.
Luke 22:65: They blindfolded Yeshua and beat Him. They were mocking Him by telling Him to prophesy and tell them which of them punched Him last. The Roman soldiers were sadistic and very cruel.
(Luke 22:66 NASB) And when it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying,
(Luke 22:67 NASB) “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
Luke 22:67: The elders of the people assembled and took counsel against the Father and against His Annointed. This too, was prophesied (Psalm 2:1-3).
(Luke 22:68 NASB) and if I ask a question, you will not answer.
(Luke 22:69 NASB) “But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.”
Luke 22:69: Yeshua is quoting Psalm 110:1 saying that they are His enemies and they will soon be His footstool (Dan. 7:13-14).
(Luke 22:70 NASB) And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.”
(Luke 22:71 NASB) And they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
Luke 22:71: By admitting He is the Son of Elohim and with the words Yeshua has been quoting them, He is warning them (Psalm 2:7, 12).
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas