New Testament Commentary - Luke 22

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 22 Christ institutes the sacrament—He suffers in Gethsemane, and is betrayed and arrested—Peter denies knowing him—Christ is smitten and mocked.
1 NOW the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the ^aPassover. 2 And the chief ^apriests and ^bscribes sought how they might ^ckill him; for they feared the people.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
3 ¶ Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot^a, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went his way, and ^acommuned with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.	3^a entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot Satan or Lucifer is a personage of spirit. The angels and spirits of the devil may enter into and take possession of those who do succumb to his power and influence. This seems to be the frightening case with Judas Iscariot, Satan took possession of him, not that the 'Devil made him do it', but that he did bow to the inticings of evil to the point that he allowed it to take control and possession of him.	1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
5 And they were glad, and covenanted to give him ^amoney. 6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
7 ¶ Then came the day of ^aunleavened bread, when the ^bpassover must be killed. 8 And he sent ^aPeter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. 9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
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. 11 And ye shall say unto the ^agoodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber^a, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12 And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. 13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.	11^a the guestchamber It is supposed that as a 'guest-house' or 'guest residence' arrangement, that this large upper room, which was furnished, was also structured to be of a more private and personal abode, that it had its own stair case with access to the 'guestchamber' from without of the house, that the guest might come and go without trapesing through the family's home.
14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, ^auntil it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not ^adrink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19 ¶ And he took ^abread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my ^bbody which is ^cgiven for you: this do in ^dremembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the ^acup after supper, saying, This cup is the new ^btestament in my blood, which is shed for you.
21 ¶ But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was ^adetermined: but woe unto that man by whom he is ^bbetrayed! 23 And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
24 ¶ And there was also a ^astrife among them, which of them should be accounted the ^bgreatest. 25 And he said unto them, The ^akings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 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 ^aserve. 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 ^aserveth.
28 Ye are they which have ^acontinued with me in my ^btemptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath ^aappointed unto me; 30 That ye may ^aeat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones ^bjudging the twelve tribes of Israel^a.	30^a ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Jesus had twelve disciples or apostles whom we are given to understand will sit and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. The coinciding number twelve would seem to indicate that each apostle would take upon himself the responsibilty to judge a certain and specific tribe of Israel. This may or may not be the actual case, but the 12 may sit as joint judges of the tribes combined. However, the relationship between 12 apostles and 12 tribes seems intriguing. But then there is the added consideration that Judas, one of the twelve would fail and fall from grace and would not so occupy a position among the 12. This leaves only 11 apostles unless Jesus Christ himself were to be included as one of the 12 judges so spoken of at this time. Yet, one might suppose that a replacement for Judas might be allowed. If not, then one might wonder which of the twelve tribes would Jesus so personally judge? There are of course two ready possibilities, Judah and Ephraim (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph).
31 ¶ And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, ^aSatan hath desired to ^bhave you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have ^aprayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art ^bconverted, ^cstrengthen thy brethren. 33 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ^aready to go with thee^a, both into prison, and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt ^athrice deny that thou knowest me.	33^a Lord, I am ready to go with thee On the one hand Peter was of the nature to rush right in, not considering the full extent of the circumstance. And on the other hand, it was Peter's self pride in his confidence in himself, which so allowed him to be of this nature. Peter, though the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Revelation, had borne witness to him that Jesus was the Christ, yet he lack a fuller and complete understanding and conversion unto the Lord. He needed to be more humble and patient in the Lord, and not so ready to rely on his own strength, but to rely more on the strength of the Lord.
35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without ^apurse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36 Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the ^atransgressors^a: for the things concerning me have an end. 38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.	37^a this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors Christ, according to the prophecy of the Old Testament was 'reckoned' between transgressors or between two thiefs. He was judged and counted to be in transgression against the law, though he was inocent of all such sin and trangresssions.
39 ¶ And he came out, and went, as he was ^awont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into ^atemptation.
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, ^aremove this cup from me: nevertheless not my ^bwill, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an ^aangel unto him from heaven^a, strengthening him^b. Ministering Angel Certainly that being which did attend to the Savior or stood my him was an Administering Angel. Whether of spirit or translated flesh, as those were the only options prior to the time of the first resurrection, which was Jesus Christ, that angel was not present to help him to endure the suffering other than his presence, but rather was more likely there to 'strengthen' him upon that completion of it. Whether a figure such as Garbriel who is Noah or even that presence of the Holy Ghost personally removed and standing by, that angel, as depicted by Carl Block, was as Luke subscribed him to be, there to 'strengthen' the Lord. How else, after suffering such an ordeal, could a man of mortality continue on and further endure as our Lord and Savior did? There was not mention afterward of Jesus being a 'bloody mess', which would be most likely after sweating out great drops of blood from every pore. Rather Jesus seem to appear most normal and upright before all his accusers and they, though being Jews, are not opposed to the handling of him which would not be if he were covered with blood. Block ~ Gethsemane Detail	43^a there appeared an angel unto him from heaven Luke's gospel is the only one which mentions this angelic presence during Christ vicarious suffering ordinance of the atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke presumes that this 'angel' was present to strengthen the Lord. Yet we know that the Lord was to suffer and accomplish this great suffering all of his own accord. It was his sacrifice and none other was to participate. In such speculations as to who this angel visitor was who stood by, one might consider that because of the very nature of Christ's mission and its importance that he had the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost who abode with him. The Father so placed 'his spirit' upon him (Isaiah 42). Thus one consideration is that the 'angel presence' which Luke reports was but the Holy Ghost withdrawn from Christ, yet standing by, as the Lord did take upon himself, alone, the sufferings for the sins of the world. 43^b strengthening him Now, after Jesus had suffered the shedding of his own blood from every pore, which was a tremendous drain upon him which we cannot comprehend, that he would need '*strengthening' should not be surprising. Neither would it be surprising if that 'strengthening*' did not come but by priesthood blessing. Christ had suffered alone, but he could be 'healed' or 'strengthen' and perhaps even need to be for the remaining ordeal to come. Certainly when confronted by the 'mob' who would arrest him and take him to stand trial, he was anything but a picture of weekness.
44 And being in an ^aagony he prayed more earnestly: ^band his sweat was as it were great drops of ^cblood^a falling down to the ground.	44^a his sweat was as it were great drops of blood Jesus literally bled from every pore. The suffering was so exquisite and intense that it caused He, even God, to tremble because of pain, and to shrink that He might not drink the bitter cup (D&C 19:18).
45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
47 ¶ And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 48 But Jesus said unto him, ^aJudas, ^bbetrayest thou the Son of man with a ^ckiss? 49 When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
50 ¶ And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and ^ahealed him.
52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? 53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of ^adarkness.
54 ¶ Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the ^ahall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.
58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.
61 And the ^aLord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
63 ¶ And the men that held Jesus ^amocked him, and smote him. 64 And when they had ^ablindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? 65 And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.
66 ¶ And as soon as it was day, ^athe elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, 67 Art thou the ^aChrist? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68 And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.
69 ^aHereafter shall the ^bSon of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 70 Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. 71 And they said, What need we any further ^awitness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.