The Good News by Luke 22

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The Plot to Kill Jesus

1 [The time] approached for the Festival of Unleavened Bread,* known as the Passover.* 2 The chief priests and the scholars were looking for a way to kill Jesus, but they were afraid of the people.

Judas the Traitor

3 Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. 4 So he went to the chief priests and to the captains of the temple guard to discuss a plan for handing Jesus over to them. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him some money. 6 He accepted and began watching for a suitable opportunity to hand him over to them when a crowd was not present.

The Festival

7 Next came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which it was customary to slaughter the Passover lamb.* 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, telling them, “Go and arrange for us to eat the Passover supper.” 9 They asked, “Where do you want us to arrange it?” 10 So he said to them, “When you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house he enters 11 and say to the head of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you: “Where is the room where I will eat the Passover supper with my disciples?”’ 12 He will show you a large furnished room on the upper floor. Make arrangements there.” 13 So they went and found everything just as Jesus had told them, and they made arrangements for the Passover.

14 When the hour came,* Jesus and his apostles sat down to dinner.* 15 He said to them, “I have longed with [all] my heart to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I assure you that I will not eat it again until its intended meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I assure you that I will not drink the juice of the grapevine* again until the Kingdom of God comes.”*

The Supper of the Messiah

19 Jesus took bread and thanked God. Then he broke [it] and gave [it] to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for your sake. Do this in commemoration of me.” 20 In the same way, he took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant* that God is making with you with my blood, which is shed for your sake. 21 But pay attention! The one betraying me is present with me at the dinner table. 22 The One Who Became Man will die just as it was decreed, but how terrible it will be for that man who betrays him!” 23 So the disciples began to ask among themselves: “Which one of us is going to do this?”

One Who Serves People is the Greatest Among Them

24 A dispute also took place among them about who was the greatest one among them. 25 So Jesus said to them, “The kings of the nations dominate them, and those in authority among them are given the title ‘Benefactor.’ 26 But as for you, this should never happen with you. Rather, the greatest one among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like a servant. 27 For who is greater: Is it the one who sits at dinner, or the one who serves? Of course, it is the one who sits at dinner! But I myself am among you as the one who serves!

28 “You who have stood with me in my trials: 29 I will give you the authority to reign, just as my Father has given me the authority to reign, 30 and so you will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Peter Will Deny Him

31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to test you [all] just as a farmer sifts wheat. 32 But I have prayed to God for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. Then when you have returned to me, you must strengthen your brothers.*” 33 He said, “Master, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34 But [Jesus] replied, “Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

35 Then he said to them, “When I sent you out with neither a moneybag, nor a food bag,* nor sandals, did you need anything?” They replied, “No.” 36 He said to them, “But now, whoever has a moneybag should take it [with him], and whoever has a food bag should take it. And whoever does not have a sword with him should sell his coat and buy a sword. 37 I assure you, this passage of Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with the evildoers.’ For what the Scriptures say about me will be fulfilled.”* 38 The disciples said, “Look, Master, here are two swords.” He said to them, “That's enough!”

In Gethsemane

39 [Jesus] left and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 When he arrived at the place,* he said to them, “Pray that you will not enter a time of testing*.” 41 Then he withdrew from them a little, bowed down on his knees, and prayed, saying, 42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.* But [make] what you want happen, not what I want.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. 44 [Jesus] was in an intense struggle and began to pray more fervently. His sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground.

45 When he got up from prayer and returned to the disciples, he found them sleeping because of [their] grief. 46 He said to them “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not enter a time of testing.”

The Arrest of Jesus

47 While he was speaking, a mob came, led by the one called Judas, who was one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss him. 48 Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the One Who Became Man?” 49 When the followers of Jesus saw what was about to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 Then one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “Stop this!” And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the captains of the temple guard and the elders who had come against him, “Am I a robber, that you have come out against me with swords and clubs? 53 I was with you in a Temple courtyard every day, and you did not arrest me. But this is your hour! Now [is when] darkness prevails!” 54 So they arrested him and led him away and brought him into the home of the high priest, while Peter followed him at a distance.

Peter Denies Him

55 When [the servants] lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 A maid saw him in the firelight as he was sitting [there]. She stared at him and said, “This man was also with Jesus.” 57 But he denied [it] and said, “Woman, I don't know him.” 58 After a while someone else saw him and said, “You, too, are one of them.” But Peter said, “Not at all, man!” 59 After about an hour someone else insisted, saying, “Surely this man too was with Jesus, because he is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I don't know what you're saying.” And while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 Then our Lord Jesus turned and looked at Peter, and Peter remembered what the Lord had said and how he had told him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”* 62 And he went out and wept in anguish.

Before the Religious Court

63 The men who were guarding Jesus were mocking him and hitting him. 64 They would cover his face and say to him, “Prophesy: Who hit you?” 65 And they directed many other insults at him.

66 When day came, the elders of the people gathered, both the chief priests and the scholars, and they led Jesus away to their High Council. 67 They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us.” But he replied, “If I told you, you would not believe [me], 68 and if I asked you, you wouldn't answer. 69 But from now on, the One Who Became Man will sit to the right of God Almighty.*” 70 So they all said, “Are you, then, the Son of God?*” He replied, “You have spoken correctly.” 71 Then they said, “Why do we need further testimony? We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!”

 *22:1 the Passover: another name for the Festival of Unleavened Bread. It is also a name for the first day of the festival, which commemorated the last evening meal the Children of Israel ate before leaving their homes in Egypt.

 *22:7 the Passover lamb: a sheep sacrificed at the Temple by each family and then cooked for the Passover supper. This meal took place on the first evening of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, to celebrate how the blood of a lamb protected their ancestors from the angel of death, which was the tenth plague that God sent against the Egyptians in the time of the prophet Moses (see Torah, Exodus 12:1-13, 21-30).

 *22:14 When the hour came: the time for eating the Passover meal. This was just after sundown on the evening of the first full moon after the spring equinox (the first day of spring). In this case the meal was eaten on Thursday evening, April 6, AD 30.

 *22:14 sat down to dinner: See explanation at Luke 7:36.

 *22:18 the juice of the grapevine: the grape juice that was drunk during the Passover meal. During this meal it was also referred to as “the cup.”

 *22:18 until the Kingdom of God comes: This refers to the coming of the Kingdom of God in full at the end of the age, when Jesus will return to the earth as its king and the dead will be raised to life. This is a different coming from the founding of the Kingdom of God when Christ first came.

 *22:20 covenant: “an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return” (WordNet Dictionary). God's covenants were ratified with a blood sacrifice. In the Bible, the new covenant is “a covenant of grace, the benefits of which include forgiveness, a renewed relationship with God and, through the Holy Spirit, an inward transformation that enables obedience to its demands” (Dictionary of Bible Themes). God foretold the new covenant in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34.

 *22:35 food bag: See note at Luke 9:3.

 *22:37 this passage of Scripture: This is quoted from a verse in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (53:12) that speaks about the coming Messiah: “He sacrificed his life in death and was counted with the evildoers; he bore the sins of many and interceded for those who were guilty.”