Luke · chapter 22 of 24
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Luke 22 narrates Jesus' last night before the cross. Judas agrees to betray him, Jesus celebrates the Passover with the twelve and establishes the Supper with the bread and the cup of the new covenant. He prays on the Mount of Olives, is arrested after Judas's kiss, Peter denies him three times, and the council questions him and mocks him.
With chapter 22 the account of the passion begins, the center of the Gospel. Luke shows Jesus giving himself with full awareness, surrounded by weak disciples: one betrays him, another denies him, all fall asleep. The supper and the prayer reveal why he goes to the cross and with what heart.
The Passover draws near, and the chief priests and scribes look for a way to kill Jesus without stirring up the people. Satan enters Judas, one of the twelve, who agrees with them to betray him for money. Peter and John prepare the Passover in an upper room. He takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it and says it is his body given for them; after supper he takes the cup and says it is the new covenant in his blood, poured out for them. He announces that one of them will betray him, and the disciples argue about who is greatest. Jesus teaches that the greatest must be like one who serves, since he himself is among them as one who serves, and he promises them a kingdom.
Jesus tells Simon that Satan has asked to sift them like wheat, but that he has prayed for him that his faith may not fail; when he has turned back, he must strengthen his brothers. Peter insists he is ready to go to prison and to death, and Jesus tells him that before the rooster crows he will deny him three times. They then go out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus withdraws to pray on his knees: he asks that this cup be taken away, but not his will, the Father's will be done. An angel strengthens him and the disciples sleep from sorrow.
Judas arrives with a crowd and approaches to kiss Jesus, who asks whether he betrays the Son of Man with a kiss. A disciple strikes the high priest's servant with a sword, and Jesus heals him. Taken to the high priest's house, Peter follows at a distance and before three people denies knowing him; the rooster crows, the Lord turns and looks at Peter, who goes out and weeps bitterly. The guards mock Jesus. At daybreak they bring him before the council, where he says that from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God, and when asked whether he is the Son of God he answers that they say so.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus says the bread is his body given for them and the cup is the new covenant in his poured-out blood. With these signs he explains the meaning of his death and commands his followers to remember it.
Jesus says he is among them as one who serves. Greatness in the kingdom is measured by service, and the King himself sets the example.
Jesus tells Simon he has prayed for him that his faith may not fail, and that when he turns back he should strengthen his brothers. He anticipates Peter's fall and also his restoration.
Jesus prays that, if the Father is willing, this cup be removed, but that not his will but the Father's be done. His real humanity does not hinder his total obedience.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Satan entered Judas, one of the twelve. — Luke 22:3
Answer: That it was his body, given for them, and that they should do this in remembrance of him. — Luke 22:19
Answer: That it was the new covenant in his blood, poured out for them. — Luke 22:20
Answer: That his faith would not fail, and that when he turned back he would strengthen his brothers. — Luke 22:31-32
Answer: That the cup be taken from him, yet that the Father's will be done, not his own. — Luke 22:41-42
Answer: He went out and wept bitterly, after the Lord turned and looked at him. — Luke 22:61-62
Luke 22 invites us to look at Jesus who serves and gives himself, and to remember his sacrifice whenever we celebrate the Supper. In a class you can reflect on what it means to take the bread and the cup with gratitude and self-examination, not out of routine.
Peter's fall warns us against self-confidence, and the Lord's look reminds us that even after failing, he has prayed for us. If you feel defeated by a fall, remember that Peter's failure was not the end: the Lord restored him. And in the prayer at Gethsemane we find a model for the darkest hours: honesty before the Father and surrender to his will.
Luke 22 ends with Jesus before the council, which condemns him for his answer. In Luke 23 he is taken before Pilate and Herod, sentenced to death and crucified between two criminals, one of whom receives the promise of paradise.
Verses 43 and 44, with the angel and the sweat, are missing in some ancient manuscripts, and translations note this. Where they are included, they describe extreme anguish. It does not say it was literal blood, but that the sweat fell like great drops.
Jesus speaks of changed circumstances: now that he will be counted among transgressors, the disciples will face hostility. When they show him two swords, he says it is enough, and later he rebukes the use of the sword at the arrest. It is understood as warning language and not as a call to violence.
As in Job, Satan needs permission to test. Jesus prays that Peter's faith not fail and anticipates his restoration. It shows that believers' trials are under Christ's care and intercession.