Verses 1-6: A Deadly Plot and a Chosen Betrayal

¹ Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. ² The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people. ³ Satan entered into Judas, who was also called Iscariot, who was counted with the twelve. ⁴ He went away, and talked with the chief priests and captains about how he might deliver him to them. ⁵ They were glad, and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and sought an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.

• Evil can be both spiritual and political, yet neither surprises God:

  The chapter opens with religious leaders seeking Jesus’ death, constrained by fear of the people, while Judas becomes a channel of demonic influence. The text holds together multiple layers of evil—human calculation, institutional pressure, and satanic activity—without implying that any of these remove moral responsibility.

• Proximity to Jesus does not automatically produce fidelity to Jesus:

  Judas was “counted with the twelve,” yet he moved toward betrayal. This warns the church that outward membership and spiritual privilege must be accompanied by sincere devotion, repentance, and truthfulness before God.

Verses 7-13: Jesus Prepares the Passover with Sovereign Foresight

⁷ The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” ⁹ They said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare?” ¹⁰ He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters. ¹¹ Tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ ¹² He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there.” ¹³ They went, found things as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

• Jesus is not a victim of events; he guides events toward God’s saving purpose:

  In the very week his enemies plot his death, Jesus calmly directs the Passover preparations with precise knowledge of what will happen. The narrative encourages believers to trust that God’s redemptive plan is not fragile, even when evil seems organized and powerful.

• Faithful discipleship expresses itself in practical obedience:

  Peter and John respond to Jesus’ command by preparing what is needed. Their obedience highlights that spiritual devotion includes concrete acts of service done in trust, even when the full meaning of the moment is not yet understood.

Verses 14-23: The Passover Fulfilled—The New Covenant in Jesus’ Blood

¹⁴ When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, ¹⁶ for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in God’s Kingdom.” ¹⁷ He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this, and share it among yourselves, ¹⁸ for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.” ¹⁹ He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” ²⁰ Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. ²² The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!” ²³ They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

• The Lord’s Supper is anchored in Jesus’ self-giving and the new covenant:

  Jesus identifies the bread with his body “given for you” and the cup as “the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” The church’s Eucharistic practice (however one articulates its sacramental mystery) is rooted in Christ’s saving gift and covenant-making action, received with thanksgiving and remembered in worship.

• God’s determined plan and human accountability are both real:

  Jesus affirms that “The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined,” and in the same breath pronounces “woe” on the betrayer. The text refuses a false choice between divine purpose and moral responsibility: God is not thwarted by evil, and yet betraying Christ remains culpable sin.

• The kingdom horizon shapes the church’s present worship:

  Jesus speaks of fulfillment “in God’s Kingdom” and of not drinking again “until God’s Kingdom comes.” The supper therefore looks both backward to the cross and forward to the kingdom’s consummation, forming believers in hope, patience, and expectancy.

• Passover reaches its goal in Jesus’ saving self-offering:

  Luke places this meal “on which the Passover must be sacrificed,” and Jesus immediately speaks of suffering and of his body “given for you” and his blood “poured out for you.” In other words, the chapter invites the church to see Jesus’ approaching death as the climactic redemption to which Passover pointed, now received in the new covenant meal with reverent faith and thanksgiving.

Verses 24-30: Greatness Reversed—Servant Leadership and Kingdom Promise

²⁴ A dispute also arose among them, which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ He said to them, “The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ ²⁶ But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn’t it he who sits at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. ²⁹ I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, ³⁰ that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

• Christian authority must look like Christ’s service, not worldly domination:

  Jesus contrasts worldly rulers who “lord it over” with his command, “But not so with you,” grounding the church’s leadership ethic in his own example: “I am among you as one who serves.” Spiritual leadership is therefore cruciform—marked by humility, sacrifice, and care, not self-importance.

• Persevering with Jesus in trials is honored by Jesus in the kingdom:

  Jesus recognizes that the apostles “have continued with me in my trials” and then speaks of kingdom fellowship and vocation. The passage teaches that grace does not make endurance irrelevant; rather, faithful continuation with Christ is meaningful and will be openly acknowledged in God’s future. This continuing is not presented as self-made achievement, but as a lived faithfulness that expresses grace already at work in Christ’s disciples.

• The kingdom is a gift conferred within the Father’s saving purpose:

  “I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me” presents salvation and kingdom inheritance as graciously bestowed, not earned. Yet it is bestowed in relationship to Christ and expressed in a life shaped by his ways.

Verses 31-38: Satan’s Sifting, Jesus’ Intercession, and the Coming Test

³¹ The Lord said, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, ³² but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.” ³³ He said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!” ³⁴ He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times.” ³⁵ He said to them, “When I sent you out without purse, wallet, and sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” ³⁶ Then he said to them, “But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. ³⁷ For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.” ³⁸ They said, “Lord, behold, here are two swords.” He said to them, “That is enough.”

• Spiritual warfare is real, but Christ’s prayer is stronger than the enemy’s request:

  Satan “asked” to sift the disciples, yet Jesus says, “but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail.” The church is taught to take temptation seriously while resting in the interceding ministry of Christ, who upholds his people through trial and aims not merely at survival but at restoration and strengthening of others.

• Failure is not the final word when repentance and restoration follow:

  Jesus foretells Peter’s denial in detail, yet also speaks hope: “when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.” The passage holds together sober realism about human weakness and confident expectation that grace can restore the fallen to fruitful ministry.

• Disciples must adapt to hardship without losing trust in God’s provision:

  Jesus contrasts an earlier season of mission when they lacked nothing with a coming season requiring readiness and vulnerability to danger. The point is not self-reliance replacing faith, but sober preparedness under God—learning to follow Christ in changing circumstances.

• Jesus understands his suffering through Scripture’s fulfillment:

  Jesus explicitly frames what is happening by saying, “this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’” His passion is not an accident; it is the outworking of God’s long-promised redemptive purpose, interpreted by the Scriptures and accomplished in history.

Verses 39-46: Gethsemane—Prayerful Submission in Agony

³⁹ He came out and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him. ⁴⁰ When he was at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you don’t enter into temptation.” ⁴¹ He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him. ⁴⁴ Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. ⁴⁵ When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶ and said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

• Jesus’ obedience is freely embraced in real human anguish:

  Jesus prays with profound honesty—“remove this cup from me”—and profound surrender—“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” This displays the depth of his suffering and the perfection of his obedience, strengthening believers to bring real fears to God while yielding to God’s wise will.

• Prayer is God’s appointed means for resisting temptation:

  Twice Jesus commands prayer “that you don’t enter into temptation.” The disciples’ grief and fatigue are understandable, yet Jesus insists that spiritual danger is met through watchful prayer—an abiding theological pattern for the church’s endurance.

• Heaven strengthens the suffering Son for the saving task:

  The appearance of an angel “strengthening him” shows divine support without removing the cup. God may not always take away the trial, but he gives sustaining grace that enables faithful obedience through it.

Verses 47-53: Betrayal, Non-Retaliation, and Mercy in the Hour of Darkness

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He came near to Jesus to kiss him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ A certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “Let me at least do this”—and he touched his ear, and healed him. ⁵² Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders, who had come against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you in the temple daily, you didn’t stretch out your hands against me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

• Betrayal can wear the mask of affection, but Jesus exposes it:

  Judas approaches with a kiss, and Jesus names the contradiction: betrayal disguised as intimacy. The church is warned that religious language and gestures can be hollow, and that loyalty to Christ must be measured by truth and obedience, not appearances.

• Jesus refuses the kingdom’s advance by violence and displays healing mercy:

  When a disciple uses the sword, Jesus stops the escalation and heals the wounded man. Even in his arrest, Jesus acts as healer rather than avenger, teaching that God’s saving reign comes through self-giving love, not coercive force.

• Darkness has an hour, but not the last word:

  Jesus calls the arrest “your hour, and the power of darkness,” acknowledging real evil and real spiritual opposition. Yet the very clarity with which Jesus names it, and the chapter’s steady movement toward fulfillment, signals that darkness is bounded and ultimately overcome within God’s purpose.

Verses 54-62: Peter’s Denial and Bitter Weeping

⁵⁴ They seized him, and led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed from a distance. ⁵⁵ When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Peter sat among them. ⁵⁶ A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷ He denied Jesus, saying, “Woman, I don’t know him.” ⁵⁸ After a little while someone else saw him, and said, “You also are one of them!” But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!” ⁵⁹ After about one hour passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean!” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he said to him, “Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” ⁶² He went out, and wept bitterly.

• Fear can make disciples stumble, yet Christ’s gaze calls them back to truth:

  Peter follows “from a distance,” then denies Jesus repeatedly. But the turning point is not Peter’s willpower; it is “The Lord turned and looked at Peter,” and Peter remembers Jesus’ word. The passage highlights both human frailty and the restoring power of Christ’s personal, convicting presence.

• True repentance is not self-justification but bitter sorrow over sin:

  Peter “wept bitterly.” The church learns that repentance is more than regret at consequences; it is grief over having denied the Lord, opening the way for restoration and renewed faithfulness.

Verses 63-65: The Mocked Messiah

⁶³ The men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him. ⁶⁴ Having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?” ⁶⁵ They spoke many other things against him, insulting him.

• The Savior enters the depths of human contempt to save:

  Jesus is mocked, beaten, blindfolded, and insulted. Theologically, this underscores the seriousness of sin and the costliness of redemption: the Holy One willingly bears shame and violence as part of his saving mission.

Verses 66-71: The Son of Man Exalted—Jesus’ Confession Before the Council

⁶⁶ As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people were gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying, ⁶⁷ “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe, ⁶⁸ and if I ask, you will in no way answer me or let me go. ⁶⁹ From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” ⁷⁰ They all said, “Are you then the Son of God?” He said to them, “You say it, because I am.” ⁷¹ They said, “Why do we need any more witness? For we ourselves have heard from his own mouth!”

• Jesus openly claims messianic and divine sonship under oath-like scrutiny:

  Before the council, Jesus does not merely defend himself; he speaks of his exaltation and answers their climactic question: “You say it, because I am.” The passage anchors Christian confession in Jesus’ own testimony about who he is.

• The cross stands alongside exaltation—suffering does not negate lordship:

  Jesus declares, “From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God,” even as he is being condemned. Theologically, Luke binds humiliation and glory together: the path to enthronement runs through faithful suffering, and present rejection does not overturn God’s verdict.

• Unbelief can be resistant even in the face of clarity:

  Jesus notes, “If I tell you, you won’t believe,” exposing that the issue is not lack of information but hardness of heart. This warns the church that saving faith involves receptive trust, not mere exposure to evidence, and it calls hearers to respond to Christ with humility.

• God’s saving plan advances through human choices without excusing sin:

  Luke 22 holds together that Jesus’ path is “as it has been determined” and that betraying him brings “woe.” This teaches that God’s providence is purposeful and undefeated, while human agents remain responsible for what they freely do, so the church can trust God’s sovereignty without minimizing the reality of repentance and judgment.

• The Lord’s Supper proclaims covenant grace centered on Christ’s self-offering:

  Jesus identifies the bread and cup with his “body which is given for you” and “the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” The church therefore approaches the table with gratitude and reverence, receiving anew the promise that God binds himself to his people through Christ’s sacrificial life and death.

• Kingdom leadership is measured by service, not status:

  Jesus rejects the “lord it over” model and grounds greatness in becoming “as one who serves,” reflecting his own presence “as one who serves.” This forms a shared ethic across the whole church: authority is for building up, humility is the mark of maturity, and true greatness is cruciform.

• Temptation is resisted through prayer and sustained by Christ’s intercession:

  Jesus commands, “Pray that you don’t enter into temptation,” and assures Peter, “I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail.” Believers therefore engage spiritual battle actively through watchful prayer, yet with deep comfort that Christ supports their faith and restores them when they turn again.

• Jesus’ obedient submission reveals the heart of redemption:

  In Gethsemane Jesus prays, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done,” showing that salvation is not only accomplished by power but by perfect obedience offered in love amid agony. The church learns to bring honest lament to the Father while yielding to God’s will, trusting that obedience is fruitful even when costly.

• Mercy remains visible even in betrayal and arrest:

  Jesus confronts Judas’ false kiss, stops violent retaliation, and heals the wounded servant. Theologically, this displays a kingdom that overcomes evil with good, calling believers to reject vengeance and embody Christ’s healing presence—even when wronged—while still naming sin truthfully.

• Repentance after failure is a real path back into faithful service:

  Peter denies Jesus, then remembers the Lord’s word and “wept bitterly,” and earlier Jesus had said, “when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.” This encourages believers who stumble that conviction is not meant to end in despair but to lead to turning again, restoration, and renewed strengthening of the church.

• Jesus’ identity as the exalted Son grounds the church’s worship and hope:

  Jesus declares that the Son of Man will be “seated at the right hand of the power of God,” and affirms, “You say it, because I am.” The church’s confidence rests not in circumstances but in the reigning Christ, whose present authority and future kingdom fulfillment give courage in trials and clarity in confession.

Conclusion: Luke 22 reveals Jesus as the willing, obedient Savior who establishes the new covenant through his self-giving, forms his disciples into humble servants, sustains them through temptation by prayer and intercession, confronts betrayal with truth, answers violence with mercy, restores the repentant, and stands condemned yet confident as the Son of Man and Son of God who will be seated at God’s right hand—inviting the church to faithful worship, watchful prayer, and steadfast hope.