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Luke 22

Chapter Text

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

The Last Supper

Who Is the Greatest?

Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

On the Mount of Olives

Jesus Arrested

Peter Denies Jesus

Jesus Before the Council

Summary

The feast of unleavened bread draws near and the chief priests and scribes seek to kill Jesus. Satan enters Judas, who arranges to betray Jesus. Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover meal. During supper, He institutes the Lord's Supper with bread and wine.

Jesus foretells the betrayal and the disciples' dispute about who is greatest. He predicts Peter's denial but assures him of restoration. In Gethsemane, He prays in agony until His sweat becomes like drops of blood. Judas betrays Him with a kiss. Jesus heals the ear of the high priest's servant. He is arrested and Peter denies Him three times.

Meaning

Luke's account of the Last Supper emphasizes Jesus' longing to eat this Passover with His disciples before His suffering. The bread and wine are given new meaning as His body and blood, establishing the new covenant. This is the pivotal moment where the old covenant meal is transformed into the memorial of Christ's sacrifice.

Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane, with sweat like drops of blood, reveals the full weight of the cup He was about to drink. Yet His submission, not my will, but thine, be done, is the pattern for all who follow Him. His instruction to the disciples to pray that they enter not into temptation shows that spiritual vigilance is the antidote to failure.

Background

Luke alone records that an angel appeared to strengthen Jesus in Gethsemane and that His sweat was like great drops of blood. This condition, known as hematidrosis, can occur under extreme psychological stress.

The dispute about greatness during the Last Supper seems staggering given the solemnity of the occasion, yet it reveals the persistent human tendency toward self-promotion even in sacred moments. Jesus' response redefines leadership as service.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-6The plot and Judas' betrayal
  2. vv. 7-13Preparing the Passover
  3. vv. 14-20Institution of the Lord's Supper
  4. vv. 21-30Betrayer foretold and true greatness
  5. vv. 31-38Peter's denial foretold
  6. vv. 39-46Agony in Gethsemane
  7. vv. 47-53The arrest of Jesus
  8. vv. 54-62Peter denies the Lord
  9. vv. 63-71Mockery and trial before the council

Key Verses

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.22:19

The institution of the Lord's Supper, foundational to Christian worship and the doctrine of the Eucharist. Christ links the Passover bread to his own sacrificial body, establishing the central ordinance of the church.

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.22:20

Inaugurates the New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah 31, sealed in Christ's blood. This verse anchors Christian understanding of atonement and covenant theology.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.22:42

The supreme model of submission to the Father's will, voiced in Gethsemane's agony. Believers across centuries have echoed this prayer in their own hours of trial.

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.22:32

Christ's intercessory prayer for Peter reveals his ongoing priestly ministry on behalf of failing disciples, and shows that restoration follows repentance.

People & Places

People

  • JesusThe Christ, who institutes the Lord's Supper, prays in agony, and is betrayed and arrested.
  • Judas IscariotOne of the twelve apostles who, entered by Satan, betrays Jesus to the chief priests for money.
  • PeterApostle who pledges loyalty unto death yet denies Christ three times before the cock crows.
  • JohnApostle sent with Peter to prepare the Passover meal.
  • SatanThe adversary who enters Judas and seeks to sift the disciples as wheat.
  • Simon (Peter)Addressed by Jesus with the warning of Satan's sifting and the promise of intercessory prayer.
  • Chief priests and scribesReligious leaders plotting Jesus' death and conspiring with Judas.
  • Captains of the templeTemple guard officers who negotiate with Judas and arrest Jesus.
  • The servant of the high priestMan whose right ear is severed by a disciple's sword and healed by Jesus' touch.
  • A certain maidServant girl by the fire who first identifies Peter as one of Jesus' followers.
  • The eldersMembers of the Sanhedrin who convene at daybreak to interrogate Jesus.

Places

  • JerusalemThe city Peter and John enter to prepare the Passover, setting of the Last Supper and arrest.
  • The upper roomLarge furnished guestchamber where Jesus eats the Passover and institutes the Lord's Supper with his apostles.
  • Mount of OlivesHillside east of Jerusalem where Jesus customarily prayed and where he agonized before his arrest.
  • The high priest's houseResidence to which Jesus is taken after arrest, and where Peter denies him in the courtyard.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Jesus explicitly cites Isaiah 53:12 in verse 37 — 'And he was reckoned among the transgressors' — declaring that the Suffering Servant prophecy must be accomplished in him. His declaration in verse 69 that 'the Son of man' shall sit at the right hand of God draws on Daniel 7:13-14 and Psalm 110:1, claiming messianic enthronement before the council. The cup of the new testament in his blood (v. 20) fulfills Jeremiah 31:31-34's promise of a new covenant, while Peter's denial fulfills Jesus' own prediction in verse 34.

Devotional

Luke 22 sets devotion and failure side by side. Peter swears he will follow Christ to death, then denies him beside a charcoal fire — yet Jesus had already prayed for him, and a single look from the Lord turns boasting into bitter, healing tears.

In the garden, Jesus shows us how to pray when the cup will not pass: honestly naming the dread, then surrendering the will. Discipleship is not measured by the strength of our promises but by the mercy that meets us when we break them. The same Christ who broke bread for traitors still strengthens trembling brethren today.

Literary Style

Passion narrative in Gospel prose, weaving fast-moving scenes of conspiracy, table fellowship, prayer, arrest, denial, and trial. Luke employs vivid dialogue, dramatic irony (Peter's boast against Christ's foreknowledge), and intimate detail — the angel, the bloody sweat, the Lord's turning gaze.