Luke 22

NOw the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people. See the Notes on Matth. 26.1, 2, 3, 4, 5. and on Mark 14. v. 1, 2.

Then entred Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.

And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.

And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

And be said unto them, Behold, when ye are entred into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entreth in,

And ye shall say unto the good man of the house, The master says unto thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

And they went and found as he said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. See the Notes on Matth. 26.17, 18, 19. and on Mark 14.12.

And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you, before I suffer.

For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, untill it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

And he took the cup and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among your selves.

For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

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.

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

But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me, is with me on the table.

And truly the Son of man goeth as it was determined: but wo unto that man by whom he is betrayed.

And they began to enquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. See the Notes on Matth. 26. from v. 20. to v. 30. where is opened whatsoever Luke has, that is not in the other Evangelists.

And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. Luke only taketh notice of this strife, at the time of their being in the Guest-Chamber. Such a strife we read of, Matth. 18.1. & 20.25, 26. Mark 9.33. and in this Gospel, Ch. 9.46. by which it is apparent, that they had been more then once arguing this point. But yet most Interpreters think that it is here placed by Luke out of order, and some Translate in this Text, There had been, not there was, and indeed we can hardly think so uncharitably of the Apostles, as to imagine of them, that immediately after their receiving, first the Passover, then the Lords Supper, their thoughts should be taken up with things of this nature, much less that they should discourse of any such Subjects as these, especially also considering what our Saviour had told them, that he was betrayed into the Hands of Sinners. Something of our Saviours Answer pressing upon them Brotherly Love, and mutual Serviceableness, each to other, was very proper to this time, which our Saviour (tho spoken before) might at this time repeat, and Luke prefatorily to it might take notice of this contest in this place.

And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them, are called benefactors.

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 does serve,

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 serveth. See the Notes on Matth. 20.25, 26, 27, 28. The Sum is, Our Saviour hereby teacheth all his Disciples (his Ministers especially) to avoid all Affectation of Rule and Dominion, as that which became Heathens rather than Christians, and the Kings of the Gentiles, rather than the Ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ. This Text giveth no Countenance to the levelling of all orders of Men. Magistracy is an ordinance of God, and ought to be upheld. Order also in the Church is to be observed, for God is the God of order; but no Minister of Christ ought to affect great Titles, nor to Exercise a Dominion or Lordship, 1 Pet. 5.3. Our Work is to Feed the Flock of Christ, taking the oversight of them not by Constraint, but willingly. Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: Neither as being Lords over Gods Heritage, but being Examples to the Flock, 2 Cor. 1.24. Not for that we have Dominion ver your Faith, but are helpers of your Ioy. That the Ministers of Christ may not have Titles given them: speaking Honour and Reverence due to them, I do not know. But the reason is obvious, why they should not affect them to be fo d of them: for Pride is a vain and vicious Affection, and more culpable in them then others. Their Works are but a Ministration to the Church in putting the Laws of Christ relating to it in Execution, and it is their greatest Honour to be Humble. Nor does this at all Degrade a Minister of Christ, for even Christ himself while he was upon the Earth, was not as one that sate at Meat, but as one that served.

Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.

And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my father has appointed unto me.

That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. These Verses seem to contain (tho in a few more Words) the substance of what we met with, Matth. 19.28. There they are spoken as an answer to Peter, speaking on the behalf of himself, and the rest of the Apostles, who had forsaken all to follow Christ. Christ tells them there, that those which had followed him in the Regeneration, when the Son of Man should sit on the Throne of his Glory, should sit upon twelve Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of Israel. That time which our Lord there calleth the Regeneration, is the time, when he had been giving a new Birth to the Church, Reforming the World by his Doctrine and holy Example. That time he here calleth the time of his Temptation, by which he meaneth Tryals, Afflictions and Persecutions, as the Word is often taken in holy Writ, Iames 1.12. Gal. 4.14. 2 Pet. 2.9. Rev. 3.10. To those of the Disciples (they were eleven of the twelve) he promiseth a Kingdom, a State of great Honour, and Dignity, as his Father had appointed him, and therefore they might satisfy themselveswith the Titles and qualities, of Ministers and Servants while they were here, and be content to meet with Troubles and Temptations, as he had done, to Hunger and Thirst, &c. when that time came which he had appointed, they should then Eat and Drink at his Table, they should sit also upon Thrones, judging the twelve Tribes of Israel. Terms expressive of that Rest and Satisfaction, that Glory, Honour, and Dignity, which the Saints in God shall in Heaven be possessed of.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Our Lord directeth his Speech to Peter, as one who (as it will by and by appear) had a greater confidence of himself than the rest expressed, & as one who he foresaw would fall more foully than the rest, tho it appears, that in his Speech he had a respect to them all, for the Word You is in the Plural Number. The Devil had a mind to disturb them all by his T p tions (that is here called Sifting) Christ has his Fan in his Hand, and will Sift his Church, but his Sifting is to purge his Floor, he Sifts a particular Soul, to purify it from its Lusts and Corruptions, but Satan sifteth the Soul and the Church merely t give them trouble, and to keep them from rest and quiet by continual motion and Agitation. This we are all concerned to take notice of, that we may both be continually prepared for the time of our Siftings: and bless God who does not satisfy Satans desires to sift us; for he has the same mind to winnow us now, that he had to ift Peter and the rest of the Apostles. But (says our Saviour) I have prayed that thy Faith fail not. There is a total and a partial failing of Faith. Peter's Faith did fail in part; but the Seed of God did yet abide in him; his Faith did not wholly fail, so will it be with the Faith of every true Disciple of Christ. In hours of great Temptation and Tryal, their Faith may, as to some degrees, fail, but totally it shall not. They may be perverted, but they shall again be converted. As the Apostle says of the Bodies of the Saints, Rom. 8.10, 11. And if Christ be in you, the Body is Dead, because of Sin, but the Spirit is Life because of Righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Iesus from the Dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken your Mortal Bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you, may also be said of their Souls. They have in them a Body of Death, and they may in an Hour of great Temptations fail, and their gracious Habits may seem to dye. But if the Spirit of God dwelleth in the Soul, he will again quicken their Souls by his Spirit which dwelleth in them. And when thou art Converted strengthen thy Brethren. That is, when God has recovered thee from thy fall, and made thee to see thy Error, make an improvment of thy recovery out of the snare of the Devil, by admonishing others to take heed of too much confidence in themselves, and incouraging them not to despair, tho they also may fall into Temptation; but that the Grace of God shall be sufficient for them.

And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison, and to death.

And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. This is more largely recorded by Matth. Ch. 26.33, 34, 35. and by Mark, Ch. 14.27, 28, 29, 30. See the Notes on those places.

And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.

Then said he unto them, But now he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.

For I say unto you, that this that is written, must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressours: For the things concerning me have an end.

And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, t is enough. Those who interpret, v. 35, 36. as a Precept of our Saviours imposing a Duty upon his Disciples: or a Counsel concerning the providing Arms which they might use for the protection and defence of themselves, will not only find a difficulty to reconcile their notion of it, to several other precepts, and the Will of God declared by the Apostles practice, who never went about by force, and Arms to defend themselves in the first Plantation and Propagation of the Gospel: but also to Reconcile it to the last Words of our Saviour, who said, when his Disciples told him they had two Swords, It is enough. Which he would never have said, if he had intended any such thing; for two Swords was much too little to have Conquered that Multitude of Adversaries, which the Disciples of Christ were to meet with. Our Saviour does doubtless speak in a Figure, and all that he intendeth amounteth but to this. Hitherto I have been with you, and you have had my special protection; tho you went out without a Purse, or a Scrip; yet you have wanted nothing; tho you went without a Sword, yet none did you any harm. But the time is now come, when the posture of your Affairs will be much al ered; your Friends will be few, your Enemies many, therefore you stand concerned to make as good Preparation as you can do in those things, that are consistent with the general precepts that I have given you. The Tragedy will begin with me; for what is written of him must now be accomplished, Isaiah 53.12. He was numbred amongst the Transgressors; I must be brought before Magistrates as a common Malefactor, and hanged on a Cross betwixt two Thieves. And the things concerning me shall shortly have an end: you will next come upon the Stage, and therefore prepare what in you lyeth for the performance of your part.

And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. Both Matthew and Mark say, he went to a place called Gethsemane, but that makes no difference, for whether Gethsemane signifyeth a Village, or a Garden, or a Valley, all agree it was at the Foot of the Mount of Olives. It was a place to which our Saviour had used to go ever since he came to Ierusalem, and lay in his way to Bethany. He went thither to pray, and his Disciples followed him,

And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray, that ye enter not into temptation. When he came to the Mount of Olives, he first setteth his Disciples to that Work, which at this Day was proper for them. Pray, that ye enter not into Temptation, that if it be the Will of God, you may be delivered from such an Hour of Tryal as I am entring into; or at least that you may not be overcome by it. That my Tryals which you will presently Witnesses unto, and your own which you shall hereafter meet with, may have no Power upon you to withdraw you from your Work in the Publication, or Profession of my Gospel. The other two Evangelists make mention of our Saviour's taking Peter, and Iames, and Iohn with him, yet more privately. Luke mentioneth not that but goeth on.

And he was withdrawn from them about a stones cast, and kneeled down and prayed. Whether from the Eight, or from Peter, Iames and Iohn, also the Evangelist does not tell us; but some are of opinion, that he took the three Disciples along, to joyn with him in Prayer, from whom some account might be given of the substance of his Prayer, which followeth. I rather think he was alone.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done. We have a larger account given us of our Saviour's Prayer, both by Matthew and Mark, Matth. 26. from 39. to 46. and Mark 14. from v. 35. to 42. See the Notes there.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. We have formerly opened these Verses in our Notes, on Matth. 26 44, 45, 46. where we took them in, as being a part of the History of our Saviour's praying before his passion.

And when he arose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow.

And said unto them, Why leep ye? rise, and pray, le t ye enter into temptation. The Relations which Matthew and Mark give us, are both more particular, than that given us by Luke, to which we refer the Reader. Luke speaketh but of his praying once. Matthew says he prayed thrice. Luke mentioneth nothing of his withdrawing with Peter, Iames and Iohn, from the other Eight, Matthew and Mark both mention it. Luke maketh mention of an Angels appearing to him; of the Agony in which he was, and his Sweating drops as it were of Blood, which neither Matthew nor Mark take notice of, yet we must not think, that either any one of the Evangelists, or all of them together give a perfect account of all the Words our Saviour used in these Prayers, only they tell us the Sum of them in different Words: but see the Annotations on Matth. 46.39. and Mark 14. where we have fully considered whatsoever is said by any of the Evangelists upon this Argument.

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.

But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? See the Notes on Matth. 26.47, &c. and Mark 14.43.

When they which were about him, saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?

And one of them smote the servant of the high priests, and cut off his right ear.

And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. No other Evangelist but Iohn has this passages perfect. What he has we have opened in our Notes, on Matth. 26.41.52. because it tendeth to complete that part of the History there discoursed, concerning Christs being apprehended. Iohn relates it with more Circumstances, telling us that it was Peter who drew the Sword, and that his Name whose Ear was cut off, was Malchus, and relateth some further Words used by our Saviour to Peter, which we shall further consider in their places. This rash act of Peter might have cost him dear, for it made a Kinsman of Malchus take such notice of him, as he was very near being accused by him, Iohn 18.26. Swords are dangerous things for us to use, until God puts them into our Hands. Peter ought not only to have asked his Master if he should smite with the Sword but also to have staid his Hand till Christ had given him an Answer.

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 stayes?

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 darkness. See the Notes on Matth. 26.55. and Mark 14.48, 49. It speaketh a great degree of Rage and Malice against our Saviour, that so great Men, as the Chief of the Priests, and the Elders should come out at Mid-night, in the Company of the Officers and Souldiers to apprehend Christ. From these Verses it appeareth that some of them were there in the heighth of their Zeal.

Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priests house. And Peter followed afar off.

And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sate down among them.

But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestl looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

And he denyed him, saying, Woman, I know him not.

And after a little while, another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man I am not.

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 Galilean.

And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately while he yet spake, the cock crew.

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter, and Peter remembred the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. See the whole History of Peters den al of his Master, and of his Repentance, in our Notes on Matth. 26. from. 69. to the end, where we have opened what passages relating to it, are in Mark or this Evangelist.

And the men that held Jesus, mocked him, and smote him.

And when they had blindfolded him, they stroke him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesie, who is it that smote thee?

And many other things blasphemously spake they against him. Concerning these abuses offered to our Saviour. See the Notes on Matth. 26.67, 68. and Mark 14.65.

And assoon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes, came together, and led him into their counsel,

Saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, you will not believe.

And if I also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go.

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.

And they said, What need we any further witness? for we our selves have heard of his own mouth. Our blessed Lord before his Death passed two Trials or Examinations. The one before the Jewish Sanhedrim, whose proper Province it was to try such as were accused, as false Prophets, or Blasphemers. This was a kind of Ecclesiastical Court. The High Priest was the chief Iudge in it, and we are told that they used to sit in his Palace. The other was before Pilate the Roman Governour of Iudea at that time, he principally took cognisance of criminal things, such especially as concerned the peace of the Country, considered as a part of the Roman Empire. These verses give an account only of the former. Blasphemy was the crime they charged upon him. We cannot from any one Evangelist have a full account of either of them. In our Notes on Matthew 26. from v. 57. to 67. we have fully considered what all the Evangelists say. See the Notes on that place.