22:1 All Jewish males over the age of 12 were required to go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, which was followed by a seven-day celebration called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For these feasts, Jews from all over the Roman Empire would converge on Jerusalem to celebrate one of the most important events in their history. To learn more about the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, see the note on Mark 14:1.
22:3 Satan’s part in the betrayal of Jesus does not remove any of the responsibility from Judas. Disillusioned because Jesus was talking about dying rather than about setting up his Kingdom, Judas may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand and make him use his power to prove he was the Messiah. Or perhaps Judas, not understanding Jesus’ mission, no longer believed that Jesus was God’s chosen one. (For more information on Judas, see his profile in Mark 14, p. 2151.) Whatever Judas thought, Satan assumed that Jesus’ death would end his mission and thwart God’s plan. Like Judas, he did not know that Jesus’ death and resurrection were the most important parts of God’s plan all along.
22:7, 8 The Passover meal included the sacrifice of a lamb because of the association with the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. When the Jews were getting ready to leave, God told them to kill a lamb and paint its blood on the doorposts of their houses. They then were to prepare the meat for food. Peter and John had to buy and prepare the lamb as well as the unleavened bread, herbs, wine, and other ceremonial food.
22:10 Ordinarily women, not men, would go to the well and bring home the water. So this man with the water pitcher would have stood out in the crowd.
22:14-18 The Passover commemorated Israel’s escape from Egypt when the blood of a lamb painted on their doorposts had saved their firstborn sons from death. This event foreshadowed Jesus’ work on the cross. As the spotless Lamb of God, his blood would be spilled in order to save his people from the penalty of death brought by sin.
22:17, 20 Luke mentions two cups of wine, while Matthew and Mark mention only one. In the traditional Passover meal, wine is served four times. Christ spoke the words about his body and his blood when he offered the fourth and last cup.
22:17-20 Christians differ in their interpretation of the meaning of the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper. There are three main views: (1) The bread and wine actually become Christ’s body and blood; (2) the bread and wine remain unchanged, yet Christ is spiritually present by faith in and through them; (3) the bread and wine, which remain unchanged, are lasting memorials of Christ’s sacrifice. No matter which view they favor, all Christians agree that the Lord’s Supper commemorates Christ’s death on the cross for our sins and points to the coming of his Kingdom in glory. When we partake of it, we show our deep gratitude for Christ’s work on our behalf, and our faith is strengthened.
22:19 Jesus asked the disciples to eat the broken bread to remember him. He wanted them to remember his sacrifice, the basis for forgiveness of sins, and also his friendship, which they could continue to enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit. Although the exact meaning of Communion has been strongly debated throughout church history, Christians still take bread and wine in order to remember their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Do not neglect participating in the Lord’s Supper. Let it remind you of what Christ did for you.
22:20 In Old Testament times, God agreed to forgive people’s sins if they would bring animals for the priests to sacrifice. When this sacrificial system was inaugurated, the covenant between God and his people was sealed with the blood of animals (Exodus 24:8). But animal blood did not in itself remove sin (only God can forgive sin), and animal sacrifices had to be repeated day after day and year after year. Jesus instituted a “new testament” (covenant agreement) between God and his people. Under this new covenant, Jesus would die in the place of sinners. Unlike the blood of animals, his blood (because he is God) would remove the sins of all who put their faith in him. Jesus’ sacrifice would never have to be repeated; it would be good for all eternity (Hebrews 9:23-28). The prophets looked forward to this new covenant that would fulfill the old sacrificial agreement (Jeremiah 31:31-34), and John the Baptist called Jesus the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
22:21 From the accounts of Mark and John, we know that the betrayer was Judas Iscariot. Although the other disciples were confused by Jesus’ words, Judas knew what Jesus meant.
22:24 The most important event in human history was about to take place, and the disciples were still arguing about their prestige in the Kingdom! Looking back, we see that this was no time to worry about status. But the disciples, wrapped up in their own concerns, did not perceive what Jesus had been trying to tell them about his approaching death and resurrection. What are your major concerns today? Twenty years from now, as you look back, will these worries look petty and inappropriate? Get your eyes off yourself and get ready for Christ’s coming into human history for the second time.
22:24-27 The world’s system of leadership is very different from leadership in God’s Kingdom. Worldly leaders are often selfish and arrogant as they claw their way to the top. (Some kings in the ancient world gave themselves the title “Benefactor,” friend of the people). But among Christians, the leader is to be the one who serves best. There are different styles of leadership—some lead through public speaking, some through administering, some through relationships—but every Christian leader needs a servant’s heart. Ask the people you lead how you can serve them better.
22:31, 32 Satan wanted to crush Simon Peter and the other disciples like grains of wheat. He hoped to find only chaff and blow it away. But Jesus assured Peter that his faith, although it would falter, would not be destroyed. It would be renewed, and Peter would become a powerful leader.
22:33, 34 Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray him and that calamity awaited the traitor (22:22). Jesus then told Peter that he would deny that he knew Jesus. Later, however, Peter would repent and receive a commission to feed Jesus’ lambs (John 21:15). Betraying and denying—one is just about as bad as the other. But Judas and Peter had entirely different fates because one repented.
22:35-38 Here Jesus reversed his earlier advice regarding how to travel (9:3). The disciples were to bring bags, money, and swords. They would be facing hatred and persecution and would need to be prepared. When Jesus said, “It is enough,” he may have meant it was not time to think of using swords. In either case, mention of a sword vividly communicated the trials they would soon face.
22:39 The Mount of Olives was located just to the east of Jerusalem. Jesus went up the southwestern slope to an olive grove called Gethsemane, which means “oil press.”
22:40 Jesus asked the disciples to pray that they would not fall into temptation because he knew that he would soon be leaving them. Jesus also knew that they would need extra strength to face the temptations ahead—temptations to run away or to deny their relationship with him. They were about to see Jesus die. Would they still think he was the Messiah? The disciples’ strongest temptation would undoubtedly be to think they had been deceived.
22:41, 42 Was Jesus trying to get out of his mission? It is never wrong to express our true feelings to God. Jesus exposed his dread of the coming trials, but he also reaffirmed his commitment to do what God wanted. The cup he spoke of meant the terrible agony he knew he would endure—not only the horror of the crucifixion but, even worse, the total separation from God that he would have to experience in order to die for the world’s sins.
22:44 Only Luke tells us that Jesus’ sweat resembled drops of blood. Jesus was in extreme agony, but he did not give up or give in. He went ahead with the mission for which he had come.
22:46 These disciples were asleep. How tragic it is that many Christians act as though they are sound asleep when it comes to devotion to Christ and service for him. Don’t be found insensitive to or unprepared for Christ’s work.
22:47 A kiss was and still is the traditional greeting among men in certain parts of the world. In this case, it was also the agreed-upon signal to point out Jesus (Matthew 26:48). It is ironic that a gesture of greeting would be the means of betrayal. It was a hollow gesture because of Judas’s treachery. Have any of your religious practices become empty gestures? We still betray Christ when our acts of service or giving are insincere or carried out merely for show.
22:50 We learn from the Gospel of John that the man who cut off the servant’s ear was Peter (John 18:10).
22:53 The religious leaders had not arrested Jesus in the Temple for fear of a riot. Instead, they came secretly at night, under the influence of the power of darkness, Satan himself. Although it looked as if Satan was getting the upper hand, everything was proceeding according to God’s plan. It was time for Jesus to die.
22:54 Jesus was immediately taken to the high priest’s home, even though this was the middle of the night. The Jewish leaders were in a hurry—they wanted to complete the execution before the Sabbath and get on with the Passover celebration. This residence was a palace with outer walls enclosing a courtyard, where servants and soldiers warmed themselves around a fire.
22:55 Peter’s experiences in the next few hours would change his life. He would change from a halfhearted follower to a repentant disciple, and finally to the kind of person Christ could use to build his church. For more information on Peter, see his profile in Matthew 27, p. 2083.
22:60 Sin, like cancer, has a way of growing if unchecked. Notice the progression of Peter’s denials: In 22:57, he denied knowing Jesus; in 22:58, he denied being one of his followers; in 22:60, he denied even knowing what they were talking about. Sin has a way of spreading. As it does, the cover-up gets bigger as well. The time to get a grip on sin and its cancerous effects is in the very beginning, before it has time to multiply its poisons in your life. Better yet, kill it before it even begins. Confess your sins or your desire to sin to the Lord, and ask his help to avoid Peter’s mistakes.
22:62 Peter wept bitterly, not only because he realized that he had denied his Lord, the Messiah, but also because he had turned away from a very dear friend, a person who had loved and taught him for three years. Peter had said that he would never deny Christ, despite Jesus’ prediction (Mark 14:29-31; Luke 22:33, 34). But when frightened, he went against all he had boldly promised. Unable to stand up for his Lord for even 12 hours, he had failed as a disciple and as a friend. We need to be aware of our own breaking points and not become overconfident or self-sufficient. If we fail him, we must remember that Christ can use those who recognize their failure. From this humiliating experience Peter learned much that would help him later when he assumed leadership of the young church.
22:70 Jesus in effect agreed that he was the Son of God when he simply turned the high priest’s question around by saying, “Ye say that I am.” And Jesus identified himself with God by using a familiar title for God found in the Old Testament: “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The high priest recognized Jesus’ claim and could accuse him of blasphemy. For any other human this claim would have been blasphemy, but in this case it was true. Blasphemy, the sin of claiming to be God or of attacking God’s authority and majesty in any way, was punishable by death. The Jewish leaders had the evidence they wanted.