7 And the day of unleavened bread came, when the Passover lamb is put to death. 8 And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and make the Passover ready for us, so that we may take it. 9 And they said to him, Where are we to get it ready? 10 And he said to them, When you go into the town you will see a man coming to you with a vessel of water; go after him into the house into which he goes. 11 And say to the master of the house, The Master says, Where is the guest-room, where I may take the Passover with my disciples? 12 And he will take you up to a great room with a table and seats: there make ready. 13 And they went, and it was as he had said: and they made the Passover ready. 14 And when the time had come, he took his seat, and the Apostles with him. 15 And he said, I have had a great desire to keep this Passover with you before I come to my death; 16 For I say to you, I will not take it till it is made complete in the kingdom of God. 17 And he took a cup and, having given praise, he said, Make division of this among yourselves; 18 For I say to you, I will not take of the fruit of the vine till the kingdom of God has come. 19 And he took bread and, having given praise, he gave it to them when it had been broken, saying, This is my body, which is given for you: do this in memory of me. 20 And in the same way, after the meal, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new testament, made with my blood which is given for you.
21 But the hand of him who is false to me is with me at the table. 22 For it will be done to the Son of man after the purpose of God, but unhappy is that man by whom he is given up. 23 And they were wondering among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing.
24 And there was an argument among them about which of them was the greatest. 25 And he said, The kings of the Gentiles are lords over them, and those who have authority are given names of honour. 26 But let it not be so with you; but he who is greater, let him become like the younger; and he who is chief, like a servant. 27 For which is greater, the guest who is seated at a meal or the servant who is waiting on him? is it not the guest? but I am among you as a servant. 28 But you are those who have kept with me through my troubles; 29 And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me, 30 So that you may take food and drink at my table in my kingdom, and be seated like kings, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 Simon, Simon, Satan has made a request to have you, so that he may put you to the test as grain is tested: 32 But I have made prayer for you, that your faith may not go from you: and when you are turned again, make your brothers strong. 33 And he said to him, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. 34 And he said, I say to you, Peter, before the cock's second cry today, you will say three times that you have no knowledge of me.
35 And he said to them, When I sent you out without money or bag or shoes, were you in need of anything? And they said, Nothing. 36 And he said to them, But now, he who has a money-bag, or a bag for food, let him take it: and he who has not, let him give his coat for money and get a sword. 37 For I say to you that these words will be put into effect in me, And he was numbered among the evil-doers: for what has been said in the Writings about me has an end. 38 And they said, Lord, here are two swords. And he said, It is enough.
39 And he came out, and went, as his way was, to the Mountain of Olives, and the disciples went with him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 22:7-39
Commentary on Luke 22:7-18
(Read Luke 22:7-18)
Christ kept the ordinances of the law, particularly that of the passover, to teach us to observe his gospel institutions, and most of all that of the Lord's supper. Those who go upon Christ's word, need not fear disappointment. According to the orders given them, the disciples got all ready for the passover. Jesus bids this passover welcome. He desired it, though he knew his sufferings would follow, because it was in order to his Father's glory and man's redemption. He takes his leave of all passovers, signifying thereby his doing away all the ordinances of the ceremonial law, of which the passover was one of the earliest and chief. That type was laid aside, because now in the kingdom of God the substance was come.
Commentary on Luke 22:19-20
(Read Luke 22:19-20)
The Lord's supper is a sign or memorial of Christ already come, who by dying delivered us; his death is in special manner set before us in that ordinance, by which we are reminded of it. The breaking of Christ's body as a sacrifice for us, is therein brought to our remembrance by the breaking of bread. Nothing can be more nourishing and satisfying to the soul, than the doctrine of Christ's making atonement for sin, and the assurance of an interest in that atonement. Therefore we do this in rememberance of what He did for us, when he died for us; and for a memorial of what we do, in joining ourselves to him in an everlasting covenant. The shedding of Christ's blood, by which the atonement was made, is represented by the wine in the cup.
Commentary on Luke 22:21-38
(Read Luke 22:21-38)
How unbecoming is the worldly ambition of being the greatest, to the character of a follower of Jesus, who took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross! In the way to eternal happiness, we must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger. Unless we watch and pray always, we may be drawn in the course of the day into those sins which we were in the morning most resolved against. If believers were left to themselves, they would fall; but they are kept by the power of God, and the prayer of Christ. Our Lord gave notice of a very great change of circumstances now approaching. The disciples must not expect that their friends would be kind to them as they had been. Therefore, he that has a purse, let him take it, for he may need it. They must now expect that their enemies would be more fierce than they had been, and they would need weapons. At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spake only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.
Commentary on Luke 22:39-46
(Read Luke 22:39-46)
Every description which the evangelists give of the state of mind in which our Lord entered upon this conflict, proves the tremendous nature of the assault, and the perfect foreknowledge of its terrors possessed by the meek and lowly Jesus. Here are three things not in the other evangelists. 1. When Christ was in his agony, there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. It was a part of his humiliation that he was thus strengthened by a ministering spirit. 2. Being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Prayer, though never out of season, is in a special manner seasonable when we are in an agony. 3. In this agony his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down. This showed the travail of his soul. We should pray also to be enabled to resist unto the shedding of our blood, striving against sin, if ever called to it. When next you dwell in imagination upon the delights of some favourite sin, think of its effects as you behold them here! See its fearful effects in the garden of Gethsemane, and desire, by the help of God, deeply to hate and to forsake that enemy, to ransom sinners from whom the Redeemer prayed, agonized, and bled.