The Last Supper; Gethsemane

22:7 Then the day for the feast of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 22:8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat." 22:9 They said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare it?" 22:10 He said to them, "Listen, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, 22:11 and tell the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' 22:12 Then he will show you a large furnished room upstairs. Make preparations there." 22:13 So they went and found things just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 22:14 Now when the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table and the apostles joined him. 22:15 And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 22:16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 22:17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves. 22:18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 22:19 Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 22:20 And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 22:21 "But look, the hand of the one who betrays me is with me on the table. 22:22 For the Son of Man is to go just as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!" 22:23 So they began to question one another as to which of them it could possibly be who would do this. 22:24 A dispute also started among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 22:25 So Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called 'benefactors.' 22:26 Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves. 22:27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is seated at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 22:28 "You are the ones who have remained with me in my trials. 22:29 Thus I grant to you a kingdom, just as my Father granted to me, 22:30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 22:31 "Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat, 22:32 but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." 22:33 But Peter said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!" 22:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me." 22:35 Then Jesus said to them, "When I sent you out with no money bag, or traveler's bag, or sandals, you didn't lack anything, did you?" They replied, "Nothing." 22:36 He said to them, "But now, the one who has a money bag must take it, and likewise a traveler's bag too. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. 22:37 For I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me, 'And he was counted with the transgressors.' For what is written about me is being fulfilled." 22:38 So they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." Then he told them, "It is enough." 22:39 Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 22:40 When he came to the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 22:41 He went away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done." [ 22:43 Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 22:44 And in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.] 22:45 When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, exhausted from grief. 22:46 So he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!"

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Jesus knowingly moves toward the suffering appointed for Him. At the Passover meal He explains that His death will be for His disciples and will establish the new covenant, then He prepares them for betrayal, testing, humble service, and future kingdom reward. In Gethsemane He faces the cup in prayer and submits Himself fully to the Father’s will.

Website-Ready Commentary Main Point: Jesus knowingly moves toward the suffering appointed for Him. At the Passover meal He explains that His death will be for His disciples and will establish the new covenant, then He prepares them for betrayal, testing, humble service, and future kingdom reward. In Gethsemane He faces the cup in prayer and submits Himself fully to the Father’s will. Commentary: Luke begins by showing that Jesus is not being carried along by events. He sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover, and everything unfolds just as He said. From the start, Jesus is fully aware of what is coming and is acting with purpose. This is the Passover meal, the feast that remembered God’s deliverance of Israel, and Jesus deliberately shares it with His disciples before He suffers. When the meal begins, Jesus says He has greatly desired to eat this Passover with them before His suffering. He also says He will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God, and He will not drink again until the kingdom comes. So this meal points in two directions. It looks back to God’s past deliverance, and it looks ahead to the future fulfillment of His kingdom. Luke records an initial cup saying, then the bread, and then a later cup after the meal. That sequence matters. Jesus takes the bread and says, “This is my body which is given for you.” Then He speaks of the cup as “the new covenant in my blood,” poured out for them. The passage does not require us to think the bread and cup became His literal physical body and blood. Rather, they covenantally identify with and represent His sacrificial death. His body will be given and His blood poured out on behalf of His disciples. The repeated words “for you” make clear that His death is more than an example of love. It is a self-giving sacrifice for the benefit of His people. The words “new covenant” are especially important. They place Jesus’ death within the framework of God’s covenant promises. His death will bring into effect the new covenant promised in Scripture. So this meal is not a memorial in a weak or merely private sense. It is covenantal in meaning, centered on Jesus’ coming death, binding His people to that saving work, and also pointing ahead to the future kingdom meal. Right beside this covenant meal, Jesus announces that His betrayer is at the table. That makes Judas’s act even darker. Yet Jesus also says that the Son of Man goes “as it has been determined.” Luke holds two truths together without confusion: Jesus’ death unfolds according to God’s plan, and the betrayer remains morally guilty. Divine purpose does not cancel human responsibility. That is why Jesus pronounces woe on the man who betrays Him. The disciples then begin arguing about which of them is the greatest. The timing exposes how little they understand. Even at this solemn moment, they are concerned with status. Jesus answers by contrasting worldly rulers with the pattern that must mark His followers. Gentile rulers exercise power over others and enjoy honored titles. “Not so with you.” Among Jesus’ disciples, greatness must take the form of lowliness, and leadership must take the form of service. Jesus does not present this as a bare principle only; He points to Himself: “I am among you as one who serves.” In His kingdom, authority is not abolished, but it is reshaped by the example of the Master. Jesus then encourages the disciples. They have stayed with Him in His trials, and He promises them a share in the kingdom. They will eat and drink at His table in His kingdom, and they will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. This should not be reduced to a vague symbol. It points to a real future role for the apostles in relation to Israel in the coming kingdom. At the same time, that future honor does not remove the present call to humility, endurance, and service. Jesus then turns specifically to Simon Peter. The warning begins broadly: Satan has demanded to sift all of them like wheat. The coming crisis will test the whole group severely. But Jesus addresses Simon personally because Peter will stand at the center of what follows. Jesus says He has prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail. Then He adds, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” This shows that Peter’s coming fall will be real, but it will not be final. Jesus does not excuse Peter’s failure, yet He does not treat it as the end of Peter’s usefulness. Restoration is assumed, and restored disciples are to strengthen others. Peter, however, responds with strong self-confidence. He insists he is ready for prison and death. Jesus plainly predicts otherwise: before the rooster crows, Peter will deny three times that he even knows Him. It is a sober reminder that bold intentions alone are not enough. A disciple may be sincere and still fall badly under pressure. Jesus next reminds the disciples that when He sent them out earlier without supplies, they lacked nothing. Then He says the situation has changed. Now they should take a money bag and a travel bag, and the one without a sword should buy one. Taken by itself, this is a difficult saying, but verse 37 explains it: Jesus is about to fulfill Scripture, especially the word, “He was counted with the transgressors” from Isaiah 53:12. The main point is that a more hostile stage has arrived. Jesus will be treated like a criminal, and His followers must understand that the conditions around them are changing. This does not authorize the disciples to advance Jesus’ mission by force. The mention of swords allows practical readiness in a dangerous setting, but the context does not support militant action. Jesus’ reply, “It is enough,” most likely closes the discussion rather than approves armed resistance. The arrest scene that follows confirms that violence is not the way His mission will be defended. Jesus then goes, as usual, to the Mount of Olives. There He tells the disciples, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He says this twice in the scene, which shows how important it is. Prayer is not an optional extra in times of testing. It is the appointed means of watchful dependence on God. Jesus then withdraws and prays, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” The “cup” refers to the suffering He is about to bear. This connects the prayer scene with the supper scene: the covenant blessing He gives to His disciples depends on the suffering He Himself must endure. His prayer does not show sinful resistance to the Father. It shows real human dread in the face of suffering, joined with full obedience. Jesus is neither emotionally untouched nor rebellious. He is the obedient Son, submitting Himself to the Father’s will through anguish. Some manuscripts include the verses about an angel strengthening Jesus and about His sweat being like drops of blood. These verses are probably original, though the textual question is still discussed. If they are included, they deepen Luke’s picture of Jesus’ agony and of heavenly strengthening. Even without them, the main point of the passage remains the same: Jesus meets the coming trial with earnest prayer and obedient submission. When Jesus returns, He finds the disciples sleeping. Luke says they are exhausted from grief. Their sorrow is real, but sorrow is not the same as spiritual readiness. Grief does not replace prayer. So Jesus again tells them to get up and pray, so that they will not enter into temptation. Taken as a whole, this passage shows Jesus moving knowingly and obediently into the suffering appointed for Him. He interprets His death through Passover, sacrifice, and new covenant language. He warns His disciples about betrayal, pride, satanic testing, and coming danger. He teaches that greatness in His kingdom takes the form of service. And He shows, both by command and by example, that temptation must be met with prayerful dependence on God. Key Truths: - Jesus entered His suffering knowingly and according to the Father’s determined plan. - In the Passover meal, Jesus explained His death as a sacrifice “for you” and as the basis of the new covenant. - The Lord’s Supper looks back to Jesus’ death and ahead to the coming kingdom. - Divine sovereignty in Jesus’ death does not remove the betrayer’s guilt. - Greatness among Jesus’ followers is measured by humble service, not rank. - Peter’s denial would be real and serious, but not final; Jesus’ intercession points to restoration. - The sword saying speaks to a changed hostile setting, not to a mission advanced by violence. - In times of testing, grief, sincerity, and bold promises are not enough; disciples must pray. - Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane shows genuine anguish joined to perfect submission to the Father’s will.

• Jesus entered His suffering knowingly and according to the Father’s determined plan. - In the Passover meal, Jesus explained His death as a sacrifice “for you” and as the basis of the new covenant. - The Lord’s Supper looks back to Jesus’ death and ahead to the coming kingdom. - Divine sovereignty in Jesus’ death does not remove the betrayer’s guilt. - Greatness among Jesus’ followers is measured by humble service, not rank. - Peter’s denial would be real and serious, but not final
• Jesus’ intercession points to restoration. - The sword saying speaks to a changed hostile setting, not to a mission advanced by violence. - In times of testing, grief, sincerity, and bold promises are not enough
• disciples must pray. - Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane shows genuine anguish joined to perfect submission to the Father’s will.

• Do not read the sword saying as permission for Christian militancy or for defending Jesus’ mission by force. - Do not weaken the Lord’s Supper into a bare religious form with no sacrificial, covenantal, or kingdom meaning. - Do not treat Peter’s fall as unreal, but do not treat repentant failure as beyond restoration. - Do not mistake grief, sincerity, or confidence for spiritual readiness
• Jesus commands prayer against temptation. - Luke 22:43-44 should be handled with measured confidence because its textual status is still discussed.

The scene is held together by three threads: Passover recast around Jesus’ death, kingdom status overturned by table-service, and testing met only through prayerful dependence. Jesus places His body and blood at the center of covenant identity, interprets the sword saying through Isaiah 53:12 and the approach of criminal treatment, and then faces the cup in Gethsemane. The meal and the prayer belong to the same movement: the blessing given to the disciples depends on the suffering Jesus must accept.

- Come to the Lord’s Table with attention to Jesus’ self-giving death, covenant mercy, and the kingdom still to come. - Measure Christian leadership by the pattern of Jesus, who serves rather than exalts Himself. - In seasons of testing, pray rather than relying on strong intentions or past faithfulness. - If you fall seriously, do not excuse the sin, but do not despair if Christ brings you to repentance and restores you. - Face suffering honestly before the Father, but submit yourself to His will as Jesus did.

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