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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Verse 1
22:1-6 The religious leaders who had been plotting against Jesus (see 19:47) found their opportunity when Judas Iscariot approached them with an offer to betray Jesus.
22:1 The Passover meal was held on the 15th of Nisan (March~April) in the Jewish calendar and was immediately followed by the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread (Exod 12:1-20; 23:15; 34:18; Deut 16:1-8), sometimes also called Passover.
Verse 3
22:3 Satan entered into Judas Iscariot: See John 13:2; Acts 5:3. Satan had previously tempted Jesus (Luke 4:2) and had been waiting for this opportunity (4:13).
Verse 4
22:4 captains of the Temple guard: The Temple had its own police force.
Verse 5
22:5 Judas wanted the money. John tells us that he was a thief who stole from the disciples’ common fund (John 12:6).
Verse 6
22:6 when the crowds weren’t around: This was because of Jesus’ popularity among the people.
Verse 7
22:7-30 Jesus celebrated the traditional Jewish Passover but transformed it with reference to his own sacrificial death as the Passover lamb. He also prepared his disciples for his coming death and the leadership role they would assume over his church.
22:7 The Passover lamb was sacrificed at twilight, and Passover was celebrated in the evening (see Exod 12:6-8).
Verse 8
22:8 Go and prepare the Passover meal: The lamb was roasted and eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread at the Passover meal (Exod 12:8; Num 9:11-12; Deut 16:3). The bitter herbs represented the bitterness of the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt, and the unleavened bread recalled their haste in leaving Egypt.
Verse 10
22:10 A man carrying a pitcher of water would have been an unusual sight, because women normally carried the water.
Verse 11
22:11-12 The text does not say whether Jesus exhibited supernatural foreknowledge or whether he had made arrangements for this room ahead of time (see also 19:30-34).
Verse 14
22:14 sat down together at the table (or reclined together): The Jewish people followed Hellenistic practice at banquets by reclining on couches (see study note on John 13:23).
Verse 15
22:15 Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples and followed the ritual order of the Passover celebration (see study note on Matt 26:26-29).
Verse 16
22:16 until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God: This celebration had as its goal the messianic banquet (see 14:1-24). Jesus’ death as the true Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7) inaugurated the Kingdom of God that will be completed at Jesus’ second coming.
Verse 17
22:17 he took a cup of wine: The traditional Passover celebration used four cups of wine—at the opening benediction, after the Passover explanation, after the meal, and after a concluding psalm. This was probably the first cup that introduced the ceremony.
Verse 19
22:19-20 Using the bread and cup as symbols of his body and blood, Jesus instituted the communion service that the disciples were to practice in remembrance of his death. • This is my body, which is given for you: The unleavened bread of the Passover symbolized Jesus’ death as the Passover lamb. His death would pay for the sins of the world (cp. 1 Cor 11:24-25).
Verse 20
22:20 God’s covenants in the Old Testament were confirmed with the blood of a sacrifice (Gen 15:9-10; Exod 24:8). Jesus’ death established the new covenant that God had promised his people (Jer 31:31-34).
Verse 21
22:21-22 it has been determined: Though wicked men betrayed and killed Jesus, it was part of God’s sovereign plan to accomplish salvation (see Acts 2:23).
Verse 22
22:22 what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him: Judas suffered guilt, condemnation, and a gruesome death for betraying Jesus (Matt 27:5; Acts 1:18).
Verse 24
22:24 who would be the greatest among them: See also Mark 9:33-37; 10:35-45.
Verse 25
22:25 friends of the people: This translates a Greek word that refers to the practice of rulers bestowing gifts and favors on their subjects to gain loyalty and honor. Jesus contrasted the world’s leadership style—military power, coercion, and bribery—with his own servant leadership in sacrificing himself for others.
Verse 27
22:27 For I am among you as one who serves: Jesus defined true leadership as service—meeting the needs of others and empowering them to be all that God has called them to be (see Mark 10:45). This statement was striking in a culture for which status and power were central.
Verse 29
22:29-30 I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table: See “The Messianic Banquet” Theme Note.
Verse 30
22:30 you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel: This could be a figurative reference to the apostles’ leadership in the church, or it could indicate their special role in the future when the Kingdom would be consummated on earth (cp. Eph 2:20; Rev 3:21; 20:4).
Verse 31
22:31 Regarding Satan, see 4:2; 10:18; 11:15. Satan is the accuser of God’s people (see Job 1:7; 2:2); he would test Simon Peter and the rest of the apostles. • asked to sift: Wheat was sifted through a sieve to separate the grain from the chaff. It is an image of extreme testing (see Isa 30:28; Amos 9:9). • The NLT’s each of you is precise, because the Greek you is plural, referring to all the disciples. Jesus foresaw Peter’s denial and the trials of the other disciples.
Verse 32
22:32 So when you have repented: This you is singular; it refers to Peter’s restoration after his denial of Jesus.
Verse 33
22:33 See Acts 4:3; 5:18; 12:1-9, where Peter suffered trials and was repeatedly jailed. Church tradition relates that Peter was crucified in Rome, but his declaration of loyalty here was premature.
Verse 34
22:34 On Thursday evening, Jesus said that Peter would deny him before the rooster crows tomorrow morning (literally before the rooster crows today): This does not contradict Mark’s “this very night, before the rooster crows twice” (Mark 14:30); Luke and Matthew are simply more general, and in Jewish reckoning, sunset was the beginning of the next day.
Verse 36
22:36 take your money and a traveler’s bag: For their missions to Israel’s villages, the apostles had traveled without provisions and depended on others’ support (9:3; 10:3-4). In the dangerous days to come, they would have to plan more carefully. Jesus prepared his disciples for his suffering and death, and also for the establishing of the church and the worldwide proclamation of the Good News. • a sword: Jesus was probably not telling his followers to take up arms, but was speaking metaphorically—they must prepare themselves for a violent crisis.
Verse 38
22:38 That’s enough: The disciples’ two swords were probably not enough to defend the whole group, and Jesus elsewhere rejected violence (22:49-51 // Matt 26:52). Jesus might have meant that two swords were sufficient to fulfill Isa 53:12. Or perhaps he meant, “Enough of this foolish talk—you are misunderstanding me.”
Verse 39
22:39 Mount of Olives: See study note on 19:29. This was the location of the Garden of Gethsemane (see Matt 26:36; Mark 14:32).
Verse 42
22:42 please take this cup of suffering away: A cup is a metaphor for experiencing either judgment or blessing (see, e.g., Pss 23:5; 75:8; 116:13; Isa 51:17). Jesus felt all the emotions of his humanity, including fear and anxiety.
Verse 43
22:43 an angel from heaven: Angels often help and encourage human beings (see Heb 1:14; cp. 1 Kgs 19:5-8; Ps 91:11-12; Dan 3:28; 10:16-19).
Verse 44
22:44 his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood: The text does not say that Jesus sweated blood, as is often supposed, but that his sweat fell like blood pouring to the ground, which probably means that in his agony he sweated profusely.
Verse 45
22:45-46 Jesus’ agonized prayer contrasted with the disciples’ failure to be vigilant against temptation.
Verse 47
22:47 A kiss was a common greeting between friends. Judas’s kiss highlighted his treachery.
Verse 51
22:51 he touched the man’s ear and healed him: John tells us that the man’s name was Malchus and that Peter was the one who cut off his ear (John 18:10). Peter probably thought that he was precipitating the final war and that the heavenly host was about to appear and destroy the Romans. When Jesus refused to fight, the terror-stricken disciples fled (Matt 26:56 // Mark 14:50).
Verse 52
22:52 The Greek word translated revolutionary normally means “thief,” but the Romans used this term for violent revolutionaries who opposed Roman authority (such as Barabbas, 23:18-19). To patriotic Jews, they were freedom fighters; to the Romans, they were common thugs.
Verse 54
22:54 The high priest’s home might have been the home of Caiaphas, the current high priest, or Annas, his father-in-law and a previous high priest (see study note on 3:2; John 18:12-14).
Verse 59
22:59 because he is a Galilean: Peter’s Galilean accent gave him away (cp. Judg 12:5-6).
Verse 61
22:61 the Lord turned and looked at Peter: Jesus was in the house being questioned and must have looked through a window or vestibule. When their eyes met and the rooster crowed, Peter remembered Jesus’ prediction (22:34).
Verse 64
22:64 Prophesy to us! Who hit you that time? Jesus had a reputation as a prophet (4:24; 7:16, 39; 13:33; 24:19), so the soldiers mocked this claim.
Verse 66
22:66 At daybreak: It was Friday morning (see study note on 22:34). • all the elders of the people assembled: The Jewish high council (Greek Sanhedrin) was originally made up of the Jerusalem nobility, both civil leaders and priests, with the high priest as its head. In Jesus’ time, the Sadducees still controlled the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:17), though leading Pharisees had also gained a prominent place on the council (Acts 23:7).
Verse 67
22:67-68 If I tell you, you won’t believe me: Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the question. They had already made up their minds that he was not the Messiah, so it would do no good to answer.
Verse 69
22:69 Jesus referred to Ps 110:1 (cp. Luke 20:42-43). Though he would be crucified, Jesus would be vindicated through his resurrection and exalted to God’s right hand (see Acts 2:33-36; cp. Dan 7:13-14). Furthermore, he would be seated in the place of power as Judge. Jesus would soon sit in judgment over those who were trying him.
Verse 70
22:70 The significance of Jesus’ statement (22:69) was not lost on the council members. The Messiah was expected to be the Son of God and have a special father–son relationship with God (see study notes on 1:32-33; 4:41; cp. 2 Sam 7:14; Pss 2:7; 89:26). The Sanhedrin accused Jesus of claiming to be the Messiah (cp. study notes on Mark 14:62, 63-64). • You say that I am: This is a qualified affirmation. Jesus probably meant, “What you say is true, but you do not understand what ‘Messiah’ means.” They understood it as a confirmation (Luke 22:71).
Verse 71
22:71 Why do we need other witnesses? The high council regarded Jesus’ confirmation that he was both the Messiah and the Son of God as a blasphemous claim and thus as proof of his guilt.