Luke 22

1  NOW THE Festival of Unleavened Bread was drawing near, which is called the Passover.2  And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to do away with [Jesus], for they feared the people.3  But [then] Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles].4  And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Him and deliver Him up to them.5  And they were delighted and pledged [themselves] to give him money.6  So he agreed [to this], and sought an opportunity to betray Him to them [without an uprising] in the absence of the throng.7  Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover [lamb] had to be slain. 8  So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare for us the Passover meal, that we may eat it.9  They said to Him, Where do You want us to prepare [it]?10  He said to them, Behold, when you have gone into the city, a man carrying an earthen jug or pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters,11  And say to the master of the house, The Teacher asks you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover [meal] with My disciples?12  And he will show you a large room upstairs, furnished [with carpets and with couches properly spread]; there make [your] preparations.13  And they went and found it [just] as He had said to them; and they made ready the Passover [supper].14  And when the hour came, [Jesus] reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.15  And He said to them, I have earnestly and intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;16  For I say to you, I shall eat it no more until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.17  And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this and divide and distribute it among yourselves;18  For I say to you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine at all until the kingdom of God comes.19  Then He took a loaf [of bread], and when He had given 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.20  And in like manner, He took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament or covenant [ratified] in My blood, which is shed (poured out) for you.21  But, behold, the hand of him who is now engaged in betraying Me is with Me on the table. 22  For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined and appointed, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed and delivered up!23  And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was who was about to do this. 24  Now an eager contention arose among them [as to] which of them was considered and reputed to be the greatest.25  But Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles are deified by them and exercise lordship [ruling as emperor-gods] over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors and well-doers.26  But this is not to be so with you; on the contrary, let him who is the greatest among you become like the youngest, and him who is the chief and leader like one who serves.27  For who is the greater, the one who reclines at table (the master), or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am in your midst as One Who serves.28  And you are those who have remained [throughout] and persevered with Me in My trials;29  And as My Father has appointed a kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you [the privilege and decree],30  That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.31  Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him [out of the power and keeping of God], that he might sift [all of] you like grain, 32  But I have prayed especially for you [Peter], that your [own] faith may not fail; and when you yourself have turned again, strengthen and establish your brethren.33  And [Simon Peter] said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.34  But Jesus said, I tell you, Peter, before a [single] cock shall crow this day, you will three times [utterly] deny that you know Me.35  And He said to them, When I sent you out with no purse or [provision] bag or sandals, did you lack anything? They answered, Nothing!36  Then He said to them, But now let him who has a purse take it, and also [his provision] bag; and let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy a sword.37  For I tell you that this Scripture must yet be fulfilled in Me: And He was counted and classed among the wicked (the outlaws, the criminals); for what is written about Me has its fulfillment [has reached its end and is finally settled]. 38  And they said, Look, Lord! Here are two swords. And He said to them, It is enough.39  And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.40  And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.41  And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed,42  Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.43  And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him in spirit.44  And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.45  And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief,46  And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation.47  And while He was still speaking, behold, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the Twelve [apostles], was going before [leading] them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him,48  But Jesus said to him, Judas! Would you betray and deliver up the Son of Man with a kiss?49  And when those who were around Him saw what was about to happen, they said, Lord, shall we strike with the sword?50  And one of them struck the bond servant of the high priest and cut off his ear, the right one.51  But Jesus said, Permit them to go so far [as to seize Me]. And He touched the little (insignificant) ear and healed him.52  Then Jesus said to those who had come out against Him--the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders [of the Sanhedrin]--Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber?53  When I was with you day after day in the temple [enclosure], you did not stretch forth [your] hands against Me. But this is your hour--and the power [which] darkness [gives you has its way].54  Then they seized Him and led Him away, bringing Him into the house of the high priest. Peter was following at a distance.55  And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and were seated together, Peter sat among them.56  Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and gazing [intently] at him, said, This man too was with Him.57  But he denied it and said, Woman, I do not know Him!58  And a little later someone else saw him and said, You are one of them also. But Peter said, Man, I am not!59  And when about an hour more had elapsed, still another emphatically insisted, It is the truth that this man also was with Him, for he too is a Galilean!60  But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are talking about. And instantly, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.61  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter recalled the Lord’s words, how He had told him, Before the cock crows today, you will deny Me thrice.62  And he went out and wept bitterly [that is, with painfully moving grief].63  Now the men who had Jesus in custody treated Him with contempt and scoffed at and ridiculed Him and beat Him;64  They blindfolded Him also and asked Him, Prophesy! Who is it that struck You?65  And they said many other evil and slanderous and insulting words against Him, reviling Him.66  As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led Him into their council (the Sanhedrin), and they said,67  If You are the Christ (the Messiah), tell us. But He said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe (trust in, cleave to, and rely on what I say),68  And if I question you, you will not answer.69  But hereafter (from this time on), the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. 70  And they all said, You are the Son of God, then? And He said to them, It is just as you say; I AM.71  And they said, What further evidence do we need? For we have heard [it] ourselves from His own mouth!

Luke 22

The Passover Meal

1-2 The Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover, drew near. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus but, fearful of the people, they were also looking for a way to cover their tracks.

3-6 That's when Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve. Leaving the others, he conferred with the high priests and the Temple guards about how he might betray Jesus to them. They couldn't believe their good luck and agreed to pay him well. He gave them his word and started looking for a way to betray Jesus, but out of sight of the crowd.

7-8 The Day of Unleavened Bread came, the day the Passover lamb was butchered. Jesus sent Peter and John off, saying, "Go prepare the Passover for us so we can eat it together."

9 They said, "Where do you want us to do this?"

10-12 He said, "Keep your eyes open as you enter the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him home. Then speak with the owner of the house: The Teacher wants to know, 'Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?' He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare the meal there."

13 They left, found everything just as he told them, and prepared the Passover meal.

14-16 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, "You've no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It's the last one I'll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God."

17-18 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, "Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I'll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives."

19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory."

20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.

21-22 "Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying me is at this moment on this table? It's true that the Son of Man is going down a path already marked out—no surprises there. But for the one who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday."

23 They immediately became suspicious of each other and began quizzing one another, wondering who might be about to do this.

Get Ready for Trouble

24-26 Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: "Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It's not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.

27-30 "Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You'd rather eat and be served, right? But I've taken my place among you as the one who serves. And you've stuck with me through thick and thin. Now I confer on you the royal authority my Father conferred on me so you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and be strengthened as you take up responsibilities among the congregations of God's people.

31-32 "Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start."

33 Peter said, "Master, I'm ready for anything with you. I'd go to jail for you. I'd die for you!"

34 Jesus said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me."

35 Then Jesus said, "When I sent you out and told you to travel light, to take only the bare necessities, did you get along all right?"
"Certainly," they said, "we got along just fine."

36-37 He said, "This is different. Get ready for trouble. Look to what you'll need; there are difficult times ahead. Pawn your coat and get a sword. What was written in Scripture, 'He was lumped in with the criminals,' gets its final meaning in me. Everything written about me is now coming to a conclusion."

38 They said, "Look, Master, two swords!"
But he said, "Enough of that; no more sword talk!"

A Dark Night

39-40 Leaving there, he went, as he so often did, to Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, "Pray that you don't give in to temptation."

41-44 He pulled away from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, "Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?" At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.

45-46 He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. He said, "What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won't give in to temptation."

47-48 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, "Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

49-50 When those with him saw what was happening, they said, "Master, shall we fight?" One of them took a swing at the Chief Priest's servant and cut off his right ear.

51 Jesus said, "Let them be. Even in this." Then, touching the servant's ear, he healed him.

52-53 Jesus spoke to those who had come—high priests, Temple police, religion leaders: "What is this, jumping me with swords and clubs as if I were a dangerous criminal? Day after day I've been with you in the Temple and you've not so much as lifted a hand against me. But do it your way—it's a dark night, a dark hour."

A Rooster Crowed

54-56 Arresting Jesus, they marched him off and took him into the house of the Chief Priest. Peter followed, but at a safe distance. In the middle of the courtyard some people had started a fire and were sitting around it, trying to keep warm. One of the serving maids sitting at the fire noticed him, then took a second look and said, "This man was with him!"

57 He denied it, "Woman, I don't even know him."

58 A short time later, someone else noticed him and said, "You're one of them."
But Peter denied it: "Man, I am not."

59 About an hour later, someone else spoke up, really adamant: "He's got to have been with him! He's got 'Galilean' written all over him."

60-62 Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about." At that very moment, the last word hardly off his lips, a rooster crowed. Just then, the Master turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered what the Master had said to him: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." He went out and cried and cried and cried.

Slapping Him Around

63-65 The men in charge of Jesus began poking fun at him, slapping him around. They put a blindfold on him and taunted, "Who hit you that time?" They were having a grand time with him.

66-67 When it was morning, the religious leaders of the people and the high priests and scholars all got together and brought him before their High Council. They said, "Are you the Messiah?"

68-69 He answered, "If I said yes, you wouldn't believe me. If I asked what you meant by your question, you wouldn't answer me. So here's what I have to say: From here on the Son of Man takes his place at God's right hand, the place of power."

70 They all said, "So you admit your claim to be the Son of God?"
"You're the ones who keep saying it," he said.

71 But they had made up their minds, "Why do we need any more evidence? We've all heard him as good as say it himself."