Luke 22:1-22:38

When we studied the book of Daniel awhile back we keyed in on the concept that

No matter what it looks like, no matter what it feels like, God’s got this.

We are coming to a few day span here in the Life of Jesus where, from the ground level, it looks like God doesn't Got this.

We have the perspective of time and distance from the account to be able to see how it turns out. (Spoiler alert, Jesus dies but he does not stay dead!)

I just want you to try to put yourself in the seat of peter and Judas today.

The Betrayal (Wednesday)

Luke 22:1–6 (ESV)

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.

The pharisees had feared the people all along but things were coming to a head.

Feast of unleavened bread and the Passover meant that every jewish man over 12 years old and many of their families were coming to Jerusalem.

there were 3 feasts that required all the men to go to Jerusalem and worship God and represent their families.

The feast of Weeks, The feast of Tabernacles, and the Passover

passover origin

Exodus 12:1–14 (ESV)

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.

And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.

And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

By Jesus day, traditions around the passover were codified to the point that the meal was a ceremony with scriptures and readings. It was kind of an educational ceremony.

Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

Who is Judas?

Luke 6:12–13 ESV

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

Luke 6:16 ESV

and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

He Was a Thief

John 12:4–6 ESV

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

He Was Greedy

Matthew 26:15 ESV

and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.

$295-$357

No one knew

Luke 22:23 ESV

And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

But Jesus knew

Luke 22:21–22 ESV

But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

In fact Jesus had always known:

John 6:70–71 ESV

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Judas left himself open to the attacks of the Devil

NOTE influence of the Devil does NOT excuse his act of betrayal.

I believe the betrayal had ALREADY happened in his heart.

The Devil does not make you do what you don’t want to do, he nudges you toward the things that you desperately want to do.

What is betrayal?

S. Rachman in a paper titled “Betrayal: a psychological analysis” “Betrayal is the sense of being harmed by the intentional actions or omissions of a trusted person. The most common forms of betrayal are harmful disclosures of confidential information, disloyalty, infidelity, dishonesty.”

You know betrayal when you see it

In our relationship with God, all sin is really a form of betrayal.

“I see that, ultimately, my sin is the betrayal of a good and loving God.”

Timothy Keller

Judas was with Jesus but his heart was far from him

His betrayal reveals his true character and shows that standing close to Jesus does not in itself guarantee spiritual success if the heart is not allied properly to God.

Darrell L. Bock

Allied to God, having truly JOINED with God. Judas was trying to make God in his image instead of humbly receiving him for who he is.

When Jesus did not fit that image he either Got angry and wanted to hurt him or simply saw the writing on the wall and wanted to get out with as much as possible…$357.

The Passover and the Lords Supper

Luke 22:7–13 (ESV)

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.

Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

God’s Got this. Jesus as God and man is a willing part of the plan

Luke 22:14–23 ESV

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took 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.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.

This Last supper and first Lords supper show Jesus deep care for his disciples then and his people now.

It is one of the most important things we do together as a church.

The Lords Supper looks

BACK to his sacrifice with gratitude

NOW at the unified body with allegiance to our king

FORWARD into the future to his second coming with trust and hope.

Just like the passover meal, it is supposed to be educational, and reassuring.

At the last supper Jesus was aware that for the disciples, the next few days were going to a terrible roller coaster that they were NOT ready for. He was equipping them for that and to be able to process it in the aftermath.

ALL of this is part of my plan. REMEMBER THAT. Fear not, believe me, stay the course

The Final Lessons

As the supper draws to a close, and their time is short, Jesus feels that. Time is short and they are NOT ready for what is to come.

1. My Desire for You is Real Greatness

Luke 22:24–29 (ESV)

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.

These were teens and 20somethings. This is what they do.

This argument has been the gift that keeps on giving.

This probably came up now for a couple reasons

instead of hearing Jesus message in the last supper they heard “until the kingdom of God comes” and got excited “Oh baby its about to go down”

Jesus just spoke of a betrayer “I’m not a betrayer, in fact I am so much NOT a betrayer that I am actually the best”

I picture Jesus having gone out of the room for a moment, maybe to get the next part of the meal. So he walks back in and these boys are arguing about who is the greatest

And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom,

You know how great MEN act right?

Who is the greatest in this room? And what have I been doing the whole time?

The other gospel accounts tell us that Jesus had washed their feet.

He had been waiting the table

YOU don’t worry about greatness.

Your greatness is guaranteed through living for me. The path too it is not posturing, arguing and trying to elbow your way to the front. It is through obedience and service.

Then Jesus keys in on Simon Peter, My guess is that he was the instigator or loudest voice in the “who is the greatest” conversation.

“Listen, you want to talk about who is great and loyal guys, It was John and I who got asked to prepare all this meal here. Jesus sees that I’m like next level”

2. My Desire is for your faith to be strong

Luke 22:31–34 ESV

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

You will fail me, do not lose heart. I still love you. I still have good plans for you.

Romans 8:1 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

3. My Desire is for you to be ready and wise

Luke 22:35–38 (ESV)

And he said to them, “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”

Look guys, it is about to get really hard. Its all part of the plan but it will be difficult.

You are going to be “known associates” of a “criminal”

Be careful, be wise, look out for each other.

And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two swords.” And he said to them, “It is enough.”

In the end, I don’t think they get it. They would look back on this advice and understand it but in the moment they are thinking ok, Lets count swords.

So what?

Are you a Judas?

A betrayer. A faker.

A. its possible you have not truly believed. 1 John 2:19

It’s not too late.

B. Its possible that you have believed but are quenching the Holy Spirit

Are you a Peter?

Remember the message of the Lord’s supper

God’s Got this.

The timing of the death of Jesus aligning with passover.

Romans 5:6–8 ESV

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Hebrews 10:11–14 ESV

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.