The Plot and Trial (Lk 22.1-2)

This study begins the teaching on Luke chapter 22. This is a short lesson that includes a summary of Chapter 22 and the background of the Passover.

Luke 22.1-2

Chapter summary

Luke 22 presents an account of the events surrounding what is commonly referred to as the Passion of Christ, the sufferings of Jesus, which begin even in the Garden of Gethsemane, continue throughout His trial, and culminate with His execution by crucifixion. Chapter 22 begins with the plot to kill Jesus, describes Jesus’ Passover meal with His disciples and the institution of communion, Jesus’ prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, His capture, Peter’s betrayal of Jesus, and concludes with Jesus before the Council of the Sanhedrin.

The events given in Luke 22 are supplemented and complemented by the accounts found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John. For some passages, such as Luke 22:7-13 (Passover preparations), Luke 22:24-30 (disciples argue about greatness), Luke 22:35-38 (supplies for the road), Luke’s account is our only source.

The focus of Luke 22 is not surprisingly on the actions and words of Jesus and, to a lesser extent, on two of His disciples, Simon Peter and Judas, who play a part in the events described.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

Luke 22: 1-2

1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.

3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

The parallel accounts in the other gospels are found in Matthew 26:1-5, Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:1-11, John 11:45-54.

The first six verses of Luke 22 set the stage for the events of Jesus’ passion that are to unfold. In verse 1 we learn that the Feast of Unleavened Bread (or Passover) was at hand. Next Luke tells us in verse 2 that the religious establishment was plotting against Jesus – the scribes and chief priests were seeking how they might kill Him, for they were afraid of the people. Finally, in verses 3-6, Luke briefly describes how Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, conspires with the plotters to betray Christ to them. Tonight we will spend some time on each of these elements of Luke 22:1-6:

·         The Passover setting.

·         The plot to kill Christ.

·         The cooperation of Judas.

The Passover setting

The events in Luke 22 all occur during the days right before Passover, the day of Passover itself, and the day directly afterwards. It is not at all coincidental but rather extremely appropriate that Jesus’ Passion occurred around the time of Passover. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were the two oldest and two of the most important of the Old Testament holidays. Remember that the original spelling and meaning of the word “holiday” was a “holy day,” a day set aside for worship of God. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were instituted by God in the Book of Exodus as a time to remember and be thankful for what He was about to do for Israel by bringing them out of slavery in Egypt. 

The account of the first Passover is given in Exodus 12:1-28, it is also presented in Numbers 9:1-14, Deuteronomy 16:1-8 and Ezekiel 45:21-15.

As God prepared to inflict the tenth plague – the death of the firstborn children and livestock – on the land of Egypt, He told Moses both what He intended to do and how the Children of Israel could be kept safe from the plague. On the 10^th day of the first month, each Jewish family was to select a yearling male lamb or goat without blemish. At twilight on the 14^th day, they were to kill their animal, place some of its blood on the doorposts and the lintel (the post across the top of the doorway), then roast the flesh in the fire and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were to eat it in haste, wearing their sandals and holding their staffs, as if ready to set out on a sudden journey, which in fact they were about to do.

The blood on the doorposts and lintel was a sign to the Lord as He visited the plague of the death of the firstborn upon the land of Egypt. When He saw the blood on the door, He “passed over” that house without afflicting it. For the next seven days they were to continue to eat only unleavened bread and do no work, other than to prepare their food.

Originally the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrated one right after another (Exodus 34:18 and Ex 34:25), Passover being celebrated at twilight on the 14^th day of the first month (Abib or Nisan), and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the next seven days, from the 15^th to the 21^st. By Jesus’ day, it was common to refer to both festivals together as Passover and to refer to a Passover Week.

The way in which Passover itself was celebrated also evolved over the centuries. After the building of the first Temple during the time of Solomon, the Passover evolved from a private family celebration to a public celebration in the central sanctuary (2 Chron 8:12-14). Rather than smeared on the doorposts and lintels, the blood of the unblemished lamb was sprinkled by the priests on the altar of sacrifice.

During the weeks and days before the start of Passover, Jews from all over Israel made their way to at Jerusalem and prepared for the celebration. The account in John 11:55 tells us “And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.” And a few verses later in John 12:12-13) we read that a great multitude had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast. Josephus claimed that during one Passover Jerusalem was filled with over 2.5 million Jews offering sacrifice, as well as many others who could not for various reasons participate. Scholars believe that Josephus’ numbers are greatly inflated and that 200,000 is probably a more accurate estimate of the number of Jews making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the city would have been extremely crowded.

Both the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are in their way pictures (or types) of Jesus. The events and significance of these feasts foreshadow what Jesus would do upon the cross. The Children of Israel, whom God had called out of Egypt to be His Chosen People, had to have faith in what God had commanded them through Moses. They had to sacrifice the unblemished lamb at twilight on the 14^th day of the first month and smear some of its blood on their doorposts and lintel, having faith that the destroyer would not inflict death upon their firstborn child and livestock. Likewise those sinners whom God is calling out of the world, whose spirits are being stirred up by the Holy Spirit to seek Him, must have faith in the salvation that God has accomplished upon the cross through the shedding the blood of Jesus, who was without sin and was called the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 1 Pet 1:17-20). They must believe that the blood of the Lamb of God is necessary and sufficient to save them from death and eternal separation from God.

Furthermore, just as the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be a reminder to the Children of Israel of how the Lord had saved them out of the land of Egypt, where they were living as slaves, so too communion, which Jesus instituted on Passover in Luke 22, is meant to be a reminder to Christians how Jesus’ sinless life and death on the cross redeemed us out of the world, where we were slaves to sin and death. God expected His Children to obey His commandments; so too Jesus expects obedience from those who call Him Lord and Master.

And finally, just as those Children of Israel, whom the wrath of God had passed over because of the shedding of lamb’s blood, were to abstain from eating bread with leaven for seven days, so too we believers, whom the wrath of God will pass over because of the shedding of Christ’s blood, should abstain from sin as much as we are able. In scripture leaven is a common metaphor for sin. Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, so a little sin gradually permeates our lives. Thus Paul writes to the Corinthians about the effects of their [sexual] immorality on the body of Christ (1 Cor 5:6-8).

Truly Christ is our Passover; His obedient life and atoning sacrifice is the only reason that we will be spared God’s wrath for our sin and spend eternity with Him in heaven.