This lesson ends the Passover Supper, including predicting Peter’s Denial, and moves on to the prayer in the garden. This narrative is reconstructed from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Luke 22: 31-46
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial
Luke 22:31-34
31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
33 But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."
34 Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
Parallel passages: Matthew 26:31-35, Mark 14:27-31, and John 13:36-38. The setting is Jesus has shared Passover and communion with His disciples. He has told them that His betrayer is in their midst. He has demonstrated the principle of servant leadership to them by washing their feet. Now He prepares His disciples for the difficult time that lies ahead, with His betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and burial, by telling them that they will be scattered like sheep who have lost their shepherd. (Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27).
Jesus also encourages them and gives them hope with the promise that He will be raised and go before them to Galilee. Jesus knows who we are, what we are, how we will fall short of the mark (the literal definition of sin), and that He will lead the way for us. These are all characteristics of a great leader: knowing your people, preparing them to be successful even in difficult times, and leading the way.
The sifting of the disciples: Satan sifts us like wheat (and God allows it) [verse 31]. What is sifting? Literally, to separate one part from another. To separate the good edible parts of the wheat from the chaff, which we do not eat but nourishes the grain in development. To separate wheat manually, you first thresh it (break it apart with a flail) and then winnow it (toss it into the air and let the lighter chaff blow away).Trials and tribulations are the process by which believers are sifted.
In Luke, Jesus tells Peter he will be sifted like wheat. From Matthew and Mark’s accounts we can see that Jesus said all the disciples would stumble in fulfillment of prophesy.
Why do believers need to be sifted? The kernels of wheat cannot be used until they are separated from the chaff. Sifting can deepen our understanding of God (the example of Job (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-6)). Job learned that God’s ways are not man’s ways and cannot be completely understood by man, even by a righteous man (Isa 55:9). To purge the sinners from the righteous at the appointed time, God promised to sift Israel (Amos 9:9-10).
The parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30) is an example. To refine a believer, by separating what is of faith from what is of sin Rom 14:23. The disciples needed to realize that with God all things are possible but without Him, salvation, and I would add walking in the Spirit, are impossible Matthew 19:23-26. In his flesh, Peter could not do what he boasted. Through the Spirit he had the chance to succeed.
Sifting also helps us become more like Jesus, take up your cross and follow me (Matt 16:24), Do not consider yourself too good to suffer Eph 5:1-2, Phil 2:5-11. To test and strengthen our faith, we are saved by grace through faith but faith alone is only the beginning, Faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). We are to build on our saving faith (2 Peter 1:5-11).
Sifting helps to perfect us (James 1:2-5), what tribulation produces (Rom 5:3-5), through tribulation we earn the crown of life (James 1:12).
Jesus prays (intercedes) for us [verse 32], Not that we avoid bad things but persevere through them, see John 15:15, that although our faith might waver it will not break. Jesus is always at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us (Rom 8:34 )
Jesus is the lynchpin of our salvation [verse 32], He is author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:1-2), in times of struggle, we may fall away from Him but need to return to Jesus. We are to persevere through your struggles and use them to encourage others [Lk 22:32].
How do we overcome Satan? (Rev 12:11) We are not tempted beyond what we can endure (1 Cor 10:13). This life is but a vapor Psalm 39:5, Romans 8:18, 2 Cor 4:17-18.
The promises of God await us: Heb 10:35-39, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Peter 5:1-4. Put on the armor of God (Eph 6:10-18).
Self-confidence (and over-confidence) is dangerous (1 Cor 10:12) [Lk 22:33-34]
From Matthew and Mark’s accounts we can see that all the disciples agreed with Peter that they would not deny Jesus, even to the point of death. When we rely on ourselves, we will fail (like all the disciples). The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We must rely on God and the Holy Spirit for faith unto death.
Supplies for the Road
Luke 22:25-38
35 And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?"
So they said, "Nothing."
36 Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end."
38 So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords."
And He said to them, "It is enough."
If we look back in Luke 9:1-3, we can see that earlier in His ministry, Jesus had sent out His disciples and had commanded them to take nothing for the journey.
At that point, Jesus wanted, I believe, to teach His disciples to rely on God’s provision. His question in Luke 22:35 - "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" - implies that, I think.
Now, however, Jesus tells His disciples to take their belongings with them as they go out: their money bags, their knapsacks, and their swords. Indeed if they do not own a sword, they are to sell their outer garment and buy one.
I do not believe Jesus’ intent is either to equip His disciples to be mercenaries or to teach them that they now must provide for themselves. Indeed I believe that nothing could be further from the truth. If swords were truly what was needed then Jesus would have never told them that two swords for eleven disciples were enough. Rather I think Jesus wishes to prepare them mentally and spiritually for what lay before them. The disciples’ lives are about to change dramatically and they needed to change their perceptions and attitude accordingly. Jesus is trying to stir them up, to make them realize that something different was about to happen.
In verse 37 Jesus tells His disciples the reason for that change - the things concerning Him have an end. He is about to be numbered among the transgressors, among those who had sinned and were punished for their sins, I order that the Old Testament prophecies written about Him may be fulfilled.
When Jesus tells His disciples that the things concerning Him have an end, I do not read this verse as saying that there is only so much we can say about Jesus, for indeed the end of John’s Gospel tells us otherwise: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”( John 212:25) Instead I believe that Jesus is saying that His time on earth is almost finished, that He was about to complete the work that the Father had sent Him to do (John 17:4). The Lamb of God was about to be crucified, to take away the sin of the world.
The passage Jesus quotes here in Luke 22:37, which is taken from Isaiah 53:12, makes this clear. God is speaking through His prophet Isaiah to Israel about His righteous servant, the coming Messiah.
We can see how Jesus completely fulfilled this prophetic passage from Isaiah. In fact Jesus’ reward for His sacrifice far exceeded dividing a portion with the great or dividing the spoil with the strong. Because He was willing to humble Himself, and be obedient to the point of pouring out His soul unto death, even death upon the cross, God highly exalted Jesus and gave Him the name above all names, at which every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus is Lord. (Phil 2:5-11)
Although Jesus lived a life completely without sin, He willingly allowed Himself to be numbered among the transgressors, to be treated like a habitual criminal, to be beaten and crucified, and to hang on His cross between thieves. He willingly took the weight of the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future, upon His shoulders and offered Himself as a willing sacrifice, without spot or blemish, to redeem all mankind from the power of sin and death. And throughout all He endured He never complained and even prayed for forgiveness for those who unjustly used and abused Him. And Jesus continues to intercede for transgressors even to this day, for He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for those who come to God through Him.( Heb 7:25, Heb 8:1)
For three years Jesus’ disciples had experienced the presence and provision of God. They sat at Jesus’ feet and learned from Him. They watched Him perform miracles. They saw the character of God, embodied in the person of Jesus. They came to know that God was faithful, forgiving, loving, patient, just, and righteous. They understood that they needed to live by faith, placing their trust in their Lord.
However Jesus understood that very soon He would no longer walk among His disciples in the flesh as He has done, leading them, teaching them, protecting them, and caring for their needs. And He knew that in a matter of hours His disciples would be scattered like sheep without a shepherd, heartbroken by the events of Jesus’ capture, trial, and crucifixion. It is true, praise God, that after three days in the tomb Jesus would rise again and His disciples would be reunited with Him for a while. But then He would depart to be with His Father, in heaven, interceding at His right hand. From that time forward the disciples would know Him no longer through His flesh but through His Spirit. After His departure, they would need to wait for the indwelling and leading of the Holy Spirit, not knowing where they would be led. In time each of them would have his own passion to endure.
Before He left them, Jesus had another set of lessons for His disciples to learn. They were about to learn just how bitterly the world hated Jesus. Ad they were about to learn exactly what the cost of following Jesus would be – what it would mean to pick up their cross daily and follow Him. Over the next twenty four hours, Jesus would show them as He laid down His life and picked up His cross. I believe that in Luke 22:35-38, Jesus was preparing them mentally and spiritually for the changes in their lives that were at hand. He was preparing them to become soldiers of God, being used by God and led by the Spirit, engaging in spiritual warfare, doing the work of the Gospel. And although He called them to take their swords with them, I believe it was really the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:17), that He was calling them to take up.
As believers progress from the milk to the meat of the word (Heb 5:12-14), as we are increasing filled and led by the Spirit, I believe that God desires and expects that we will become active participants in the spiritual warfare that surrounds us. Listen to Paul addressing the immature church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4:
3 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
For, as the Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12-13, we do not struggle against flesh and blood but “against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.”
To be successful in such battles, like soldiers, we need to take up the spiritual armor and weapons of God daily. We have wasted enough time on the things of this world already. It is time for us to cast off the old man and put on Christ, as Paul writes in Romans 13:11-14:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
There is, I believe, another reason why Jesus asks His disciples to make ready their swords. a sword is a weapon and weapons are necessary when a person finds himself in a dangerous environment. I believe that Jesus wanted to stress to His disciples that henceforward they were going to find themselves in hostile circumstances. Not only would many of the scribes and Pharisees hate them but the Enemy, Satan, once He realized how he had been defeated, would stop at nothing to sift them like wheat. Jesus has already told Peter as much in Luke 22:31-32. Jesus wanted them to understand that to do the work of the Gospel effectively, they needed to separate themselves from the world and walk according to the spirit and not according to the flesh. In Romans 8:5-8, Paul clearly tells us that:
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
To please God and to do God’s work, the disciples must become less carnal and more spiritual. Jesus was preparing His disciples to separate themselves from the world and endure hardships, just as Paul would exhort Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 that:
3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
And this is just as true for us today. We are called to live in the world, to be salt and light to those who are perishing, to tell others about the Gospel, and make disciples among all nations. But we are told not to be conformed to this world but rather transformed by the renewing of our mind.(Rom 12:2) We are not to become wrapped up in the cares and worries of this life but rather to keep our eyes on Jesus. As Paul writes to the church at Corinth, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”( 1 Cor 13:11) That is my prayer for all of us, that we may put away the things of our childhood, put away the things of the world, taking up the spiritual armor of God, and become warriors for our Father in heaven!
The Prayer in the Garden
Luke 22: 39-45
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."
Other passages include: Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, and John 18:1,
The reconstructed narrative from Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Let’s construct the actions of the evening by including all the Gospel narrative. We’ll start when they leave the Upper Room, where they have eaten the Passover meal and celebrated the first Communion together, Jesus and the disciples go out of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Brook, and up the Mount of Olives, where He and the disciples regularly slept. It is this regularity, coupled with the fact that Jesus and the disciples were outside the city, that made it easier for Judas to betray Jesus to the religious leadership without an uproar.
When they reach the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus tells the disciples to wait, advises them to pray that they do not enter into temptation, and then withdraws with Peter, James, and John. He tells these three, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death,"(Matthew 26:38) then asks them to stay and watch with Him. Jesus separates Himself from these three and then prays fervently that God would allow this cup to pass from Him, if there is any other way. "Nevertheless," Jesus adds, "not as I will, but as you will." (Mat 26:39)
Returning to Peter, James, and John, Jesus finds them asleep. Luke says that they were sleeping from sorrow, presumably caused by what Jesus has told them about his departure (John 13 and 14 were spoken while they were in the upper room). Jesus rouses the disciples and encourages them again to watch and pray, lest they enter into temptation. He withdraws a second time, repeats His prayer, telling God that all things are possible for Him and asking that the cup be taken from Him, but only if it is God's will to do so.
A second time He returns to find the three asleep. Jesus does not wake them but withdraws to pray a third and final time. At some point, in response to His prayers, Jesus is visited by an angel, who strengthens Him. Jesus then prays with such intensity that He is in agony, and "His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground." (Lk 22:40) and then wakes them. Jesus again encourages them to pray that they will not fall into temptation and then tells them that the hour is at hand and the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners.
What is going on here? Why did Jesus have to go through this? What's the point of this incident in the garden?
We are not directly told in any of the Gospel accounts why Jesus experiences this time in the garden. However, looking at the context and at other scriptures, I think we can make an educated guess. As always, I want to stress that what I tell you is intended to be food for thought. Do not receive what I say without praying and verifying it against the word of God. God and His word are always consistent, because God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Malachi 3:6 tells us “For I am the Lord, I do not change…” (Num 23:19). Be Bereans, searching the scriptures yourselves and asking God to reveal to you the meaning of these verses. James 1:5-6 teaches us that:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
And Proverbs 28:5 tells us that “Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the Lord understand all.” And believe what God reveals to you over what any man says.
I believe that what we see here is Jesus in the process of becoming that High Priest who was tempted in every way as us but without sin (Heb 4:15). This trial which we see Jesus walking through in tonight's passage is, I believe, what Hebrews 5:6-11 describes.
We have seen Jesus learning and displaying obedience during our studies in the Gospel of Luke. He has been obedient and respectful to the authorities He has encountered in His life. We have seen that as a teenager He was obedient to His Father in Heaven (Heb 2:49-50) yet at the same time submitted to Joseph and Mary when they found Him in the temple at Jerusalem after Passover. Jesus permitted Himself to be baptized, not because He was a sinful man who needed to repent, but because it was fitting for Him to fulfill all righteousness and do what God had called Israel to do through His prophet John the Baptist (Mat 3:13-15). Jesus demonstrated obedience to God as He rebuffed the temptations of Satan in the wilderness at the start of His ministry. Jesus was obedient to the demands of the Law, not as it had been altered and added to by Israel’s religious leaders, but to the letter and spirit of the Law as God had given it. He miraculously paid His temple tax in Capernaum (Mat 17:24-27), which was required of all Hebrew men. Furthermore, Jesus tells us that He can of Himself do nothing, but only to seek the will of the Father Who sent Him (John 5:30). In our passage tonight we see Jesus being, as Philippians 2:8 tells us, “obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
We learn obedience in large part by resisting temptation. The temptation that Jesus struggles against here is to be disobedient to the will of His Father. The Greek noun for temptation - peirasmos - occurs twice in our passage tonight from Luke, and elsewhere in the New Testament, for example in the Lord's Prayer. Its general meaning is “an experiment, test, trial, or proving,” and it is frequently used for a trial sent by God to test or prove our faith, holiness, or character. As we see in the sifting of Peter, in Book of Job, and elsewhere in scripture, God permits us to be tested. He knows in advance what our response will be to testing; however, we do not, and it is for our benefit and spiritual growth that such tests are allowed. Here we see that God even allows His beloved Son, in Whom He is well-pleased, to be tested.
But just as Satan was behind the testing that Job endured, and the temptation that Jesus experienced in the wilderness at the start of His ministry, and the sifting of Peter, so too I believe that Satan was behind this temptation of Jesus. I believe that this was the more opportune time (Lk 4:13) that he had been seeking.
Isn't that how the enemy of the brethren usually operates? He seeks to cause us to stumble, to become disobedient to what God has said. Think about the first recorded temptation, the serpent in the Garden of Eden tempting Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And think of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness at the start of His ministry. In both cases the temptation was to do something other than what God has said. Should Eve trust God and not eat of the forbidden fruit or eat and try to become wise like God? Should Jesus use His power for personal reasons and seek a kingdom on His own, or allow God to protect Him and raise Him up in His timing?
Notice the struggle Jesus goes through here is the Garden of Gethsemene. Jesus understands what is in front of Him, the shame, humiliation, pain, loneliness, suffering, and separation from God which He will be called to endure over the next few hours. Jesus prays that if possible, things should be done another way. Can we blame Him? Would anyone of us volunteered for that duty? Yet notice how careful and intentional Jesus is each time to pray for God's will to be done and not His own. After all Jesus had said of Himself, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the Him who sent Me."
I do not know if Jesus could have walked away or not. On one hand there are some who argue that Jesus had to fulfill what the word of God had prophesied about the Messiah and therefore could not have walked away if He wanted to. And on the other hand, there are those who would say that God allows each of us to choose whether we follow Him or not. I prefer to praise His holy name that He did not walk away but went to the cross for us. Indeed if He had walked away, it would have been disastrous for us all, because a spotless lamb was required to take away the sins of the world.
I believe that Jesus clearly understood that Peter and the other disciples would shortly experience the same temptation to act out of their will and not the Father's. We know that none of them will be able to stand with Jesus, that they will cut and run in fear and that only John will be there as Jesus hangs on the cross. Here in the Garden of Gethsemane we see Jesus the Good Shepherd leading His flock by going first. Just as He had modeled servant leadership by washing His disciples' feet only a couple of hours ago, so now He models for them obedience to the Father's will, even to the point of death on the cross.
When we think about all Jesus experienced during His life:
- The seemingly scandalous circumstances surrounding His conception
- His birth in a lowly manger
- Thirty years spent out of the spotlight, under the radar
- Misunderstanding and rejection He experienced from His own family and the people He came to save
- The grief associated with loss of loved ones (Lazarus)
- His betrayal by one of His own disciples
- The apprehension and torment He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane
- The shame, humiliation, pain, and separation from God during His crucifixion
When we think about all that He experienced in obedience for our sakes, we can believe Him when He tells us that He understands what we are going through, and that He will never leave us or forsake us. And therefore we can be assured, as Psalm 23:4 tells us, that
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Jesus' rod and staff are the tools of the shepherd. With them he protects and guides his sheep, sometime gently, sometimes forcefully, but always lovingly. And his shepherd's rod is also a scepter, such as kings or rulers carried, a symbol of the authority and power that God has given Him for His faithfulness.
Finally I want to call your attention to the importance that prayer plays in our passage tonight. Prayers - both our own and those of others - help us endure through hardships. The model prayer that Jesus gave His disciples, the Lord's prayer, asks God not to lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. Earlier in Luke 22 we saw that Jesus prayed for Peter that his [Peter's] faith will not fail him. In our passage tonight Jesus twice tells His disciples to pray that they do not fall into temptation. Jesus Himself prays three times and I believe His prayers were answered by the angel who appeared and strengthened Him. Without prayer, I believe we have little or no chance to be successful in the spiritual battles we will find ourselves embroiled in. But when we prayed, we know that God hears our prayers, we can rest in Jesus' words
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