Lessons Into Luke: Lesson 18

FACTS AND THOUGHTS

LESSON EIGHTEEN - LAST EVENING

(Luke Chapter Twenty-two)



According to the last two verses of Chapter Twenty-one of Luke, Jesus was busy teaching the people in the temple every day, from early morning on. At the same time, He knew that His time was almost up. Very very shortly He would be arrested, tried, convicted, and put to death. And He knew it. (See Luke 22:15.)



We all know that each of us must die. Someday. And even if somebody were to assure you that tomorrow will be your fatal day, in all probability there would be the lingering hope that somehow that prediction might be wrong after all. But The Son of Man knew of a certainty that His suffering was about to begin. Consider His thoughts, His actions, His words in the light of His certain knowledge.



Not just death, but suffering. Physical agony. Rejection. Betrayal. Disowned. Slapped. Spit upon. Insulted. Flogged. Mocked. Reviled. Falsely accused. Unjustly convicted. Flogged again. Deserted by all his friends. The agony of his flesh torn by iron spikes. Jerked into an agonizing position. Jeered at by all. And even the God He served, the God Who with great pleasure had called Him "Son," deserted Him. All this was before Him, and He knew it!



THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED.



It was a feast time. A time for celebration. Jews from all over the world had gathered. Some have estimated that a million persons were crowding into Jerusalem.



And many sensed that something was afoot. There were the chief priests of the nation, and the scribes. There were the disciples, all twelve of them. There were the people, the multitudes. And all were concerned, for one reason or another, about Jesus.



The chief priests and the scribes had made up their minds. Jesus must go. They determined that He should be put to death. But the question was, HOW? How could they seize Him, arrest Him, and convict Him? What about the public, the people? Would they riot? The priests feared.



And the people themselves. They seemed to like, to support, Jesus. Would they support Him in a crisis, and form a barrier to protect Him? Or, like sand, would they drift into new dunes with the changing wind?



The twelve disciples. They had followed Jesus for three years. Would they always be loyal? Was there any dissension in their ranks? What was the "pecking order" of their greatness? Most were from Galilee, but there was one who was different. The man from Kerioth. He had become their treasurer. Was he always honest? One or two were beginning to have a faint suspicion about his integrity.



And, behind the scenes, there was Satan. The Devil. He had from the beginning opposed Jesus. He had inspired Herod the Great to try to kill Jesus in infancy. He had confronted Jesus and challenged Him face to face at the beginning of the Lord's ministry. He had repeatedly and increasingly tried to stop the Movement. Now Satan must act, if ever.



It was Luke who tells us that Satan found a willing ally in Judas, the man from Kerioth. Satan "entered into Judas" (22:3.) And Judas helped the chief priests see an answer to their question, "How?" They made a bargain, a covenant. The priests were glad. Judas accepted their price. And the plan was set in motion, lacking yet only the opportunity.



THE PLANS OF JESUS.



Jesus had one last great desire. It must be accomplished before the end. He desired the company of His disciples in observing the Passover Seder with them. (22:15.) Probably He had prayed about it, and with His Father had worked out the plan and schedule. Now He knew what to do.



From the Mount of Olives He sent Peter and John. They were to enter the city. They were to look for a man. A man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him to a certain house. Call for the master of the house. The master was probably a quiet believer in Jesus, for they were to tell the man that "The Teacher" needed a place. A room for thirteen men (the priest Josephus said, "at least ten, not more than twenty) to celebrate the Passover. Peter and John to make all arrangements: the sacrificial lamb, the unleavened bread, the herbs, the wine. All was made ready for the evening.



And after the sunset hour, when the new day began, Jesus and the twelve disciples assembled. He and they sat down, reclined at the Passover table. He expressed His desire to be with them, for He knew His suffering lay just beyond.



Did they understand the significance of His words? Probably not, but the Holy Spirit would cause them to remember. And they would remember with poignancy every word He said that night.



It is hard for us to determine in detail the course of that Passover meal. Some scholars think that the Jewish seder today is not exactly as it was conducted in the days of Jesus. But we may not be wrong in assuming that at the conclusion of the Passover ritual, Jesus instituted the format of what we call "The Last Supper." There is some indication, and many scholars believe, that Jesus Himself gave to the disciples, but did not Himself partake, of the bread and wine, saying that His participation would await the coming installation of the Kingdom of God. (vss. 20:18ff.)



But the occasion was marred by several things. First, He predicted His betrayal by Judas. The Son of Man knew all things. He knew just how Judas had conspired, and was about, to betray Him. It was (mystery!) in the plan of God, but it did not mitigate the pronouncement of Woe upon the perpetrator. But it caused consternation among the other eleven disciples. (vss. 21-23.)



The next unpleasantness was the striving for supremacy of the eleven. (vss. 24ff.) But this gave The Son of Man another opportunity to teach them. Greatness is not measured by authority but by service. And The Son of Man (perhaps referring to His own footwashing, not described by Luke), cited His own conduct as example. And He promised the heavenly banquet for them all. (It is perhaps significant that here, in vs. 30, is the only time in which Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as His kingdom.)



Then He told them of testing. Addressing Peter specifically, but including all (by the plural form of "you" in vs. 31), He told of Satan's desire to ruin them. But Jesus said He had prayed that, even if they slip, they would maintain their faith. And when Peter protested his unswerving loyalty, came the prediction of a three-fold denial.



And finally (according to Luke) The Son of Man told them that henceforth they would be on their own in the world. He had taken care of them and provided for them, as they knew. Now they must rely upon their own proper use of the materials at hand (and undoubtedly upon the proper use of the teachings He had been giving them. - Vss. 35-38.)



THE LAST MOMENTS OF FREEDOM (Vss. 22:39-46.)



They left the upper room, and went to Gethsemane (at the foot of the Mount of Olives.) Luke says it was "His custom" to go there. Before we had read that it had been His custom to attend synagogue (Luke 4:16.) Two good customs, for us to emulate: weekly public worship, and prayer. He twice challenged His disciples to pray, "that ye enter not into temptation" (vss. 40, 46.) He had to tell them not to grieve and go to sleep, but to conquer sleep with prayer.



One wonders whether Peter, after he had thrice denied Jesus, when he repented remembered these words in the Garden. One wonders, too, whether our own failures come in large part because we do not arise from slumber (both physical and symbolic) and pray.



But Jesus prayed. Luke does not give us details about the thrice-repeated prayer, but he alone does tell us that God sent an angel, the sight of which was "strengthening" the Son of Man. (Vs. 43.) Before, God had sent angels to strengthen Jesus after His temptation (See Mark 1:13); now an angel strengthens Him before His great ordeal.



Note that the opening prayer of Jesus was, "Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me." (vs. 42.) This was not a prayer of weakness by Jesus. Rather it was necessary. God had once, at the last moment, spared Isaac from Abraham's knife. It was now necessary for Jesus to pray this, in order to give His Father the opportunity to exercise another option. Jesus did not always know what was in His Father's mind. (See Matthew 24:36.) This was an opportunity for God the Father to overrule. The fact that God did not do so thus established very clearly that there was no other way. Only the death and resurrection of The Son of Man could nullify the punishment of Adam's sin and establish a New Creation, a New Humanity, in Jesus. It was in fact the only way.



But the prayer of Jesus was necessary for another reason. He must pray with the utmost intensity. It was Luke the physician who alone noted that the agony of Jesus was so intense that His perspiration was as drops of blood. What is the significance of this statement? Perhaps the statement in the Epistle to the Hebrews may shed some light. In Hebrews 12:3-4 it is written, "Consider Him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against Himself, that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls. "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin."



When, later that very night, Jesus was on trial, He remained silent to all the charges. But later the high priest put Jesus under oath and asked Him if He was the Messiah. At that point, exhausted from sleeplessness, slapped, spit upon, flogged, The Son of Man might have continued to remain silent, thus by His silence denying the truth. But instead, when asked by all, "Art thou the Son of God?" He might, for an instant, have paused, then made "the good confession," declaring, "Ye say that I AM." (In other words, "It is as you say.") And it is further written that "they said, 'What further need have we of witness? For we ourselves have heard from His own mouth.'" (Luke 22:70-71.)



Based on the aforementioned text in Hebrews, may we not conclude that it was because Jesus prayed, "resisted unto blood," that The Son of Man was graced with the spiritual courage to testify as He did? Methinks so. What do you think? And if so, what does this say to us about our need of prayer?



ARREST AND PRELIMINARY ARRAIGNMENT (20:47-65.)



No further time to wait. The crowd, led by Judas, came to make the arrest. Judas stepped forward to kiss Jesus, the signal of identity. Note the ironic words of Jesus, "Judas, betrayest thou The Son of Man with a kiss." He seemed to say, "After I had chosen you, after all I have taught you, for you to use a kiss to betray, not just "a carpenter's son," but the Ideal Human Being, The Son of Man: just how lowdown low can you get?"



And when one of the disciples (says Luke, but later identified by John as Peter) drew his sword and, swinging wildly, cut off a man's ear, The Son of Man, ever the Merciful One, healed him.



Finally the last voluntary words of Jesus, "this is your hour, and the power of darkness." So Jesus was arrested, and taken to the home of Anas, the former High Priest, and father-in-law to the reigning High Priest, Caiaphas.



We shall pass over Luke's description of the three-fold denial of Jesus by Peter, for it is well known. Except, Luke noted that at the third denial Jesus "turned and looked upon Peter." What reproach, and what conviction it brought to Peter! When we do wrong, are we aware of Jesus looking with reproach upon us?



The preliminary arraignment before Annas, which was really a "star-chamber inquisition,"accomplished nothing, except to give occasion to mock Jesus, strike Him, revile Him, and beat Him. So at dawn they sent Jesus for a more formal trial, by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, called by Luke a "council."



FORMAL SANHEDRIN TRIAL (20:66-71.)



Luke does not give us details of this hearing, except to point out that Jesus Himself pointed out the illegality of the trial procedure. When they asked Him to declare if He was the Messiah, He noted the unfairness of His treatment: "If I tell you, ye will not believe; and if I ask you, ye will not answer." And then He seemed to say, "But the real trial is not of Me here; rather it will be before the Great White Throne, when I, The Son of Man, will 'be seated on the right hand of the power of God' (in judgment upon you.)" See Luke 22:69.



Steeped in depravity as they were, they failed to hear or heed the words of warning judgment. But they did pick up the claim to divinity. "Are you, this Son of Man, the Son of God?" And when He replied, "Ye say that I AM," they thought they had the evidence they needed. Instead, they were really convicting themselves.



And so, on to Pilate. Thus ends Chapter Twenty-two. Much therein for us to study and to ponder.



QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, STUDY, AND DISCUSSION



1. Review of preceding text: What have you profited by studying the preceding study material?



The following questions are based on Luke Chapter Twenty-three:

2. According to Luke's account, Pilate found "no fault" in Jesus, tried to avoid responsibility, and gave in to the will of the Jews. Can you see any reasons for this attitude?



3. Jesus prayed for God's forgiveness for those crucifying Him. Do you think this prayer was ever answered? If so, how? Discuss.



4. Jesus promised the repentant thief that he would be "with Me in Paradise." Compare II Corinthians 12:2-4 and Revelation 2:7. Do you see any relationship between Paradise and the creation of a new humanity in The Son of Man? Discuss.



5. When Jesus uttered His final word on the Cross, and died, the Roman Centurian, the official witness, declared, "Certainly this was a righteous man." (23:45,47.) Do you think this was a fitting epitaph for The Son of Man? Discuss.



6. Joseph of Arimathaea, having obtained approval from Pilate, took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in linen, and entombed it, while women from Galilee, who had witnessed the crucifixion and death, also witnessed the wrapping and entombment of the body. Why do you think Luke took pains to record all this in detail?



7. Try to memorize Luke 23:28-31.










--- Norman L. MacLeod Jr.

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