Luke 22

Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles were the three most important feasts on the Jewish calendar (Lev. 23), and all the Jewish men were expected to go to Jerusalem each year to celebrate (Deut. 16:16). The Feast of Passover commemorated the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and it was a time for both remembering and rejoicing (Ex. 11—12). Thousands of excited pilgrims crowded in and around Jerusalem during that week, causing the Romans to always be nervous about possible uprisings. Passover had strong political overtones, and it was the ideal time for some would-be messiah to attempt to overthrow Rome. This explains why King Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, were in Jerusalem instead of being at Tiberius and Caesarea respectively. They wanted to help keep the peace.

The religious leaders prepared for a crime (vv. 1–6). It is incredible that these men perpetrated history’s greatest crime during Israel’s holiest festival. During Passover, the Jews were expected to remove all leaven (yeast) from their houses (Ex. 12:15) as a reminder that their ancestors left Egypt in haste and had to eat unleavened bread. Jesus had warned His disciples about the “leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1; also see Matt. 16:6; 1 Cor. 5:1–8), and now we see this hypocrisy at work.

The religious leaders had cleansed their homes but not their hearts (see Matt. 23:25–28). For a long time now, they had wanted to arrest Jesus and get Him out of the way, but they had not been able to work out a safe plan that would protect them from the people. Judas solved their problem for them. He guaranteed to deliver Jesus to them privately so there would be no uproar from the people. The last thing the Jewish Sanhedrin wanted was a messianic uprising at Passover season (see Luke 19:11).

Judas was motivated and energized by Satan (John 13:2, 27), for he never was a true believer in Jesus Christ. His sins had never been cleansed by the Lord (John 13:10–11), and he had never believed and received eternal life (John 6:64–71). Yet none of the other apostles had the least suspicion that Judas was a traitor. We have every reason to believe that Judas had been given the same authority as the other men and that he had preached the same message and performed the same miracles. It shows how close a person can come to God’s kingdom and still be lost (Matt. 7:21–29).

Why did Judas betray the Lord Jesus? We know that he was a thief (John 12:4–6) and that money played a part in his terrible deed. But thirty pieces of silver was not a large payment for such a great crime, and there had to be something more involved. It is possible that Judas saw in Jesus the salvation of the Jewish nation and, therefore, he followed Him because he hoped to hold an office in the kingdom. Keep in mind that the Twelve often argued over who was the greatest in the kingdom, and Judas, the treasurer, surely participated in those important discussions.

When Judas understood that Jesus would not establish the kingdom but rather would surrender to the authorities, he turned against Him in bitter retaliation. The “leaven” in his life grew quietly and secretly until it produced “malice and wickedness” (1 Cor. 5:6–8). When you cooperate with Satan, you pay dearly, and Judas ended up destroying himself (Matt. 27:3–5). Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and he reproduced himself perfectly in Judas.

Jesus prepared for the Passover (vv. 7–13). The way our Lord arranged for the Passover feast indicates that He knew there were plots afoot. Until the disciples arrived at the Upper Room, only Jesus and Peter and John had known where the feast would be held. Had Judas known, he might have been tempted to inform the authorities.

Peter and John would have no trouble locating the man with the water pitcher, because men rarely carried pitchers of water. This was the task of the women. Like the men who owned the ass and colt (Luke 19:28–34), this anonymous man was a disciple of Jesus who made his house available to the Master for His last Passover.

Peter and John would purchase an approved lamb and take it to the temple to be slain. Then they would take the lamb and the other elements of the supper to the house where they planned to meet, and there the lamb would be roasted. The table would be furnished with wine, unleavened bread, and the paste of bitter herbs that reminded the Jews of their long and bitter bondage in Egypt (see Ex. 12:1–28).

There is a chronological question here that must be addressed or it will appear that the gospel writers are contradicting each other. According to John 18:28, the Jewish leaders had not yet eaten the Passover, and the day Jesus was tried and condemned was “the preparation of the Passover” (John 19:14). But our Lord and His disciples had already eaten the Passover!

In their excellent Harmony of the Gospels (Harper & Row), Robert Thomas and Stanley Gundry suggest a possible solution to the dilemma (320–23). The Jews at that time reckoned days in one of two ways: from sunset to sunset or from sunrise to sunrise. The first approach was traditionally Jewish (Gen. 1:5), while the second was Roman, though it had biblical precedent (see Gen. 8:22).

If Matthew, Mark, and Luke used the Jewish reckoning, and John the Roman, then there is no contradiction. There was an “overlapping” of days that permitted both groups to celebrate on the same date but a different day. The temple priests permitted the Jews to bring their lambs for sacrifice either the earlier or the later time. Apparently the Jewish leaders followed the Roman form of reckoning (John 18:28), while Jesus and the disciples followed the Jewish form. Our Lord was crucified on Passover at the time when the lambs were being slain, becoming a fulfillment of Old Testament type.

Jesus had “steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem”

(Luke 9:51), knowing full well what would happen to Him there, and now those events were about to occur.

They were appointments, not accidents, for they had been determined by the Father and written centuries ago in the Old Testament Scriptures (Luke 24:26–27). We cannot but admire our Savior and love Him more as we see Him courageously enter into this time of suffering and eventual death. We must remember that He did it for us.

The Passover supper in the Upper Room gives us the focus for our present study.

The disciples did not know what to expect as they met in the Upper Room, but it turned out to be an evening of painful revelation. Jesus, the Host of the supper, met them with the traditional kiss of peace (He kissed Judas!), and then the men reclined around the table, Judas at our Lord’s left and John at His right (John 13:23).

Jesus revealed His love (vv. 14–16). He did this by what He said and by what He did. He told His friends that He had a great desire to share this last Passover with them before He suffered. Passover commemorated the Exodus of Israel from Egypt centuries before, but He would accomplish a greater “exodus” on the cross. He would purchase redemption from sin for a world of lost sinners (Luke 9:31).

Then He arose, girded Himself with a towel, and washed the disciples’ feet, including Judas’ (John 13:1–20). Later that evening, the Twelve would argue over which of them was the greatest, so this lesson on humility and service did not penetrate their hearts. Perhaps Peter had this scene in mind when years later he admonished his readers to “be clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5; and see Phil. 2:1–11).

Our Lord’s words in Luke 22: indicate that there would be no more Passover on God’s calendar. The next feast would be the great “kingdom feast” when He would return to establish His rule on earth (Luke 22:28–30; 13:24–30; Matt. 8:11–12). He saw beyond the suffering to the glory, beyond the cross to the crown, and in His love, He reached out to include His friends.

Jesus revealed the presence of treachery (vv. 21–23). He had already hinted to His disciples that one of their number was not truly with Him (John 6:66–71), but now He openly spoke about a traitor in their midst. However, He did not do this just for the sake of the disciples, but more for the sake of Judas. Jesus had kissed Judas and washed his feet, and now He was giving Judas another opportunity to repent. It is most significant that Jesus did not openly identify Judas as the traitor but protected him until the very end.

If Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, why did He choose him in the first place? And, if somebody had to betray the Lord, why condemn Judas? After all, he simply did God’s will and fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy (see Ps. 41:9; 55:12–14; compare Ps. 69: and 109: with Acts 1:15–20).

Before He chose His twelve apostles, Jesus spent a whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12–16), so we must believe that it was the Father’s will that Judas be among them (John 8:29). But the selection of Judas did not seal his fate; rather, it gave him opportunity to watch the Lord Jesus closely, believe, and be saved. God in His sovereignty had determined that His Son would be betrayed by a friend, but divine foreknowledge does not destroy human responsibility or accountability. Judas made each decision freely and would be judged accordingly, even though he still fulfilled the decree of God (Acts 2:23).

The fact that the disciples were puzzled by this strange announcement reveals that they did not know Judas’ true character, their own hearts (“Which of us could do such a terrible thing?”), or the prophecies in the psalms. Nor did they remember the Lord’s statements that He would be betrayed into the hands of the enemy (Matt. 17:22; 20:18). If Peter had fully understood what was happening, he might have used his sword on Judas!

Much about Judas remains a mystery to us, and we must not speculate too much. Judas is certainly a witness to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, for if anybody could have given witness against Him, it was Judas. However, the authorities had to find false witnesses in order to build their case against Jesus. Judas admitted that he had “betrayed innocent blood” (Matt. 27:4).

At this point, Judas left the Upper Room to go to the religious leaders and get ready for the arrest of Jesus in the garden. Judas went out “and it was night” (John 13:30), for he was obeying the prince of darkness (Luke 22:53). Alas, for Judas, it is still night and always will be night!

Jesus revealed the disciples’ worldliness (vv. 24–30). This was not the first time the disciples had committed this sin (Matt. 20:20–28; Mark 9:33–37; Luke 9:46–48), but in the light of what their Lord had said and done that evening, this latest exhibition was inexcusable. Perhaps the argument grew out of their speculating over who would betray Him, or there may have been some jealousy over the way they had been seated at the table. When you are interested in promoting yourself, it doesn’t take much to start an argument.

Jesus had to explain that they were thinking like the unsaved Gentiles and not like God’s children. The Romans in particular vied for honors and did all they could, legally and illegally, to win promotion and recognition, but they are not the examples for us to follow. As in all things, Jesus is our example, and He has completely reversed the measure of true greatness.

True greatness means to be like Jesus, and that means being a servant to others. A servant does not argue over who is the greatest, because he knows that he is the least, and he accepts this from the hand of God. Since all Christians are to be servants, there is no reason for us to compete with one another for honors and recognition. It is too bad that this competitive spirit is so strong in the church today as people promote themselves and their ministries as “the greatest.”

Jesus closed this lesson on servanthood by reminding them of their future reward in the kingdom (Luke 22:28–30). In spite of their weaknesses and failures, the disciples had stood by Jesus during His earthly ministry, and God would honor them for their faithfulness. We should not mind being servants today, for we shall sit on thrones in the future kingdom! For that matter, our faithful service today is preparing us for the rewards we shall receive. Jesus has set the example: first the cross, then the crown.

Jesus revealed Peter’s denial (vv. 31–38). It is interesting that this word of warning followed the dispute over who was the greatest! Imagine how the disciples must have felt when they heard that not only would one of their number betray Him, but that their spokesman and leader would publicly deny Him! If a strong man like Peter was going to fail the Lord, what hope was there for the rest of them?

The word you in Luke 22: is plural; Satan asked to have all the disciples so he might sift them like wheat. These men had been with Jesus in His trials (Luke 22:28), and He would not forsake them in their trials. This was both a warning and an encouragement to Peter and the other men, and our Lord’s prayers were answered. Peter’s courage failed but not his faith; he was restored to fellowship with Christ and was greatly used to strengthen God’s people.

Peter’s self-confident boasting is a warning to us that none of us really knows his own heart (Jer. 17:9) and that we can fail in the point of our greatest strength. Abraham’s greatest strength was his faith, and yet his faith failed him when he went down to Egypt and lied about Sarah (Gen. 12:10—13:4). Moses’ strength was in his meekness (Num. 12:3), yet he lost his temper, spoke rashly with his lips, and was not allowed to enter Canaan (Num. 20). Peter was a brave man, but his courage failed him and he denied his Lord three times. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10: nkjv).

The word converted in Luke 22: means “turned around.” Peter was already a saved man, but he would soon start going in the wrong direction and would have to be turned around. He would not lose the gift of eternal life, but he would disobey the Lord and jeopardize his discipleship. Actually, all of the disciples would forsake Jesus, but Peter would also deny Him. It is a humbling lesson for all of us.

Our Lord’s counsel in Luke 22:35–38 was not fully understood by the disciples, because they interpreted what He said quite literally. Peter’s use of the sword in the garden is evidence of this (Luke 22:49–51). The point He was making was this: “You are now moving into a whole new situation. If they arrest Me, they will one day arrest you. If they treat Me like a common criminal (Isa. 53:12), they will do the same to you; so, be prepared!”

During their ministry with Jesus, the disciples had been sent out with special authority, and they were treated with respect and appreciation (Luke 9:1ff.; 10:1ff.). At that time, Jesus was still a very popular rabbi, and the authorities were not able to attack His disciples. But now “his hour had come” and the situation would change radically. Today, God’s people are aliens in enemy territory, and we must use our faith and sanctified common sense as we serve the Lord. This is a good warning to zealous people who foolishly get themselves into tight spots and then expect God to perform miracles for them. The apostle Paul knew how to use the “sword” of human government to protect him and the gospel (Acts 16:35–40; 21:37–40; 25:11; Rom. 13).

Their words, “Here are two swords!” must have grieved the Lord, for they indicated that the disciples had missed the meaning of His words. Did they think that He needed their protection or that He would now overthrow Rome and establish the kingdom? “It is enough!” means “Don’t say anything more about the matter” (Deut. 3:26). His kingdom does not advance by means of men’s swords (John 18:36–37) but by the power of God’s truth, the Word of God that is sharper than any human sword (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12).

It was when the Passover meal was drawing to a close (Matt. 26:25; Luke 22:20) that Jesus instituted the ordinance that the church calls “the Communion” (1 Cor. 10:16), or “the Lord’s Supper” (1 Cor. 11:20), or “the Eucharist,” from the Greek word that means “to give thanks.”

The Passover feast opened with a prayer of thanksgiving, followed by the drinking of the first of four cups of wine. (The wine was diluted with water and was not intoxicating.)

Next they ate the bitter herbs and sang Psalms 113—114. Then they drank the second cup of wine and began eating the lamb and the unleavened bread. After drinking the third cup of wine, they sang Psalms 115—118, and then the fourth cup was passed among them. It is likely that between the third and fourth cups of wine, Jesus instituted the Supper.

Paul gave the order of the Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23–26. First, Jesus broke a piece from the unleavened loaf, gave thanks, and shared it with the disciples, saying that it represented His body, which was given for them. He then gave thanks for the cup and shared it, saying that it represented His blood. It was a simple observance that used the basic elements of a humble Jewish meal. Jesus sanctified the simple things of life and used them to convey profound spiritual truths.

Jesus stated one of the purposes for the Supper: “in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24–25). It is a memorial feast to remind the believer that Jesus Christ gave His body and blood for the redemption of the world. There is no suggestion in the accounts of the Supper that anything “miraculous” took place when Jesus blessed the bread and the cup. The bread remained bread and the wine remained wine, and the physical act of receiving the elements did not do anything special to the eleven disciples. When we partake, we identify ourselves with His body and blood (1 Cor. 10:16), but there is no suggestion here that we receive His body and blood.

A second purpose for the supper is the proclaiming of His death until He returns (1 Cor. 11:26). The Supper encourages us to look back with love and adoration to what He did for us on the cross and to look forward with hope and anticipation to His coming again. Since we must be careful not to come to the Lord’s table with known sin in our lives, the Supper should also be an occasion for looking within, examining our hearts, and confessing our sins (1 Cor. 11:27–32).

A third blessing from the Supper is the reminder of the unity of the church: we are “one loaf’ (1 Cor. 10:17). It is “the Lord’s Supper” and is not the exclusive property of any Christian denomination. Whenever we share in the Supper, we are identifying with Christians everywhere and are reminded of our obligation to “keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).

For us to receive a spiritual blessing from the Supper, it takes more than mere physical participation. We must also be able to “discern the body” (1 Cor. 11:29), that is, see the spiritual truths that are inherent in the bread and the cup. This spiritual discernment comes through the Spirit using the Word. The Holy Spirit makes all of this real to us as we wait before the Lord at the table.

Following the instituting of the Supper, Jesus taught His disciples many of the basic truths they desperately needed to know in order to have effective ministries in a hostile world (John 14—16). He prayed for His disciples (John 17); then they sang a hymn and departed from the Upper Room for the garden of Gethsemane. Judas knew they would go there and he would have the arresting officers all prepared.

As you review this passage, you cannot help but be impressed with the calmness and courage of the Savior. It is He who is in control, not Satan or Judas or the Sanhedrin. It is He who encourages the apostles! And He is able even to sing a hymn before He goes out to die on a cross! Isaac Watts has best expressed what our response should be: Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

The Son of Man left the Upper Room and went with His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. This was His customary place of retirement when in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37). Knowing that the Lord would be there (John 18:1–2), Judas led his band of Roman soldiers and temple guards into the garden to arrest Jesus, who willingly yielded Himself into their hands.

But why a garden? Human history began in a garden (Gen. 2:7–25) and so did human sin (Gen. 3). For the redeemed, the whole story will climax in a “garden city” where there will be no sin (Rev. 21:1–22:7). But between the garden where man failed and the garden where God reigns is Gethsemane, the garden where Jesus accepted the cup from the Father’s hand.

John informs us that when Jesus went to the garden, He crossed the Kidron brook (John 18:1). John may have had in mind King David’s experience when he left Jerusalem and fled from his son Absalom (2 Sam. 15; and note especially v. 23). Both David and Jesus were throneless kings, accompanied by their closest friends and rejected by their own people. The name Kidron means “murky, dark,” and Gethsemane means “olive press.” Surely these names are significant.

Guides in modern Jerusalem can take visitors to four different sites that lay claim to being the ancient garden of Gethsemane. Perhaps the most widely accepted one, and surely the most popular, is outside the east wall of Jerusalem near the Church of All Nations. The olive trees there are indeed very old, but it is not likely that they go back as far as the time of Christ, since the Romans destroyed all the trees in their invasion of Judea in AD 70.

The geographical location of the garden of Gethsemane is not as important as the spiritual message that we receive from what Jesus did there when He accepted “the cup” from His Father’s hand. The first Adam rebelled in the garden of Eden and brought sin and death into the world, but the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) submitted in the garden of Gethsemane and brought life and salvation for all who will believe.

Perhaps the best way to grasp the spiritual lessons behind the tragic events of that night is to focus on the symbols that appear in the narrative. The Bible is a picture book as well as a book of history and biography, and these pictures can say a great deal to us. In this passage, there are six symbols that can help us better understand our Lord’s suffering and death. They are: a lonely garden , a costly cup, a hypocritical kiss, a useless sword, a crowing cock, and a glorious throne.

Jesus left eight of His disciples somewhere in the garden and took Peter, James, and John with Him to a private place to pray (Mark 14:32–33). This is the third time He has shared a special occasion with these three men. The first was when Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Luke 8:41–56), and the second was when He was transfigured before them (Luke 9:28–36). There must be a spiritual message here.

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, the British expositor, has pointed out that each of these occasions had something to do with death. In Jairus’s house, Jesus proved Himself to be victorious over death; and on the Mount of Transfiguration, He was glorified through death. (He and Moses and Elijah were talking about His “exodus” in Jerusalem [Luke 9:31].) Here in the garden, Jesus was surrendered to death. Since James was the first of the apostles to die (Acts 12:1–2), John the last to die, and Peter experienced great persecution and eventually was crucified, these three lessons were very practical for their own lives.

Jesus is the Son of God and knew full well that He would be raised from the dead, and yet His soul experienced agony as He anticipated what lay before Him. In the hours ahead, He would be humiliated and abused, and suffer shame and pain on the cross. But even more, He would be made sin for us and separated from His Father. He called this solemn experience “drinking the cup.” (For parallel uses of this image, see Ps. 73:10; 75:8; Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15–28.)

A comparison of the gospel accounts reveals that Jesus prayed three times about the cup and returned three times to the disciples, only to find them asleep. How little they realized the testing and danger that lay before them! And how much it would have meant to Jesus to have had their prayer support as He faced Calvary (see Heb. 5:7–8)!

Dr. Luke is the only gospel writer who mentions “sweat.… like great drops of blood.” His use of the word like may suggest that the sweat merely fell to the ground like clots of blood. But there is a rare physical phenomenon known as hematidrosis, in which, under great emotional stress, the tiny blood vessels rupture in the sweat glands and produce a mixture of blood and sweat. The first Adam sinned in a garden and was condemned to living by the sweat of his brow (Gen. 3:19). Jesus, the Last Adam, obeyed the Father in a garden and conquered Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12–21).

Luke is also the only writer to mention the ministry of the angel (Luke 22:43). In fact, both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts give angels a prominent place in the work of the Lord. Angels could not come to die for our sins, but they could strengthen our Savior as He courageously accepted the cup from His Father’s hand. Dr. George Morrison said, “Every life has its Gethsemane, and every Gethsemane has its angel.” What an encouragement to God’s people when they wrestle and pray about difficult and costly decisions!

Someone has defined “kiss” as “the contraction of the mouth due to the enlargement of the heart.” But not all kisses are born out of a loving heart, for kisses can also be deceitful. In the case of Judas, his kiss was the basest kind of hypocrisy and treachery.

It was customary in that day for disciples to greet their teachers with a loving and respectful kiss. Judas used the kiss as a sign to tell the arresting officers who Jesus was (Matt. 26:48–49). Jesus had taught in the temple day after day, and yet the temple guards could not recognize Him!

The presence of such a large group of armed soldiers shows how little Judas really knew about the Lord Jesus. Did he think that Jesus would try to run away or perhaps hide somewhere in the garden ? Judas must have expected Jesus and the disciples to resist arrest; otherwise he would not have enlisted so much help. Perhaps he feared that Jesus might perform a miracle, but even if He did, what can a group of armed men do against the power of Almighty God?

Judas was deceitful; he was a liar just like Satan who entered into him (John 8:44; 13:27). He defiled almost everything that he touched: his name (Judah = “praise”), the disciple band (Luke 6:13–16), gifts given to Christ (John 12:1–8), and the kiss. He even invaded a private prayer meeting, defiled it with his presence, and betrayed the Savior with a kiss. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6).

The disciples remembered (and misunderstood) His words about the sword (Luke 22:35–38), so they asked Him if now was the time to make use of their two swords. Without waiting for the answer, Peter rushed ahead and attacked a man who turned out to be Malchus, a servant to the high priest (John 18:10, 26–27).

Why did Peter do this? For one thing, he had to back up the boastful words he had spoken in the Upper Room (Luke 22:33) and again on the way to the garden (Matt. 26:30–35). Peter had been sleeping when he should have been praying, talking when he should have been listening, and boasting when he should have been fearing. Now he was fighting when he should have been surrendering!

Peter made a number of serious mistakes when he attacked Malchus with his sword. To begin with, Peter was fighting the wrong enemy with the wrong weapon. Our enemies are not flesh and blood, and they cannot be defeated with ordinary weapons (2 Cor. 10:3–6; Eph. 6:10–18). In His wilderness temptations, Jesus defeated Satan with the Word of God (Matt. 4:1–11), and that is the weapon we must use (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12).

Peter also revealed the wrong attitude and trusted the wrong energy. While Jesus was surrendering, Peter was busy declaring war! And he was depending on “the arm of flesh.” His whole approach to the situation was not at all Christlike (John 18:36) and stands as a good warning to us today. The lost world may act this way, but it is not the way God’s servants should act (Matt. 12:19; 2 Tim. 2:24).

It is just like Jesus to act in grace when others are acting in malice (Ps. 103:10). He showed grace to Peter by rebuking his presumptuous sin and repairing the damage he had done. He showed grace to Malchus, a lowly slave, by healing his ear, and He showed grace to the whole world by willingly yielding Himself to the mob and going to Calvary. He did not come to judge but to save (Luke 19:10; John 3:17).

Our Lord’s last miracle before the cross was not a big flashy thing that attracted attention. It is likely that very few of the men who were there that night even knew what Peter and Jesus had done. Jesus could have summoned twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:53), one legion (six thousand soldiers) for each of the eleven disciples and one for Himself, but He did not. Instead of performing some spectacular feat, He lovingly healed the ear of an obscure slave and then presented His hands to be bound.

Each of us must decide whether we will go through life pretending, like Judas; or fighting, like Peter; or yielding to God’s perfect will, like Jesus. Will it be the kiss, the sword, or the cup?

Our Lord endured six different “trials” before He was condemned to be crucified, three before the Jews and three before the Roman authorities. First, He was taken to Annas, the former high priest who was an influential man in the nation and retained his former title (John 18:12–13). Annas sent Jesus to Caiaphas, his son-inlaw, who was the official high priest (Matt. 26:57). Finally, at daybreak, He was tried before the Sanhedrin and found guilty (Luke 22:66–71).

The Jews did not have the right of capital punishment (John 18:31–32), so they had to take Jesus to the Roman authorities to get Him crucified. First, they took Him to Pilate (Luke 23:1–4), who tried to avoid a decision by sending Him to Herod (Luke 23:6–12), who sent Him back to Pilate (Luke 23:13–25)! When Pilate saw that he could not escape making a decision, he gave the Sanhedrin what they asked for and condemned Jesus to die on a Roman cross.

It was during the second Jewish “trial,” the one before Caiaphas, that Peter in the courtyard denied his Lord three times. How did it happen? To begin with, Peter did not take the Lord’s warnings seriously (Matt. 26:33–35; Luke 22:31–34), nor did he “watch and pray” as Jesus had instructed in the garden (Mark 14:37–38). For all of his courage and zeal, the apostle Peter was totally unprepared for Satan’s attacks.

Jesus was led out of the garden , and “Peter followed afar off” (Luke 22:54). This was the next step toward his defeat. In spite of all the sermons that have been delivered on this text, criticizing him for walking at a distance, Peter was not intended to follow at all. The “sheep” were supposed to scatter and then meet Jesus later in Galilee (Matt. 26:31). In fact, when He was arrested, Jesus said to the guards, “Let these [disciples] go their way” (John 18:8–9), a clear signal that they were not to follow Him.

Peter and John followed the mob and gained entrance into the courtyard of Caiaphas’s house (John 18:15–16). It was a cold night (though Jesus had been sweating!), and Peter first stood by the fire (John 18:18) and then sat down with the servants and officers (Luke 22:55). Sitting there in enemy territory (Ps. 1:1), Peter was an easy target. While he was thinking only of his own comfort, his Master was being abused by the soldiers (Luke 22:63–65).

First, it was one of the high priest’s servant girls who challenged Peter. She accused him of being with Jesus and of being one of His disciples. Peter lied and said, “Woman, I am not one of His disciples! I don’t know Him and I don’t know what you are talking about!” He left the fire and went out to the porch (Matt. 26:71), and the cock crowed the first time (Mark 14:68). This in itself should have warned him to get out, but he lingered.

Peter could not escape notice, and a second servant girl told the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth! He is one of them!” For a second time, Peter lied and said, “I am not! I don’t know the man!”

The bystanders were not convinced, especially when one of Malchus’s relatives showed up and asked, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with Him?” Others joined in and said, “Surely you are one of them, because the way you talk gives you away. You talk like a Galilean.” (The Galileans had a distinctive dialect.) At this point Peter used an oath and said, “I don’t know the man! I don’t know what you are talking about!” It was then that the cock crowed for the second time and the Lord’s prediction was fulfilled (Mark 14:30).

At that moment, Jesus, being led away to the next trial, turned and looked at Peter, and His look broke Peter’s heart. While the bystanders were watching Jesus, Peter slipped out and went off and wept bitterly. It is to Peter’s credit that all the Lord had to do was look at him to bring him to the place of repentance.

For one cock to crow at the right time while the other birds in the city remained silent was certainly a miracle. But the crowing of the cock was much more than a miracle that fulfilled our Lord’s words; it was also a special message to Peter, a message that helped to restore him to fellowship again. What encouragements did the crowing of the cock give to the apostle Peter?

First, it was an assurance to him that Jesus Christ was still in control of things even though He was a prisoner, bound and seemingly helpless before His captors. Peter could recall witnessing his Lord’s authority over the fish, the winds, and the waves, and even over disease and death. No matter how dark the hour was for Peter, Jesus was still in control!

Second, the crowing of the cock assured Peter that he could be forgiven. Peter had not been paying close attention to the Word of God. He had argued with it, disobeyed it, and even run ahead of it, but now he “remembered the word of the Lord” (Luke 22:61), and this brought him hope. Why? Because with the word of warning was also a promise of restoration! Peter would be converted and strengthen his brethren (Luke 22:32).

Finally, the miracle of the cock told Peter that a new day was dawning, for after all, that is what the rooster’s call means each day. It was not a new day for Judas or for the enemies of the Lord, but it was a new day for Peter as he repented and wept bitterly. “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Ps. 51:17). On resurrection morning, the angel sent a special message to encourage Peter (Mark 16:7), and the Lord Himself appeared to Peter that day and restored him to fellowship (Luke 24:34).

Each one of us, at one time or another, will fail the Lord and then hear (in one way or another) “the crowing of the cock.” Satan will tell us that we are finished, that our future has been destroyed, but that is not God’s message to us. It was certainly not the end for Peter! His restoration was so complete that he was able to say to the Jews, “But you denied the Holy One and the Just” (Acts 3: nkjv). Peter did not have 1 John 1: to read, but he did experience it in his own heart.

Jesus had not yet officially been declared guilty, and yet the soldiers were permitted to mock Him and abuse Him. Here they mocked His claim to being a prophet; later they would mock His claim to being a king (John 19:1–3). But their mockery, sinful as it was, actually fulfilled Christ’s own promise (Matt. 20:19). He is an example to us of how we should behave when sinners ridicule us and our faith (see 1 Peter 2:18–25).

It is generally believed that the Jewish council could not vote on capital offenses at night, so the chief priests, scribes, and elders had to assemble again as soon as it was day. Whether this ruling was in force in our Lord’s day, we are not sure, but it does explain the early morning meeting of the Sanhedrin.

This was the climax of the religious trial, and the key issue was, “Is Jesus of Nazareth the Christ of God?” They were sure His claims were false and that He was guilty of blasphemy, and the penalty for blasphemy was death (Lev. 24:10–16).

Jesus knew the hearts of His accusers, their unbelief, and intellectual dishonesty (Luke 20:1–8). It was futile to preach a sermon or enter into a debate. They had already rejected the evidence He had given them (John 12:37–43), and more truth would only have increased their responsibility and their judgment (John 9:39–41).

Our Lord called Himself “Son of man,” a messianic title found in Daniel 7:13–14. He also claimed to have the right to sit “on the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69), a clear reference to Psalm 110:1, another messianic passage. It was this verse that He quoted earlier that week in His debate with the religious leaders (Luke 20:41–44). Jesus saw beyond the sufferings of the cross to the glories of the throne (Phil. 2:1–11; Heb. 12:2).

That our Lord is seated at the right hand of the Father is a truth that is often repeated in the New Testament (Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Acts 2:33; 5:31; 7:55–56; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1). This is the place of honor, authority, and power, and by claiming this honor, Jesus was claiming to be God.

Only Luke records the direct question in Luke 22: and our Lord’s direct answer, which literally was “You say that I am.” They would use this testimony later when they brought Him to Pilate (John 19:7). Some liberal theologians say that Jesus never claimed to be God, and we wonder what they do with this official trial. The Jewish religious leaders knew what Jesus was talking about, and this is why they condemned Him for blasphemy.

The “religious trial” was now over. The next step was to put Him through a civil trial and convince the Roman governor that Jesus of Nazareth was a criminal worthy of death. The Son of God was to be crucified, and only the Romans could do that.

Referring to the Jewish authorities, William Stalker wrote in The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, “It may be said that they walked according to their light, but the light that was in them was darkness.”

“None so blind as those that will not see,” wrote Matthew Henry, the noted Bible commentator.

“While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light” (John 12: nkjv).