Luke 22:1-38 “Easter Message 2005:  Sunday Is Coming But Today It Is Friday”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.     INTRO:

 

1.1.                     In our last study, we looked at verses 25-38 of chapter 21.

 

1.1.1.  Jesus completed His Olivet Discourse in which He answered His disciples’ questions concerning when the temple would be destroyed, when He would return, and when the end of the age would occur.

 

1.2.                     In our study today, we are going to look at verses 1-38 of chapter 22 of the gospel of Luke.

 

1.3.         This morning being Easter Sunday, 2005, we are going to talk about Jesus’ resurrection and yet we are going to also continue our study of the gospel of Luke.  In our study in Luke, we are at Good Friday, and here Jesus is going to have His last supper with His disciples and then be betrayed in the morning.  I guess you could say of our study, “Sunday’s coming, but today its Friday!”

 

1.4.         I figured that it would be a little strange to have a topical message today centered completely around the resurrection, then have another one in a couple of weeks, so we will continue on.  However, in a sense we will have the best of all worlds for we shall spend a few weeks thinking and learning about the resurrection and what it means in our life.

 

1.5.         I would also have you consider this morning the fact that without the events of Good Friday, namely Jesus’ betrayal, humiliation, torture, and crucifixion for us, His resurrection wouldn’t really mean anything to us.  It was Jesus, the holy and sinless lamb of God, who willingly laid down His life as a sacrifice for our sins that created the possibility of His being raised from the dead.

 

1.6.         Jesus’ resurrection ensures our resurrection from the dead one day to spend eternity with the Lord.  His resurrection changes everything in life, it is truly a light shining into a dark place.  His resurrection ensures that each of us who turn to Jesus in repentance and faith can die to self and the old life and be raised up and walk in the newness of life, resurrected.  We are going to talk today about Jesus’ resurrection from the perspective of the fact that because of His resurrection we can die to self and sin and begin to live a new higher quality of life as a servant of Jesus. 

 

1.7.         The parable of the Prodigal Son is a story that reveals to us the fact that a man, woman, or child can be resurrected from the dead for we remember from that story that the father one day received his repentant son back from where he was living riotously and wallowing with the pigs saying, “My son who once was dead now is alive!”  This prodigal son was a wretched sinner who repented and humbled himself to the father considering himself no longer on the level of being considered a son, but merely of a slave of the same status as the rest of the father’s slaves.  This is a resurrection testimony.  Each of us who has come to faith in Christ has just such a resurrection testimony about our own lives and coming from death unto life.

 

1.8.         Before we begin our study, I want to share the words of Sir Lionel Alfred Luckhoo, an Englishman who is considered the best attorney who ever lived since he successfully defended 245 consecutive men accused of murder, for he once said, “The bones of Muhammad are in Medina, the bones of Confucius are in Shantung, the cremated bones of Buddha are in Nepal. Thousands pay pilgrimages to worship at their tombs which contain their bones. But in Jerusalem there is a cave cut into the rock. This is the tomb of Jesus. IT IS EMPTY! YES, EMPTY! BECAUSE HE IS RISEN! He died, physically and historically. He arose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God.”

 

2.     VS 22:1-6  - “1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people. 3 And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.” -  The Passover was approaching and Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and officers to see if he could arrange to betray Jesus for a fee

 

2.1.                     Isn’t it horrible and ironic that this holy convocation of the Passover Feast was the setting for the most horrible murder men ever undertook, that of the holy and innocent Son of God, and, that this murder was being plotted by those who were supposed to be the leaders of God’s people and spiritual guides to the blind.

 

2.2.                     According to the Law of Moses, the Passover was one of three yearly feasts that the men of Israel were to travel to Jerusalem to observe each year.  The Passover was instituted to remind the people of Israel of the great deliverance that the children of Israel received by the Lord from Egypt and slavery.

 

2.3.                     To prepare for the feast all of the people in Israel were to sweep every last bit of leaven from their houses.  Removing the leaven was meant to symbolize the inner removal of sin that God’s people were to regularly make.  Jesus had previously warned His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which was sin.  The Pharisees and chief priests on this day had swept the leaven out of their homes but not out of their hearts.

 

2.4.                     The issue of Judas, the betrayer.

 

2.4.1.  Judas was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, hand-picked by Him after a full night of prayer (Luke 6:12-16;  John 8:29).  Why did the Lord choose a man who turned out to fall away from the faith and betray Him?  This question has caused much debate throughout the centuries. 

 

2.4.2.  By all outward appearances Judas seemed as genuine as all of the other apostles.  He preached, he cast out demons, he saw the miracles Jesus performed, and he saw how Jesus touched people’s lives.  The eleven other apostles were shocked to find out that Jesus was the betrayer and a false believer.

 

2.4.3.  This story brings out the truth that in spite of God’s foreknowledge of Judas falling away to perdition and betraying Jesus, none the less this didn’t excuse Judas for what he did.  God’s foreknowledge in no way takes away man’s responsibility for the things that he does.  Jesus calls Judas “the son of perdition” and says that “it would have been better for that man if he had never been born” indicating that Judas will spend eternity in hell.

 

2.4.4.  We don’t know for sure all of Judas’ motivations for betraying Jesus but it seems that there were two that we can be sure of:

 

2.4.4.1.      Judas was motivated by greed and thus for the mere price of thirty pieces of silver he was willing to betray Jesus.

 

2.4.4.2.      Judas realized that Jesus was not going to take the throne at this time but rather surrender to the authorities and be killed and thus Judas would not have that special place of honor and power at this time, and thus, Judas grew disillusioned with Jesus for he was following Jesus for what he could gain in the here and now.

 

2.4.5.  The story of Judas should send a warning to every single person who has a confession that Jesus is his Lord to be on-guard against apostasy.  If a man hand-picked by the Lord Himself for discipleship can fall away from the faith, then any of the rest of us could do so just as easily.  Let us guard our hearts and pray that we learn humility.

 

3.     VS 22:7-13  - “7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” 9 They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” 10 And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. 11 “And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ 12 “And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” 13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.”  -  Jesus sent Peter and John to go into Jerusalem and prepare the Passover dinner for Jesus and His disciples

 

3.1.                     In Israel, each year for the Passover feast families were to buy an approved lamb for Passover (one without spot or blemish), then it was to be taken to the temple to be slain, and finally it was to be eaten that same day.  Jesus sends Peter and John ahead of the rest of the party telling them to both procure a room in which they might eat the Passover meal and also buy an approved lamb and have it slain at the temple then brought to the house where they would hold the meal in order to be cooked.  Peter and John evidently also cooked this lamb.

 

3.2.                     Evidently, Jesus was concerned about being betrayed by Judas before the time and thus only Peter and John are sent on this mission to find the house and prepare for the Passover meal.

 

3.3.                     It is not known for sure whether Jesus planned ahead of time with this man to be able to use his house for the Passover meal, or whether these verses simply refer to Jesus’ omniscience in knowing what will happen before it occurs.  It is interesting also that Jesus tells these men that they will see a ‘man’ carrying a pitcher of water.  It was normally women who carried water in this day.  In any case, everything occurs just as Jesus tells them beforehand that it will, revealing Jesus’ omniscience.

 

3.4.                     The Passover lamb was a symbol reminding the Israelites of how they were told by the Lord through Moses that night before they left Egypt to take the blood of the lamb and to wipe it on their doorposts and the lintels of their houses and that by doing so the Angel Of Death would pass over their houses and not take the life of their firstborn male.  This lamb and its blood pointed to Jesus whose blood sacrifice would cause God’s wrath for their sins to be satisfied and atoned for (passed over).  The Passover lamb symbolized Christ.

 

3.5.                     Jesus was slain upon Calvary’s Cross right at the same time that the lambs were being slain in preparation for the Passover.  But, this brings up the issue of how it can be that Jesus and His disciples got their lamb on the day before, had it slain and ate the Passover meal before Jesus’ crucifixion?   They were supposed to eat the lamb the same day according to the Law of Moses.  Warren Wiersbe writes the following about this, “In their excellent Harmony of the Gospelsi, Robert Thomas and Stanley Gundry suggest a possible solution to the dilemma (pp. 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, although 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.”    

 

4.     VS 22:14-23  - “14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and 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.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. 21 “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. 22 “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.” -  Jesus eats the Passover Meal with His disciples as He tells them what the meal symbolizes, to remember Him whenever they eat of it, and that one of them was going to betray Him.

 

4.1.                     Notice that Jesus tells His twelve disciples here that he ‘earnestly desired to eat this Passover with’ them before He had to ‘suffer.’  This should indicate that Jesus did in fact eat the Passover with His disciples and not abstain while they ate, as some have suggested.

 

4.2.                     Jesus also vows that He will ‘never eat’ the Passover again ‘until it is finished in the kingdom of God.’  This will be Jesus’ last Passover before all is finished and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb takes place.  At that future time when God’s people gather together in heaven with Jesus there will be another Passover Feast in honor of the Lamb, Jesus.

 

4.3.                     Warren Wiersbe writes the following about what the Passover Meal consisted of and how that through this meal Jesus instituted the rite of the Lord’s Supper, “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 of was passed among them.  It is likely that it was the fourth cup of wine that Jesus used when He instituted the Supper.”

 

4.4.                     This rite of The Lord’s Supper and baptism are really the only two rites that Jesus instituted for the church.  Other rites have been created by the various denominations.  This rite has been called “The Lord’s Supper,” “Communion,” and “The Eucharist” (from a Greek word used here that intimates the giving of thanks). 

 

4.5.                     The celebration of “The Lord’s Supper” is not meant to be as mysterious as some denominations make it out to be.  Notice here that the cup of wine did not transform into anything, nor did the bread transform into anything.  The point of Jesus instituting this rite is given by Him right here, He tells them to ‘do this in remembrance of Me.’   Since we as people tend over time to forget the great things that God has done in our life He has instructed the church to regularly remember Him through observing the Lord’s Supper. 

 

4.6.                     Jesus doesn’t say how often the disciples are to remember Him in this way, none the less they are to regularly perform this rite.

 

4.7.                     Jesus tells His disciples that the bread symbolizes His body which is given for them (He actually makes it personal saying, ‘given for you’).  Then, He tells them that the cup is the ‘new covenant’ in His blood.  This tells us that something very special was happening on this night for God was implementing a ‘new covenant’ with His people.  The “old covenant” came by Moses and was a covenant based upon the obedience of the Law of Moses, it was a covenant of “Law.”  This ‘new covenant’ is a covenant of blood and sins covered by the substitutionary death of Jesus.  It was a covenant of grace.

 

4.8.                     Then, Jesus reveals that there is a traitor with them for one of them is going to ‘betray’ Him to the authorities.  Judas was right there with Jesus at the Passover Meal partaking of the meal and festivities as if nothing was wrong.

 

5.     VS 22:24-27  - “24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” -  When a dispute arises between Jesus’ disciples about which one of them would be the greatest in His kingdom, Jesus tells the disciples yet again that the greatest in His kingdom must be like the youngest and the servant

 

5.1.                     Now, I want to stop our train of thought for a moment and think about what Luke tells us is going on here.  In the midst of this most somber and sacred moment, as the Lord of life, our Savior, the Lamb without spot or blemish, is inaugurating the most sublime of covenants, one that He is sealing with His own blood as He is voluntarily laying His life down for the sins of the world, His disciples are being completely selfish and self-centered arguing about who will be the greatest in the kingdom of God?!?!

 

5.2.                     Here was what was going on in the disciples’ minds as they were arguing about who would be the greatest in the kingdom:

 

5.2.1.  Every time that the disciples sat at table to eat a meal there were the seats of honor to contend with.  Who would sit at Jesus’ right and left hand and thus impose their superiority over the rest?  Each one of them was filled with selfish ambition and believed he was better than the rest.  None of them knew the sinfulness of their own hearts.

 

5.2.1.1.      John 13:23 tells us that at this meal Judas was at Jesus’ left hand and that John was at His right hand at this table.

 

5.2.2.  Since Jesus had stated that one of them was a traitor and would betray Him they were arguing about who it might be, with each stating that he would certainly not do such a thing.

 

5.2.3.  These events prove how completely oblivious Jesus’ disciples were to the things that He was always trying to teach them and do in their lives.

 

5.3.                       John 13:1-20 tells us that earlier on this evening in order to teach His disciples a lesson about servanthood that Jesus girded Himself with a towel and went and washed each of His disciples’ feet, telling them they were to follow His example and wash each other’s feet.

 

5.4.                     This is at least the third time in the gospels that Jesus taught His disciples about the fact that true greatness comes from being the servant of all.  Here Jesus also mentions that the great one will become like the ‘younger.’  Those in this world who are powerful and great in the eyes of men ‘lord it over’ others Jesus says here, however in the kingdom of God, in the church that Jesus was soon to inaugurate, those who are considered great are those who serve the Lord selflessly and serve others in the same way.  The disciples’ arguing amongst themselves about who was greatest proves that they were not getting the point about true greatness from God’s perspective.

 

5.5.                     Now, lets bring this back to Easter.  There are a lot of churches today who will be presenting a nice little packaged Easter service.  Pastors will be telling their people about all of the blessings that come to us as a result of Jesus’ resurrection.  However, when we look at Good Friday and what was occurring at this time we see that Jesus was sacrificing Himself and laying down His life for others, and He was also trying to get His disciples to understand that this is what the life of really living for God consists of, laying down your life for others and serving others.

 

5.6.                     Jesus’ resurrection gives us the power to set aside self, to die to self.  Jesus’ resurrection enables us to lay down our lives in service for others.  Jesus’ resurrection gives us the power and ability to be givers and not takers and to think of others before we think of ourselves.

 

5.7.                     Many times today Christians over spiritualize their lives.  They think of living for Christ in spiritual and not practical terms.  Walking in the resurrection life of Christ ought to enable us to be a more committed wife, a more gentle and caring husband, a father who nurtures his kids more, a more obedient child, a more diligent and hard working employee, and more friendly and helpful neighbor, more willing to suffer without complaining, a more compassionate friend, etc., etc.   

 

5.8.                     People today know they are addicted to having their needs catered to and having a consumer mentality about life (everything is about what we can get out of things not what we can give), but I also think that they are tired of living like this?  Don’t you want more out of your life?  Don’t you want your life to count for Christ?  Don’t you want to leave a legacy of being a person who lives your life like Jesus lived?  I think that you do, and this is a resurrection life in Christ.

 

6.     VS 22:28-30  - “28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” -  Jesus commends His disciples for sticking with Him and then promises them great authority in His coming kingdom judging the twelve tribes of Israel

 

6.1.                     In spite of all of the short-comings of the disciples, Jesus here finds something good in them and commends them for it.  In spite of the short-comings their hearts were in the right place and this was shown in that they had stayed with Him during His time of humiliation and when the religious leaders and establishment was rejecting Him.  They have risked their lives for Him and they have suffered loss in leaving all behind for following Him.  Jesus commends them for these things.

 

6.1.1.  People would be wise to follow Jesus’ example and always be able to find something good in people no matter how much they may have messed up.

 

6.2.                     Jesus tells the twelve that as a result of their consistency in staying with Him that they will be rewarded greatly and not only eat and drink at table with Him in His kingdom but also ‘sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’  This speaks of their having real authority and ruling during Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom.

 

6.3.                     Note that by Jesus stating that the twelve will rule and have authority over the twelve tribes of Israel that this implies that God will one day restore Israel to Himself and that the promise of Rom. 11:26 that all Israel shall be saved, shall come to pass.

 

7.     VS 22:31-34  - “31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” 34 And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.”” -  Jesus tells Peter that he (Peter) will deny knowing Him three times before the rooster crows this day.

 

7.1.                     Jesus prepares Peter for his failure, and He does so calling Peter by his “BC” name and repeating it twice, ‘Simon, Simon.’ 

 

7.2.                     Jesus tells Simon that Satan has come and demanded permission to ‘sift you life wheat.’  This speaks of a period of violent temptation that is going to come upon him.  Temptation reveals the true character of a person’s heart and is also used by the Lord to purify the motives of the heart. 

 

7.3.                     When Jesus tells Simon that he is going to be sifted like wheat He uses the plural form of ‘you’ and thus Jesus is telling each of His disciples that on this night as He is arrested they also will be sifted like wheat.

 

7.4.                     Jesus comforts Peter by telling him that his faith will ‘not fail,’ and then by telling Peter that after he has ‘turned again’ (repented) that he will be used by the Lord to ‘strengthen your brothers.’  Each of the disciples fled from the Lord and momentarily lost their faith in Jesus when He was arrested.  Peter will have to comfort the other disciples after he himself is restored to the Lord and use the same comfort that he has received from Jesus to do so.

 

7.5.                     Jesus tells Peter that the reason that he will eventually be restored is because He has prayed for Peter.  It is the case in each of our lives that the reason that we respond to the Lord in our lives is because Jesus has prayed for us.

 

7.6.                     Peter foolishly boasts in the power of his own flesh as he tells Jesus not to worry for he is even ready to ‘both go to prison and to death’ with Jesus.  This was a bold statement by Peter and tells us that he is both beginning to understand the gravity of the situation and of the fact that living for Jesus is now going to be very costly.

 

7.7.                     Jesus tells Peter what the future of this night holds for him.  Peter will deny knowing the Lord three times before the rooster crows signaling morning has come. 

 

8.     VS 22:35-36  - “35 And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” 36 And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.” -  Jesus tells His disciples to buy a money belt, bag, sandals, and a sword

 

8.1.                     In these verses Jesus is trying to communicate to His disciples that there is going to come about a significant change in their lives after this night.  When Jesus previously sent out His disciples on their intern missionary journeys He told them not to take a money belt, a bag, and sandals, and now He tells them that they will need to take these things, and even a sword.  Now, Jesus’ disciples are going to have to make more long term plans and begin to live more of a normal life.  They will now need these things.

 

9.     VS 22:37-38  - “37 “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” 38 They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”” -  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 53 a passage about the sacrifice of suffering that He was about to undertake.

 

9.1.                     Jesus refers to the passage in the Old Testament that most speaks about Jesus’ first mission to come to the earth, Isaiah 53, that of becoming the suffering servant who would take the sins of the world upon Himself.

 

10.            CONCLUSIONS:

 

10.1.                As we think about this message and how it applies to our lives on this Easter morning, I want you to wish you a happy Easter and ask you to remember to consider what true resurrection life is like.  Be committed to the Lord that because of Jesus’ resurrection that you will die to self and selfishness.

 

10.2.                Lets be committed to Jesus to such an extent that we are willing to lay our lives down in service unto Him as well as unto others.

 

10.3.                Lets be willing to simply serve humbly and follow Jesus in His service as He is the greatest servant of all.

 

10.4.                Lets recognize that walking in the resurrection life of Christ is a practical matter and ought to be reflected in our testimony to the people in our lives and in all of our relationships in this world.

 

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