The big picture
Luke 22 compresses betrayal, covenant, ambition, failure, prayer, violence, and trial into a single night without making Jesus merely reactive to events around him. Judas gives the authorities the quiet opportunity they have been seeking, but the Passover is still prepared under Jesus' direction and interpreted by him before the arrest begins. Bread and cup are joined to his body, blood, remembrance, covenant, suffering, and the kingdom to come. At that same table the disciples manage to debate greatness, and Jesus answers not by abolishing future authority but by redefining it through the one who serves. Peter promises prison and death, then receives a prediction of denial and, before the failure has happened, a word about restoration. On the mount of Olives, Jesus asks for the cup to pass and submits his will to the Father while the disciples sleep from sorrow. A sword is drawn at the arrest, but the final healing before the crucifixion repairs the wound. Peter's denials then fulfill the word he dismissed, and the chapter closes with mockers demanding prophecy from a prisoner whose prediction has just come true.
Central truth
Luke 22 brings Jesus’ final Passover, the disciples’ argument about greatness, Peter’s coming failure, Jesus’ anguished prayer, arrest, healing of an enemy, and denial into one night, exposing the contrast between His deliberate self-giving and the disciples’ unstable courage.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Luke 22:1: “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”
Slow down at the turning point
Luke 22:36: “Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and…”
Keep this word trail visible
Peter, Lord, passover, chief, Jesus, kingdom
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Luke 22:1-13
The plot and the preparation
Open with two kinds of preparation side by side. The chief priests seek a way to kill Jesus; Satan enters Judas, who agrees to betray him for money. Meanwhile Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover, and they find everything as he said. Explain the man carrying a water jar as an unusual sign, since women usually carried water. Teach this first because it shows that, though evil is moving, Jesus is not caught off guard; the meal, the room and the hour are under his direction.
Luke 22:14-23
The last Passover and the new covenant
Describe the Passover meal: remembering Israel's rescue from Egypt with lamb, bread and cups of wine (Exodus 12). Teach Jesus' words of desire, then the first cup, then the bread and the cup after supper. Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 for the new covenant. Explain that the words given for you and shed for you point to his death as a sacrifice on their behalf. Do not settle questions about how Christ is present in the supper; honour the tradition of each learner. Close with the shock of 22:21: the betrayer is at the table.
Luke 22:24-38
Greatness, sifting and swords
Right after the supper the disciples argue about greatness. Teach Jesus' answer and his promise of a kingdom to those who stayed with him. Then the warning to Peter and Peter's boast. Then the puzzling saying about purse and sword. Explain that Jesus quotes Isaiah 53:12, reckoned among the transgressors, and that when the disciples produce two swords he says "It is enough", likely ending a conversation they have misunderstood. Do not build a teaching about weapons from it; in 22:51 he forbids the sword.
Luke 22:39-46
Not my will, but thine
Jesus goes, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. Teach the frame of the two commands to pray, and in between his own prayer, kneeling, a stone's throw away. Explain the cup as an Old Testament picture of suffering God's judgement (Isaiah 51:17). Read 22:43-44 gently: an angel strengthens him and in agony his sweat is like drops of blood. Note that some ancient manuscripts lack these verses, so some Bibles bracket them. Teach the prayer as the heart of the unit: real anguish, real submission.
Luke 22:47-53
A kiss and a healed ear
Judas arrives with a crowd and comes to kiss Jesus, the greeting of a friend and disciple. Teach Jesus' question, "betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" Then a disciple strikes the high priest's servant and cuts off his ear. Jesus says "Suffer ye thus far", meaning stop, and heals him. Luke alone records the healing. Teach this as Jesus loving his enemy at the moment of his arrest, exactly as he taught in 6:27. Close with his words about the hour and the power of darkness.
Luke 22:54-62
Peter at the fire
Follow Peter step by step: at a distance, into the courtyard, sitting among the guards. Three people recognise him, and three times he denies. Then the rooster, and the moment only Luke records: the Lord turns and looks at Peter. Teach that look as the centre of the scene. It is not described as angry; it brings Peter's memory of Jesus' words, and he goes out weeping. Connect it back to 22:32. Teach this step with compassion, because many learners have failed Jesus and need to hear that his look leads to repentance, not rejection.
Luke 22:63-71
Mocked and questioned
Describe the mocking briefly and without dwelling on violence: the guards blindfold him, strike him and taunt him to prophesy. Then the council at daybreak. Teach his answers: if I tell you, you will not believe, and the claim from Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13 that the Son of man will sit at God's right hand. When they ask whether he is the Son of God, he says "Ye say that I am", a reply that accepts the title. Teach this last because the council condemns him for the very truth the Gospel has been revealing.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"Judas could not help it, because Satan entered him."
Luke says "Then entered Satan into Judas" (22:3), and in the same breath that Judas "went his way, and communed with the chief priests" (22:4), and "promised, and sought opportunity" (22:6). He also took money (22:5). Jesus says "woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed" (22:22), which holds him responsible. Teach both truths as Luke does: Satan was at work, and Judas chose. Leave the deeper questions about Judas' end and destiny to the wider study of Scripture.
"Jesus told the disciples to arm themselves with swords."
In 22:36 Jesus speaks of a sword as he quotes Isaiah 53:12, "he was reckoned among the transgressors" (22:37), warning that hard times are coming. When they show two swords, he says "It is enough" (22:38). A few hours later he stops the sword, "Suffer ye thus far", and heals the wounded servant (22:51). Teach that the passage cannot be used to promote violence, and keep it away from modern debates about weapons.
"Jesus did not want to die, so he was not really willing."
Jesus asks the Father to remove the cup "if thou be willing" (22:42), and in the same breath says "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done". His anguish (22:44) shows that the suffering was real and terrible. His submission shows that he went freely. Hebrews 5:7-8 describes the same prayer. Teach learners that honest prayer for a different path, joined with surrender to God, is faithful, not weak.
"After denying Jesus, Peter could never be a real disciple again."
Before the denial Jesus said "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (22:32). He expected Peter's failure and his return, and gave him a task for afterwards. In 24:34 the risen Lord appears to Simon, and in Acts 2 Peter preaches at Pentecost. Teach this with tenderness: failure followed by repentance is not the end of a disciple's walk with Jesus, and his look in 22:61 calls Peter back.
Learning objectives
- Explain how Judas’s agreement with the chief priests and captains is placed beside Passover preparation.
- Identify the words Jesus gives over the bread and cup and what He says they signify.
- Contrast the disciples’ dispute about greatness with Jesus’ teaching on Gentile rulers, service, and His own place among them.
- Trace Jesus’ warning to Peter from Satan’s desire to sift through Peter’s promise and three denials.
- Analyze Jesus’ prayer on the Mount of Olives, including desire, submission, sleeping disciples, and the command to pray against temptation.
- Reconstruct the arrest and denial scenes with attention to Judas’s kiss, the sword, the healed ear, darkness, the fire, the cock crow, and Jesus’ look.
Teacher preparation
- Read Exodus 12 for Passover background and Jeremiah 31:31–34 for new-covenant language.
- Prepare to explain that Luke mentions two cups in the KJV sequence, one in verses 17–18 and another after supper in verse 20.
- Mark the irony that a dispute over greatness arises in the same meal where Jesus gives Himself in bread and cup.
- Prepare the textual note for Luke 22:43–44, the angel and sweat 'as it were great drops of blood.' These verses appear in the KJV but are absent from some early manuscripts.
- Do not turn the 'two swords' in verse 38 into a general weapons policy without handling the immediate context.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Luke 22:19–20 explicitly identifies the bread with Jesus’ body given for the disciples and the cup with the new testament in His blood shed for them.
Scripture-supported
Luke 22:31–34 and 54–62 directly connect Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s three denials with their fulfillment before the cock crows, ending when the Lord turns and looks upon Peter and Peter remembers the word.
Strong inference
Because Jesus heals the ear of the high priest’s servant in verse 51 immediately after a disciple strikes with the sword, the scene strongly presents Jesus as restraining violent defense even in the moment of His own arrest.
Possible or traditional reading
Some interpreters read 'this is my body' and 'this cup is the new testament in my blood' through sacramental realism, memorial emphasis, or positions between them.
Limit
Luke 22 does not identify the sword-wielding disciple by name, does not give the servant’s name, and does not say Peter’s tears undo his denial in that moment.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. What does Jesus say He has desired before suffering in verses 15–16?
What a good answer contains
"With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer" (22:15). Explain the doubled phrase as a Hebrew way of saying earnestly, deeply. Then "I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God" (22:16). A strong answer sees two things: Jesus goes to his death with open eyes and with love for his friends, and he looks beyond the cross to a feast in the kingdom. The Passover remembered the exodus, and Jesus says it will find its fulfilment. A weak answer treats the meal as an ordinary farewell and misses that Jesus knows he will suffer.
Show teacher guidance
He has earnestly desired to eat this Passover with the disciples before He suffers, and He speaks of future fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
2. What meanings does Jesus attach to bread and cup?
What a good answer contains
The bread: "This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me" (22:19). The cup: "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (22:20). Explain testament as covenant, recalling Jeremiah 31:31-34 and the blood of the covenant in Exodus 24:8. A good answer stresses the repeated "for you": his death is a gift given on their behalf. Traditions understand the presence of Christ in the supper differently, and the answer need not settle that. A weak answer forgets the command to remember, or the word new.
Show teacher guidance
The bread is His body given for them and is to be received in remembrance.
3. How does Jesus answer the dispute over who is greatest?
What a good answer contains
"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them" and are called benefactors (22:25). "But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve" (22:26). Then he points to himself: "I am among you as he that serveth" (22:27). A strong answer notices the timing, the dispute breaking out right after the supper and the talk of betrayal, and that Jesus still promises them a share in his kingdom (22:29-30). Explain the younger as the one with least status. A weak answer misses that Jesus answers by his own example.
Show teacher guidance
He contrasts Gentile lordship with His community, says the greatest should become as the younger and the chief as one who serves, then points to Himself as the One among them who serves.
4. What is Peter told before he boasts of prison and death?
What a good answer contains
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat" (22:31). Explain sifting as shaking grain violently to separate it. Note that you is plural: all the disciples will be tested. Then "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (22:32). A good answer sees that Jesus already expects Peter's fall and his return, and gives him a task for afterwards. Peter answers with confidence, "I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death" (22:33). A weak answer forgets Jesus' prayer.
Show teacher guidance
Jesus says Satan has desired to sift the disciples as wheat, that He has prayed for Peter that his faith fail not, and that when converted he should strengthen his brethren.
5. What repeated command frames the Mount of Olives prayer?
What a good answer contains
"Pray that ye enter not into temptation" (22:40), and on his return "rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation" (22:46). Between the two commands Jesus prays himself: "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (22:42). A strong answer sees the contrast: Jesus prays in agony and is strengthened, while the disciples sleep "for sorrow" (22:45) and are unready for what comes. Note that Luke softens their failure with that phrase. A weak answer reads the scene only as Jesus' suffering and misses the lesson for the disciples.
Show teacher guidance
Jesus tells the disciples to pray that they enter not into temptation in verses 40 and 46.
6. What sequence brings Peter from confidence to weeping?
What a good answer contains
Peter "followed afar off" (22:54), "sat down among them" at the fire (22:55), and denied three times: "Woman, I know him not" (22:57), "Man, I am not" (22:58), "Man, I know not what thou sayest" (22:60). Then "the cock crew", "the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter" and Peter remembered (22:61), and "Peter went out, and wept bitterly" (22:62). A good answer sees each step taking him further from his promise in 22:33, and the look of Jesus as the turning point. A weak answer stops at the failure and forgets the prayer of 22:32, which means the tears are the beginning of his return.
Show teacher guidance
He follows afar off, sits by the fire, denies association three times, the cock crows, Jesus turns and looks at him, he remembers the prediction, and he goes out weeping bitterly.
Responsible application
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
The plot
Read 22:1-13 and note who is preparing what.
Bread and cup
Read 22:14-23. Ask questions one and two.
As he that serveth
Read 22:24-34. Ask questions three and four.
The Mount of Olives
Read 22:39-53. Ask question five and take confusion three.
Peter's denial
Read 22:54-62. Ask question six and take confusion four.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together, give out the sheet, and pray Jesus' prayer of 22:42 together.
90 minutes
Last meals
Ask the group about a farewell meal they remember. Then read 22:1-13.
The new covenant
Read 22:14-23, Exodus 12:1-14 and Jeremiah 31:31-34. Ask questions one and two and take confusion one.
Greatness and warning
Read 22:24-38. Ask questions three and four and take confusion two.
Prayer in agony
Read 22:39-46 and Hebrews 5:7-8. Ask question five and take confusion three.
The arrest
Read 22:47-53 and point to the healing of the servant's ear.
The look
Read 22:54-71. Ask question six and take confusion four.
Application and prayer
Give quiet time for each learner to bring one failure to Jesus in silent prayer. Read the key verse together, give out the sheet and close by praying 22:42.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Set a table with bread and grape juice and tell the children Jesus shared a special meal with his friends and asked them to remember him. Talk about Jesus praying in the garden and asking God for help. Tell how Peter said three times that he did not know Jesus, and then was very sorry, and how Jesus still loved him. Leave out the blood, the beating and details of the arrest; say simply that soldiers took Jesus away.
Youth
Ask what it would take for them to deny knowing Jesus: fear, embarrassment, wanting to fit in. Read Peter's three denials and let them see how gradually it happened. Then read 22:32 and 22:61 and talk about failure and forgiveness. Discuss 22:42 as a model for decisions where they want something different from what God may be asking. Treat the suffering of Jesus honestly but without graphic detail.
Adults
Give time to the Passover background and the new covenant, respecting the different ways traditions understand the Lord's Supper. Discuss the dispute about greatness in light of leadership at work and in church. Spend time in Gethsemane: many adults have prayed for a cup to pass. Let Peter's failure and Jesus' prayer for him speak to those who carry regret.
One to one
Read 22:31-32 and 22:61-62 together. Ask whether there is a time they feel they denied or failed Jesus. Listen without hurry. Tell them Jesus prayed for Peter before he fell and looked at him with love afterwards. If they face a hard decision, read 22:42 and pray it with them, honestly.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Luke 22
The passage in brief
At the Passover meal Jesus told his disciples he had longed to eat with them before he suffered. He gave them bread and wine as signs of his body given and his blood shed for them, and told them to remember him. When they argued about who was greatest, he said the greatest must serve, as he did. He warned Peter that he would deny him, but said he had prayed for him. On the Mount of Olives Jesus prayed in agony, not my will, but thine, be done. He was arrested, and Peter denied him three times, then wept.
A verse to keep
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Luke 22:42 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What did Jesus say about the bread and the cup (22:19-20)?
What did Jesus say about who is greatest (22:26-27)?
What happened when Jesus looked at Peter (22:61-62)?
This week
Each time you eat bread this week, pause and remember that Jesus' body was given for you.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
