NOTE: Luke 22 and John 18 are mostly about the same events we studied two weeks ago in Matthew 26; Mark 14; and John 13. Thus, the following portions of Luke 22 and John 18 are being skipped this week:
- Luke 22:1-6 The betrayal is planned by Judas and the Jewish rulers.
- Luke 22:7-18 The preparation for and beginning of the Last Supper/Passover meal.
- Luke 22:19-20 Jesus institutes the sacrament.
- Luke 22:21-23 Jesus announces His betrayal.
- Luke 22:33-38 Jesus prophesies Peter’s denial; the apostles all declare their loyalty.
- Luke 22:47-53; John 18:10-11 Jesus is betrayed and arrested.
- Luke 22:56-62; John 18:17-18, 25-27 Peter denies knowing Jesus.
Luke 22:24-30 Who Is the Greatest?
The night before Jesus’s death, during the Last Supper/Passover meal, His apostles involved themselves in a “strife” (quarrel or dispute). According to verse 24, what was their point of contention? Read verses 25-27, and summarize Jesus’s teaching in your own words. What rewards did the Savior tell them that they would receive (verses 28-30).
Luke 22:31-33 “Strengthen Thy Brethren”
First read verse 33, to see Peter’s determination to support the Savior. Now read verses 31-32, to see Jesus’s exhortation to Peter. Clearly, “conversion” is more than acquiring knowledge and is also more than believing it is true; for true conversion means we are transformed by what we know and feel. Why is being converted a prerequisite for being able to strengthen others? Think about someone you know who goes about strengthening others.
Luke 22:39-46 Jesus in Gethsemane (see also Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; John 18:1)
Two weeks ago we studied Jesus’s atoning triumph in the Garden of Gethsemane, and its significance merits another view:
- What did Jesus tell His apostles to pray for, in Luke 22:40? His thoughts were on them and their welfare, in spite of what He was about to experience.
- The other Gospel accounts tell us that at this time Jesus “began to be sorrowful and very heavy” (Matthew 26:37); and that He “began to be sore amazed” (Mark 14:33). Also, He said to Peter, James, and John, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34). His sorrow, heaviness, and amazement left Him physically powerless, and He “fell on the ground” (Mark 14:35), “on His face” (Matthew 26:39).
- Read Jesus’s prayer in Luke 22:41-42. His Father sent “an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” (verse 43).
- But the suffering continued, for Luke reports that “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly” (verse 44). In our moments of agony, we too can turn to Our Father in Heaven and pray more earnestly.
- Luke is the only Gospel writer to tell us that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (verse 44). The language, “as it were” can give the impression that this is just a figure of speech, but it was literal, for an angel from God told King Benjamin, “blood cometh from every pore” (Mosiah 3:7); and the Savior Himself told the Prophet Joseph Smith that His suffering caused Him “to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19: 18).
- Have you ever felt physically ill, due to emotional trauma? Jesus’s physical suffering came because of His extreme emotional and spiritual agony. The angel also told King Benjamin that the cause of this bleeding was because “so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7). “His people” includes every one of us.
- The Savior is our Example in all things, and in our own small ways we can strive to follow Him. For example, in the October 1995 general conference, President Boyd K. Packer taught: “When we are willing to restore to others that which we have not taken, or heal wounds that we did not inflict, or pay a debt that we did not incur, we are emulating His part in the Atonement.”
John 18:2-9 Submissive Savior
John shares details of Jesus’s betrayal and arrest that are not found in the other Gospels:
- Judas “knew the place” (verse 2). How ironic and tragic that a place of sacred retreat for Jesus and His apostles is now turned into a place of deceit, rejection, and betrayal of all that is holy.
- The “band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees” who accompanied Judas (verse 3), likely consisted of hundreds of armed and trained temple officers and Roman soldiers. It is ludicrous that they believed that with enough manpower they could overwhelm the Son of God.
- Then things become even more dramatic: Read verses 4-8, noting that Jesus had to put Himself into the hands of the soldiers, who otherwise would not have been able to take Him. Jesus’s mere statement, “I am he,” was powerful enough that the arresting band “went backward, and fell to the ground” (verse 6. Jesus had to walk them through it (see also verses 7-9).
- How can you more fully live your life in submission to the Father’s will, as Jesus perfectly exemplified?
Note: Next, the Savior was subjected to six illegal, abusive trial appearances which began about midnight and lasted into the morning. (We looked briefly at the first three trials last week. This week we will consider them again, plus the fourth trial. Next week we will study the last two.)
Jesus’s tribunal appearances were:
- Before Annas, a Jewish high priest (John 18:12-13, 19-24).
- Before the chief high priest Caiaphas and the council of chief priests and elders (Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65).
- Before the Sanhedrin (chief priests, elders, and scribes; Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66-71).
- Before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor (Matthew 27:2, 11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-7; John 18:28-38).
- Before Herod Antipas, the Jewish tetrarch under Roman rule (Luke 23:8-12).
- Before Pilate a second time (Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-40; 19:1-16).
John 18:12-13, 19-24 Jesus’s First Trial (Annas)
Read these verses, paying particular attention to the question asked by the high priest Annas (verse 19) and the question asked by one of the officers (verse 22; additionally, the officer struck Jesus). How did the Savior respond to each question? (verses 20-21, 23).
Luke 22:54, 63-65; Matthew 26:57-68 Jesus’s Second Trial (Caiaphas; see also Mark 14:53-65)
- In Luke’s account, the men that held Jesus mocked, smote, blindfolded, and struck Him, and spoke blasphemously against Him (Luke 22:63-65).
- Matthew recorded that at the residence of Caiaphas, “all the council” (the Sanhedrin) joined Caiaphas, along with the scribes, elders, and chief priests (Matthew 26:57, 59). Their purpose was to seek “false witness against Jesus, to put him to death” (verse 59). They knew He was innocent!
- What resulted? (verse 60). What did the next two witnesses then say? (verse 61).
- Read the exchange between Caiaphas and Jesus, in verses 62-64. This is the question of the ages: “Art thou the Christ?” (see also Alma 34:5). How did Jesus respond to Caiaphas, in verse 64? (see also Mark 14:62; Jesus’s reply is the same as saying, “Yes, I am”).
- Jesus ended this encounter with a foreboding prophecy for Caiaphas and the others (verse 64).
- How did Caiaphas react to this prophecy, in verses 65-66? The others answer the question of Caiaphas—“What think ye”—by declaring the death sentence upon Jesus (verse 66; see also Mark 14:64).
- Jesus is to be put to death for blaspheming against Jehovah—but He is the only person in history who cannot blaspheme, because He is Jehovah.
- This is followed up by those who “did spit in his face, and buffeted him, and others smote him” (verse 67), followed by further mocking (verse 68).
Luke 22:66-71 Jesus’s Third Trial (the Sanhedrin; see also Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1)
The Sanhedrin was the supreme council of 71 Jewish religious rulers. They had been at the residence of Caiaphas during Jesus’s second tribunal appearance, and now they gather again to question Jesus (likely at the temple complex). Luke is the only Gospel writer to include this event, saying that it began “as soon as it was day” (verse 66; it is now “Friday” morning).
Again, Jesus is asked, “Art thou the Christ?” (verse 67). What answer did Jesus give this time, in verses 67-69? Then they ask Him again, “Art thou then the Son of God?” (verse 70). What was His answer, in verse 70? If asked by a hostile, threatening mob, how would you answer the question, “Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God?”
John 18:28-38 Jesus’s Fourth Trial (Pilate; see also Matthew 27:2, 11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-7)
Next, Jesus is taken to “the hall of judgment” (John 18:28), which is also the residence of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. It is still early in the morning (verse 28). The Jewish leaders who were laboring to have Jesus put to death “went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled” (verse 28), because it was Passover and they did not want to be defiled by entering the residence of a gentile. How ironic and hypocritical this is, as they are about to kill their Messiah!
- Of course, Pilate has no interest nor concern about the Jewish religion, thus the Jews’ claims of Jesus’s blasphemy mean nothing to him. The Jews know this and they now change the charges against Jesus to His being a “malefactor” (a criminal; verse 30).
- How did Pilate react to this claim, in verse 31? The Jews’ answer in verse 31 must have surprised Pilate, to learn that they wanted Jesus to be executed (which required his approval).
- In verse 32 John points out that the Roman manner of execution—crucifixion—would become fulfillment of Jesus’s words, spoken in John 3:14; 12:32, regarding His death.
- Read the conversation between Pilate and Jesus, in John 18:33-38. What was Pilate’s conclusion, as announced to the Jews in verse 38?
- How does your study of these parts of Jesus’s atonement help you in relation to the ordinance of the sacrament?
