Original Meaning

THE EVENTS IN 22:1–38 leading to Jesus’ arrest provide his final opportunity to share with his disciples before his departure. This final meal functions much like his last will and testament. After noting Judas’s plan to betray him (22:1–6), Luke goes on to record Jesus’ plans to celebrate the Passover one last time with his disciples (22:7–13). At the meal, Jesus observes the Last Supper (22:14–20), a meal that becomes the basis of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:17–34). The final discourse treats a wide array of subjects: betrayal, greatness in humility, appointment to authority, prediction of denials, and warnings about rejection (Luke 22:21–38). Jesus spent most of the journey to Jerusalem preparing his disciples for his coming absence. The time has come to face the cross. The disciples will need to conduct their faith walk in light of his departure. The moment of truth for all has come.

The Jewish leadership has been powerless to do anything about Jesus because of his popularity. All of that changes when Judas, one of the Twelve, steps forward.1 What they cannot generate on their own becomes possible through this disciple. The irony in most of the events surrounding Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion is that those who appear to be in control are not. They happen only because Jesus allows them to proceed. As will become clear, Jesus is fully aware of what Judas is doing (22:22–23).

The crucifixion took place during one of the most sacred parts of the Jewish year, the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread, which followed each other on the calendar. These festivals commemorated the sparing of Israel’s firstborn and their release from captivity in Egypt (Passover, Nisan 14–15; Unleavened Bread, Nisan 15–21).2 The entire celebration recalled how Israel was “passed over” by the angel of death and redeemed (Ex. 12). Israel recalled her salvation and God’s grace.

During this time, “the chief priests and teachers of the law” were trying to find a way to remove Jesus. Their search was a constant one, for Luke uses the imperfect tense (ezetoun) to describe their attempts to find a way to seize Jesus. The juxtaposition of the holiday with the plotting is intentional by Luke. What the feast day celebrates, forgiveness and salvation, Jesus will actually perform. At the time Israel is recalling her deliverance, the leadership is conspiring to rob Jesus of his very life. The text is ironic in its contrast. But the people are flocking to him. So there is currently no good way to get him without causing major turmoil.

But the opportunity for an inside job removes all of those obstacles. For the first time since Luke 4:1–13, Satan is named as an active player in the drama. He enters Judas. What this means is not entirely clear. Is this possession? Most think that is too strong a description. What it suggests at a minimum is satanic direction and influence. The remark does show that Jesus’ mission has cosmic dimensions; even the forces of evil have a view about him and desire his removal.

So Judas goes to the leadership to discuss how he might hand Jesus over to them. Both the chief priests and the temple guards take part in these deliberations. Judas gets the equivalent of cabinet-like attention. The chief priests’ presence shows that the decision is being made at the highest levels. The guard is present because they will have to carry out the arrest. So thrilled is the leadership that they give Judas a fee for his action. The amount is not noted here, though Matthew 26:15 tells us it is thirty pieces of silver, a small price to pay to regain control of the Jewish religious mind.

It is hard to appreciate just how great a break this offer is for the Jewish leaders. Now they can figure out Jesus’ private whereabouts, and they have in-house testimony against him. Anyone who challenges their efforts at restraint will have to face the reaction of Judas, an insider, who knows how Jesus works. No wonder they are so open to Judas and pleased about the situation. They can distance themselves from the action as they look out for the larger public interest.

All that is needed is to find an appropriate time to arrest the teacher. It must be a time when crowds are not present. Judas will determine that time. Sinister forces are behind Jesus’ death.

Bridging Contexts

THE UNIQUE EVENTS of the Passion communicate their message not so much through the events themselves as in the examples of the types of people who share in them. In studying narrative, scholars often speak of archetypal figures. The lessons come through characters in the account who represent certain types of people or realities in the world. Such figures are spotted by noting how developed their character is within the story and by considering the fundamental characteristics they possess in their role. In the case of the Gospels, reactions to Jesus are types of response to him from which we can learn. Such analogies especially apply when reading the Passion accounts, since they record reactions that lead to clear decisions for and against Jesus. As we move through these chapters in Luke, we will point out these archetypal figures.

We do not have chief priests and scribes residing around a temple today. But these characters depict the reactions of people who stand adamantly opposed to Jesus. Judas is the example of an “insider” who really is not an insider at all. In a subversive manner, he plots against the one whom he claims to know as the one who brings God’s promise. He reminds us that not everyone closely tied to Jesus really knows him. According to John 6:70, Judas is tied to the devil.

Contemporary Significance

WE SEE VIVIDLY how Jesus was rejected and betrayed. The actions of his enemies are a graph of how sin does its work. In the background stands the presence and influence of Satan. The event reminds us that people can be led by forces that pull them in destructive directions (cf. Eph. 2:1–3). All the plotting and intrigue show how much effort and deceit went into the destructive plan to get Jesus. The hypocrisy of celebrating the Exodus and plotting Jesus’ death adds to the pathos of it all.

What is so tragic is that if we stop and analyze the role of sin in our own lives, we see the same types of behavior and choices. One sin often leads to more sin in the effort either to set it up or to cover it up. The deceptive nature of sin hatches plots in dark places and attempts to do its work in secret or highly private locales. It credo is, “I can do this, if no one or only a few select people see.”

In addition, the mood of betrayal is fundamental to the character of all types of sin. In fact, sin is fundamentally a betrayal, not just of God, but of others who are injured by it. It even betrays the sinner as the destruction it brings does its damaging work. This passage is not just a lesson in history, but a study of human nature at its worst, revealing the form sin takes as it compounds itself in action. How often, for example, has a man or woman engaged in an affair without considering its devastating effect on their families, especially the children? What do such actions say about the integrity of our vows made before God? Sin usually does not limit its effect to a small sphere; it has a ripple effect that encompasses many others.

Another lesson in the pattern of rejection from the leadership and Judas is the tendency of sin to make someone else the sinner. Sin tends subtly to create a layer of insulation in a form of rationalization that works as a protective shield against the sinful action, a type of cover-up that can place blame elsewhere—such as the leadership’s buffer that gets created through Judas. Such a diabolical barrier is built when a man who is cheating on his wife maintains that her coldness forced him to look elsewhere for tender nurture. Such a shield surfaces when children fight and blame the other child’s bad behavior for the right to strike back in kind.

This event also discloses the fact that Jesus is of concern to cosmic, evil forces. Satan attempts to do everything he can stop God’s plan of salvation from advancing. The narrative underscores this point by revealing that there are forces at work beyond Judas. One should also remain sensitive to the fact that this diabolical opposition is not yet finished. If Satan opposed Jesus here, he will oppose the church. Defection from within is one of the most effective means he has to bring discredit on the church. The strategy is an old one, stretching all the way back to Adam and Eve, where Satan led Eve into sin as a way of getting to Adam. Faithfulness to God’s will prevent Satan from getting such a foothold.

The reality of defection is another lesson in this text. Judas represents the “disciple” who is no disciple at all. For years, the eleven accepted him as a full member of their community. This event reveals where his heart really was. This reality reminds us that church membership and association alone are not the marks of salvation. Faith saves, but only a faith that does not turn its back decisively on Jesus. A believer may deny Jesus, as Peter does, but a believer will never engage in the full-scale defection that Judas does. There is a difference between a lack of nerve and a conscious decision of the heart to reject Jesus after having had contact with him. Judas represents the latter category.

There is no salvation for one who does not trust Jesus to the end. The defection of a Judas-like figure, once undertaken, is permanent, but real faith keeps faith. Pastorally, it is not always easy to spot the difference between a period of coldness and outright rejection. This is an attitude that cannot be read from the outside; it is a matter of inward conviction. But complete rejection usually does not wrestle with a deep sense of guilt or hesitation about the change of direction undertaken. People whose hearts grow cold are disengaged for a time and uninterested, but this falls short of callousness. A period of coldness can even last some time, but it is not accompanied with an outright denial of connection to Jesus. Romans 8:16 speaks about the Spirit’s giving believers a sense of sonship to God, something total rejection indicates is not present. As the entire passion narrative shows, our world is filled with a kalidescope of reactions to Jesus.