Chapter Twenty-Two
Lk. 22:1. The feast of unleavened bread, called Passover, was drawing near,
Lk. 22:2. The chief priests and scribes sought how they might destroy Him, for they feared the people.
The scribes sought to kill Him (Jesus). Since the time of Passover was approaching, and they therefore saw danger for themselves from the gathering crowd, especially during the feast, they were searching, at last, for a way to kill Him without exposing themselves to any danger.
Lk. 22:3. Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, one of the number of the twelve,
"And Satan entered into Judas," "one of the number of the twelve," that is, one of the close and sincere disciples. Let no one rely on himself, but be attentive to his life, for he has a fearsome enemy. Some understood the words "one of the number of the twelve" thus: one who merely filled out the number of the apostles, but was not a true apostle and disciple. For what kind of true disciple is one who stole what was put into the money box? (John 12:6).
Lk. 22:4. And he went and spoke with the chief priests and captains about how to betray Him to them.
Lk. 22:5. They were glad and agreed to give him money;
Lk. 22:6. And he promised, and sought a convenient time to betray Him to them in the absence of the crowd.
Thus Judas received Satan who had entered into him and agreed to betray Jesus to those seeking Him. For this is what the word "promised" means, that is, he finally concluded the terms and the agreement. And he sought a convenient time when he might find Him (Jesus) without the crowd, that is, alone, and deliver Him to them. By "captains" he here means the overseers of the temple buildings, or the supervisors of good order. For the Romans had appointed certain overseers over the people, so that they would not revolt, for they were rebellious. These are the ones he calls captains (in Church Slavonic — "voevody," i.e., military commanders). Or perhaps the military commanders were those who, belonging to the priestly order, held military positions. For, suffering from a love of preeminence, they involved themselves in such offices as well. Therefore he also called them captains of the temple, perhaps in order to reproach them more keenly.
Lk. 22:7. The day of unleavened bread came, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed,
That Pascha, called Phasek in Hebrew, signifies the departure from Egypt — many have spoken of this, and in general everything that was performed at that time during this feast the saints have explained. But we need to speak about which day is called the day of unleavened bread. He calls Thursday "the day of unleavened bread," on the evening of which it was necessary to slaughter the Pascha.
Lk. 22:8. And He sent Peter and John, saying: Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat.
Lk. 22:9. And they said to Him: where do You wish us to prepare?
Lk. 22:10. He said to them: behold, when you enter the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters,
So then, on Thursday, perhaps in the morning, the Lord sends the disciples Peter and John, one as the loving one, the other as the beloved one, and sends them to a "stranger's" house; for neither He Himself nor the disciples had their own, otherwise He would have celebrated the Passover at the home of one of the disciples. See what poverty! He sends them to an unknown man in order to show that He accepts His sufferings voluntarily. For if He had not wished to suffer, then, having inclined the mind of this unknown man to receive them (Himself and the disciples), He could also have produced in the Jews whatever He pleased. Some say that the Lord did not mention the name of this man nor reveal it, but leads the disciples to his house by a certain sign so that the betrayer, having learned the name, would not point out this house to the Pharisees, and they would not come to seize Him before He established the supper, before He imparted His spiritual mysteries. Therefore Christ, a little later, says: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering." That is, I took every care for us to hide from the betrayer, so as not to undergo suffering before the time, before I impart the mysteries. Whoever wishes may accept this explanation.
Lk. 22:11. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples?
Lk. 22:12. And he will show you a large upper room, furnished; there make ready.
Why then does the Lord observe the Passover? In order to prove by all His actions to His very last breath that He is not an opponent of the Law. Let us also eat this Passover with understanding; let us understand by the day of unleavened bread the entire life spent in spiritual light, having nothing of the oldness of the former disobedience in Adam. Truly leading such a life, we must be nourished by the mysteries of Jesus. These mysteries will be prepared by Peter and John — activity and contemplation, fervent zeal and peaceful meekness. For the believer must be ardent in doing good, zealous against evil, and gentle toward those who commit evil. For one must hate evil, not the one who does evil. That person must be healed, for he suffers. To do evil means precisely to be troubled by the evil one and to suffer from malice. If we have Peter and John preparing the supper, that is, a good life, which Peter represents, and true teaching, which John the Theologian represents, then with such preparers a "man" will meet them, that is, we will then find the truly human being, created in the image of the Creator, or rather, the Maker, carrying a "pitcher of water." Water signifies the grace of the Spirit, as the evangelist John teaches (John 7:38–39), and the pitcher signifies the fragility and softness of heart. For the one who receives spiritual grace is humble and contrite of heart, and to the humble the Lord gives grace (James 4:6). Recognizing himself as earth and ashes and saying with Job, "You fashioned me like clay" (Job 10:9), he will carry the grace of the Spirit in the easily broken and easily crushed vessel of his heart. Following such a disposition, we will enter the house of the mind, whose master — the mind — will show us a large furnished upper room. The "upper room" is the lofty dwelling place of the mind, that is, the divine and spiritual things among which it lives and moves with love. They are furnished, for there is nothing harsh in them, but even what is crooked becomes a straight path for such a mind, as Solomon also said: "They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge" (Prov. 8:9). You would not err in saying also that the mind, although it performs a lofty work by acting according to the power of the mind, nevertheless its knowledge is still spread out and very close to the earth. But truly lofty knowledge, and the unknowing that surpasses the mind, is above every height — when the mind no longer acts but receives action. First we must act with our own mind, and then the grace of the Lord will act in us, catching us up, as it did the prophets, and releasing us from every natural power. Truly it is said that in such-and-such a prophet there was a rapture from the Lord. Similarly here, when this upper room is furnished, Jesus comes with His disciples and performs the mysteries, coming to us Himself and manifesting His own power in us, rather than waiting for us to come to Him. The "disciples" of God the Word are all reflections upon creation. When the Word thus acts in us, then we will understand the communion of the Passover and be even more nourished by reflections upon creation, as it is said: "I consider Your heavens — the work of Your fingers" (Ps. 8:4).
Lk. 22:13. They went and found it as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
Lk. 22:14. When the hour came, He reclined at table, and the twelve Apostles with Him.
They ate the Passover standing; so how is it said of the Lord that He reclined? They say that, having eaten the lawful Passover, they then reclined afterward, according to the common custom, to eat whatever other foods there were.
Lk. 22:15. And He said to them: I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering,
The Lord says to the disciples: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering." He speaks as if to say: this is My last supper with you, therefore it is dear and longed for by Me, for in the time to come I will not eat with you. This is similar to how those about to depart on a journey conduct their last conversations with relatives and friends with greater pleasantness and love. And in another sense: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you," because in it I am to impart to you great mysteries — the mysteries of the New Covenant. By this He shows that He will suffer voluntarily. For since He knew of the coming sufferings, He could without doubt have avoided them, just as He had done in the preceding time (John 8:59).
Lk. 22:16. For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.