Lk. 22:17. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves,
Lk. 22:18. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
The words "I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes" some of the saints understood thus: until I rise again. For after the resurrection, while spending time with the disciples, He ate and drank with them, as Peter also says to Cornelius: "who ate and drank with Him after His resurrection from the dead" (Acts 10:41). That the resurrection is the Kingdom of God is evident. For the resurrection is the destruction of death. Death reigned from Adam until Christ; but from that time, having been destroyed, it yielded the victory and the kingdom to the Lord, as it is said: "O Death!... where is your victory?" (Hos. 13:14). And David says: "The Lord reigns" (Ps. 93:1), and then, in explanation of how He came to reign, adds: "He is clothed with majesty," when the body was freed from corruption and adorned with Divinity, as Isaiah says: "so majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength" (Isa. 63:1). And the Lord Himself after the resurrection says: "All authority has been given to Me" (Matt. 28:18). Thus, when the resurrection came, which, as having destroyed death, is called the Kingdom of God, the Lord again drank with the disciples as proof that He had risen not in mere appearance.
Others understood the Kingdom of God as the future state, and the Lord's drinking with us in the age to come as His revelation of mysteries. For He, the Lover of mankind, rejoicing us, Himself rejoices, and nourishing us, is Himself nourished, and reckons our drink and food, that is, teaching, as food for Himself. So He will then drink some new drink with the worthy, always revealing to them something new and extraordinary.
Lk. 22:19. And having taken 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 My remembrance.
Lk. 22:20. Cup likewise after supper, saying: This cup is the new testament in My Blood, which is shed for you.
It seems that Luke mentions two cups. He speaks of one: "Take this and divide it among yourselves" (Luke 22:17), which one might call a figure of the Old Testament, and he speaks of the other after the breaking and distribution of the bread. The Lord Himself distributes it among the disciples, calls it the New Testament, and says that it is renewed in His Blood. For when the Old Law was given, the blood of irrational animals was used as a seal (Exodus 24:5–8); but now, when God the Word became Man, the New Testament is sealed for us by His Blood. By the words "which is given for you" and "which is shed for you," He does not indicate that His Body was given and His Blood was shed for the apostles alone, but for the entire human race. Therefore, when He says that it is given "for you," you should understand: for the entire human race.
The ancient Passover was celebrated for deliverance from Egyptian slavery, and the blood of the lamb was shed for the preservation of the firstborn; but the new Passover is for the remission of sins and for the preservation of thoughts dedicated and consecrated to God.
First the bread is given, and then the cup. For first comes activity that is laborious and difficult to accomplish. Sweat precedes virtue, just as bread is not only cultivated by the sweat of one's brow, but also requires labor when consumed (Gen. 3:19). Then, after the labors, comes rejoicing from the grace of God, which is signified by the cup. For whoever labors in the difficult-to-accomplish virtue is afterwards deemed worthy of gifts and experiences a good intoxication, becoming detached from this world, like Paul and David, or, to speak even more boldly, like God in the prophet Habakkuk.
Lk. 22:21. And behold, the hand of him who betrays Me is with Me on the table;
There is nothing more wretched than a soul hardened in obstinacy. For see what the Lord says: "Behold, the hand of him who betrays Me is with Me on the table," yet the madman did not come to his senses. The Lord says this not only to show that He knows what is about to happen, but also to reveal to us His goodness and the malice of the betrayer, by which the latter was not ashamed to be at His supper, and afterwards did not abandon the carrying out of his intention. The Lord also gives us by this an example, that we should strive to the end for the benefit of those who are falling.
Lk. 22:22. however, the Son of Man goes according to what has been determined,
And the Son of Man, He says, goes, not because He supposedly cannot defend Himself, but because He has destined Himself for death for the salvation of mankind.
Lk. 22:22. But woe to that man by whom He is betrayed.
Although He was destined to suffer, why did you turn out to be so wicked as to resolve to betray Him? For this reason "woe" shall be your lot—that you proved inclined to betrayal, just as the serpent too was cursed for having served as an instrument of the devil's schemes.
Lk. 22:23. And they began to question among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.
Having heard this, the disciples were troubled. You will learn about this more extensively in the commentary on the Gospel of John (see ch. 13).
Lk. 22:24. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.
They are now troubled not only by the suspicion of betrayal among themselves, but from this confusion they pass to a dispute, arguing about which of them is the greatest. They arrived at this dispute in a natural progression. Probably one of them was saying to another: you intend to betray, and the other replied: no, you intend to betray. From this they moved on to saying: I am better, I am greater, and the like. What then does the Lord do?
Lk. 22:25. He said to them: Kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors.
Lk. 22:26. But you are not so: but he that is greater among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that serves.
He tames their agitation with two examples. First, with the example of the Gentiles, whom they considered unclean, declaring that if they think this way, they will be like the Gentiles.
Lk. 22:27. For who is greater: the one who reclines at table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
Secondly, by His own example, for having explained that He serves them, He thereby leads them to humility. It was precisely at that time that He, as it is said, distributed to them the bread and the cup. If I, Whom all the angelic and rational creation worships, serve in your midst, then how do you dare to think highly of yourselves and argue about primacy? It seems to me that He mentioned this reclining at table and serving not in passing, but to remind them that if you ate of one bread and drank of one cup, then the one table makes you friends and of one mind. Why then do you have thoughts unworthy of this? Moreover, I did not act so as to serve one and not another, but all of you equally. Therefore you also should have the same feelings toward one another. Perhaps from all of this you may also understand how the disciples were at that time still imperfect, yet afterwards shone forth so wonderfully. Let the Manichaeans be put to shame, who say that some are by nature incapable of learning, and that it is impossible for such people to change.
Lk. 22:28. But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials,