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Christ Predicts Coming Conflict
Luke 22:35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.”
Earlier in His ministry, the Lord sent the disciples out without money bag, knapsack, and sandals —the minimum. Bare essentials would be sufficient for them. And so it had proved. They had to confess that they had lacked nothing.
Luke 22:36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
But now He was about to leave them, and they were to enter into a new phase of service for Him. They would be exposed to poverty, hunger, and danger, and it would be necessary for them to make provision for their current needs. They should now take a money bag, a knapsack or lunch box, and in the absence of a sword, they should sell their garment and buy one. What did the Savior mean when He told the disciples to buy a sword? It seems clear that He could not have intended them to use the sword as an offensive weapon against other people. This would be in violation of His teaching in such passages as: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight” (John 18:36). “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).“Love your enemies ...” (Matt. 5:44).“Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5:39; see also 2 Cor. 10:4.)
What then did Jesus mean by the sword? Some suggest that He was referring to the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This is possible, but then the money bag, the knapsack, and the garment should be spiritualized also.
2. Williams says that the sword means the protection of an ordered government, pointing out that in Romans 13:4, it refers to the power of the magistrate. Lange says the sword is for defense against human enemies, but not for offense. But Matthew 5:39 seems to rule out the use of the sword, even for defensive purposes. Some think that the sword was for defense against wild animals only. This is possible.
Luke 22:37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”
Verse 37 explains why it was necessary for the disciples to take money bag, knapsack, and sword now. The Lord had been with them up to this point, providing for their temporal needs. Soon He would be departing from them in accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12. The things concerning Him had an end, that is, His earthly life and ministry would come to a close by His being numbered with the transgressors.
Luke 22:38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”
The disciples completely misunderstood the Lord. They brought forth two swords, implying that these would surely be enough for any problems that lay ahead. The Lord Jesus ended the conversation by saying “It is enough.” They apparently thought that they could foil the attempt of His enemies to slay Him by using the swords. This was the farthest thought from His mind!
Christ Prays in Gethsemane
Luke 22:39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.
The Garden of Gethsemane was situated on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus often went there to pray, and the disciples, including the betrayer, of course, knew this.
Luke 22:40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
At the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples left the upper room and went to the garden. Once they were there, He warned them to pray that they should not enter into temptation. Perhaps the particular temptation which He had in mind was the pressure to abandon God and His Christ when the enemies closed in.
Luke 22:41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, :42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Then Jesus left the disciples and went further into the garden where He prayed alone.
His prayer was that if the Father were willing, this cup might pass from Him; nevertheless He wanted the will of God to be done, not His own. We understand this prayer to mean: If there is any other way by which sinners can be saved than by My going to the cross, reveal that way now. The heavens were silent, because there was no other way.
The work of redemption was accomplished during the three hours of darkness on the cross. But Gethsemane was in anticipation of Calvary. There the very thought of contact with our sins caused the Lord Jesus the keenest suffering.
Luke 22:43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. :44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
His perfect humanity is seen in the agony which accompanied His travail. An angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. Only Luke records this, as well as the fact that His sweat became like great drops of blood. This latter detail caught the interest of the careful physician.
This suggests a dangerous condition known as hematidrosis, the effusion of blood in one’s perspiration. It can be caused by extreme anguish or physical strain. Subcutaneous capillaries dilate and burst, mingling blood with sweat. Christ Himself stated that His distress had brought Him to the threshold of death.
Luke 22:45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.
The emotional strain was wearing on the disciples as well as Christ.
Their response, however, was to capitulate to fleshly cravings. Thus they gratified their immediate desire for sleep, rather than staying awake to pray for strength, as Christ had commanded them (v. 40). All the reasons for their subsequent failure are found in their behavior in the garden.
Luke 22:46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
A tender appeal to the disciples, who in their weakness were disobeying Him at a critical moment. He may have been summoning them to a standing posture, to help overcome their drowsiness. Matthew 26:43 and Mark 14:40 reveal that He again found them sleeping at least one more time.
Judas Betrays Christ
Luke 22:47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.
These were heavily armed representatives of the Sanhedrin (Mt 26:47; Mk 14:43), accompanied by a Roman cohort with lanterns, torches, and weapons (Jn 18:3).
Judas kiss... A typical greeting, but this was the prearranged signal by which Judas would identify Christ for the soldiers.
Luke 22:48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Luke 22:49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
Luke 22:50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
All 4 gospels record this incident. Only John reveals that the swordsman was Peter and the victim was named Malchus (Jn 18:10). And only Luke, the physician, records the subsequent healing (v. 51).
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
