22:1 Now the 1 feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is
called the Passover.
(1) Christ is taken upon the day of the Passover rather by the
providence of his Father, than by the will of men.
22:32 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being
of the number of the twelve.
(2) God by his wonderful providence causes him to be the
minister of our salvation who was the author of our
destruction.
22:4 And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests
and a captains, how he might betray him unto them.
(a) Those that had the charge of keeping the temple, who
were not from among the priests and bishops, as is
shown below in (Lu 22:52).
22:6 And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto
them in the b absence of the multitude.
(b) Without tumult, doing it without the knowledge of the
people who used to follow him: and therefore they
indeed waited patiently until they knew he was alone in
the garden.
22:73 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the
passover c must be killed.
(3) Christ teaches his disciples by an obvious miracle that
although he is going to be crucified, yet nothing is hidden
from him, and therefore that he is going willingly to
death.
(c) By the order appointed by the law.
22:8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the
d passover, that we may eat.
(d) The lamb which was the symbol of the passover: And this
is said using the figure of speech metonymy, which is
often used when talking about the sacraments.
22:144 And when the e hour was come, he sat down, and the
twelve apostles with him.
(4) Christ, having ended the passover according to the order of
the law, forewarns them that this will be his last banquet
with them in terms of this earthly life.
(e) The evening and twilight, at which time this supper was
to be kept.
22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat
this passover with you before I f suffer:
(f) I am put to death.
22:195 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it],
and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given
for you: this do in remembrance of me.
(5) Christ establishes his new covenant and his communication
with us by new symbols.
22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This g cup
[is] h the new testament in my blood, which is shed for
you.
(g) Here is a double use of metonymy: for first, the
vessel is taken for that which is contained in the
vessel, as the cup is spoken of for the wine which is
within the cup. Second, the wine is called the
covenant or testament, whereas in reality it is but
the sign of the testament, or rather of the blood of
Christ by which the testament was made: neither is it
a vain sign, although it is not the same as the thing
that it represents.
(h) This word "the" shows the excellency of the testament,
and corresponds to (Jer 31:31) where the new
testament is promised.
22:216 But, behold, the i hand of him that betrayeth me
[is] with me on the table.
(6) Christ shows again that he goes willingly to die,
although he is not ignorant of Judas' treason.
(i) That is, his practice; the Hebrews used to speak in
this way, as in (2Sa 14:19): "Is not the hand of
Joab with thee in all this?"
22:227 And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined:
but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!
(7) Although the decree of God's providence necessarily comes
to pass, yet it does not excuse the fault of those who
bring it to pass.
22:248 And there was also a strife among them, which of them
should be accounted the greatest.
(8) The pastors are not called to rule but to serve.
22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise
lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon
them are called k benefactors.
(k) Have great titles, for so it was the custom to honour
princes with some great titles.
22:289 Ye are they which have continued with me in my
temptations.
(9) Those who are partakers of the affliction of Christ will
also be partakers of his kingdom.
22:3110 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired [to have] you, that he may l sift [you] as
wheat:
(10) We must always think about the ambush that Satan lays for
us.
(l) To toss you and scatter you, and also to cast you out.
22:3211 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:
and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
(11) It is through the prayers of Christ that the elect never
utterly fall away from the faith: and because of this they
should encourage one another on.
22:3312 And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with
thee, both into prison, and to death.
(12) In setting before us the grievous example of Peter,
Christ shows that faith differs much from a vain security.
22:36m Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse,
let him take [it], and likewise [his] scrip: and he that
hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
(m) He says all this using an allegory, as if he said, "O
my friends and fellow soldiers, you have lived until
now in relative peace: but now there is at hand a most
severe battle to be fought, and you must therefore lay
all other things aside and think about dressing
yourselves in armour." And what this armour is, is
shown by his own example, when he prayed afterward in
the garden and reproved Peter for striking with the
sword.
22:4013 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray
that ye enter not into temptation.
(13) Christ has made death acceptable unto us by overcoming for
our sake all the horrors of death, which had the curse of
God accompanying them.
22:4114 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast,
and kneeled down, and prayed,
(14) Prayers are a sure help against the most perilous assaults
of our enemies.
22:44 And being in an n agony he prayed more earnestly: and
his sweat was as it were great o drops of blood falling
down to the ground.
(n) This agony shows that Christ struggled hard and was in
great distress: for Christ struggled hard not only
with the fears of death as other men do (for in this
regard many martyrs might seem more constant then
Christ), but also with the fearful judgment of his
angry Father, which is the most fearful thing in the
world: and this was because he took the burden of all
our sins upon himself.
(o) These do not only show that Christ was true man, but
also other things which the godly have to consider of,
in which the secret of the redemption of all mankind
is contained in the Son of God when he debased himself
to the state of a servant: such things as these no man
can sufficiently declare.
22:4515 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his
disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
(15) Men are utterly sluggish, even in their greatest dangers.
22:4716 And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he
that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before
them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
(16) Christ is willingly betrayed and taken so that by his
obedience he might deliver us who were guilty of betraying
God's glory.
22:4917 When they which were about him saw what would follow,
they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
(17) That zeal which carries us out of the bounds of our
God-given position does not please Christ.
22:5218 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains
of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be
ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
(18) Even the very fear of those who took Christ partly proves
their evil conscience, and partly also that all these
things were done by God's providence.
22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched
forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the
p power of darkness.
(p) The power that was given to darkness to oppress the
light for a time.
22:54 Then took they him, and led [him], and brought him into
the high priest's house. 19 And Peter followed afar off.
(19) We have to behold in Peter an example both of the
fragility of man's nature, and the singular goodness of
God towards his elect.
22:6320 And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote
[him].
(20) Christ bore the shame that was due for our sins.
22:6621 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people
and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and
led him into their council, saying,
(21) Christ is wrongly condemned of blasphemy before the high
priest's judgment seat in order that we might be acquitted
before God from the blasphemy which we deserved.
