Read Luke 22:47-53

JESUS IS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED
A kiss was and still is the traditional greeting among men in certain parts of the world. In this case, it was the agreed upon signal to point out Jesus. It is ironic that a gesture of greeting would be the means of betrayal. It was a hollow gesture because of Judas’ treachery. Have any of your religious practices become empty gestures? You still betray Christ when your acts ofservice or giving are insincere or carried out merely for show.
The religious leaders had not arrested Jesus in the Temple for fear of a riot. Instead, they came secretly at night, under the influence of the power of darkness, Satan himself. Although it looked as if Satan was getting the upper hand, everything was proceeding according to God’s plan. It was time for Jesus to die.

Read Luke 22:47-53

JESUS IS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED
A kiss was and still is the traditional greeting among men in certain parts of the world. In this case, it was the agreed upon signal to point out Jesus. It is ironic that a gesture of greeting would be the means of betrayal. It was a hollow gesture because of Judas’ treachery. Have any of your religious practices become empty gestures? You still betray Christ when your acts ofservice or giving are insincere or carried out merely for show.
The religious leaders had not arrested Jesus in the Temple for fear of a riot. Instead, they came secretly at night, under the influence of the power of darkness, Satan himself. Although it looked as if Satan was getting the upper hand, everything was proceeding according to God’s plan. It was time for Jesus to die.

Read Luke 22:39-46

JESUS AGONIZES IN THE GARDEN
The Mount of Olives was located just to the East of Jerusalem. Jesus went to the southwestern slope to an olive grove called Gethsemane, which means “oil press.”
Jesus asked the disciples to pray that they would not fall into temptation because He knew that He would soon be leaving them. Jesus also knew they would need extra strength to face the temptations ahead. They were about to see Jesus die. Would they still think He was the Messiah? The disciples’ strongest temptation would undoubtedly be to think they had been deceived.
Was Jesus trying to get out of His mission? It is never wrong to express your true feelings to God. Jesus exposed His dread ot the coming trials, but He also reaffirmed His commitment to do what God wanted. The cup He spoke of meant the terrible agony He knew He would endure: the horror of the crucifixion, and worse, the total separation from God that He would have to experience in order to die for the sins of the world.
Jesus was in extreme agony, but He did not give up or give in. He went ahead with the mission for which He had come.
The disciples fell asleep. How tragic it is that many Christians act as if they are sound asleep when it comes to devotion to Christ and service for Him. Don’t be found insensitive to or unprepared for Christ’s work.

Read Luke 22:14-30

THE LAST SUPPER
In the traditional Passover meal, the wine is served four times. Christ spoke the words about His body and His blood when He offered the fourth cup and last cup.
The Passover commemorated Israel’s escape from Egypt when the blood of a lamb painted on their door frames saved their firstborn sons from death. This event foreshadowed Jesus’ work on the cross. As the spotless Lamb of God, His blood would be spilled in order to save His people from the penalty of death brought by sin.
Jesus asked the disciples to eat the broken bread “in remembrance of me.” He wanted them to remember His sacrifice, the basis for forgiveness of sins, and also His friendship, which they could continue to enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit. Although the exact meaning of communion has been strongly debated throughout church history, Christians still take bread and wine in remembrance of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Do not neglect participating in the Lord’s Supper. Let it remind you of what Christ did for you.
In Old Testament times, God agreed to forgive people’s sins if they brought animals for the priests to sacrifice. When this sacrificial system was inaugurated, the agreement between God and His people was sealed with the blood of animals. But animal blood did not in itself remove sin: only God can forgive sin, and animal sacrifice had to be repeated day after day and year after year. Jesus instituted a “new covenant” or agreement with God and His people. Under the new covenant, Jesus would die in the place of sinners. Unlike the blood of animals, His blood (because He is God) would remove the sins of all who put their faith in Him. Jesus’ sacrifice would never have to be repeated; it would be good for all eternity.
The most important event in human history was about to take place, and the disciples were still arguing about their prestige in the kingdom. Looking back, you can see that this was no time to worry about status. But the disciples, wrapped up in their own concerns, did not perceive what Jesus had been trying to tell them about His approaching death and resurrection. What are your major concerns today? Twenty years from now as you look back, will the worries look petty and inappropriate? Get your eyes off yourself and get ready for Christ’s coming into human history for the second time.

Read Luke 22:1-13

PLOTS TO MURDER AND BETRAY JESUS
All Jewish males over the age of 12 were required to go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, which was followed by a seven-day celebration called the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For these festivals, Jews from all over the Roman Empire converged on Jerusalem to celebrate one of the most important events in their history.
Satan’s part in the betrayal of Jesus does not remove any of the responsibility from Judas. Disillusioned because Jesus was talking about dying rather than setting up His kingdom, Judas may have been trying to force Jesus’ hand and make Him use His power to prove He was the Messiah. Or perhaps Judas, not understanding Jesus’ mission, no longer believed that Jesus was God’s chosen one. Whatever Judas thought, Satan assumed that Jesus’ death would end this mission and thwart God’s plan. Like Judas, he did not know that Jesus’ death and resurrection were the most important parts of God’s plan all along.
The Passover meal included the sacrifice of a lamb because of the association with the Jew’s exodus from Egypt. When the Jews were getting ready to leave, God told them to kill a lamb and paint its blood on the door frames of their houses. They then were to prepare the meat for food. Peter and John had to buy and prepare the lamb as well as the unleavened bread, herbs, wine, and other ceremonial food.