Luke 22:1-23
New Catholic Bible
The Passion and Resurrection[a]
Chapter 22
The Conspiracy against Jesus.[b] 1 Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, known as the Passover, was drawing near, 2 and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for some way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.
Judas Betrays Jesus.[c] 3 Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. 4 And he went to the chief priests and temple guards to discuss how he might betray Jesus to them 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He accepted their offer and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.
The Last Supper[d]
The Preparations for the Passover.[e] When the day of the feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed, 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make the preparations for us to eat the Passover.” 9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make the preparations?”10 He replied, “When you enter the city, a man will meet you carrying a jug of water. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says this to you: “Where is the room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ 12 Then he will show you a large upper room that is furnished. Make the preparations there.” 13 They went forth and found everything just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
14 The Last Supper.[f] When the hour came, Jesus took his place at table along with the apostles. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you that from this moment on I shall never eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from this moment I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 Jesus Gives His Body and His Blood.[g] Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you. Do this in memory of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be poured out for you.
21 The Betrayer Foretold.[h]“But behold, the hand of the one who will betray me is here with me on the table. 22 The Son of Man goes on his appointed path, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.” 23 Then they began to question among themselves as to which one of them might do this.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 22:1 The salvation of human beings is accomplished in a unique event: Christ’s Death and Resurrection. This is the Paschal mystery. The account that follows is fashioned by this principal testimony; hence it must be read as a unified whole. From the beginnings of the Church, this is the Gospel, the essence of the Christian announcement.
- Luke 22:1 Before the episodes of the Passion unfold, the plot thickens with the adversaries of Jesus. The leaders of the people take the initiative in the plot, and the traitor serves them as an instrument, but it is the spirit of evil who initiates the last combat.
- Luke 22:3 See note on Mt 26:14-16.
- Luke 22:7 Now we see the initiative of Jesus, which appears so clearly in this last supper. The account is an integral part of the Passion, i.e., the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, for the Church that announces the Gospel of Christ the Savior is also the Christian community that celebrates the Eucharist, the memorial of salvation. Jesus enters the decisive event; this last act is, as it were, the summary of his every act and word: sharing, offering, gift, presence, and covenant of God in the midst of his followers.
7
Luke has placed actions and words of Jesus here that the other evangelists report in other contexts. This is so the community can meditate on them each time it assembles to break the bread of the Lord. He thus leaves us a liturgical rule (the text of the Eucharistic institution) and, connected with it, communitary and missionary directives. - Luke 22:7 Jesus takes the initiative, freely and fully, for this last Passover of the old covenant, this repast that inaugurates a new covenant.
- Luke 22:14 For the Jews, the Passover is the memorial of the liberation of the people (see Ex 12); for Jesus, it prefigures the Messianic Banquet in which all human beings are reunited in the presence of God. All his hope for happiness becomes a promise for believers.
- Luke 22:19 In a prophetic gesture Jesus proclaims and establishes the new covenant between God and humanity (see Ex 24:8; Jer 31:31), which he is preparing to seal by his freely accepted sacrifice. In this action, by changing the bread and wine into his body and blood (see 1 Cor 10:6; 11:23-27), he institutes the Eucharist, which calls to mind and renders present to the gathered community his act of love for humanity (see Acts 2:42, 46). Along with Paul, Luke has preserved for us what is perhaps one of the earliest texts of the first Christian Eucharists.
- Luke 22:21 The announcement of Judas’s plan stresses the initiative of Jesus, who does not deviate from his sacrifice. Celebrating the Eucharist, believers and the leaders of the community must question themselves concerning their loyalty toward the Lord.
