K  IF  Akz.github.io

chapter 22
1. But the festival of Matzah, known as Pesach, was approaching;
The festival of Matzah, known as Pesach. See Mt 26:2N, Mk 14:1N.

2. and the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers began trying to find some way to get rid of Yeshua, because they were afraid of the people.
3. At this point the Adversary went into Y’hudah from K’riot, who was one of the Twelve.
The Adversary (see Mt 4: IN) went into Y'hudah. God's Adversary can act through people who by their sin and failure to turn to God open themselves to the influence of him and his demons (Ml 4:24N, 12:43-45). From such an entrenched position he can influence people to carry out his will and oppose God's will.

4. He approached the head cohanim and the Temple guard and discussed with them how he might turn Yeshua over to them.
5. They were pleased and offered to pay him money.
6. He agreed and began looking for a good opportunity to betray Yeshua without the people’s knowledge.
7. Then came the day of matzah, on which the Passover lamb had to be killed.
The day of matzah. Not the day on which matzah is first eaten, but the day before Pesach begins, when chametz ("leaven") must be removed from the house. See Mt 26:17N.

On which the Passover lamb had to be killed in the Temple Court. The laws of Passover then mandated slaughtering and eating a lamb to memorialize the lamb slain and consumed by each family the night of the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:3-14). After the Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. and it became impossible to slaughter a lamb there, the custom arose of placing a lamb shankbone on the Seder plate at each family table to recall the sacrifice. Today, some Sephardic traditions allow or even mandate a lamb entree at Passover; but the Ashkenazic custom is to avoid eating lamb, since it cannot be slaughtered at the Temple.

8. Yeshua sent Kefa and Yochanan, instructing them, “Go and prepare our Seder, so we can eat.”
Seder. See Mt 26:17N.

9. They asked him, “Where do you want us to prepare it?”
10. He told them, “As you’re going into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters,
A man carrying a jar of water. An unusual sight, as this was ordinarily women's work.

11. and say to its owner, ‘The Rabbi says to you, “Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the Pesach meal with my talmidim?” ’'
12. He will show you a large room upstairs already furnished; make the preparations there.”
Where I am to celebrate Pesach with my talmidim. A rabbi's follower would consider it an honor to have his rabbi request the use of his home for him and his students to observe Passover.

Furnished, already outfitted with what was needed for the Passover meal.

13. They went and found things just as Yeshua had told them they would be, and they prepared for the Seder.
14. When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table,
Reclined. See Mt 26:20N.

15. and he said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die!
16. For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning in the Kingdom of God.”
Given its full meaning, Greekplerosai, sometimes translated figuratively as "fulfilled"; but see Mt 5:17N. Yeshua at this meal, the "Last Supper," added considerably to the familiar symbolism of Pesach (vv. 17-20&NN). The final and fullest meaning for Pesach will be revealed after the return of Yeshua the Messiah to rule in glory.

17. Then, taking a cup of wine, he made the b’rakhah and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves.
A cup of wine. Luke is the only one of the four writers describing the establishing of the New Covenant (B 'rit Chadashah) who mentions both a cup of wine before the meal (here) and another after (v. 20); compare Mt 26:26-29, Mk 14:22-25, Sha'ul at 1С 11:23-25, and see also Yn 6:51-58, 13:1-20. The Seder requires four cups of wine, two before the meal and two after. Each is identified with one of God's promises in Exodus 6:6-7:

"Therefore say to the children of Israel: '1 am Adonai, and (1) 1 will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt; (2) I will deliver you out of their bondage; (3) I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgments; and (4) I will take you to me for a people, and 1 will be to you a God.'" The cup of this verse must have been the first or second one, since the breaking of bread (v. 19) comes just after the second cup. The third cup is mentioned in v. 20&N.

18. For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the ‘fruit of the vine’ until the Kingdom of God comes.”
Made the frakhah... "fruit of the vine." See Mt 26:27-29N.

19. Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.”
See Mt 26:26N on the breaking of the middle piece of matzah for the aflkoman and how this represents the death of Yeshua the Messiah.

20. He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.
The cup after the meal, the third of the four cups (see v. 17aN), corresponding to Exodus 6:6, "I will redeem you." Thus Yeshua used the "cup of redemption," as the third cup is called, to inaugurate the new covenant, which redeems from the "Egypt'' of bondage to sin all who trust in God and his Messiah. The New Covenant is spoken of in the Tanakh at Jeremiah 31:3O-33(31-34), but Greek kaine diathiki can also be rendered "renewed covenant" (Mt 9:17N). Even though it is "not like" the Covenant through Moshe (Jeremiah 31:31(32)), the New Covenant renews and restores what the Mosaic Covenant promised to the Jewish people. For more see Mt 26:28N, MJ 8:8-13&NN.

Ratified by my blood. Biblical covenants were always ratified by shed blood (Genesis 8:20-9:17, 15:7-21; Exodus 24:3-8).
One of the horrendous manifestations of Christian antisemitism was the infamous "blood libel" against the Jews, in which Jews were accused of murdering a Christian baby in order to use the blood in the Passover service! Many Jewish lives were lost as a result of the inflamed feelings of non-Jews against Jews produced by this patent falsehood. I know of no evidence that blood libel arose because Yeshua gave the Passover wine the significance of blood. On the contrary, it is well known that the laws of kashrut prohibit Jews from drinking blood (this impinges on the New Testament at Yn 6:51-66&N, Ac 15:20&N). See the article, "Blood Libel," in Encyclopedia Judaica, 4:1120-1131.

21. “But look! The person who is betraying me is here at the table with me!
22. The Son of Man is going to his death according to God’s plan, but woe to that man by whom he is being betrayed!”
The Son of Man is going to his death according to Cod's plan, literally, "as it has been determined." See Mt 1:22N on the significance of prophecy fulfillment; Mt 26:24N lists not less than twenty Tanakh passages prophesying that the Messiah would suffer and die for the sins of mankind and be raised from the dead. His death establishes the New Covenant, which itself fulfills a Tanakh prophecy (v. 20&N).

23. They began asking each other which of them could be about to do such a thing.
24. An argument arose among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
25. But Yeshua said to them, “The kings of the Goyim lord it over them; and those in authority over them are given the title, ‘Benefactor.’
26. But not so with you! On the contrary, let the greater among you become like the younger, and one who rules like one who serves.
27. For who is greater? The one reclining at the table? or the one who serves? It’s the one reclining at the table, isn’t it? But I myself am among you like one who serves.
28. “You are the ones who have stayed with me throughout my trials.
29. Just as my Father gave me the right to rule, so I give you an appointment,
30. namely, to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom and to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Isra’el.
Yeshua resolved the argument... as to which of them should be considered the greatest with two points. First, the Kingdom of God functions differently from worldly kingdoms: those who would be great must be not power-seekers but servants (vv. 25-27) like Yeshua himself (v. 27; Mk 10:41-45; Yn 13:4-5, 12-17). Second, those who have been loyal (v. 28) will indeed be rewarded with power (vv. 29-30). Yeshua does not condemn ambition, only its worldly aims and methods.

31. “Shim‘on, Shim‘on, listen! The Adversary demanded to have you people for himself, to sift you like wheat!
To sift you like wheat, to put you through trials as he did Job. In sifting the wheat is shaken as the chaff is separated; Yeshua alludes to future testings for the emissaries. Compare Amos 9:9, which speaks of Israel's being "sifted" by God.

32. But I prayed for you, Shim‘on, that your trust might not fail. And you, once you have turned back in repentance, strengthen your brothers!”
Once you have turned back in repentance, literally, "when you have turned again" or "turned around" or "turned back." KJV's "when thou art converted" speaks to the modem ear of conversion to a religion, perhaps even from Judaism to Christianity (which is, of course, on principle anachronistic in New Testament times, since Christianity as such did not exist then). But in Judaism "turning" (I'shuvah) is not conversion but repentance (see Mt 3:2N). Here it refers to Kefa's returning to unshakable trust after denying Yeshua three times (vv. 34, 54-62). Strengthen your brothers. Compare Yn 21:15-17. Kefa fulfilled this commission gloriously in the early Messianic Community (see Acts 1-15).

33. Shim‘on said to him, “Lord, I am prepared to go with you both to prison and to death!”
34. Yeshua replied, “I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me.”
35. He said to them, “When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered.
36. “But now,” he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your robe to buy one.
37. For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, 'He was counted with transgressors' (Isaiah 53:12), has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose.”
He was counted with the transgressors. Yeshua applies this phrase from Isaiah 53:12 to himself. For more on Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the Tanakh passage that most clearly prophesies the Messiah's first coming, see Ac 8:34N. What is happening to me has a purpose. Or: "what is written about me [in the Tanakh] has its fulfillment."

38. They said, “Look, Lord, there are two swords right here!” “Enough!” he replied.
"Enough!" Yeshua is not inventorying his disciples' arsenal but saying. "You have taken me too literally. I'm not talking about swords. End the conversation! Enough already!"

Henceforth the emissaries will still be protected, but the circumstances will differ. Prudence and practical considerations will play a more important role: wallet, pack and a Roman short sword are to be standard equipment, especially on the road, where highwaymen pose a threat to life itself.

He was counted with the transgressors. Yeshua applies this phrase from Isaiah 53:12 to himself. For more on Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the Tanakh passage that most clearly prophesies the Messiah's first coming, see Ac 8:34N. What is happening to me has a purpose. Or: "what is written about me [in the Tanakh] has its fulfillment."

39. On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives; and the talmidim followed him.
40. When he arrived, he said to them, “Pray that you won’t be put to the test.”
41. He went about a stone’s throw away from them, kneeled down and prayed,
Knelt down and prayed. Except for the 'Aleinu prayer when recited on Rosh-HaShanah and Yom-Kippur. Jews no longer kneel to pray because they regard the custom as alien — to be specific, as Christian. But Christianity adopted it from Judaism! The Tanakh gives many examples of Jews kneeling in prayer (e.g., Psalm 95:6, Daniel 6:11(10), 2 Chronicles 6:13); indeed Hebrew b'rakhah ("blessing") comes from berekh ("knee").

42. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, let not my will but yours be done.”
Not my will but yours. If Yeshua the Messiah and God the Father are one (Yn 10:30), how could their wills ever differ? They can differ because Yeshua, even though "in the form of God,... appeared as a human being" and became "obedient even to death" (Pp 2:6-8). As a human being Yeshua was "in every respect... tempted just as we are, the only difference being that he did not sin" (MJ 4:15). "Even though he was the Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings" (MJ 5:8). It was as a human being, not as God, that he experienced the process of learning to conform his will to his Father's will, since as God, who is omniscient, he did not need to "learn."

As Yeshua prayed in the Gat-Sh 'manim garden on the Mount of Olives, he was exposed to the temptation of not being executed on the stake but letting himself be rescued by "a dozen armies of angels" (Mt 26:53). Nevertheless he subjected himself Co the will of God the Father. Every believer in Yeshua is expected to make his obedience his model, drawing on the power of the Holy Spirit to conform ever more closely to it (2C 3:17-18).

43. There appeared to him an angel from heaven giving him strength,
44. and in great anguish he prayed more intensely, so that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45. On rising from prayer and coming to the talmidim, he found them sleeping because of their grief.
46. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you won’t be put to the test!”
47. While he was still speaking, a crowd of people arrived, with the man called Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) leading them. He came up to Yeshua to kiss him,
48. but Yeshua said to him, “Y’hudah, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49. When his followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we use our swords?”
50. One of them struck at the slave of the cohen hagadol and cut off his right ear.
51. But Yeshua answered, “Just let me do this,” and, touching the man’s ear, he healed him.
Just let me do this. Or (to his talmidim): "Stop! No more of this [resistance|!" Or: "Let them [the officers of the Temple guard] do what they came to do." The Greek is consistent with any of these renderings.

52. Then Yeshua said to the head cohanim, the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come to seize him, “So you came out just as you would to the leader of a rebellion, with swords and clubs?
53. Every day I was there with you in the Temple court, yet you didn’t arrest me. But this is your hour — the hour when darkness rules.”
54. Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the cohen hagadol. Kefa followed at a distance;
This report of Yeshua's arrest is truncated. Further details are found in Yn 18:1-12, Mt 26:47-50; Mk 14:42-52.

55. but when they had lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Kefa joined them.
56. One of the servant girls saw him sitting in the light of the fire, stared at him and said, “This man also was with him.”
57. But he denied it: “Lady, I don’t even know him.”
58. A little later, someone else saw him and said, “You’re one of them too”; but Kefa said, “Man, I am not!”
59. About an hour later, another man asserted emphatically, “There can be no doubt that this fellow was with him, because he too is from the Galil!”
60. But Kefa said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” And instantly, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
61. The Lord turned and looked straight at Kefa; and Kefa remembered what the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
62. And he went outside and cried bitterly.
63. Meanwhile, the men who were holding Yeshua made fun of him. They beat him,
64. blindfolded him, and kept asking him, “Now, ‘prophesy’! Who hit you that time?”
65. And they said many other insulting things to him.
66. At daybreak, the people’s council of elders, including both head cohanim and Torah-teachers, met and led him off to their Sanhedrin,
In this case the people's council of elders seems to refer not to a separate group but to the Sanhedrin members who met to discuss what to do with Yesluu Tin- sanhedrin then refers to the building where they met. See Mt 5:22N. On cohanim and Torah-teachers see Mt 2:4N.

67. where they said, “If you are the Mashiach, tell us.” He answered, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me;
Mashiach, Greek Christos. See Mt 1:1N on "Messiah."

68. and if I ask you, you won’t answer.
69. But from now on, the Son of Man will be sitting at the right hand of HaG’vurah" (Psalm 110:1).
At the right hand... of God. Yeshua applies Psalm 110:1 to himself. Sec Paragraph (7) of MJ 1:2-3N and Mt 22:44N.

70. They all said, “Does this mean, then, that you are the Son of God?” And he answered them, “You say I am.”
See Mk 14:61-62N.
You say I am, literally, "You say," with the same import here as the iikkIiiii Knglish idiom, "You said it!" Yeshua's meaning here is, "Yes, 1 am indeed the Son of God, just as you have asked in your question." That Yeshua's inquirers understood him is clear from their response in v. 71. See also 23:3N.

71. They said, “Why do we need additional testimony? We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!”