The Passion according to Luke
Conspiracy: Lk 22,1-6
Verse 1 sets the scene with the announcement of the coming festival. As the OT quotes indicate, the people of Israel had long combinded an agricultural feast when the ate unleavened bread with a historical feast remembering the Passover and exodus from Egypt. That Luke speaks of the Passover five times up to verse 15 shows the importance of this feast for him as the setting for the Last Supper.
The description of the Passover meal given in Exodus chapter 12 reads more like liturgical instructions than a historical account. The meal is to be celebrated in remembrance of what the Lord has done (Ex 12,14). We will take this further when we come to 22,19. Luke's theme is that the new Passover, Jesus' Passion, takes places at the same time as the Jewish Passover. The original Passover failed to delivered true freedom but the new one will achieve that definitively. Hence Luke's stress on the Passover setting for this meal of Jesus with his disciples
Verse 2 picks up from 21,38 by stressing the leaders fear of the crowd. At the end of chapter 21, verses 37-38 form a conclusion to Jesus' ministry which is unique to Luke as we have seen. The eagerness of the crowd to listen to Jesus sets the scene for the conspiracy of their leaders and for the whole passion. Hence the reference in verse 6 to the absence of a crowd.
Following his testing of Jesus after his baptism, the devil left him until the opportune time (4,13). Now the devil as Satan reappears. Judas is described both here and in 22,47 as one of the twelve. Judas Iscariot is already called a traitor when he is numbered among the twelve (6,16). Luke tells of the consequences of his actions at the beginning of Acts (1,15-20).
At this point, it is the Jewish authorities who are involved, the chief priests and the Temple police. This is their opportunity given their concerns about the reaction of the crowd (19,47). The last appearance of the Pharisees was the entry to Jerusalem (19,39). We will see these authorities again in the garden (22,52). Luke is clearly making them and not the people responsible for the execution of Jesus.
Judas' proposal is literally "hand him over" but is often translated "betray". "Handed over" is the word frequently used for the fate of Jesus, 18,32 is a good example
In verse 5, we hear of the delight of the chief priests and their agreement to give Judas money.
In verse 6 Judas accepts their offer and seeks his opportunity. 12,15 highlights money and greed. Once again, there is the importance of the absence of the crowd.
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Preparing the meal: Lk 22,7-13
Luke like Mark stresses that the Passover meal took place on the day the lamb was sacrificed, possibly to show the connection between the Eucharist and the Passover. John stresses that Jesus was crucified at the same time as the lambs were sacrificed (Jn 19,14). The differences between the Gospels are to be seen as theological not chronological.
In verse 10, we see Jesus taking the initiative, unlike Mark 14,2. As for the insturctions, men don't normally carry water pots. That's woman's work. With the note that everything happened as he predicted in verse 13, we see Jesus the prophet making accurate predictions. See also 19,32.
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