Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 22:1-2

"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death; for they feared the people." — Luke 22:1-2 (ASV)

Base fear often drives people to the greatest crimes. Anyone who is not brave enough to master their own spirit, and to follow the dictates of their own conscience, may do, before long, what they can scarcely imagine. Because of the fear of the people, the chief priests and scribes were driven to plot the death of Christ by cunning, and to bring him to his death by the cruel betrayal of Judas, one of his own apostles.