Church Fathers Commentary Luke 22

St. John Chrysostom: The actions of the Jews were a shadow of our own. Accordingly, if you ask a Jew about the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, he will tell you nothing momentous, mentioning only the deliverance from Egypt. But if you ask me, you will hear not of Egypt or Pharaoh, but of freedom from sin and the darkness of Satan—a deliverance not by Moses, but by the Son of God.

Glossa Ordinaria: As the Evangelist is about to relate Christ's Passion, he introduces its foreshadowing, saying, Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

The Venerable Bede: The Passover, which is called “Phase” in Hebrew, is not named for the Passion, but for the “passing over,” because the destroying angel, seeing the blood on the doors of the Israelites, passed over them and did not touch their firstborn. Alternatively, it refers to the Lord Himself passing over His people to give them aid.

The difference between the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread is this: the Passover refers only to the day the lamb was slain toward evening—the fourteenth day of the first month. The feast of unleavened bread, however, followed on the fifteenth day when the Israelites left Egypt and lasted for seven days, until the twenty-first of the same month. For this reason, the Gospel writers often use the terms interchangeably, as it is said here, The day of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover.

But this signifies a mystery: that Christ, having suffered once for us, has commanded us throughout the entire age of this world—symbolized by seven days—to live in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

St. John Chrysostom: The Chief Priests set about their impious deed on the feast, as the Scripture says, And the Chief Priests and Scribes, etc. Moses ordained only one priest, at whose death another was to be appointed. But at that time, as Jewish customs had begun to decay, many priests were appointed every year. In their desire to kill Jesus, they were not afraid of God, nor did they fear that the holy season would aggravate the pollution of their sin; instead, they feared the people. Hence it follows, For they feared the people.

The Venerable Bede: They did not fear an uprising, but rather that the people would interfere and rescue Jesus from their hands. Matthew reports that these events took place two days before the Passover, when they were assembled in the judgment hall of Caiaphas.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Having already said that the Chief Priests sought a way to put Jesus to death without incurring any danger, he next relates the means that presented itself to them, as the text says, Then entered Satan into Judas.

Titus of Bostra: Satan entered into Judas not by force, but by finding the door open. For, forgetful of all he had seen, Judas now turned his thoughts solely to covetousness.

St. John Chrysostom: St. Luke gives his surname because there was another Judas.

Titus of Bostra: And he adds, one of the twelve, since he completed the number, though he did not truly fulfill the apostolic office. Or the Evangelist adds this, as it were, for the sake of contrast, as if to say, “He was part of the first group of those who were especially chosen.”

The Venerable Bede: There is nothing contrary to this in what John says, that after the sop Satan entered into Judas. For he now entered him as a stranger, but then as one who belonged to him, whom he could lead to do whatever he willed.

St. John Chrysostom: Observe the extreme wickedness of Judas, that he sets out by himself and does this for gain. It follows, And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The magistrates mentioned here were those appointed to take care of the temple buildings. It may be they were also those whom the Romans had placed over the people to keep them from breaking out into riots, for the people were seditious.

St. John Chrysostom: It was through covetousness, then, that Judas became what he was, for it follows, And they covenanted to give him money. Such are the evil passions that covetousness produces; it makes people irreligious and compels them to lose all knowledge of God, though they have received a thousand benefits from Him—indeed, even to injure Him, as it follows when he made his agreement with them.

Theophylact of Ohrid: That is, he bargained and promised. And sought opportunity to betray him to them, without the crowds; that is, when he saw Jesus standing by Himself, apart from the multitude.

The Venerable Bede: Many people shudder at the wickedness of Judas, yet do not guard against it. For whoever despises the laws of truth and love betrays Christ, who is truth and love. This is especially true when a person sins not from weakness or ignorance but, in the likeness of Judas, seeks an opportunity when no one is present to exchange truth for a lie and virtue for a crime.

Titus of Bostra: Our Lord, in order to leave us a heavenly Passover, ate a typical one, removing the figure so that the truth might take its place.

The Venerable Bede: By the day of unleavened bread of the Passover, He means the fourteenth day of the first month, the day on which, after putting away the leaven, they were accustomed to hold the Passover—that is, to sacrifice the lamb—toward evening.

Eusebius of Caesarea: But should anyone say, "If the disciples of our Savior prepared the Passover on the first day of unleavened bread, then should we also celebrate the Passover on that day?" we answer that this was not a command, but a history of the event. It is what took place at the time of the saving Passion, but it is one thing to relate past events and another to sanction them and leave them as an ordinance for posterity.

Moreover, the Savior did not keep His Passover with the Jews at the time that they sacrificed the lamb, for they did this on the day of Preparation, when our Lord suffered. Therefore, they did not enter Pilate's hall, so that they might not be defiled but could eat the Passover. For from the time they conspired against the truth, they drove the Word of truth far from them.

Nor on the first day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover ought to have been sacrificed, did they eat their accustomed Passover, for they were intent on something else. Instead, they ate it on the following day, which was the second day of unleavened bread. Our Lord, however, kept the Passover with His disciples on the first day of unleavened bread—that is, on the fifth day of the week.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now on that same fifth day, He sends two of His disciples to prepare the Passover: namely, Peter and John—the one as loving, the other as loved. In all things, He showed that even to the end of His life He did not oppose the law. He sends them to a stranger's house, for He and His disciples had no house; otherwise, He would have kept the Passover in one of their own. So it is added, they said, "Where do you want us to prepare?"

The Venerable Bede: It is as if to say, "We have no home; we have no place of shelter." Let those who are preoccupied with building houses hear this. Let them know that Christ, the Lord of all places, had nowhere to lay His head.

St. John Chrysostom: But as they did not know to whom they were sent, He gave them a sign, just as Samuel gave one to Saul. As it follows, He told them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he enters."

St. Ambrose of Milan: First, observe the greatness of His divine power: He is talking with His disciples, yet knows what will happen in another place. Next, behold His condescension, in that He does not choose the person of the rich or powerful, but seeks after the poor and prefers a humble lodging to the spacious palaces of nobles. Now the Lord was not unaware of the name of the man whose mystery He knew, and that he would meet the disciples; but he is mentioned without a name, so that he might be counted as lowly.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He sends them to an unknown man for this reason: to show them that He underwent His Passion voluntarily. For He who could so sway the mind of a stranger to receive them was also able to deal with the Jews just as He wished. Others say that He did not give the man's name so that the traitor, upon learning it, would not reveal the house to the Pharisees. Otherwise, they might have come and taken Him before the supper was eaten and before He had delivered the spiritual mysteries to His disciples.

Instead, He directs them by specific signs to a certain house, which is why it says they should say to the master of the house, "The Master says, 'Where is the guest room...?'" and that "he will show you a large upper room..."

Glossa Ordinaria: Perceiving these signs, the disciples zealously fulfilled all that had been commanded them, as it follows: And they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

The Venerable Bede: To explain this Passover, the Apostle says, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." This Passover, in truth, had to be slain there, as it was so ordained by the Father’s counsel and determination. And thus, although He was crucified on the next day, that is, the fifteenth day of the month, it was on this night on which the lamb was slain by the Jews that, being seized and bound, He consecrated the beginning of His sacrifice—that is, of His Passion.

Theophylact of Ohrid: By the day of unleavened bread, we must understand the way of life that is wholly in the light of the Spirit, having lost all trace of the old corruption of Adam’s first transgression. And living in this way, it is fitting for us to rejoice in the mysteries of Christ. Now Peter and John prepare these mysteries—that is, action and contemplation, fervent zeal and peaceful meekness. A certain man meets these preparers because in these things lies the condition of humanity, which was created in the image of God. And he carries a pitcher of water, which signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the pitcher is humility of heart, for God gives grace to the humble, who know themselves to be but earth and dust.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Or, the pitcher is a more perfect measure, but the water is that which was considered fitting to be a sacrament of Christ: to wash, not to be washed.

The Venerable Bede: They prepare the Passover in that house to where the pitcher of water is carried, for the time is near when, for the keepers of the true Passover, the typical blood is taken away from the lintel, and the baptism of the life-giving fountain is consecrated to take away sin.

Origen of Alexandria: But I think that the man who meets the disciples as they enter the city, carrying a pitcher of water, was some servant of a master of a house, carrying water in an earthen vessel either for washing or for drinking. And this, I think, is Moses conveying spiritual doctrine in literal histories. But those who do not follow him do not celebrate the Passover with Jesus. Let us then ascend with the Lord united to us to the upper room, which is the guest chamber. This room is shown by the understanding—that is, by the master of the house—to every one of Christ's disciples. But this upper room of our house must be large enough to receive Jesus the Word of God, who is comprehended only by those who are greater in comprehension. And this chamber must be made ready by the master of the house (that is, the understanding) for the Son of God, and it must be cleaned, completely cleansed of the filth of malice. The master of the house also must not be any common person with a known name. Hence, He says mystically in Matthew, "Go to such a one."

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now, in the upper room he has a large furnished room, so that you may consider how great were the merits of the one in whom the Lord could sit down with His disciples, rejoicing in his exalted virtues.

Origen of Alexandria: But we should know that those who are consumed by banquets and worldly cares do not ascend into that upper part of the house, and therefore do not keep the Passover with Jesus. For after the words of the disciples with which they questioned the master of the house (that is, the understanding), the Divine Person came into that house to feast there with His disciples.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: As soon as the disciples had prepared the Passover, they proceeded to eat it. As it says, And when the hour was come...

The Venerable Bede: By the hour of eating the Passover, He signifies the fourteenth day of the first month, late in the evening, with the fifteenth moon just appearing on the earth.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But how is our Lord said to sit down, whereas the Jews eat the Passover standing? They say that after they had eaten the Passover according to the Law, they sat down, following their usual custom, to eat the rest of their meal.

It follows, And he said to them, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you...

St. Cyril of Alexandria: He says this because the covetous disciple was looking for an opportunity to betray Him. But so that he would not betray Him before the Passover feast, our Lord had not revealed either the house or the man with whom He would keep the Passover. That this was the reason is very evident from these words.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or He says, With desire have I desired, as if to say, "This is My last supper with you; therefore, it is most precious and welcome to Me," just as those who are going far away speak their last words to their friends most affectionately.

St. John Chrysostom: Or He says this because after that Passover, the Cross was near. We find Him frequently prophesying about His own Passion and desiring for it to happen.

The Venerable Bede: He first, then, desires to eat the symbolic Passover, and in doing so, declare the mysteries of His Passion to the world.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Alternatively, when our Lord was celebrating the new Passover, He rightly said, With desire have I desired this Passover—that is, the new mystery of the New Testament which He gave to His disciples, and which many prophets and righteous men desired before Him. Then He, thirsting for the salvation of all, delivered this mystery to be sufficient for the whole world. But the Passover was ordained by Moses to be celebrated in one place, that is, in Jerusalem. Therefore, it was not suited for the whole world and so was not desired.

St. Epiphanius of Salamis: By this we can refute the folly of the Ebionites concerning the eating of meat, since our Lord eats the Jewish Passover. Therefore, He pointedly said, “This Passover,” so that no one could interpret it to mean something else.

The Venerable Bede: Thus, then, our Lord was the approver of the Passover according to the Law. And as He taught that it was a figure of His own redemptive plan, He henceforth forbids it to be represented in a physical way. Therefore He adds, For I say to you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

That is, "I will no longer celebrate the Mosaic Passover until, being spiritually understood, it is fulfilled in the Church." For the Church is the kingdom of God, as it says in Luke, The kingdom of God is within you.

Again, the ancient Passover, which He desired to bring to an end, is also alluded to in the words that follow: And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this... He gave thanks for this: that the old things were about to pass away and all things were to become new.

St. John Chrysostom: Remember, then, when you sit down to a meal that you must pray afterward. Therefore, satisfy your hunger, but with moderation, so that you are not so overfilled that you cannot bend your knees in supplication and prayer to God. Let us not, then, turn to sleep after our meals, but to prayer.

For Christ plainly indicates this: that eating should not be followed by sleep or rest, but by prayer and the reading of holy Scripture. It follows, For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God come.

The Venerable Bede: This may also be taken literally, for from the hour of the supper until the time of the resurrection, He would drink no wine. Afterward, He partook of both food and drink, as Peter testifies, Who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The resurrection is called the kingdom of God because it has destroyed death. Therefore David also says, The Lord reigns; He has put on beauty—that is, a beautiful robe, having put off the corruption of the flesh. But when the resurrection comes, He again drinks with His disciples to prove that the resurrection was not merely a shadow.

The Venerable Bede: But it is far more natural that, just as He spoke before of the symbolic lamb, so now also of the Passover drink, He should say that He would no longer taste it until the glory of the kingdom of God is made manifest and the faith of the whole world appears. This was so that, by means of the spiritual transformation of the two greatest commands of the Law—namely, the eating and drinking of the Passover—you might learn that all the sacraments of the Law were to be transferred to a spiritual observance.

The Venerable Bede: Having finished the rites of the old Passover, He moves on to the new, which He desires the Church to celebrate in memory of His redemption. He substitutes the Sacrament of His own Flesh and Blood, in the figure of bread and wine, for the flesh and blood of the lamb, being made a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Therefore, it is said, And he took bread, and gave thanks, just as He had also given thanks after finishing the old feast, leaving us an example to glorify God at the beginning and end of every good work. It follows, And broke it. He Himself breaks the bread which He holds out to show that the breaking of His Body—that is, His Passion—will not be without His will. And He gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you.

Gregory of Nyssa: For the bread before the consecration is common bread, but when the mystery has consecrated it, it is, and it is called, the Body of Christ.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Do not doubt that this is true, for He plainly says, This is my body; but rather, receive the words of your Savior in faith. For since He is the Truth, He does not lie.

Those, then, who say that the mystical blessing loses its power to sanctify if any remains are left until the following day are raving foolishly. For the most holy Body of Christ will not be changed, but the power of blessing and the life-giving grace are ever-abiding in it.

For the life-giving power of God the Father is the only-begotten Word, who was made flesh without ceasing to be the Word, but making that flesh life-giving. What then? Since we have in us the life of God—the Word of God dwelling in us—will our body also be life-giving? But it is one thing for us, by the habit of participation, to have the Son of God in ourselves; it is another for Him to have been made flesh—that is, to have made His own the body which He took from the pure Virgin.

He must, then, necessarily be united in a certain manner to our bodies by His holy Body and precious Blood, which we have received as a life-giving blessing in the bread and wine. For so that we would not be shocked at seeing Flesh and Blood placed on the holy altars, God, in compassion for our weaknesses, pours the power of life into the offerings, changing them into the reality of His own flesh, so that the body of life may be found in us as a kind of life-giving seed. He adds, Do this in commemoration of me.

St. John Chrysostom: Christ did this to bring us into a closer bond of friendship and to show His love toward us, giving Himself to those who desire Him—not only to behold Him, but also to handle Him, to eat Him, and to embrace Him with the fullness of their whole heart. Therefore, we depart from that table like lions breathing fire, made terrifying to the devil.

St. Basil the Great: Learn, then, how you ought to eat the Body of Christ: namely, in remembrance of Christ’s obedience, even to death, so that those who live may no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now Luke mentions two cups. Of the one we spoke of above, Take this, and divide it among yourselves, we may say is a type of the Old Testament. But the other cup, after the breaking and giving of the bread, He Himself imparts to His disciples. Therefore, it is added, Likewise also the cup after supper.

The Venerable Bede: “He gave it to them” is understood here to complete the sentence.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, it is because Luke mentions the cup twice: first before Christ gave the bread, and then after He had given it. On the first occasion, Luke has anticipated the event, as he frequently does. On the second occasion, which he places in its natural order, he was describing what he had not mentioned in detail before. But both accounts, when joined together, make the same sense that we find in the others, that is, Matthew and Mark.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Our Lord calls the cup the New Testament, as it follows: This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you. This signifies that the New Testament has its beginning in His blood. For in the Old Testament, the blood of animals was present when the law was given, but now the blood of the Word of God signifies the New Testament to us.

When He says, for you, He does not mean that His Body was given and His Blood poured out only for the Apostles, but for all humankind. The old Passover was ordained to remove the slavery of Egypt, and the blood of the lamb to protect the first-born. The new Passover, however, was ordained for the remission of sins, and the Blood of Christ to preserve those who are dedicated to God.

St. John Chrysostom: For this Blood molds a royal image in us; it does not allow the nobility of our soul to waste away. Moreover, it refreshes the soul and inspires it with great virtue. This Blood puts devils to flight, summons angels, and the Lord of angels. This Blood, poured forth, washed the world and opened heaven.

Those who partake of it are built up with heavenly virtues and arrayed in the royal robes of Christ—or rather, are clothed by the King Himself. And since if you approach in purity, you do so for your health, so if you approach polluted by an evil conscience, you do so for your own destruction, pain, and torment. For if those who defile the imperial purple are struck with the same punishment as those who tear it apart, it is not unreasonable that those who receive Christ with an unclean heart should be beaten with the same stripes as those who pierced Him with nails.

The Venerable Bede: Because bread strengthens and wine produces blood in the flesh, the former is ascribed to the Body of Christ and the latter to His Blood. But because we ought to abide in Christ and Christ in us, the wine of the Lord’s cup is mixed with water, for John bears witness, The peoples are many waters.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But first the bread is given, and next the cup. For in spiritual things, labor and action come first—that is, the bread—not only because it is toiled for by the sweat of the brow, but also because even while being eaten, it is not easy to swallow. Then, after labor, follows the rejoicing of divine grace, which is the cup.

The Venerable Bede: For this reason, then, the Apostles received communion after supper, because it was necessary that the typological Passover should first be completed, and then they should move on to the Sacrament of the true Passover. But now, in honor of so great a Sacrament, the leaders of the Church think it right that we should first be refreshed with the spiritual banquet and afterward with the earthly one.

Greek Expositors: The one who receives communion receives the whole Body and Blood of our Lord, even though he receives only a part of the Mysteries. For as one seal imparts its whole design to different substances and yet remains complete after being distributed, and as one word penetrates the hearing of many, so there is no doubt that the Body and Blood of our Lord is received whole by all. The breaking of the sacred bread, however, signifies the Passion.