31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift [you] as wheat; 32 but I have besought for thee that thy faith fail not; and thou, when once thou hast been restored, confirm thy brethren. 33 And he said to him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, [the] cock shall not crow to-day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
35 And he said to them, When I sent you without purse and scrip and sandals, did ye lack anything? And they said, Nothing. 36 He said therefore to them, But now he that has a purse let him take [it], in like manner also a scrip, and he that has none let him sell his garment and buy a sword; 37 for I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned with [the] lawless: for also the things concerning me have an end. 38 And they said, Lord, behold here are two swords. And he said to them, It is enough.
39 And going forth he went according to his custom to the mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place he said to them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and having knelt down he prayed, 42 saying, Father, if thou wilt remove this cup from me:—but then, not my will, but thine be done. 43 And an angel appeared to him from heaven strengthening him. 44 And being in conflict he prayed more intently. And his sweat became as great drops of blood, falling down upon the earth. 45 And rising up from his prayer, coming to the disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. 46 And he said to them, Why sleep ye? rise up and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
47 As he was yet speaking, behold, a crowd, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went on before them, and drew near to Jesus to kiss him. 48 And Jesus said to him, Judas, deliverest thou up the Son of man with a kiss? 49 And they who were around him, seeing what was going to follow, said [to him], Lord, shall we smite with [the] sword? 50 And a certain one from among them smote the bondman of the high priest and took off his right ear. 51 And Jesus answering said, Suffer thus far; and having touched his ear, he healed him. 52 And Jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who were come against him, Have ye come out as against a robber with swords and sticks? 53 When I was day by day with you in the temple ye did not stretch out your hands against me; but this is your hour and the power of darkness.
54 And having laid hold on him, they led him [away], and they led [him] into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed afar off. 55 And they having lit a fire in the midst of the court and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain maid, having seen him sitting by the light, and having fixed her eyes upon him, said, And this [man] was with him. 57 But he denied [him], saying, Woman, I do not know him. 58 And after a short time another seeing him said, And thou art of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 And after the lapse of about one hour another stoutly maintained it, saying, In truth this [man] also was with him, for also he is a Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he was yet speaking, [the] cock crew. 61 And the Lord, turning round, looked at Peter; and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, Before [the] cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice. 62 And Peter, going forth without, wept bitterly.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 22:31-62
Commentary on Luke 22:21-38
(Read Luke 22:21-38)
How unbecoming is the worldly ambition of being the greatest, to the character of a follower of Jesus, who took upon him the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the death of the cross! In the way to eternal happiness, we must expect to be assaulted and sifted by Satan. If he cannot destroy, he will try to disgrace or distress us. Nothing more certainly forebodes a fall, in a professed follower of Christ, than self-confidence, with disregard to warnings, and contempt of danger. Unless we watch and pray always, we may be drawn in the course of the day into those sins which we were in the morning most resolved against. If believers were left to themselves, they would fall; but they are kept by the power of God, and the prayer of Christ. Our Lord gave notice of a very great change of circumstances now approaching. The disciples must not expect that their friends would be kind to them as they had been. Therefore, he that has a purse, let him take it, for he may need it. They must now expect that their enemies would be more fierce than they had been, and they would need weapons. At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spake only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.
Commentary on Luke 22:39-46
(Read Luke 22:39-46)
Every description which the evangelists give of the state of mind in which our Lord entered upon this conflict, proves the tremendous nature of the assault, and the perfect foreknowledge of its terrors possessed by the meek and lowly Jesus. Here are three things not in the other evangelists. 1. When Christ was in his agony, there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. It was a part of his humiliation that he was thus strengthened by a ministering spirit. 2. Being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. Prayer, though never out of season, is in a special manner seasonable when we are in an agony. 3. In this agony his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down. This showed the travail of his soul. We should pray also to be enabled to resist unto the shedding of our blood, striving against sin, if ever called to it. When next you dwell in imagination upon the delights of some favourite sin, think of its effects as you behold them here! See its fearful effects in the garden of Gethsemane, and desire, by the help of God, deeply to hate and to forsake that enemy, to ransom sinners from whom the Redeemer prayed, agonized, and bled.
Commentary on Luke 22:47-53
(Read Luke 22:47-53)
Nothing can be a greater affront or grief to the Lord Jesus, than to be betrayed by those who profess to be his followers, and say that they love him. Many instances there are, of Christ's being betrayed by those who, under the form of godliness, fight against the power of it. Jesus here gave an illustrious example of his own rule of doing good to those that hate us, as afterwards he did of praying for those that despitefully use us. Corrupt nature warps our conduct to extremes; we should seek for the Lord's direction before we act in difficult circumstances. Christ was willing to wait for his triumphs till his warfare was accomplished, and we must be so too. But the hour and the power of darkness were short, and such the triumphs of the wicked always will be.
Commentary on Luke 22:54-62
(Read Luke 22:54-62)
Peter's fall was his denying that he knew Christ, and was his disciple; disowning him because of distress and danger. He that has once told a lie, is strongly tempted to persist: the beginning of that sin, like strife, is as the letting forth of water. The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. 1. It was a convincing look. Jesus turned and looked upon him, as if he should say, Dost thou not know me, Peter? 2. It was a chiding look. Let us think with what a rebuking countenance Christ may justly look upon us when we have sinned. 3. It was an expostulating look. Thou who wast the most forward to confess me to be the Son of God, and didst solemnly promise thou wouldest never disown me! 4. It was a compassionate look. Peter, how art thou fallen and undone if I do not help thee! 5. It was a directing look, to go and bethink himself. 6. It was a significant look; it signified the conveying of grace to Peter's heart, to enable him to repent. The grace of God works in and by the word of God, brings that to mind, and sets that home upon the conscience, and so gives the soul the happy turn. Christ looked upon the chief priests, and made no impression upon them as he did on Peter. It was not the mere look from Christ, but the Divine grace with it, that restored Peter.