November 16, 2025 // Luke 22:14-34
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Luke 22:14-34
Sermon Title: A Family Meeting at the Table
Sermon Notes:
Life Application:
Defeat Is Not Final
Dave Dravecky amazed the sports world, first by his catastrophe and then by his miraculous recovery. After much struggle and effort, Dave became a star pitcher, who headed the staff of the San Francisco Giants and who looked to lead them to the National League pennant. Then the news came. The muscle in his pitching arm had been invaded by cancer. This would not kill him, but it would end his baseball career. What an unfair way to end a promising career.
Dave did not complain. He told everyone he would come back. He went on a training program unheard of in the exercise rooms of the world. He trained his other muscles to replace the function of his deltoid. He began tossing baseballs. He began throwing baseballs. He began pitching baseballs. Then came the biggest test. He had to convince the team management that he could pitch effectively again. Words could not win that argument. Actions did.
The day came when he ascended the mound in San Francisco. He pitched effectively without a deltoid muscle. Cincinnati batters fought hard against him. He gave up a homer, but in the end Dave Dravecky won again in the major leagues. Justice appeared to be served, but later in Montreal, the bone made brittle by so much treatment gave way and broke. Dave’s pitching days were over. Defeat seemed stronger than victory.
Or did it? Dave testified to the peace he had through the whole experience. Depression did not set in. Through it all, he said, “I learned to trust in God completely.”
This is the story of Luke 22. Satan tried to take charge of Judas, Jesus, Peter, and the other disciples. He succeeded with Judas. He succeeded for a brief moment with Peter. He controlled the Jewish religious leaders, because God had granted him his hour of darkness. But Satan never succeeded with Jesus. Jesus prayed his way through the moments of temptation and the moments of wanting to do his own will rather than the Father’s. He yielded his life to follow the Father’s will even if that meant going through the pain and mockery of an unjust trial and being crucified. Through it all Jesus revealed the glory of God and showed that as the Son of God he would become the judge of the universe.
Jesus’ example stands before you as you face the unfair situations of life. Will you give in, as Judas and even Peter did? Or will you resist the devil, pray your way through temptation, and endure the world’s injustice to testify to God’s goodness?[1]
Digging Deeper:
A. Passover and Unleavened Bread (22:1)
Israel celebrated two consecutive holy festivals to teach their families about God’s great deliverance in the Exodus (Exod. 12–13; 23:15; 34:18; Lev. 23:4–8; Num. 9:1–15; 28:16–25; 33:3; Deut. 16:1–8). Passover was celebrated beginning on the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the month Nisan with the slaughter of the Passover lamb. Blood from the lamb was placed on the doorposts of the house, reminding people how God had protected the Israelites from the passing of the death angel in Egypt. That evening, now 15 Nisan since the new day started at sunset, the family gathered to eat the Passover meal and celebrate the festival, retelling the story of the Exodus. The meal included bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Family members were to be dressed ready to travel, imitating their ancestors’ actions in Egypt as they prepared the feast just before fleeing from Pharaoh.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on 15 Nisan and lasted for a week. During this time no yeast or leaven was allowed in an Israelite home. Pious Jews wanted to celebrate the festivals in Jerusalem, so that the holy city was packed to capacity.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke show that Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples. John’s Gospel appears to picture Jesus as being slaughtered as the Passover lamb along with the slaughter of the other Passover animals. The irony of the entire account is that when Israel celebrated its greatest deliverance, they simultaneously crucified their Savior and Deliverer. They put to death the only one who could bring life.
B. "Satan Entered Judas" (22:3)
Satan “entered” Judas. What does this mean? It means that Satan took advantage of Judas’s wickedness and used him as a tool against Jesus. Judas made himself available to be controlled and manipulated by Satan. It is frightening that a person so close to Jesus was controlled by the enemy. Judas is a warning for all believers to guard their hearts and minds vigorously and not give way to Satan’s schemes and strategies. Peter exhorted believers by saying, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Pet. 5:8–9). We would do well to have a healthy respect for the power and strategies of Satan.
C. Passover Feast (22:7-8)
Also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover celebrated a past deliverance—God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The word Passover indicates deliverance from the tenth plague in Egypt, the death of the firstborn (Lev. 23:4–5). The observance fell in the spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest. Along with Pentecost and Tabernacles, Passover was one of three annual pilgrimage festivals (see Deut. 16:16). Over the centuries, it also came to be an anticipation of God’s coming kingdom.
D. Betrayal (22:21-23)
Jesus’ words of prediction regarding Judas’s betrayal hold more meaning than that of a simple prediction of betrayal. The phrase “who is going to betray me” is an action that is forward-moving in its meaning. The verb betray is present active participle, indicating that the one betraying was “actually engaged in doing it” (Robertson, “Luke,” Word Pictures in the New Testament, 268). We might render this phrase as “him who is in the process of betraying.” The betrayal process had already begun.
E. "Take This Cup from Me" (22:42)
“Cup” is a metaphor for Jesus’ suffering. He voluntarily drank the cup of suffering (Matt. 20:22; 26:39, 42; Mark 10:38; 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 18:11). It is a metaphor here not only for physical death in general, but also for the particular death Jesus would suffer on behalf of mankind. As he contemplated the awful experience awaiting him, his soul drew back from the horror of the essence of sin. In spite of this “cup,” Jesus willingly obeyed God’s will, bearing the sins of all people so that mankind could be saved.[2]
Questions to Consider:
1. What could tempt you to betray or deny Jesus?
2. Describe the meaning of the Lord’s Supper as you observe it in your church. In what ways could you do things differently so that people would be more likely to remember what Jesus did for us?
3. Describe the work of Satan in the arrest and trial of Jesus. How does Satan work in your life and that of your church?
4. Define greatness and show how people today show they are great in God’s kingdom.[3]
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 378–379.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 379–381.
[3] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 384.
Sermon Title: A Family Meeting at the Table
Sermon Notes:
- The Fellowship of the Table (vv.14-20)
- The Fracture at the Table (vv.21-30)
- The Faithfulness Beyond the Table (vv.31-34)
Life Application:
Defeat Is Not Final
Dave Dravecky amazed the sports world, first by his catastrophe and then by his miraculous recovery. After much struggle and effort, Dave became a star pitcher, who headed the staff of the San Francisco Giants and who looked to lead them to the National League pennant. Then the news came. The muscle in his pitching arm had been invaded by cancer. This would not kill him, but it would end his baseball career. What an unfair way to end a promising career.
Dave did not complain. He told everyone he would come back. He went on a training program unheard of in the exercise rooms of the world. He trained his other muscles to replace the function of his deltoid. He began tossing baseballs. He began throwing baseballs. He began pitching baseballs. Then came the biggest test. He had to convince the team management that he could pitch effectively again. Words could not win that argument. Actions did.
The day came when he ascended the mound in San Francisco. He pitched effectively without a deltoid muscle. Cincinnati batters fought hard against him. He gave up a homer, but in the end Dave Dravecky won again in the major leagues. Justice appeared to be served, but later in Montreal, the bone made brittle by so much treatment gave way and broke. Dave’s pitching days were over. Defeat seemed stronger than victory.
Or did it? Dave testified to the peace he had through the whole experience. Depression did not set in. Through it all, he said, “I learned to trust in God completely.”
This is the story of Luke 22. Satan tried to take charge of Judas, Jesus, Peter, and the other disciples. He succeeded with Judas. He succeeded for a brief moment with Peter. He controlled the Jewish religious leaders, because God had granted him his hour of darkness. But Satan never succeeded with Jesus. Jesus prayed his way through the moments of temptation and the moments of wanting to do his own will rather than the Father’s. He yielded his life to follow the Father’s will even if that meant going through the pain and mockery of an unjust trial and being crucified. Through it all Jesus revealed the glory of God and showed that as the Son of God he would become the judge of the universe.
Jesus’ example stands before you as you face the unfair situations of life. Will you give in, as Judas and even Peter did? Or will you resist the devil, pray your way through temptation, and endure the world’s injustice to testify to God’s goodness?[1]
Digging Deeper:
A. Passover and Unleavened Bread (22:1)
Israel celebrated two consecutive holy festivals to teach their families about God’s great deliverance in the Exodus (Exod. 12–13; 23:15; 34:18; Lev. 23:4–8; Num. 9:1–15; 28:16–25; 33:3; Deut. 16:1–8). Passover was celebrated beginning on the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the month Nisan with the slaughter of the Passover lamb. Blood from the lamb was placed on the doorposts of the house, reminding people how God had protected the Israelites from the passing of the death angel in Egypt. That evening, now 15 Nisan since the new day started at sunset, the family gathered to eat the Passover meal and celebrate the festival, retelling the story of the Exodus. The meal included bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Family members were to be dressed ready to travel, imitating their ancestors’ actions in Egypt as they prepared the feast just before fleeing from Pharaoh.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began on 15 Nisan and lasted for a week. During this time no yeast or leaven was allowed in an Israelite home. Pious Jews wanted to celebrate the festivals in Jerusalem, so that the holy city was packed to capacity.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke show that Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples. John’s Gospel appears to picture Jesus as being slaughtered as the Passover lamb along with the slaughter of the other Passover animals. The irony of the entire account is that when Israel celebrated its greatest deliverance, they simultaneously crucified their Savior and Deliverer. They put to death the only one who could bring life.
B. "Satan Entered Judas" (22:3)
Satan “entered” Judas. What does this mean? It means that Satan took advantage of Judas’s wickedness and used him as a tool against Jesus. Judas made himself available to be controlled and manipulated by Satan. It is frightening that a person so close to Jesus was controlled by the enemy. Judas is a warning for all believers to guard their hearts and minds vigorously and not give way to Satan’s schemes and strategies. Peter exhorted believers by saying, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Pet. 5:8–9). We would do well to have a healthy respect for the power and strategies of Satan.
C. Passover Feast (22:7-8)
Also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Passover celebrated a past deliverance—God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The word Passover indicates deliverance from the tenth plague in Egypt, the death of the firstborn (Lev. 23:4–5). The observance fell in the spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest. Along with Pentecost and Tabernacles, Passover was one of three annual pilgrimage festivals (see Deut. 16:16). Over the centuries, it also came to be an anticipation of God’s coming kingdom.
D. Betrayal (22:21-23)
Jesus’ words of prediction regarding Judas’s betrayal hold more meaning than that of a simple prediction of betrayal. The phrase “who is going to betray me” is an action that is forward-moving in its meaning. The verb betray is present active participle, indicating that the one betraying was “actually engaged in doing it” (Robertson, “Luke,” Word Pictures in the New Testament, 268). We might render this phrase as “him who is in the process of betraying.” The betrayal process had already begun.
E. "Take This Cup from Me" (22:42)
“Cup” is a metaphor for Jesus’ suffering. He voluntarily drank the cup of suffering (Matt. 20:22; 26:39, 42; Mark 10:38; 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 18:11). It is a metaphor here not only for physical death in general, but also for the particular death Jesus would suffer on behalf of mankind. As he contemplated the awful experience awaiting him, his soul drew back from the horror of the essence of sin. In spite of this “cup,” Jesus willingly obeyed God’s will, bearing the sins of all people so that mankind could be saved.[2]
Questions to Consider:
1. What could tempt you to betray or deny Jesus?
2. Describe the meaning of the Lord’s Supper as you observe it in your church. In what ways could you do things differently so that people would be more likely to remember what Jesus did for us?
3. Describe the work of Satan in the arrest and trial of Jesus. How does Satan work in your life and that of your church?
4. Define greatness and show how people today show they are great in God’s kingdom.[3]
Prayer Time:
[1] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 378–379.
[2] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 379–381.
[3] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 384.