Luke 22 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

At the close of his ministry here on earth Jesus shares with his disciples a number of minute details in advance of his suffering and crucifixion. Already he has warned his disciples three times that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and to be delivered over to the religious leaders that they might condemn him to death, then delivered over to the Gentiles to be mocked, flogged and crucified before rising again on the third day. And these are not generic images in the mind of Christ; it sounds as if he knows every single word and every single action well in advance.

Notice, for instance, that when Jesus sends Peter and John into town in order to prepare the Passover for the disciples he knows every little detail of their journey before they take it. He tells them that when they enter the city a man carrying a jar of water will meet them and that they are to follow him into the house and ask the master of the house about his guest room for the teacher to eat the Passover with his disciples. And there they will find a large furnished upper room for this purpose. And they went and found it just as he had told them.

Of course, it possible that Jesus already spoke with the master of the house in advance, but that is not the way Luke intends for us to understand this encounter. If we compare this passage to the similar accounts in the books of Matthew and Mark we find that in Matthew 26:18 the disciples are to tell the master of the house that Jesus “will keep the Passover at your house,” as if this is information that he did not already know, although he did know Jesus himself. Similarly, in Mark 14:14 the disciples are told to follow this servant “wherever he enters,” suggesting, once again, that this was not an already agreed upon location.
This may not seem like a big deal in light of what we know of Christ’s divinity; nevertheless, it tells us a little more about Christ’s suffering than just the physical agony itself. He could see what was coming around every corner. He already knew the words that would be spoken exactly; he already anticipated each act of cruelty displayed by men and each moment of despair in being forsaken by God. He already had seen Judas betraying him, Peter denying him and his disciples abandoning him. He already heard the soldiers mocking him, the council condemning him and the crowds jeering him. He already felt the crown of thorns, the cat o’ nine tails and the nails in the cross. And yet he looked forward to going to Jerusalem anyway.

This tells me that God also knows every detail of our sufferings in advance, every evil thought, word and deed carried out against us and yet he is determined to move forward with it anyway. Thankfully, we don’t know these details in advance for they would surely immobilize us with fear, but they are fully known by the God of all wisdom and ordered for a very specific purpose for our sanctification. Likewise, the Lord also has ordered every aspect of our deliverance in advance just as he did with the details of the cross and of the resurrection, so that we can commit our lives and our spirits into his hands. For the Lord not only knows the sufferings that we will undergo just around the corner, he has also ordered the very salve of our comfort that follows and all the ways in which that comfort will be used to comfort others in our future.