Luke 22:21-25
Luke 22:21 (KJB)
But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.
Now Jesus returns to the fact that Judas is about to betray Him. Jesus does not
mention him by name. Judas was with Jesus and the other disciples during the
supper but Jesus tells him to do what he is going to do quickly. (John 13:27
KJV) And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That
thou doest, do quickly. Judas is dispatched before Jesus teaches in the
Upper Room Discourse. Since Judas was an unbeliever, he would not be a partaker
of all the joys which were to follow and that is why he was not allowed to
listen in.
Luke 22:22 (KJB)
And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by
whom he is betrayed!
Jesus now states that his betrayal was already determined but here He is
teaching that even though His betrayal was prophesied, Judas, is still going to
be responsible for his actions in betraying Jesus. (Psa 41:9 KJV) Yea, mine
own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted
up his heel against me. The prophesy of Psalm 41:9 is about to come to
pass. Judas had walked with Jesus for over three years and heard all the
teachings but probably his only reason for staying was that he was able to steal
from the money bag.
Luke 22:23 (KJB)
And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do
this thing.
Then once Jesus had stated that He was going to be betrayed, each one of the
disciples had begun to inquire if they were the one who was going to betray Him.
Some may have even thought that they might accidentally betray Jesus so they
wanted to know.
Luke 22:24 (KJB)
And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the
greatest.
The disciples went from wondering who was going to betray Jesus to wondering who
was the greatest among them. It seems from the type of discussion, the disciples
were still looking for an earthly kingdom and that may have prompted them to ask
the question about who should be the greatest one. Previous to this Peter was
called a rock and then he, John and James were taken up to the Mount of
Transfiguration and this may have added to the desire to know who is the
greatest. The word in the Greek for “greatest” carries with it the idea of
“being great by comparison.” They were looking at some kind of rating as to who
would be the best disciple thus making him the greatest.
Luke 22:25 (KJB)
And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them;
and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
Seeing that there was almost a “denominational split” among the disciples, Jesus
then gathers to Himself for a better explanation, especially how not to mimic
the world and its powerbrokers. Jesus then brings up the kings of the Gentiles.
The would represent the government. Those in government exercise great dominion
over the people. When they pass laws or when they make a proclamation of some
kind, they expect absolute obedience or there would be consequences for those
who disobey. Then there are those who are great which could represent the
wealthy class of citizens. Today we would call them a plutocracy. We see this
played out today in groups of wealthy people such as the Trilateral Commission
or the Bilderbergers. These two groups plan world policy and then force the
government to obey them by putting their plans into action. While they hold no
government office, their wealth buys them influence with the government
resulting in holding great authority over the people. It is the Bilderbergers
who set the gas prices. The more you spend on gas, the less there is for you.