30: The Hour of Darkness (Lk 22:47-23:56)

I.       The Basics

A.     Setting

The Lord’s earthly ministry had come to an end. It was time for Him to be delivered into the hands of evildoers. Thus He said to those who came to arrest Him, “this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (22:53). The Gospel writers record vividly the injustice during the Lord’s trial, the torture He endured, and the excruciating death He suffered. But through it all, God’s plan was accomplished and His name was glorified. With His atoning sacrifice, Christ claimed ultimate victory over the power of darkness.

B.     Key Verse

            “Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God” (22:69).

            “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (23:46).

C.     Did You Know…?

1.      Council (22:66): The Greek word is synedrion, from which comes the name Sanhedrin (as in the Berkeley Version). The Sanhedrin was the highest Jewish tribunal in a Jewish city, exercising civil jurisdiction according to the Mosaic law and a restricted measure of criminal jurisdiction. Its seventy or seventy-two members came from three groups: chief priests, scribes, and elders. (Jensen 100).

2.      Pilate (23:1): To get a death sentence, they needed to take the case to Pilate, the governor, the procurator of Judea and Samaria, a.d. 26-36 (cf. Luke 3:1)…Pilate’s home was in Caesarea, but at this festival time, he was in his Jerusalem palace.

3.      Cyrene (23:26) is a leading city of Lybia, west of Egypt.

4.      Sour wine (23:36): A drink carried by soldiers for quenching thirst.

5.      Paradise (23:43): In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT) the word designated a garden (Ge 2:8-10) or forest (Ne 2:8), but in the NT (used only here and in 2Co 12:4; Rev 2:7) it refers to the place of bliss and rest between death and resurrection (cf. Lk 16:22; 2Co 12:2).

6.      The sixth hour…until the ninth hour (23:44): From noon to three in the afternoon.

7.      Veil of the temple (23:45): The curtain that separated the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (Ex 26:31-33).

8.      Beat their breasts (23:48): A gesture of sorrow or contrition (cf. 18:13).

9.      Arimathea (23:51): A village in the hill country of Ephraim, about 20 miles northwest of Jerusalem.^5/1488

10.  The Preparation (23:54): Friday, the day before the Sabbath, when preparation was made for keeping the Sabbath.^5/1587

11.  Spices and fragrant oils (23:56): Yards of cloth and large quantities of spices were used in preparing a body for burial. Seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes were already used on that first evening (Jn 19:39). More was purchased for the return of the women after the Sabbath.

II.    Observation

A.     Outline

(22:47-53)

(22:54-62)

(22:63-65)

(22:66-71)

(23:1-25)

(23:26-43)

(23:44-49)

(23:50-56)

B.     Key Words/Phrases

III. Segment Analysis

A.     22:47-53

1. What irony is pointed out in Jesus’ question “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”?

2. Explain the words “this is your hour, and the power of darkness”  in light of God’s sovereignty.

3a. Why do you think the Lord healed the servant of the high priest?

3b. What lesson can we learn from the Lord’s non-resistance?

B.     22:54-62

4. Observe Peter’s actions in 54-55. What do they tell you?

5. Have you ever felt confident about yourself but failed miserably in the time of testing?

6. Have you in one way or another denied the Lord like Peter?

7a. What triggered Peter’s realization and bitter weeping? Why?

7b. How does the Lord also bring us to repentance in the same way?

C.     22:63-65

8. Why do you think the men treated Jesus with such cruelty and mockery?

D.     22:66-71

9a. What was the central issue during the trial?

9b. What does this tell us about Jesus’ ministry? About the chief priests and scribes?

10a. On what basis did the council condemn Jesus?

10b. What was the real reason for the condemnation ? (Mk 15:10)

E.     23:1-25

11. What false charges did the Jewish leaders bring against Jesus?

12a. Why did Herod’s curiosity turn to contempt?

12b. How does the Lord Jesus likewise “disappoint” some people today?

13. Account for Jesus’ silence during the trials.

F.      23:26-43

14a. Why did the Lord ask the women not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves and their children?

14b. Explain Jesus’ words in 31.

15. Consider the Lord’s prayer in 34. What lesson can we learn from this prayer regarding forgiveness?

16. According to 35, how had those who sneered at Jesus misunderstood Him?

17. What can we know about the second criminal from His words in 40-42?

18. What can we learn about the Lord’s saving grace from His words to the criminal?

G.    23:44-49

19. What is the significance of the torn curtain? (Heb 9:1-28)

20. What do the centurion’s words in 47 tell us about the Lord’s death?

21. What does the Lord’s death mean to you?

H.    23:50-56

22. What lesson can we learn from the women disciples?