Can you explain Luke 22:35-37?
Listen: 141.5
What a good question! Let’s begin by reading Luke 22:35-36, “And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.” In this portion before us, the Lord Jesus had just instituted the Lord’s Supper and was about to enter to Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He had just told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the cock crowed in the morning. It is amazing how that in the face of death, the Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples, equipping them for the time He would no longer be with them physically.
Earlier, the Lord had sent out His disciples with the instruction of taking nothing with them. We read in Matthew 10:9-11, “Provide not gold, nor silver, nor brass in your girdles, nor scrip for the way, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff–for the workman is worthy of his nourishment. `And into whatever city or village ye may enter, inquire ye who in it is worthy, and there abide, till ye may go forth.” Of course, the disciples were sent only to the nation of Israel, as we read in Matthew 10:5, “These twelve did Jesus send forth, having given command to them, saying, `To the way of the nations go not away, and into a city of the Samaritans go not in.” Although the Lord was largely rejected by the Jews, there were still enough of His followers to lend support and housing to His disciples as they passed through the various cities and villages. So, the Lord questions them, asking if they had ever lacked what they needed when He had sent them out. They responded that they lacked nothing.
Now the Lord instructs them to be prepared when they go out with the message of salvation. They should take a bag, or purse, to hold their money. They were to take a scrip, or literally a bag to hold their food and necessities. If they did not have a sword, they should sell their garment and buy one. Why is there such a difference now? Why is the Lord now instructing His disciples to make preparations and take provisions with them when they went out to minister God’s Word? When the Lord sent out His disciples before, they were limited to the Jewish nation. After the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection, He expanded the area the disciples were to go. We read the words of the Lord in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” The Lord was now sending His disciples out into a world that would be dangerous and perhaps have little provision for them. While we should always go out in faith that the Lord will provide, we should also heed the words of the Lord to take some necessities when we travel in ministering God’s Word.
The Lord went on to say in Luke 22:37, “For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.” Christ was not reckoned AS a transgressor, but AMONG the transgressors. That is, He was treated as a transgressor and He was put to death in their company, that being the two thieves that were crucified on either side of the Lord. This is, of course, in reference to what we read in Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” What did the Lord mean when He said, “the things concerning me have an end”? I think we might understand this verse a little better if we read it from the NIV translation. There, Luke 22:37reads, “It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” The prophesy concerning Christ being crucified among the transgressors was about to be fulfilled. Christ was soon to go to the cross, and there die for sinners like you and me. After that, the sphere of ministry broadened to include the whole world. Actually, we read in 1 John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” The Father sent His Son to be my savior. He sent Him to be your savior. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior? If you have not, I pray that you would bow your knee to Him right now and receive Him as your savior. Romans 10:9assures us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (141.5)