How does Luke 22:6 connect with Old Testament prophecies about betrayal? Setting the Scene in Luke 22:6 “So he consented, and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them when no crowd was present.” Key Links to Old Testament Prophecies - Betrayal by a trusted companion • Psalm 41:9 — “Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” • Psalm 55:12-14 — “It is not an enemy who insults me… But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. We shared sweet fellowship together…” • Connection: Judas, one of the Twelve who ate with Jesus, fulfills David’s lament word-for-word. Luke’s note that Judas sought a private moment (“when no crowd was present”) mirrors the intimate treachery pictured in the Psalms. - The price of betrayal • Zechariah 11:12-13 — “They weighed out my wages—thirty pieces of silver… ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which I was valued by them.” • Luke 22:4-5 reports the chief priests promising money; Matthew 26:15 specifies thirty pieces of silver, matching Zechariah exactly. Luke 22:6 then records Judas’s active search for the moment to earn that price. - Loss of office and desolation • Psalm 69:25 — “May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.” • Psalm 109:8 — “May his days be few; may another take his position.” • Acts 1:20 applies both verses to Judas. Luke, author of Acts, shows the seamless move from Luke 22:6 to the later replacement of Judas, tying the Gospel narrative to these Psalms. Patterns of Betrayal Foreshadowing Christ - Joseph sold by his brothers (Genesis 37:28) anticipates the Messiah betrayed for silver by “brothers” within Israel. - David betrayed by Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15–17) prefigures Messiah betrayed by a close confidant; like Judas, Ahithophel later ends his own life. Why the Connections Matter - They confirm Jesus as the prophesied Messiah whose every detail—even the treachery against Him—was foreseen in Scripture. - They reveal God’s sovereign plan: human sin operates, yet fulfills divine prophecy. - They invite trust that every word of Scripture stands true, from David’s laments to Zechariah’s symbolic act, all converging on the cross. Takeaway Luke 22:6 is not an isolated moment; it is the New-Testament hinge on which multiple Old-Testament prophecies swing, demonstrating that the Messiah’s betrayal was spoken long beforehand and fulfilled with literal precision in Jesus Christ. |
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