Devine Scripture

Luke 22:1

What does Luke 22:1 mean?

A plain-English look at Luke 22:1 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Luke 22:1 means

Luke marks the approach of the feast of unleavened bread, also called the Passover, to anchor these events in God’s redemptive calendar. Passover remembers Israel’s deliverance from Egypt by the blood of the lamb. That backdrop prepares us to see Jesus’ death not as accident but as fulfillment. By noting the feast’s nearness, Luke shows that the time appointed by God for the true Passover Lamb to be offered has come. The mention of both names highlights their close connection in Jewish practice. The scene is thick with expectation: a holy season, crowded Jerusalem, and the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation in the person of Jesus, who will soon reinterpret this meal around His own body and blood.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Now the feast of unleavened bread was near, which is called the Passover.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And the feast of the unleavened food was coming nigh, that is called Passover,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the pasch, was at hand.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Now the feast of unleavened bread, which [is] called the passover, drew nigh,

Context

This verse opens the chapter by placing us in the sacred calendar. What follows will occur under the shadow and symbolism of Passover. Immediately after this temporal marker, Luke reports the leaders’ deadly conspiracy and Judas’s role. The setting of a major feast explains their fear of the people and their desire to act secretly. Later in the chapter, Jesus will keep the Passover with His disciples and transform it into the Lord’s Supper, linking His suffering directly to the festival’s meaning.

v.1This passage

v.2And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death; for they feared the people.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Mark 14:12

    And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the passover, his disciples say unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and make ready that thou mayest eat the passover?

  • Exodus 12:6

    and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even.

  • Leviticus 23:5

    In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, is Jehovah’s passover.

  • 1 Corinthians 5:7

    Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ:

  • Mark 14:1

    Now after two days wasthe feast ofthe passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him with subtlety, and kill him:

  • John 11:55

    Now the passover of the Jews was at hand: and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the passover, to purify themselves.

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