The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (99 page)

21:22 days of vengeance:
God will send covenant curses upon Jerusalem for rejecting its Messiah (Dan 9:25-27). • This expression is used in the Greek OT for a time of divine judgment that falls upon Israel when it forsakes the Lord in favor of idolatry and lawlessness (Deut 32:35; Hos 9:7). 
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21:24
Jesus describes the atrocities ahead for Jerusalem, indicating that foreign nations will play a strategic role in administering God's punishment (Rev 11:2). • He draws from several OT passages that describe Jerusalem's destruction in the past and reapplies them to its devastation in the near future (
A.D.
70). Casualties falling by the
sword
recall Jer 21:7 and Ezek 39:23; the city
trodden down
evokes Is 63:18, Dan 8:13, and 1 Macc 3:45; and the
times of the Gentiles
refer to God's use of foreign armies to chastise Israel, as in Deut 28:49 and Zech 14:1-2. 
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21:25 sun . . . moon . . . stars:
Heavenly disturbances figure in many OT prophecies that portray Yahweh destroying pagan kingdoms (Is 13:9-10; Ezek 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31).
See note on Mk 13:24-25
.
roaring of the sea:
An image of foreign nations enraged and ready for battle. • Isaiah uses this imagery for the nation God rouses to punish wayward Israel (Is 5:30). It also portrays the anger of God raging against his foes (Wis 5:22). 
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21:27 the Son of man:
Jesus will visit Jerusalem with divine judgment, while bringing "redemption" to his faithful disciples (21:28). See topical essay:
Jesus, the Son of Man,
at Lk 17. 
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21:29-31
The short parable of the
fig tree
advocates constant prayer and readiness (12:35-40; 22:40, 46). Disciples must be alert at all times, lest they grow lazy in their pursuit of holiness (21:36). Tribulations are inevitable before the dramatic onset of God's judgment and the coming of his
kingdom
(Acts 14:22) (CCC 2612).
See note on Mk 13:35
. 
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21:32 this generation:
Jesus insists that God's judgment will fall upon Jerusalem within the lifetime of his contemporaries (
A.D.
70). 
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21:33 Heaven and earth:
Not even the stable universe will outlast Jesus' words. • The OT similarly stresses the permanence of God's word in contrast to the impermanence of creation (Ps 102:25-27; Is 40:8; 51:6).
See note on Mt 24:35
. 
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21:36 to stand:
i.e., to withstand temptation and face the divine Judge with confidence (Eph 6:13; 1 Jn 2:28). 
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22:1 the feast:
The celebration of
Unleavened Bread
and
Passover
took place together in the spring (Lev 23:4-8; Ezek 45:21), when thousands traveled to Jerusalem to observe the festival as a nation (Deut 16:1-8). Passover commemorated Israel's redemption from Egypt and looked forward to an even greater deliverance in the future (Ex 12). The feast was celebrated with a sacred meal of lamb, wine, herbs, and bread. Unleavened Bread, which began on the same day as Passover and extended for another six days, was a time when no leaven or yeast (symbolic of sin, 1 Cor 5:8) could be eaten among the Israelites. See topical essay:
When Did Jesus Celebrate the Last Supper?
at Jn 13. 
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22:3 Satan entered into Judas:
The devil himself has orchestrated the plot against Jesus (Jn 13:27). Since 4:13, he has awaited an "opportunity" (22:6) to attack, and the moment arrives when Judas' loose commitment to Jesus is finally broken (22:48). 
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22:4 captains:
Levites who served as Temple police in Jerusalem (22:52; Acts 4:1; 5:24-26). 
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22:10 the city:
Jerusalem.
man  . . . jar of water:
An unusual sight. Retrieving and carrying water was normally a woman's task (Jn 4:7). 
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22:14-23
The Last Supper, where Jesus gathered with his apostles to transform the Old Covenant Passover into the sacrificial banquet of the New Covenant. As Passover recalls Israel's deliverance from Egypt, so the Eucharist both commemorates and accomplishes our redemption from slavery in sin. Jesus reconfigures this ancient feast by placing himself at the center of its significance: he is the true Lamb offered for sin and given as food to God's family (Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:6-8; CCC 1151, 1340). 
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22:17 he took a chalice:
The Passover meal (Seder) was structured around four cups of wine. Here Jesus takes the first or second cup; either he was sanctifying the feast (cup one) or he and the disciples had just finished singing Ps 113-14 (cup two). The eucharistic cup that Jesus consecrates in 22:20 was probably cup three, the "cup of blessing", which was drunk after the main meal (1 Cor 10:16). 
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22:19 given thanks:
A translation of the Greek verb
eucharisteō,
from which the Sacrament of the Eucharist takes its name (CCC 1359-60).
broke it:
The early Christians closely associated the Eucharist with this gesture, calling it the "breaking of the bread" (24:35; Acts 2:42; 20:7).
This is my body:
Once Jesus consecrates the unleavened bread, it is no longer a
symbol
of the Old Covenant Passover (Deut 16:3) but the
substance
of the New Covenant Passover: Christ himself (CCC 1365).
Do this:
The apostles and their successors are to imitate Jesus' actions. Note that only "the Twelve" were present with him at the Last Supper (Mt 26:20; Mk 14:17). According to Jewish custom, the feast was celebrated by families or fraternities of 10 to 20 people. • According to the Council of Trent in 1562, Jesus' words "Do this in memory of me" are linked with the apostles' ordination to the New Covenant priesthood (Sess. 22, chap. 1). Priests perpetuate this memorial through the continual celebration of the Eucharist, where Christ's once-for-all sacrifice is present, but hidden, behind the visible signs of bread and wine (CCC 611, 1337). See word study:
Remembrance
at Lk 22:19. 
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22:20 is poured out:
This is part of the cultic language of the OT, where the blood of animal sacrifices was poured at the base of the altar to make atonement (Ex 29:12; Lev 4:7, 18). It is also linked with the martyrs, who pour out or shed their blood before God (Mt 23:35; Acts 22:20).
new covenant:
An expression that, in the Gospels, is used only at the Last Supper. The epistles use it more frequently (Rom 11:27; 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:6). 
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22:25 benefactors:
A title of honor claimed by various rulers of the Hellenistic world. 
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22:26 one who serves:
The disciples must not confuse worldly honor and recognition with spiritual greatness. The shepherds of God's people must instead imitate Christ in their humility and selfless concern for those under their care (Jn 13:12-15; CCC 894). 
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22:29 a kingdom:
Jesus confers royal authority on the apostles and entrusts them with the Church on earth (12:32). • Jesus alludes to the prophetic vision of Daniel 7, in which God gives a worldwide kingdom to the Son of man, who in turn gives it to the saints (Dan 7:18, 22, 27). In context, these events coincide with the Son of man's heavenly enthronement (Dan 7:13-14). The historical unfolding of this prophecy begins with the Ascension of Jesus and the birth of the Church (Mk 14:62; 16:19; Acts 7:56). 
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