Matthew 26:1 ¶ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. 3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him. 5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
Jesus repeats the warning that He will be betrayed and crucified.
Matthew 17:22 ¶ And while
they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed
into the hands of men:
Matthew 20:18 Behold, we go
up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests
and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to
mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise
again.
And in this passage we see one part of the conspiracy to kill Him.
Being political to the utmost and crafty politicians the priests, scribes, and
elders along with the chief priest, Caiaphas conspire together.
Matthew 26:6 ¶ Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. 8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. 10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. 11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. 12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
As I have said earlier I didn’t want to make this study a
harmonization of the gospels as different eyewitness accounts will contain a
slightly different version of events witnessed. For practical purposes I’m
going in the assumption that this isn’t Mary, Lazarus’ sister from John 12:3,
that this is a different event though similar. This woman in this account in
Matthew, like so many other figures in the Bible, is not named but holds a
special place in God’s heart and performs a special role. We know nothing of
her life from Matthew, how long or short it may have been, or how happy or sad
it may have been. But we know that she has been remembered throughout the ages
as performing this token of compassion and devotion on the Saviour of mankind.
Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem. See John 11:18. Simon
the leper must have been cured or he would not have been allowed to live in a
town, John Gill said. Gill also remarked
about the actions of this woman in his commentary found free online.
The pouring of this ointment on the head of
Christ was emblematical of his being anointed with the oil of gladness above
his fellows; of his having the holy Spirit, and his gifts and graces without
measure; which, like the ointment poured on Aaron's head, that ran down to his
beard, and the skirts of his garments, descends to all the members of his
mystical body: and was a symbol of the Gospel, which is like ointment poured
forth; and of the sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ, which was to be
diffused, throughout all the world, by the preaching of it; and was done by
this woman in the faith of him, as the true Messiah, the Lord's anointed, as
the prophet, priest, and king of his church.[1]
Such a box of ointment, if it was a pound as in
John 12, could have cost a year’s wages, or so I have read. It was very
expensive.
Matthew 26:14 ¶ Then one of
the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give
me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty
pieces of silver. 16 And from that time
he sought opportunity to betray him.
Judas Iscariot means Judas of Kerioth, according to Strong’s
dictionary. Kerioth was a city of ancient Moab. Moab would be in Southern
Jordan today.
See the prophecy of this betrayal in Zechariah.
Zechariah 11:12 And I said
unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they
weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the
potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty
pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Also see Jeremiah 18, which will be alluded to in the next chapter
referring to this betrayal. Some say the reason that Jeremiah and not Zechariah
will be mentioned later is the way the scrolls of the Hebrew Bible were put
together and read at that time with the section on The Prophets beginning with
Jeremiah so it would natural to refer to that scroll as Jeremiah.
Matthew 26:17 ¶ Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. 25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
Here is yet another example of an anonymous person performing a
singular task that furthers God’s plan along. We know nothing about this
person’s life but that he had been chosen by God to provide a place for this
last Passover meal of Jesus and His Apostles and was probably a follower of
Christ who must have heard Christ foretell that He would be sacrificed. He
tells them to tell the man My time is at hand, that is, near or soon.
The disciples prepared the meal and Christ sat down with them for
this momentous occasion and only He knew it was their last meal together before
His crucifixion and resurrection.
He announced that one of them would betray Him. Then, Judas,
knowing full well it was Him tested Christ’s knowledge of hidden things asking
Him if it was Judas who would betray Him. Jesus announced, “you said it.”
Now as I have said previously, I did not want to make this a
harmonization of the gospels but Matthew doesn’t tell the whole story or go
into a great detail about the Last Supper in some of the aspects that other
gospels do. What seems to be important from His memory and confirmed by the
Holy Spirit is that Judas understood that Jesus knew he was the traitor. Judas
is not mentioned in the rest of the chapter and we have other gospels saying
that he left when he was identified by Christ. We will get to the account in
John, chapter 13, which is more complete.
Matthew 26:26 ¶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. 30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Obviously, the bread in Jesus’ hands was not His body and the
drink was not His actual blood. To any sane person they were symbols or types
of His body and blood. They do not magically transform into the body and blood
of Christ when you ingest them. You are celebrating and remembering His
crucifixion for our sins in this memorial; His broken body and His spilled
blood are memorialized on this solemn occasion. This ritual would be a reminder
to Christians throughout the ages just as baptism symbolized Christ’s burial
and resurrection. This is the essence of the New Testament, the Crucifixion and
then the Resurrection. The Old Testament was the Jews test of obedience.
Deuteronomy 6:25 And it
shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before
the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
And the essence of the New Testament;
John 6:28 ¶ Then said they
unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said
unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Matthew 26:31 ¶ Then saith
Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is
written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be
scattered abroad. 32 But after I am
risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. 33 Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men
shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. 34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,
That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with
thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Zechariah 13:7 ¶ Awake, O
sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the
LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will
turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Jesus foretells His imminent arrest, His Crucifixion, His
Resurrection, and Peter’s denial after Jesus’ arrest. Truthfully, all of them
promise to be faithful to the end but they overestimate their own strength of
will as we will see. They are much like us as these end times approach us
rapidly. Remember this passage in the tough times ahead.
Matthew 26:36 ¶ Then cometh
Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples,
Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be
sorrowful and very heavy. 38 Then saith
he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here,
and watch with me. 39 And he went a
little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth
them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not
into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is
weak. 42 He went away again the second
time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me,
except I drink it, thy will be done. 43
And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away
again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith
unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at
hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand
that doth betray me.
I’m not going to make this complicated. In this passage is a clear
understanding that Jesus in human flesh had a divine will and a human will but
in His humanity He deferred to the will of God the Father.
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Jesus was fully human and fully God. In His humanity He could
experience physical pain and suffering but in His divinity, of course, He could
not. It is His humanity that brings us closer to God the Father as He is the link
between man and God. The Creator becomes like His creation.
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Here is a statement of fact that for all of our desires to do
right, to be brave, to serve God, our flesh usually betrays us.
This was the plan that Satan tried to derail in his temptations of
Christ. Christ has now prepared Himself for His betrayal and eventual suffering
on the Cross by teaching us lessons about God’s will and its supremacy over
ours and the weakness of our own flesh. There are many things you could take
away from this passage but my thinking is that the most important one was the
picture of Christ’s humanity. No other representation of deity can empathize
with our own suffering and frail humanhood like Christ. This is part of the
brilliance of God’s plan. We cannot say that God doesn’t know how we feel. He
has experienced our extremes of suffering in His flesh as the man Jesus, the
bridge between humankind and God.
Matthew 26:47 ¶ And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
We already knew that Judas was the traitor. The Old Testament
Scriptures are full of prophecies about the Messiah and His suffering. First
read Psalm 22, the first verse of Jesus quotes from the Cross, and then Isaiah 52:13
through chapter 53. These are not the only references to the Messiah, the Lord
Jesus Christ, but are prominent ones.
Psalm 22:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.» My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring? 2 O my God, I cry in the
daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that
inhabitest the praises of Israel. 4 Our
fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. 6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of
men, and despised of the people. 7 All
they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the
head, saying, 8 He trusted on the LORD
that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of
the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art
my God from my mother’s belly.
Psalm 22:11 ¶ Be not far
from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of
Bashan have beset me round. 13 They
gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones
are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a
potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the
dust of death. 16 For dogs have
compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my
hands and my feet. 17 I may tell all my
bones: they look and stare upon me. 18
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. 19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my
strength, haste thee to help me. 20
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: for
thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
Psalm 22:22 ¶ I will
declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I
praise thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD,
praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the
seed of Israel. 24 For he hath not
despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his
face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. 25 My praise shall be of thee in the great
congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they
shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the world shall remember and
turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he
is the governor among the nations. 29
All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go
down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be
accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31
They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that
shall be born, that he hath done this.
Isaiah 52:13 ¶ Behold, my
servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very
high. 14 As many were astonied at thee;
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of
men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many
nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been
told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they
consider.
Isaiah 53:1
¶ Who hath believed our report? and to
whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of
a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. 3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:4 ¶ Surely he
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he
was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed,
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to
the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not
his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison
and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out
of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was
any deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:10 ¶ Yet it
pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and
shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities. 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.
For the power that God could command on Jesus’ behalf see the
reference to the slain 185,000 Assyrians in 2Kings 19:35.
2Kings 19:35 ¶ And it came
to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp
of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose
early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
Commentators have said the Isaiah 1:5,6, Micah 5:1, Zechariah
12:10, Zechariah 11:12,13, Psalm 41:9, Zechariah 13:7, Psalm 69:21, and Psalm
34:20 are among the Old Testament verses being fulfilled in these last chapters
of Matthew.
Isaiah 1:5 Why should ye be
stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and
the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole
of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment.
Micah 5:1 ¶ Now gather
thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they
shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will
pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit
of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zechariah 11:12 And I said
unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they
weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.13
And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that
I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them
to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own
familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up
his heel against me.
Zechariah 13:7 ¶ Awake, O
sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the
LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will
turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Psalm 69:21 They gave me
also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Psalm 34:20 He keepeth all
his bones: not one of them is broken.
Please keep these in mind as we read the rest of this chapter and
the next chapters.
Matthew 26:57 ¶ And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. 67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, 68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Jesus is brought before the high priest and the council as a type
of the world today sitting in judgment of Christ through Christians, seeking
false witness against Him and us. The Law given to Moses forbade this, did it
not?
Deuteronomy 19:15 One
witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in
any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of
three witnesses, shall the matter be established. 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to
testify against him that which is wrong; 17
Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before
the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
18 And the judges shall make diligent
inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified
falsely against his brother; 19 Then
shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt
thou put the evil away from among you. 20
And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit
no more any such evil among you. 21 And
thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
We know that John gives us the explanation that Jesus was talking
about the temple of His body, not the physical temple in Jerusalem in John
2:19. But that’s how lies are woven into criminal justice proceedings and it is
not hard to weaponize any court proceeding if people are not interested in the
truth as much as they are in a conviction.
Matthew 25:31 ¶ When the
Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Daniel 7:13 I saw in the
night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, he
cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced
him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
When Jesus said Thou hast said He was saying something
like, “you said it!” as the interrogator is caught in his own accusation
confirming the truth of what Jesus has already said.
Jesus confessed to being the Messiah, God in the flesh, then His treatment
continued to get worse as this is not only what they expected to hear but it
was something they could not and would not wrap their minds around.
Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back
to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my
face from shame and spitting.
Matthew 26:69 ¶ Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. 70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. 71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. 72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. 73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Peter, in this passage, denies Christ three times, as was
predicted. His realization of the truth of Jesus’ prophecy of Peter’s betrayal
caused him to weep bitterly. But Jesus does not reject Peter for this egregious
sin. Like Christians who turn their back on God there is a way back for Peter.
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