As we begin telling of Jesus’
trial, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, please keep in mind that
Matthew presents just one aspect of the full story. You will find further
details beginning in Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 18.
Matthew 26:1-2
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.
When Jesus finished his
parables, he told the disciples, “You know that Passover is two days away, and
the Son of man (the Messiah) will be taken and crucified.”
That was a very difficult
thing for them to comprehend. And, the
timeframe has been difficult for many to understand. This scene was two days prior to Passover!
Matthew 26:3-5
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.
At about the same time, the
Chief Priests and the elders of
However, there was one small
problem. It was near to Passover, and
they felt that if they did it during the holy days it would cause a riot. After
all Jesus had just been given a hero’s welcome to the city (Matthew 21).
Matthew 26:6-13
6 Now when Jesus was in
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.
In the meantime, Jesus was at
the home of Simon the leper. A woman came into the home carrying an alabaster
box filled with very costly perfume. She
poured it on Jesus’ head.
When she did it, the
disciples were offended, and demanded, "What is the purpose of this waste?
That perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.”
But, Jesus responded,
"Why do you rebuke her? She has
done a good thing. As long as you are in this world, the poor will always be
with you, but I will not! When she poured this perfume on Me,
she was preparing Me for burial. Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole
world, her deed will be reported.”
As long as the Apostles
ministered, they saw those who were poor (Gr. ptoochous-ptwcouV), beggarly, and
destitute in Spirit. Those people are
the focus of ministry. Even the
seemingly wealthy may also be poor in Spirit! Spiritual poverty may not result
in financial poverty.
And, as prophesied by Christ,
the story of that woman has been told around the world.
Matthew 26:14-16
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.
Then, Judas Iscariot, one of
the Apostles, went to the Chief Priests and asked, "What are you willing
to give me to turn Jesus over to you?” They contracted with Judas to give him
30 pieces of silver.
From that time, Judas began
to look for an opportunity to betray Christ Jesus.
Matthew 26:17-19
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.
On the first day of Passover
week, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “What are your plans for
Passover?”
The first day of Passover
week was not th day of the
meal. It was the day when the sheep were
slaughtered for the meal. The “day”
began at sunset, not sunrise.
Jesus told them to go into
They did as Jesus had
instructed them, and prepared the Passover meal, the Seder a day before most
Jews ate it. Remember, in the parable of
the virgins, the Groom came before they thought He would.
Matthew 26:20-25
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.
That evening, Jesus was
reclining at the table with the twelve.
In those days, Jews did not use a table and chairs as we now do.
As they were eating, Jesus
said, “Truthfully, one of you shall betray Me.”
The entire group was upset at
that and began to ask, “Lord, is it I?”
Jesus’ response was to tell
them, “It will be the one that dips his hand with Me
in the bowl.”
Possibly all had done that at
some time during the meal.
Then Jesus told them, “As it
is written of Him, the Son of Man must go, but woe to that man whom betrays
Him! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
At that Judas, who was about
to betray Him, said, "Surely it is not me!” Then Jesus responded, “You
said it!”
Judas must have been torn
with emotional stress, but what he was about to do had to be done. There was no way around the crucifixion.
There is an aspect of the
Last Supper that is not commonly taught.
To understand it, let’s look at the gospel of John.
John 13:25-31
25 He then lying on Jesus'
breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
26 Jesus answered, He it is,
to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the
sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27 And after the sop Satan
entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou
doest, do quickly.
28 Now no man at the table
knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
29 For some of them thought,
because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that
we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the
poor.
30 He then having received
the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
31 Therefore, when he was
gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified,
and God is glorified in him.
As you see, this portion of
John also deals with the betrayal at the last Supper.
At a certain point during the
evening, the spirit of Satan entered Judas, and he went out to do as Satan
instructed. Judas was not present when
Christ initiated the symbolic communion!
But, why?
Christ Jesus gave us the
answer.
Matt 7:6
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Matthew 26:26-30
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.
Now, we look at what I
consider the most important part of the Last Supper.
As they ate the Seder, Jesus
took one of the pieces of bread, blessed it, broke, and gave it to the
disciples. Then He said, “Take this and
eat it!” He explained, “This is My body!”
This breaking of bread is a
part of the Jewish Passover ritual to this day.
As performed by Christ, it was
a command to all who would follow Him!
He took a cup on wine, gave
thanks, and said, “Drink all of it!”
Again, we are reading a
command!
Jesus explained, “This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for
the pardon of sins.”
At this point, we must
understand biblical references.
Romans 5:15
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the
offence of one {the} many be dead, much
more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto {the} many.
In Greek, the use of “many” in Romans 5:15 and other
places is preceded by the definite article that does not appear in English.
Christ Jesus shed His blood for {the} many for the
remission of sins.
In each case where the definite article appears in
connection with “many”, “the many” identifies all. The New Covenant between God the Father and
God the Son ratified in the blood of the Son is for all who have sinned, it is
for all!
Prior to salvation in Christ, all are dead in trespasses
and sins!
Jesus further told them, “I
will not drink this fruit of the vine, until I drink it new with you in my
Father's kingdom.”
After singing a hymn, they
went to the Mount of Olives.
The singing was acappella. We know that
because hymns are sung with no accompaniment.
Psalms are sung with accompaniment.
That is a note of personal
interest. Most Churches today sing psalms and call them hymns.
Matthew 26:31-35
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
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.
Jesus old them, “This very
night, you all will be enticed to sin, because of Me. It is written, ‘I will
kill the shepherd, and the flock shall be scattered.’ But, after I have been
resurrected, I will go before you to Galilee.”
The only Apostle to stay with
Christ through the crucifixion was John.
The rest scattered as was written in Zechariah 13:7.
Peter declared, “Even though
all the others may leave you, I will never be offended because of you.”
Peter did not understand the
Scriptures!
We are about to see that
without the Holy Spirit, the strongest of men is no match for Lucifer.
Jesus told him,
"Truthfully, I tell you that tonight you will deny Me
three times before a rooster crows.”
Peter insisted, “Even though
I may die with You, I will not deny You.” And, all the
Apostles said the same thing.
Some things must come to pass. Their denial of Christ was one of those
things.
Matthew 26:36-37
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 (Gr. adeemonein-adhmonein).
When Jesus and the Apostles
came to Gethsemane, He told them, "Sit here while I go and pray."
Then, He took Peter and the
two sons of Zebedee (James and John), and Christ began to experience great
sorrow and was extremely depressed.
You may object to my use of
the word “depressed,” but I assure you that the Greek text says exactly that.
Matthew 26:38-41
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.
Jesus told the three, “My
soul is grieved, even to the point of death.
Stay here and watch with Me.”
Then, He went a bit farther,
fell on His face, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass
from Me. Nonetheless,
not My will, but Yours be done.”
After a period of prayer, He
went back to the disciples and found them sleeping. He awoke them and said to Peter, “You could
not keep watch with Me for one hour?”
That admonishment has led to the
teaching that one hour of prayer should be the goal of all Christians. It is a
nice theory, but untrue! Regardless of the time (5 minutes or 5 hours), prayer
should last until it is finished.
Jesus reminded the three to
keep watching and keep praying. He said,
“The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Our bodies may not keep up
with our spirits.
Matthew 26:42-43
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.
A second time, Jesus left
them alone and prayed. “My Father, if this cup may not pass away from me,
except I drink it, thy will be done.”
If Jesus prayed for that the
will of our Father be accomplished, why do many teach that such prayer is
wrong?
Again, Jesus went to the
three and again they were sleeping.
Matthew 26:44-45
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.
That time, He just let them
sleep. Jesus went a third time to pray.
His prayer was consistent.
It is at this time that I
believe the beautiful prayer of John 17, the true “Lord’s Prayer,” was spoken.
You will notice that Jesus
prayed to “the Father.” It would not be
until He was on the cross that Jesus would address the Father as “God.”
Matt 27:46
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (also see Mark
15:34)
Again, Jesus went to the
three and found them asleep. He told them,
“Just rest! The time is here for the Son of man to be betrayed and given to
sinners.
That came to pass!
There is a false teaching that we
(Christians) are just sinners
saved by grace.
That teaching is based on
false emotion!
When you are in Christ, you
are re-created, you become a new creation!
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
You may disagree, but I
remind you that your disagreement is with God!
When you are in Christ, all
things become new!
But, doesn’t the Bible tell
us that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father?
I John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous:
Our advocate, the Holy Spirit
is working on our behalf at all times, but that verse is meant for those who
have not acknowledged Christ. Although
they may not follow Him, Christ is also their Advocate!
If we are new creations, we
have been freed from the effects of sin. We are no longer dead is trespasses
and sins. We are alive!
We are not sinners, as God defines sinners. We are righteous, because of Christ Jesus!
Christians do not live in
human perfection. We abide in spiritual
righteousness!
Matthew 26:46-57
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that
doth betray me.
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.
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.
Jesus then said to them, “Get
up and let’s get going. The one who will
betray me is near.”
And, while Jesus was talking,
Judas walked up with the mod that had been appointed by the chief priests and
elders to bring Jesus in.
The mob did not know Christ
by sight, so Judas arranged a signal for them to know which one was Jesus. The signal was a kiss of greeting. Judas also greeted Jesus with, “hello Rabbi.”
Jesus did a strange
thing. He called Judas “friend,” and asked,
“Why have you come?”
At that moment, the mob
seized Jesus.
As a knee-jerk reaction, one
of the Apostles (Peter) drew his sword and cut the ear off of the High Priest’s
servant. Have you thought about that?
Jesus’ disciples were armed!
Apparently, Peter was an extremely proficient swordsman. Let me explain.
Peter cut off the ear of the
servant, but apparently did no other damage to his head or shoulder. That took extreme skill!
We are taught to think of the
Apostles as a bunch of peace loving bumpkins, when in fact they were small
businessmen, accountants and political zealots adept are the use of weapons.
Jesus responded, "Put up
your sword, because all who take up the sword shall also perish by the sword.
Do you seriously think that I cannot ask My Father, and that He will not
immediately give me more than twelve legions of angels? The scriptures must be fulfilled!”
Then, Jesus addressed the
mod, "Have you come to arrest me using swords and clubs as if I were a
thief? I sat in the temple teaching every day, and you did not seize Me. But, all this has happened so that the Scriptures of the
Prophets may be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples ran
away, and those who had seized Jesus led Him away to the High Priest, Caiaphas.
Matthew 26:58-63
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.
However, Peter looking on the
scene went into the courtyard of the High Priest. There, Peter sat down with the Temple Guard
and other servants of the Priests.
At the meeting of the
Sanhedrin, the Chief Priests and the Council kept trying to get false testimony
against Jesus, so they might put Him to death.
Many assume that He was tried
before the Greater Sanhedrin. However,
Jesus may have been tried before the 12 members of the Lesser Sanhedrin. Most Christians have never been told that
there were two Sanhedrins at the time of Jesus’
crucifixion.
The Sanhedrin did not find
any witnesses, true or false, but later two liars apparently were found. They
testified, “This man bragged, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to
build it in three days.’”
They were referring to:
John 2:19
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.
The “this temple” Jesus
referred to was His body, and not the physical, stone Temple. Although that too
could have also been accomplished if it were God’s will.
Being ignorant of that the
high priest demanded, “Don’t You have a response to
this man’s accusation?
The High Priest insisted,
“Tell us whether or not You are the Messiah, the Son
of God.”
Isaiah 53:7
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.
The idiomatic Hebrew of Isaiah
tells us the Christ did not respond to the accusations against Him. In response
to lies, Christ uttered a truth that they could not accept.
Matthew 26:64 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.
Jesus did not respond in the
manner they thought he would. He told
those gathered there, “In future, you shall see the Son of man, the Messiah,
sitting at the right hand of power (God the Father), and coming in the clouds
of heaven.”
The Sanhedrin knew too well
that the title “the Son of Man” was a reference to the Messiah, and that Jesus
was referring to Himself!
The “Power” referred to is
God the Father. Jewish Priests were
ignorant, but not stupid!
The Jews of that day were
vastly more intelligent that the Jews of this day! Israel has been blinded!
Matthew 26:65-68
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?
The High Priest tore his
clothes, shouting, “He has spoken blasphemy! We have no need of further
witnesses! You all have now heard the blasphemy!”
The Council members asked,
“What is your opinion? Does He deserve death?”
They, the members of the
Sanhedrin, spat in His face and beat Him with their fists. Some slapped Him.
Jesus suffered two beatings. This
beating was the first at the hands of the members of the Sanhedrin and the Temple
guards. Later, He would be scourged by
Roman soldiers.
They challenged Jesus,
“Prophesy to us, you who call yourself ‘Christ,’ who hit you?”
Foolish men do foolish
things!
Matthew 26:69-75
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 was outside in the
courtyard when a certain girl came to him and said, “You were with that Jesus
of Galilean.”
He denied it in front of all
there telling them, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Another girl saw him and told
the others, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
Again, Peter denied it, “I
don’t know Him.”
Later, others came to Peter
and said, “Surely you are one of them, because your
(Galilean) speech dialect betrays you.”
Then, Peter began to curse
and swear. He said, “I don’t know that
man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed.
Peter recalled that Jesus had
said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three
times."
He went out and wept
bitterly.