Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
MATTHEW 26
The Plot Against Jesus
1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5“But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’ ” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
“ ‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.46Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ ”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,”Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Peter Disowns Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Application Notes
26:3-5 This was a deliberate plot to kill Jesus. Without this plot, there likely would have been no groundswell of popular opinion against him. In fact, because of Jesus' popularity, the religious leaders were afraid to arrest him during the Passover. They did not want their actions to incite a riot by Jesus' followers. Later on, Pilate would be afraid of a riot by people who wanted to crucify Jesus (27:23-24).
26:3 Caiaphas was the ruling high priest during Jesus' ministry. He was the son-in-law of Annas, the previous high priest. The Roman government had taken over the process of appointing all political and religious leaders. Caiaphas served for 18 years, longer than most high priests, suggesting that he was skilled at cooperating with the Romans. He also—unwittingly—was first to say Jesus could die to save the people (John 11:49-50).
26:6-13 Matthew and Mark put this event just before the Last Supper, while John has it just before the Triumphal Entry. Of the three, John places this event in the most likely chronological order. We must remember that the main purpose of the Gospel writers was to give an accurate record of Jesus' message, not to present a chronological account of his life. Matthew and Mark may have chosen to place this event here to contrast the complete devotion of Mary with the betrayal of Judas, the next event they record in their Gospels.
26:7 This woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who lived in Bethany (John 12:1-3). Alabaster jars were carved from a translucent gypsum stone. These jars were used to hold perfumed oil.
26:8 All the disciples were indignant, but John's Gospel singles out Judas Iscariot as especially so (John 12:4-6).
26:11 Here Jesus brought back to mind Deuteronomy 15:11: “There will always be poor people in the land.” This statement does not justify ignoring the needs of poor people. Scripture continually exhorts us to care for those in need. The passage in Deuteronomy continues, “Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” By saying this, Jesus was highlighting the special sacrifice Mary had made for him.
26:13 Mary's unselfish act would be remembered forever. While the disciples misunderstood Jesus' mission and constantly argued about positions of status in the kingdom, and while the religious leaders stubbornly refused to believe in Jesus and plotted his death, this woman loved Jesus so much and was devoted to him so completely that she considered no sacrifice too great for her Lord. She is an example to us all of selfless devotion to our Savior.
26:14-15 Why would Judas want to betray Jesus? Judas, like the other disciples, expected Jesus to start a political rebellion and overthrow Rome. Jesus' ministry was not going the way Judas had hoped. As treasurer, Judas certainly assumed that he would be given an important position in Jesus' new government (as did the other disciples; see Mark 10:35-37). But when Jesus praised Mary for pouring out perfume worth a year's salary, Judas may have realized that Jesus' kingdom was not going to be political but spiritual. This surely made him frustrated and angry. Judas's greedy desire for money and status could not be realized if he followed Jesus, so he betrayed Jesus in exchange for money and favor from the religious leaders.
26:15 Matthew alone records the exact amount of money Judas accepted to betray Jesus—30 silver coins, the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). The religious leaders had planned to wait until after the Passover to take Jesus, but with Judas's unexpected offer, they accelerated their plans.
26:17 The Passover took place on one night and at one meal, but the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which was celebrated with it, continued for a week. The people removed all yeast from their homes in commemoration of their ancestors' exodus from Egypt, when they had not had time to let the bread dough rise. Thousands of people poured into Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire for this festival. (For more information on how the Passover was celebrated, see the notes on Mark 14:1 and in Exodus 12.)
26:23-24 In Jesus' time, some food would be eaten from a common bowl into which everyone would dip their hands. When Jesus referred to what the Scriptures said long ago, he may have been referring to Isaiah 53:7-9.
26:26 These words describing Jesus' action are the same ones used in the story of the feeding of the 5,000 (14:19): Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples. Several names are used to describe this sacrament. Each one brings out a different dimension of it. It is the Lord's Supper because it commemorates the Passover meal Jesus ate with his disciples; it is the Eucharist (thanksgiving) because in it we thank God for Jesus' work for us; it is Communion because through it we commune with God and with other believers. As we eat the bread and drink the wine, we should be quietly reflective as we recall Jesus' death and promise to come again, grateful for God's wonderful gift to us, and joyful as we meet with Christ and the body of believers.
26:28 How does Jesus' blood relate to the new covenant? People under the old covenant (those who lived before Jesus) could approach God only through a priest and the blood of an animal sacrifice. Now all people can come directly to God through faith because Jesus' death has made us acceptable in God's eyes (Romans 3:21-24).
The old covenant was a shadow of the new (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:1-13), pointing forward to the day when Jesus himself would be the final and ultimate sacrifice for sin. Rather than an unblemished lamb slain on the altar, the perfect Lamb of God was slain on the cross, a sinless sacrifice, so that our sins could be forgiven once and for all. All those who believe in Jesus receive that forgiveness.
26:29 Again Jesus assured his disciples of victory over death and of their future with him. The next few hours would bring apparent defeat, but soon the disciples would experience the power of the Holy Spirit and witness the great spread of the gospel message. And one day they would all be together again, feasting in God's new kingdom.
26:30 The hymn the disciples sang may have been from Psalms 115 through 118, the traditional psalms sung as part of the Passover meal.
26:35 All the disciples declared that they would die before disowning Jesus. A few hours later, however, they all scattered. Talk is cheap. We can easily affirm our devotion to Jesus, but our claims are meaningful only when they are tested in the crucible of adversity. How strong is your faith? Is it strong enough to stand up under intense trial?
26:37-38 Jesus was in great anguish over his approaching physical pain, temporary separation in his humanity from the Father, and death for the sins of the world. The divine course was set, but Jesus, in his human nature, still struggled (Hebrews 5:7-9). Because of the anguish Jesus experienced, he can relate to our suffering. Jesus' strength to obey came from his relationship with God the Father, who is also the source of our strength (John 17:11, 15-16, 21, 26).
26:39 Jesus was not rebelling against his Father's will when he asked that the cup of suffering be taken away from him. In fact, he reaffirmed his desire to do God's· will by saying, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” His prayer reveals his humanness and his terrible suffering. The sinless Son of God took our sins upon himself to save us from eternal suffering and separation from God.
26:39 In times of suffering, people sometimes wish they knew the future or could understand the reason for their anguish. Jesus knew what lay ahead of him, and he knew the reason. Even so, his struggle was intense—more wrenching than any struggle we will ever have to face. What does it take to be able to say, “as you will”? It takes firm trust in God's plans, and it takes prayer and obedience each step of the way.
26:40-41 Jesus used Peter's drowsiness to warn him about the kinds of temptation he would soon face. The way to overcome temptation is to keep alert and pray. Keeping alert means being aware of the possibilities of temptation, sensitive to its subtleties, and spiritually equipped to fight it. Because temptation strikes where we are most vulnerable, we can't resist it alone. Prayer is essential because God's strength can shore up our defenses and defeat Satan's power.
26:48 Judas had told the crowd to arrest the man he kissed. This was not an arrest by Roman soldiers under Roman law but an arrest by the religious leaders. Judas pointed Jesus out not because Jesus was difficult to recognize but because Judas was agreeing to be the formal accuser if a trial was called. Judas was able to lead the group to one of Jesus' retreats, where no onlookers would interfere with the arrest.
26:51-53 The man who cut off the servant's ear was Peter (John 18:10). Peter was trying to prevent what he saw as defeat. He didn't realize that Jesus had to die in order to gain victory. But Jesus demonstrated perfect commitment to his Father's will. His kingdom would be advanced not with swords but with faith and obedience. Luke 22:51 records that Jesus touched the servant's ear and healed him.
26:55 Although the religious leaders could have arrested Jesus at any time, they came at night because they were afraid of the crowds that followed him each day (see 26:5). According to Jewish teachings, the Sanhedrin was not to meet at night, and an accused party was never to be subjected to private or secret examination. So having this secret examination at night was illegal and against Jewish protocol.
26:56 A few hours earlier, this band of men had said they would rather die than desert their Lord (see the note on 26:35).
26:57 Earlier in the evening, Jesus had been questioned by Annas (the former high priest and the father-in-law of Caiaphas). Annas then sent Jesus to Caiaphas's home to be questioned (John 18:12-24). Because of their haste to complete the trial and see Jesus die before the Sabbath, less than 24 hours away, the religious leaders met in Caiaphas's home at night instead of waiting for daylight and meeting in the temple.
26:59 The Sanhedrin was the most powerful religious and political body of the Jewish people. Although the Romans controlled Israel's government, they had given the people power to handle religious disputes and some civil disputes, so the Sanhedrin made many of the local decisions affecting daily life. But a death sentence had to be approved by the Romans (John 18:31).
26:60-61 The Sanhedrin tried to find witnesses who would distort some of Jesus' teachings. Finally, they found two people who were distorting Jesus' words about the temple. They claimed that Jesus had said he could destroy the temple—a blasphemous boast. Actually Jesus had said. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Jesus, of course, had been talking about his body, not the building. Ironically, the religious leaders were about to destroy Jesus' body just as he had said, and three days later he would rise from the dead.
26:64 Jesus declared his royalty and divinity in no uncertain terms. In calling himself the Son of Man, Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, as his listeners well knew. His words recall Daniel 7:13-14, a vision of the Son of Man being given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the world. Psalm 110:1-2 shows his place of honor and power at God's right hand. The clouds of heaven represent the power of God as he comes to judge the world. One day Jesus will judge his accusers. Jesus knew this declaration would be his undoing, but he did not panic. He was calm, courageous, and determined because he was doing the will of God, which would lead to the salvation of all who would believe in him.
26:65-66 The high priest accused Jesus of blasphemy—calling himself God. To the Jews, this was a great crime, punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16). The religious leaders refused even to consider that Jesus' words might be true. They had decided to kill Jesus, and in so doing, they sealed their own fates as well as his. Like the members of the Sanhedrin, you must decide whether you believe Jesus' words are blasphemy or truth. Your decision has eternal implications.
26:69-75 Peter's denial had three stages: (1) He acted confused and tried to divert attention from himself by changing the subject. (2) Using an oath, he denied that he knew Jesus. (3) He swore that he did not know Jesus. Believers who deny Jesus often begin doing so subtly by pretending not to know him. When opportunities to discuss religious issues come up, they walk away or pretend they don't know enough to have such conversations. With only a little more pressure, they can be induced to flatly deny their relationship with God. If you find yourself subtly diverting conversation so you don't have to talk about Jesus, watch out. You may be on the road to disowning him.
26:72-74 That Peter denied that he knew Jesus, using an oath and swearing, does not mean he used foul language. This was the kind of swearing that a person does in a court of law. Peter was swearing that he did not know Jesus and was invoking a curse on himself if his
words were untrue. In effect he was saying, “May God strike me dead if I am lying.”
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)