Matthew 26
People's New Testament
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
26:1 The Preparation for the Lord's Death

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 26:

The Declaration to the Disciples That the Time Was at Hand. The Wicked Counsel of the Rulers. The Anointing at Bethany. The Alabaster Box. Judas Sells His Lord. The Feast of the Passover. The Traitor Revealed. The Lord's Supper. The Agony in the Garden. The Seizure of Jesus. The Trial before Caiaphas.

When Jesus had finished all these sayings. The discourses recorded

in the three preceding chapters. The time was Tuesday night, after the Jewish Wednesday began; that is, after sunset. Compare Mr 14:1-11 Lu 22:1-6 Joh 12:1-8.

Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
26:2 After two days. After Wednesday and Thursday. The day indicated is Friday.

The passover. For the origin of this feast, see Ex 12:1-14. It was really the Jewish emancipation day, the greatest of their feasts, and the paschal lamb was a type of the slain Christ.

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,
26:3 Then assembled. An official meeting of the Sanhedrin.

The chief priests. The high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, and the heads of the twenty-four courses.

The elders of the people. The heads of the great families, the princes of Judah.

Unto the palace of the high priest. The palace of Caiaphas. The body now about to assemble, the Sanhedrin, was the supreme court of Israel. According to Jewish accounts, it was composed of seventy-one members, the high priest being president. The chief priests, or heads of the twenty-four courses, distinguished representatives of the scribes, and elders of the people, the heads of the great families, constituted the membership. It could try and condemn to death, but could not carry out capital punishment without the consent of the Roman authorities at this time. It was mostly composed of bitter, bigoted enemies of Jesus, determined at any cost to secure his death. In the trial the Jewish law was constantly violated.

Caiaphas. The reigning high priest, the son-on-law of Annas, who had been high priest, but was deposed by the Romans, but was still called a high priest. Both were Sadducees.

And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
26:4 Take Jesus by subtilty. They were afraid of the people and wished to seize Jesus secretly and deliver him to the Romans to be crucified before the people knew of their designs. See Lu 21:38.
But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
26:5 Not on the feast day. During the passover there were millions of Jews in Jerusalem. Josephus says that in A.D. 65, three million were present. There were often tumults at the passover, and it was feared that the arrest of Jesus would arouse one. On such occasions the Romans suppressed the disturbance without mercy.
Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany. On the Saturday before. Matthew goes back to an event that occurred at Bethany before the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, because he is about to relate the treachery of Judas, and it was brought to a crisis by that event.

In the house of Simon the leper. Supposed to have been healed by Christ, and a relative of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Compare the parallel accounts, Mr 14:3 Joh 12:1-2. It is not known certainly who he was.

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.
26:7 A woman. Mary, the sister of Lazarus. See Joh 12:3.

An alabaster box. A vase.

Of very precious ointment. Of spikenard, very costly and precious. It was worth 300 pence, or denarii, equivalent, when we consider the change in money values, to USD300 now.

Poured it on his head. She broke the vase and emptied it. See Mr 14:3-9.

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
26:8 They had indignation. John shows that it was Judas who voiced the indignation (Joh 12:4).

This waste. Judas thought that 300 pence had been squandered. Sordid men still often think what is spent for the Savior is wasted.

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
26:9 This ointment might have been sold for much. Mark and John say, three hundred denarii (Mr 14:5 Joh 12:5). Pliny says a pound, the amount in the vase, was worth 400 denarii.

Given to the poor. A pretense. Judas wanted to get the money into his bag.

When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
26:10 Why trouble ye the woman? By your murmurs, as if she had done a sinful thing.

She hath wrought a good work. What is done for Christ from love of Christ is always a good work.

For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
26:11 Ye have the poor always. Always opportunities to do good to them, but what was done for Christ in the flesh must be done at once.
For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
26:12 For my burial. It was customary to anoint the dead and lay the body in spices. See Joh 19:40 Lu 23:56 2Ch 16:14. Mary was probably impelled only her love of the Lord and desire to do him honor; but Jesus, about to die and be buried, declares the anointing a fit preparation.
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.
26:13 This gospel. The gospel of a crucified Savior.

In the whole world. A prophecy that its preaching will be world-wide.

A memorial of her. Mary's loving deed has never been forgotten, but is today told in every quarter of the earth.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
26:14 Judas Iscariot went unto the chief priests. A comparison of all the accounts will show that when his avarice was thus disappointed, he went, at the first opportunity, to the priests. His Master was about to be crucified, he had not been permitted to enrich himself, there was now no probability that he would become the treasurer of Christ as an earthly king.
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.
26:15 What will ye give me? He had deliberately decided. He probably knew of their wish to seize Jesus secretly, and that they would pay for a guide that would lead them where he rested at night.

Thirty pieces of silver. The price was agreed upon and paid. The pieces were silver shekels, temple money. The whole would contain about the amount of silver in twenty dollars, perhaps equal in value to USD120 now. It was a fulfillment of Zec 11:12. Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver (Ge 37:28).

And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
26:16 From that time. The time of the bargain with the priests. No one can tell certainly what day the bargain was completed.
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?
26:17 The first day of the feast of unleavened bread. Strictly speaking, the 15th of Nisan (part of our March and April), after the paschal lamb was killed, but here the 14th day (Thursday). See Ex 12:16. This suggests one of the most difficult questions of Scripture chronology, whether the Lord at the passover one day before the regular Jewish passover, or at the usual time. Pressense, Milman Ellicott, Townsend, Alford, Neander, Farrar, and many other great authorities, hold that he ate it the day preceding, and died on the day and about the time the Jewish passover lambs were slain. The statements of John, that the supper was eaten, the Lord betrayed and condemned before the passover, seem positive (Joh 19:14).

Where wilt thou that we prepare... the passover? The passover must be eaten in the place where the Lord's name was recorded, or where the tabernacle or temple was located, according to the directions given in De 16:1-15.

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.
26:18,19 Go into the city to such a man, etc. The disciples are directed to determine the place in the city by a certain sign (Mr 14:13). They do so and make ready in the guest chamber thus secured.
And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
26:18,19 Go into the city to such a man, etc. The disciples are directed to determine the place in the city by a certain sign (Mr 14:13). They do so and make ready in the guest chamber thus secured.
Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
26:20 When the even was come. The lamb was slain between two evenings, that is, between three and five o'clock (see the margin of Ex 12:6 in the Revised Version). The supper followed on the same night. It was probably dark before the Savior and the twelve came to the guest chamber. The band that sat down to this supper and this occasion have furnished the subject of one of the greatest paintings ever created.
And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
26:21 One of you shall betray me. The meal, opened with blessing, seems to have proceeded with solemn silence after it began, until the silence was broken by these startling words.
And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
26:22 Lord, is it I? Not one of them ventures to question the truth of the Lord's prophecy; and each asks the personal question, Is it I ? No one accuses, even by implication, his neighbor.
And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
26:23 He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish. In Oriental meals, instead of plates being used, each one helps himself with his fingers from the dish as he needs. From Joh 13:23-26 we learn that these words were spoken to the disciple that leaned on the Savior's bosom and were unheard by Judas and the rest.
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.
26:24 As it is written of him. As it was determined (Lu 22:22), in prophecy.

It had been good for that man. A declaration of the awful judgment that would befall the traitor.

Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
26:25 Thou hast said. In other words, Thou art the traitor. John says that Jesus then said to Judas, What thou doest, do quickly and that he immediately went out, and it was night (Joh 13:27,30). Judas, therefore, left before the Lord's Supper was instituted.
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.
26:26 As they were eating. Before they had arisen from the paschal feast.

Jesus took bread. That is, one of the unleavened cakes that had been placed before him as the celebrant or proclaimer of the feast.

And blessed. As was the custom. Luke and Paul say, gave thanks (Lu 22:19 1Co 11:24), which is the same thing.

This is my body. Not literally, as the Catholics and Luther contend, but represents my body. We interpret it as we do his other sayings: The seed is the word (Lu 8:11); The field is the world (Mt 13:38); The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels (Mt 13:39); I am the door (Joh 10:9); I am the vine (Joh 15:5). So, too, at this very feast, the Jews was wont to say of the paschal lamb, This 'is' the body of the lamb which our fathers ate in Egypt. Not the same, but this is meant to represent and commemorate that. He could not have meant that the bread was his real body, because his body was present at the table breaking the loaf, and he was speaking and acting in person among them. The doctrine of the Real Presence is every way unreasonable.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
26:27 He took the cup, and gave thanks. The cup was provided for the celebration of the paschal feast, and was at hand as well as the bread.

Drink ye all of it. Observe that he simply said of the bread, Take, eat (Mt 26:26); but of the wine, Drink ye all, as if he intended to uproot the Catholic innovation of denying the cup to the laity.

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
26:28 This is my blood. A sign or emblem of my blood.

New testament. Covenant is the preferable sense here, as in most passages where the word occurs in the New Testament; the new covenant is contrasted with the covenant which God made with our fathers (Ac 3:25).

Shed for many. Shed, in one sense, for all, for the benefits of the blood are offered to all; but many accept it and are saved.

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.
26:29 I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine. He is done with earthly rites, and at this sad moment points them to a future reunion at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Do this in remembrance of me (Lu 22:19) points to a permanent institution, to be observed until the Lord comes the second time. The command is therefore binding on all who believe in Christ; and disobedience to it is sin, for the unbelief that keeps men away is one of the worst of sins. The subsequent practice of the apostles (Ac 2:42,46 20:7), and still more the fact that directions for the Lord's Supper were made a matter of special revelation to Paul (1Co 11:23), seem to make it clear that Christ intended the ordinance for a perpetual one, and that his apostles so understood it.
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
26:30 When they had sung an hymn. It was customary to conclude the passover by singing the Psalms from 115th or 118th.

To the mount of Olives. To the garden of Gethsemane, which was on the slope of the mount. This journey over the Kedron to Gethsemane was made in the darkness of the night. The Lord's Supper, a memorial of his death, has a still more tender interest, from the fact that it was established only two or three hours before he was betrayed and seized.

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.
26:31 Shall be offended. Compare Mr 14:26-31 Lu 22:31-34 Joh 13:37-38.

It is written. See Zec 13:7.

The shepherd. Christ.

The sheep. His disciples.

But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
26:32 I will go before you into Galilee. The first announcement of the great Galilean meeting of the risen Lord with his disciples. See Mt 28:16 Joh 21:1-25 1Co 15:6.
Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
26:33 Peter answered. With his usual rashness.
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
26:34,35 Thou shalt deny me thrice. The first cock crow was about twelve at night. The second about three o'clock. Before this the three-fold denial would occur. Peter and the disciples were sincere, but knew not their own weakness.
Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
26:34,35 Thou shalt deny me thrice. The first cock crow was about twelve at night. The second about three o'clock. Before this the three-fold denial would occur. Peter and the disciples were sincere, but knew not their own weakness.
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
26:36 Gethsemane. The word means oil-press, and would indicate that a press for making oil out of the olives, which grew in abundance on the mountain, stood there. It was on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.

Sit ye here. He speaks to the eight who were to remain. These eight would form, as it were, a watch against premature surprise.

While I go and pray yonder. The great crisis was at hand, and it was casting its dark shadow before on the spirit of our Lord. In this hour of the power of darkness he felt that he must throw himself upon his Father's bosom.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. The eight were left at the entrance of the garden, while the three who had always been a kind of inner circle, who had been witnesses of his transfiguration, and of one of his greatest miracles (Mr 5:37) were taken within.

Began to be sorrowful and very heavy. The shadow of the cross had fallen upon him. It was not fear of the agony, or fear of death, for he bore all, when the moment came, so sublimely that a heathen officer exclaimed, Surely he must be the son of a god. I doubt whether it is possible for a mortal to comprehend the mystery of his suffering, but I think the key is found in the declaration, He was made sin for us (2Co 5:21).

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
26:38 My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. The weight of woe was literally crushing out the Savior's life.

Tarry ye here, and watch with me. He had wished his chosen disciples to be near him in his woe; and yet, as it advanced, he felt that he must retire even from them, and be alone with himself and his Father.

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.
26:39 And he went a little further. About a stone's cast (Lu 22:41).

If it be possible. If it were possible to save men, and carry out the divine work of redeeming them.

Let this cup pass from me. This cup is the betrayal, the trial, the mocking, the scourging, the cross, and all besides which our thoughts cannot reach.

But as thou wilt. This is an example of perfect faith--the faith by which alone answers to prayer can be obtained. He that insists on his will, when it is contrary to the will of God, fails in faith.

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
26:40 Findeth them asleep. Peter, James and John, soldiers placed on duty in an hour of dreadful peril and bidden to watch. Luke says they were sleeping from sorrow (Lu 22:45). Great sorrow stupefies. Dr. Rush says that criminals usually sleep soundly the night before execution.
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. Our Lord does not direct them to pray to God that no temptation might befall them, but that they might not be overcome by the temptations in which they must be involved. The need of such prayer was shown by Peter's denial.
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.
26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed. More earnestly, says Luke, who adds the account of the bloody sweat (Lu 22:44). His agony returned on him. The continuance of the trial he accepts as God's answer to the petition, Let this cup pass from me (Mt 26:39). Now he asks only, Thy will be done.
And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
26:43 He came and found them asleep again. The motive of this return we may reverently believe to have been, as before, the craving for human sympathy in that hour of awful agony. Our Savior, we must not forget, was human as well as divine.
And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
26:44 He... prayed the third time, saying the same words. The fact is suggestive as indicating that there is a repetition in prayer which indicates not formalism, but intensity of feeling.
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.
26:45 Sleep on now, and take your rest. I look upon these words as reproachful. The hour when he needed their watchfulness and sympathy was past. They had failed to guard in the hour when he wished to be alone with God. Now the moment is at hand; the soldiers are approaching.
Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
26:46 Rise, let us be going. It was no time for repose. Let them rouse, and go with him at once to confront the traitor and the band of enemies.

WAS CHRIST'S PRAYER ANSWERED?--The Epistle to the Hebrews says it was (Heb 5:7). An angel came and strengthened him (Lu 22:43). There are two ways of answering a prayer for the removal of a burden. In one, the burden is taken away, and we remain the same; in the other, we are made so strong that the burden is no longer a burden to us; as what would crush a child, is but sport to a man.

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.
26:47 Judas, one of the twelve, came. Judas knew the place where the Lord would go to pass the night (Joh 18:2). Compare Mr 14:43-50 Lu 22:47-53 Joh 18:3-12.

A great multitude. Roman soldiers (Joh 18:3,12), the temple guard, the captains of the temple (Lu 22:52), and possibly some priests and scribes.

With swords. In the hands of the soldiers.

Staves. Clubs. The rabble with the soldiers carried these.

The chief priests and elders. The Sanhedrin.

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
26:48,49 Gave them a sign. A kiss; a common method of salutation among intimate friends. A sign was needful to point Jesus out to the soldiers. Such a traitorous kiss was the depth of depravity--enmity under the guise of friendship.
And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
26:48,49 Gave them a sign. A kiss; a common method of salutation among intimate friends. A sign was needful to point Jesus out to the soldiers. Such a traitorous kiss was the depth of depravity--enmity under the guise of friendship.
And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
26:50 They... laid hands on Jesus. And bound him (Joh 18:12).
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.
26:51 One... drew his sword. Peter (Joh 18:26).

Struck a servant of the high priest's. As we learn from John, his name was Malchus (Joh 18:10). The Lord healed his wound (Lu 22:51). Peter asked, Shall we smite with the sword ? and without waiting for an answer, struck the blow (Lu 22:49,50).

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.
26:52 They that take the sword shall perish with the sword. A general law. The violent usually die violent deaths.
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
26:53,54 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father? The Lord needed no human defenders, had it been the Divine purpose that he should not die.

More than twelve legions of angels? A Roman legion contained from 6,000 men upwards. The idea here is a mighty host. He and his eleven disciples are twelve. There is more than a legion for each one of them. He could have evaded the enemies had he chosen; the angels would have come to his rescue, if he had willed it, but he gave himself unto death.

But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
26:53,54 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father? The Lord needed no human defenders, had it been the Divine purpose that he should not die.

More than twelve legions of angels? A Roman legion contained from 6,000 men upwards. The idea here is a mighty host. He and his eleven disciples are twelve. There is more than a legion for each one of them. He could have evaded the enemies had he chosen; the angels would have come to his rescue, if he had willed it, but he gave himself unto death.

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.
26:55 Are ye come out as against a thief? Not a thief, but a robber, a brigand. Among all the indignities heaped upon Jesus by his enemies, the only one that he complains of is that he should be bound like a robber.
But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
26:56 Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. The eleven apostles who a little while before thought they never could forsake the Lord. As soon as the Lord was seized they fled into the darkness.
And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
26:57 Led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest. He was first examined by Annas, the former high priest, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, probably while the Sanhedrin was assembling in the darkness of the night (Joh 18:13). For the trial of Christ, compare Mr 14:53-64 Lu 22:54-71 Joh 18:13-18.

The scribes and the elders were assembled. Mark says the chief priests (Mr 14:53) also. It was a gathering of the Sanhedrin. Those who were favorable to Jesus, like Joseph and Nicodemus, were probably not called.

But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.
26:58 Peter followed him... to the high priest's palace. The enclosed area, open to the sky, around which the palace was constructed, was called the court. The building extended all around this.
Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
26:59 All the council. The Sanhedrin.

Sought false witness. No one could be condemned legally without at least two witnesses who agreed (De 17:6 19:15). One witness, it was said, was no witness. As there was no true testimony to a charge that could be punished with death, they sought false witness.

But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
26:60,61 But found none. That is, witnesses who would testify to a capital offense and agree in their testimony.

At the last came two. These two gave a perverted version of what Christ had said concerning his death and the resurrection of his own body under the figure of a temple. See Joh 2:19. But even their testimony disagreed (Mr 14:59).

And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.
26:60,61 But found none. That is, witnesses who would testify to a capital offense and agree in their testimony.

At the last came two. These two gave a perverted version of what Christ had said concerning his death and the resurrection of his own body under the figure of a temple. See Joh 2:19. But even their testimony disagreed (Mr 14:59).

And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
26:62 Answerest thou nothing? Under the false charges Jesus maintained an impressive silence. As a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth (Isa 53:7).
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.
26:63 I adjure thee, etc. This was the formula for an oath. The High Priest, contrary to the principle of law which forbids that a prisoner shall be compelled to criminate himself, called on Jesus to be a witness against himself. To answer yes, or no, to such a question, was to answer under oath.
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.
26:64 Thou hast said. That is, thou hast said the truth in thy question. The Lord only breaks the silence to affirm his divinity under oath. It insured his death at their hands, for he was immediately condemned for the declaration. At the very crisis of his history, when denial would have saved his life, he asserts his claim to the Divine Sonship and to a Godlike power.
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.
26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes. A sign of mourning or indignation (Ac 14:14). It was a form that was always used then about to pronounce a judgment.

He hath spoken blasphemy. He did, if not Divine; he did not, if Divine. Either he spoke the truth, or the wicked Caiaphas spoke the truth and Jesus was false. If he spoke falsehood, the purest lips that ever formed human words spoke falsehood on the eve of death, when he knew that the falsehood would send him to death. Such an affirmation, from such a prisoner, at such an hour, can only be reconciled with a consciousness of divinity.

What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
26:66 He is guilty of death. This is the formal decision of the Sanhedrin to condemn the Lord to death for blasphemy. This was the second trial, the first examination being informal before Annas, and is mentioned only by John (Joh 18:13,24). There was a third, named only by Luke, at the dawn of day, because a decision by the Sanhedrin in the night was illegal (Lu 22:66). This meeting only confirmed the decision reached in the night before three o'clock. It is also referred to in Mt 27:1.
Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
26:67 Then did they spit in his face. The maltreatment recorded occurred between this meeting and the one called to meet at daybreak. Spitting was considered among the Jews an expression of the greatest contempt (De 25:9 Nu 12:14). Even to spit before another was regarded as an offense, and treated as such by heathen also.

Buffeted him. Struck him with their fists.

Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
26:68 Prophesy to us,... Who is he that smote thee? We learn from Mark that his face was covered, as a mark that he was a condemned man (Mr 14:65). The age was a cruel one, and Jewish bigots could not be too rough to the condemned prisoner.
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace. While the preliminary examinations were being held before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Peter and John entered the court of the palace. This court was an open square, enclosed by the palace which was built in a quadrangle all around it. From it doors and windows opened into the rooms built around it, so that Peter was without the palace, yet in the interior court, where he could see and hear through the open door the proceedings in the hall. Oriental houses are still built with this interior court.

And a maid came to him, saying. John speaks of her as the damsel that kept the door (Joh 18:17) of the porch, or passage into the court. We are not told why she suspected him. He was at this time in the interior court, and is said by Luke to have been standing among them (Lu 22:55) by the fire that had been kindled in the courtyard on account of the chilliness of the night.

But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
26:70 But he denied before them all. Denied that he was with Jesus of Galilee (Mt 26:69). But a few hours before Peter had asserted that though all others deserted the Lord he would not, and that he would die with him, and when Judas led the band into Gethsemane, Peter, refusing to consider the odds, flung himself upon them, valiant as a lion, struck and wounded Malchus, and would probably have slain him had he not swerved. He was a brave as a hero then--now is timid as a deer. The explanation is that his faith had failed when he saw his Master apparently helpless in the hands of his enemies. See Heb 11:32-35.
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.
26:71 When he had gone out into the porch. Alarmed by the accusation, he withdrew into the porch, an arched passage that led from without into the inner court.

This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. It is another maid that follows him and makes the charge. In both cases the charges were based on conjecture.

And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
26:72 He denied with an oath, I do not know the man. Peter's second denial. He even denied knowing him, and that, too, with an oath. He had entered upon the downward road, and each step called for a deeper one. So it is always with sin.
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.
26:73 Thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Matthew says, After awhile; Luke says, About an hour after (Lu 22:59). John says that the third charge was made by a kinsman of Malchus, who asserted that he saw Peter in the garden (Joh 18:26). Mark says that they accused him of having a Galilean brogue (Mr 14:70). As most of the disciples of Jesus were Galileans, this draws attention to Peter. Different districts had their dialects, as in England, or the United States.
Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
26:74 Began he to curse and to swear. Peter's third denial. He not only, with an oath, repeats what he had said in the second, but he affirms it with imprecations of divine wrath on himself if he spoke not the truth. The gradations of guilt in the denials of Peter: (1) ambiguous evasion; (2) distinct denial with a false oath; (3) awful abjuration with solemn imprecations on himself.

Immediately the cock crew. This was at the opening of the fourth or morning watch, at about three o'clock. The cock often crows about midnight, or not long after; and again always about the third hour after midnight, or three o'clock. This shows that the second trial of Jesus took place before the dawn.

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.
26:75 Peter remembered the word of Jesus. It was at this point that the Lord turned and looked at Peter (Lu 22:61). The hall where Jesus was being tried was probably open toward the court, and Jesus may easily have heard all the denials of Peter. Now he turns and looks at Peter, and brings to his mind what he had few hours before foretold.

He went out, and wept bitterly. The look of Christ broke his heart. As the cock crew, his own confident assertions and the word of the Lord, Before the cock crow twice (before the second cock crowing) thou shalt thrice deny me rushed upon him (Mt 26:34 Mr 14:30 Lu 22:34). He rushed out into the darkness of the night to weep. Judas sinned, betrayed and sold the Lord from covetousness. Afterward he was sorry, but it was the sorrow of this world that worketh death (2Co 7:10). It was remorse, not repentance, and he went and hanged himself. Peter's repentance was attested (1) by the bitterness of his tears; (2) by his humble submission to his Lord's subsequent rebuke (Joh 21:15-17); (3) by his subsequent courage in confessing Christ in the face of threatening danger (Ac 4:8-12,19).

THE ORDER OF EVENTS, after the prayer at Gethsemane, for this night were as follows: After the arrest, and its incidents, (1) Jesus was taken first to the house of Annas, ex-high priest (Joh 18:13). (2) Next, to the palace of Caiaphas, Peter and John following (Joh 18:15). (3) Here was a preliminary examination before Caiaphas (Joh 18:19-24). (4) The trial before the council illegal, because held at night--before three o'clock, the cock-crowing (Mt 26:59-65 Mr 14:55-64). (5) Peter's three denials during the trial (Mt 26:69-75 Mr 14:66-72). (6) After the Sanhedrin had pronounced him guilty it suspends its session till break of day (7) During this interval Jesus is exposed to the insults of his enemies (Mt 26:67-68 Lu 22:63-65). (8) At the dawn of day the Sanhedrin re-assembles (Mt 27:1 Mr 15:1 Lu 22:66). (9) After hearing Christ's confession again, he is formally condemned to death for blasphemy (Lu 22:66-71). (10) He is bound and sent to Pilate (Mr 15:1).

ON THE ILLEGAL CONVICTION OF CHRIST, Prof. Greenleaf, a distinguished jurist, says:

Throughout the whole course of the trial, the rules of the Jewish law of procedure were grossly violated, and the accused was deprived of rights belonging even to the meanest citizen. He was arrested in the night, bound as a malefactor, beaten before his arraignment, and struck in open court during the trial. He was tried on a feast-day, and before sunrise. He was compelled to criminate himself, and this under an oath of solemn judicial adjuration; and he was sentenced on the same day of conviction. In all these particulars the law was wholly disregarded.''

The People's New Testament by B.W. Johnson [1891]

Bible Hub
Matthew 25
Top of Page
Top of Page