What does the mistreatment of Jesus in Matthew 26:67 reveal about human sinfulness? \Verse under focus\ “Then they spat in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him” (Matthew 26:67) \Setting the scene\ • Late night in the high priest’s courtyard • False witnesses have just finished testifying (vv. 59–66) • Jesus stands bound, innocent, yet condemned for “blasphemy” • The abuse in v. 67 is physical, verbal, and utterly public \What their actions expose about sin\ • Open contempt for God’s holiness – Spitting in Scripture signals deepest disgust (Deuteronomy 25:9) – Their loathing of Jesus shows the heart’s natural hostility toward divine purity (John 3:19–20) • Willful rejection of truth – They struck the very One who moments earlier affirmed His identity as Messiah (26:64) – Sin prefers darkness even when light stands unmistakably before it (John 1:10–11) • Violent rebellion against rightful authority – Instead of bowing to the Son, they “slapped Him,” an act of dominance – Psalm 2:1–3 pictures nations raging against the LORD’s Anointed; the courtyard scene is that rage in microcosm • Collective participation in evil – “Others” joined in; sin spreads, drawing crowds into shared guilt (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:12) • Mockery of redemptive love – They dishonored the very Savior bearing their iniquities (Isaiah 53:4–5) – Human depravity scorns the grace that seeks to rescue it \Sin’s universal reach\ • Romans 3:10–18 catalogs hearts “full of cursing and bitterness,” mirroring the courtyard mob • Ephesians 2:1–3 describes all people as “dead in trespasses… by nature children of wrath” • Thus the abuse of Jesus is not an isolated atrocity; it is a window into every unregenerate heart \Why this matters today\ • The passage confronts readers with the depth of their own fallenness—apart from grace, we would stand with the spitters • It magnifies the patience of Christ, who “when He suffered, He made no threats” (1 Peter 2:23) • It calls believers to humble gratitude: the One we once despised now bears our shame • It fuels proclamation—only the cross can cure the violence, contempt, and blindness Matthew 26:67 lays bare |
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