Scripture reading – Matthew 26
Jesus had been teaching His disciples from the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24:3). As He looked west, He gazed upon the glorious Temple in His beloved city of Jerusalem. He had taught His disciples the signs that preceded His Second Coming (Matthew 24-25). Yet, the disciples were blinded by ambition and did not grasp the imminence of the events that would cause them to flee and deny the Lord. Finally, leaving no doubt of His appointment with the Cross, Jesus said plainly: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2).
Matthew then recounted several historical scenes after Jesus revealed that the observance of the Passover would coincide with Him being “betrayed to be crucified” (Matthew 26:3-16).
An Assembly of the Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:3-5)
In the first scene, we find an assembly of the Sanhedrin representing four religious offices. There was Caiaphas, the high priest (Matthew 26:3), the chief priests (the religious nobility of Israel), the scribes (the majority of whom were Pharisees and experts in the Law), and the elders (wealthy laymen who held a powerful presence in Jewish society). Those men assembled for one purpose – “that they might take Jesus by subtility [guise; deceit]and kill him” (Matthew 26:4).
A Sabbath Meal Six Days Prior (Matthew 26:6-16)
The second scene was a throwback to an earlier event that we considered in previous Bible studies (John 12:1-6; Mark 14). Jesus and His disciples had enjoyed a Sabbath meal at “the house of Simon the leper” six days before the Passover (Matthew 26:6-9). Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, interrupted the supper and anointed Jesus with “an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head” (Matthew 26:7).
Matthew recalled the disciples objecting to what they felt was a wasteful use of ointment. Jesus, however, rebuked them and said, “Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me…12For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. 13Verily 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’ (Matthew 26:10-13).
Judas’ Meeting with the Chief Priests to Betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16)
Chaffing from the rebuke he rightfully received for his greed and protests, we read: “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15And 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. 16And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him” (Matthew 26:14b-16).
The Preparation and Jesus’ Last Passover with His Disciples (Matthew 26:17-75)
Matthew records the preparation for the Passover meal (Matthew 26:17-19), which was our Lord’s last supper with His disciples (Matthew 26:20). Though Jesus had foretold He would be betrayed, none suspected Judas (Matthew 26:21-25). What the church observes today as “The LORD’s Supper” is taken from the Lord’s Passover and instituted as a perpetual memorial to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
When the observance of the Passover was ended, Jesus and the disciples “sung an hymn [and] went out into the mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). Along the way, Jesus foretold the disciples would abandon Him that night and fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy that the shepherd would be smitten and the sheep would be scattered (Matthew 26:31; Zechariah 13:7). When Peter protested, Jesus foretold that he would deny Him three times before sunrise (Matthew 26:33-34).
When they arrived at the Mount of Olives, Jesus invited Peter, James, and John to retreat into the garden called Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). There, as the disciples slept, Jesus prayed until the hour that He was betrayed into the hands of His enemies (Matthew 26:39-46). Knowing where Jesus and His disciples would gather, Judas led “the chief priests and elders” to the place and there betrayed Him with a kiss (Matthew 26:47-49).
Several scenes followed Jesus’ arrest (Matthew 26:50-56), including the disciples’ flight into the darkness of the night (Matthew 26:56) and the illegal trial before “Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled,” even as Peter thrice denied that he was Christ’s disciple (Matthew 26:50-75).
Closing thoughts –
As Judas closed His heart to Christ, he opened his heart to Satan (Luke 22:3) and betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver (the price of a slave, Exodus 21:32). His name has come to embody sin, wickedness, and the villainy of rejecting Jesus Christ. Tragically, he turned his back on God and rejected Christ and salvation, and the LORD rejected him.
What about you? Will you open your heart to Christ, believe, and receive Him as your Savior?
Copyright © 2024 – Travis D. Smith
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