The Plot Against Jesus
26 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,[ See Deut. 15:11.] 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?”
18 He 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.”
22 They 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[Some manuscripts the new] 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.’[Zech. 13:7 ]
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.
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. 46 Rise! 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.”[Or “Why have you come, friend?”]
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With
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 61 and 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.”[See Psalm 110:1; Daniel 7:13. ]
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. 66 What 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.
26:1–28:20 The five books with alternating narrative and
discourse (Mt 3:1–25:46) that give this gospel its distinctive structure lead
up to the climactic events that are the center of Christian belief and the
origin of the Christian church, the passion and resurrection of Jesus. In his
passion narrative (Mt 26 and 27) Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but
with omissions (e.g., Mk 14:51–52) and additions (e.g., Mt 27:3–10, 19). Some
of the additions indicate that he utilized traditions that he had received from
elsewhere; others are due to his own theological insight (e.g., Mt 26:28 “…for
the forgiveness of sins”; Mt 27:52). In his editing, Matthew also altered Mark
in some minor details. But there is no need to suppose that he knew any passion
narrative other than Mark’s.
26:1–2 When Jesus finished all these words: see note on Mt
7:28–29. “You know…crucified”: Matthew turns Mark’s statement of the time (Mk
14:1) into Jesus’ final prediction of his passion. Passover: see note on Mk
14:1.
26:3 Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.
26:5 Not during the festival: the plan to delay Jesus’
arrest and execution until after the festival was not carried out, for
according to the synoptics he was arrested on the night of Nisan 14 and put to
death the following day. No reason is given why the plan was changed.
26:6–13 See notes on Mk 14:3–9 and Jn 12:1–8.
26:12 To prepare me for burial: cf. Mk 14:8. In accordance
with the interpretation of this act as Jesus’ burial anointing, Matthew, more
consistent than Mark, changes the purpose of the visit of the women to Jesus’
tomb; they do not go to anoint him (Mk 16:1) but “to see the tomb” (Mt 28:1).
26:14 Iscariot: see note on Lk 6:16.
26:15 The motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’s
question about the price for betrayal, which is absent in the Marcan source (Mk
14:10–11). Hand him over: the same Greek verb is used to express the saving
purpose of God by which Jesus is handed over to death (cf. Mt 17:22; 20:18;
26:2) and the human malice that hands him over. Thirty pieces of silver: the
price of the betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zec 11:12
where it is the wages paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price (Zec 11:13).
That amount is also the compensation paid to one whose slave has been gored by
an ox (Ex 21:32).
26:17 The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: see
note on Mk 14:1. Matthew omits Mark’s “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.”
26:18 By omitting much of Mk 14:13–15, adding My appointed
time draws near, and turning the question into a statement, in your house I
shall celebrate the Passover, Matthew has given this passage a solemnity and
majesty greater than that of his source.
26:21 Given Matthew’s interest in the fulfillment of the Old
Testament, it is curious that he omits the Marcan designation of Jesus’
betrayer as “one who is eating with me” (Mk 14:18), since that is probably an
allusion to Ps 41:10. However, the shocking fact that the betrayer is one who
shares table fellowship with Jesus is emphasized in Mt 26:23.
26:24 It would be better…born: the enormity of the deed is
such that it would be better not to exist than to do it.
26:25 Peculiar to Matthew. You have said so: cf. Mt 26:64;
27:11. This is a half-affirmative. Emphasis is laid on the pronoun and the
answer implies that the statement would not have been made if the question had
not been asked.
26:26–29 See note on Mk 14:22–24. The Marcan-Matthean is one
of the two major New Testament traditions of the words of Jesus when
instituting the Eucharist. The other (and earlier) is the Pauline-Lucan (1 Cor
11:23–25; Lk 22:19–20). Each shows the influence of Christian liturgical usage,
but the Marcan-Matthean is more developed in that regard than the
Pauline-Lucan. The words over the bread and cup succeed each other without the
intervening meal mentioned in 1 Cor 11:25; Lk 22:20; and there is parallelism
between the consecratory words (this is my body…this is my blood). Matthew
follows Mark closely but with some changes.
26:26 See note on Mt 14:19. Said the blessing: a prayer
blessing God. Take and eat: literally, Take, eat. Eat is an addition to Mark’s
“take it” (literally, “take”; Mk 14:22). This is my body: the bread is
identified with Jesus himself.
26:27–28 Gave thanks: see note on Mt 15:36. Gave it to
them…all of you: cf. Mk 14:23–24. In the Marcan sequence the disciples drink
and then Jesus says the interpretative words. Matthew has changed this into a
command to drink followed by those words. My blood: see Lv 17:11 for the
concept that the blood is “the seat of life” and that when placed on the altar
it “makes atonement.” Which will be shed: the present participle, “being shed”
or “going to be shed,” is future in relation to the Last Supper. On behalf of:
Greek peri; see note on Mk 14:24. Many: see note on Mt 20:28. For the
forgiveness of sins: a Matthean addition. The same phrase occurs in Mk 1:4 in
connection with John’s baptism but Matthew avoids it there (Mt 3:11). He places
it here probably because he wishes to emphasize that it is the sacrificial
death of Jesus that brings forgiveness of sins.
26:29 Although his death will interrupt the table fellowship
he has had with the disciples, Jesus confidently predicts his vindication by
God and a new table fellowship with them at the banquet of the kingdom.
26:30 See note on Mk 14:26.
26:31 Will have…shaken: literally, “will be scandalized in
me”; see note on Mt 24:9–12. I will strike…dispersed: cf. Zec 13:7.
26:34 Before the cock crows: see note on Mt 14:25. The third
watch of the night was called “cockcrow.” Deny me: see note on Mt 16:24.
26:36–56 Cf. Mk 14:32–52. The account of Jesus in Gethsemane
is divided between that of his agony (Mt 26:36–46) and that of his betrayal and
arrest (Mt 26:47–56). Jesus’ sorrow and distress (Mt 26:37) in face of death is
unrelieved by the presence of his three disciples who, though urged to watch
with him (Mt 26:38, 41), fall asleep (Mt 26:40, 43). He prays that if…possible
his death may be avoided (Mt 26:39) but that his Father’s will be done (Mt
26:39, 42, 44). Knowing then that his death must take place, he announces to
his companions that the hour for his being handed over has come (Mt 26:45).
Judas arrives with an armed band provided by the Sanhedrin and greets Jesus
with a kiss, the prearranged sign for his identification (Mt 26:47–49). After
his arrest, he rebukes a disciple who has attacked the high priest’s servant
with a sword (Mt 26:51–54), and chides those who have come out to seize him
with swords and clubs as if he were a robber (Mt 26:55–56). In both rebukes
Jesus declares that the treatment he is now receiving is the fulfillment of the
scriptures (Mt 26:55, 56). The subsequent flight of all the disciples is itself
the fulfillment of his own prediction (cf. 31). In this episode, Matthew
follows Mark with a few alterations.
26:36 Gethsemane: the Hebrew name means “oil press” and
designates an olive orchard on the western slope of the Mount of Olives; see
note on Mt 21:1. The name appears only in Matthew and Mark. The place is called
a “garden” in Jn 18:1.
26:37 Peter and the two sons of Zebedee: cf. Mt 17:1.
26:38 Cf. Ps 42:6, 12. In the Septuagint (Ps 41:5, 12) the
same Greek word for sorrowful is used as here. To death: i.e., “enough to die”;
cf. Jon 4:9.
26:39 My Father: see note on Mk 14:36. Matthew omits the
Aramaic ’abbā’ and adds the qualifier my. This cup: see note on Mk 10:38–40.
26:41 Undergo the test: see note on Mt 6:13. In that verse
“the final test” translates the same Greek word as is here translated the test,
and these are the only instances of the use of that word in Matthew. It is
possible that the passion of Jesus is seen here as an anticipation of the great
tribulation that will precede the parousia (see notes on Mt 24:8; 24:21) to
which Mt 6:13 refers, and that just as Jesus prays to be delivered from death
(Mt 26:39), so he exhorts the disciples to pray that they will not have to
undergo the great test that his passion would be for them. Some scholars,
however, understand not undergo (literally, “not enter”) the test as meaning
not that the disciples may be spared the test but that they may not yield to
the temptation of falling away from Jesus because of his passion even though
they will have to endure it.
26:42 Your will be done: cf. Mt 6:10.
26:49 Rabbi: see note on Mt 23:6–7. Jesus is so addressed
twice in Matthew (Mt 26:25), both times by Judas. For the significance of the
closely related address “teacher” in Matthew, see note on Mt 8:19.
26:55 Day after day…arrest me: cf. Mk 14:49. This suggests
that Jesus had taught for a relatively long period in Jerusalem, whereas Mt
21:1–11 puts his coming to the city for the first time only a few days before.
26:57–68 Following Mk 14:53–65 Matthew presents the
nighttime appearance of Jesus before the Sanhedrin as a real trial. After many
false witnesses bring charges against him that do not suffice for the death
sentence (Mt 26:60), two came forward who charge him with claiming to be able
to destroy the temple…and within three days to rebuild it (Mt 26:60–61). Jesus
makes no answer even when challenged to do so by the high priest, who then
orders him to declare under oath…whether he is the Messiah, the Son of God (Mt
26:62–63). Matthew changes Mark’s clear affirmative response (Mk 14:62) to the
same one as that given to Judas (Mt 26:25), but follows Mark almost verbatim in
Jesus’ predicting that his judges will see him (the Son of Man) seated at the
right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven (Mt 26:64). The high
priest then charges him with blasphemy (Mt 26:65), a charge with which the
other members of the Sanhedrin agree by declaring that he deserves to die (Mt
26:66). They then attack him (Mt 26:67) and mockingly demand that he prophesy
(Mt 26:68). This account contains elements that are contrary to the judicial
procedures prescribed in the Mishnah, the Jewish code of law that dates in
written form from ca. A.D. 200, e.g., trial on a feast day, a night session of
the court, pronouncement of a verdict of condemnation at the same session at
which testimony was received. Consequently, some scholars regard the account
entirely as a creation of the early Christians without historical value.
However, it is disputable whether the norms found in the Mishnah were in force
at the time of Jesus. More to the point is the question whether the
Matthean-Marcan night trial derives from a combination of two separate
incidents, a nighttime preliminary investigation (cf. Jn 18:13, 19–24) and a
formal trial on the following morning (cf. Lk 22:66–71).
26:57 Caiaphas: see note on Mt 26:3.
26:59 Sanhedrin: see note on Lk 22:66.
26:60–61 Two: cf. Dt 19:15. I can destroy…rebuild it: there
are significant differences from the Marcan parallel (Mk 14:58). Matthew omits
“made with hands” and “not made with hands” and changes Mark’s “will destroy”
and “will build another” to can destroy and (can) rebuild. The charge is
probably based on Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction; see notes on
Mt 23:37–39; 24:2; and Jn 2:19. A similar prediction by Jeremiah was considered
as deserving death; cf. Jer 7:1–15; 26:1–8.
26:63 Silent: possibly an allusion to Is 53:7. I order
you…living God: peculiar to Matthew; cf. Mk 14:61.
26:64 You have said so: see note on Mt 26:25. From now
on…heaven: the Son of Man who is to be crucified (cf. Mt 20:19) will be seen in
glorious majesty (cf. Ps 110:1) and coming on the clouds of heaven (cf. Dn
7:13). The Power: see note on Mk 14:61–62.
26:65 Blasphemed: the punishment for blasphemy was death by
stoning (see Lv 24:10–16). According to the Mishnah, to be guilty of blasphemy
one had to pronounce “the Name itself,” i.e., Yahweh; cf. Sanhedrin 7:4, 5.
Those who judge the gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial by the later Mishnah
standards point out that Jesus uses the surrogate “the Power,” and hence no
Jewish court would have regarded him as guilty of blasphemy; others hold that
the Mishnah’s narrow understanding of blasphemy was a later development.
26:67–68 The physical abuse, apparently done to Jesus by the
members of the Sanhedrin themselves, recalls the sufferings of the Isaian
Servant of the Lord; cf. Is 50:6. The mocking challenge to prophesy is probably
motivated by Jesus’ prediction of his future glory (Mt 26:64).
26:70 Denied it in front of everyone: see Mt 10:33. Peter’s
repentance (Mt 26:75) saves him from the fearful destiny of which Jesus speaks
there.
26:73 Your speech…away: Matthew explicates Mark’s “you too
are a Galilean” (Mk 14:70).
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