Matthew 26:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’"

NIV: 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.’ "

NASB: And He said, 'Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, 'My time is near; I am keeping the Passover at your house with My disciples.'?’?'

CSB: "Go into the city to a certain man," he said, "and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place with my disciples.’"

NLT: As you go into the city,' he told them, 'you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.” ’ ”

The disciples have asked Jesus where they should go to prepare the Passover meal for all of them to eat together (Matthew 26:17). None of them lived in Jerusalem. They didn't have a natural spot to prepare a meal for at least 13 guests. Also, the law required the meal to be eaten within Jerusalem's walls. The city was packed, and places to eat as a large group would have been scarce. On top of all of that, it was already the crucial day. The meal was to be eaten after sundown, just a few hours away.

Jesus' answer to them is mysterious. He tells them to go into the city, Jerusalem, to a "certain man." Matthew leaves out the details added in Mark: They will be met by a man carrying a jar of water. They are to follow him to whatever house he enters and then talk to the owner of that house (Mark 14:13–14). They are to say to that man that the time is short and that they will keep the Passover at his house. Mark adds that the man will show them to a large, furnished upstairs room (Mark 14:15), that later became known simply as the "upper room," the place of the Last Supper.

Matthew 26:17–35 begins with locating the room which will be used for the Passover meal. While they are eating, Jesus announces that one of His closest disciples will become a traitor. Judas discovers that Jesus knows it is him. Jesus introduces the concept of bread and wine as symbols of His sacrificial body and blood. After the meal, Jesus tells the disciples they will fall away that night and that Peter will deny Him three times. They insist that will not happen. Mark 14:10–31, Luke 22:3–23, Luke 22:31–34, and John 13:21–38 feature these events, as well.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.