Matthew 26:54 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?"

NIV: But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

NASB: How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?'

CSB: How, then, would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?"

NLT: But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?'

KJV: But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

NKJV: How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

Earlier in the garden, Jesus was in agony (Matthew 26:36–38). He prayed to God the Father that, if possible, the impending suffering could pass from Him. He never wavered, however, in a commitment to submit to the will of God the Father above His own (Matthew 26:39). It's not that Jesus couldn't stop other people from harming Him. He is submissive to the Father's will, but Jesus revealed in the previous verse that the Father would also be responsive to Jesus' appeal to stop it. God the Father would send 12 legions of angels—72,000 beings of indescribable power (2 Kings 19:35)—to step in if Jesus asked Him to (Matthew 26:53).

Jesus wants everyone to know that He is choosing, by His own determination, to submit to the Father's will (Philippians 2:8). He will cooperate with God's plan for this night and the following day (Matthew 16:21). He will not turn back now.

In addition, Jesus notes that this is a fulfillment of prophecy. Every Scripture about the suffering and death of the Messiah would be broken if He did not willingly go with those who had come to arrest Him. Jesus did not need Peter (Matthew 26:51–52) to fight for Him.

Matthew 26:47–56 paints the scene of Jesus' betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrives leading an armed crowd of soldiers, temple guards, and others. Judas identifies Jesus to the arresting crowd using a friend's kiss. Peter (John 18:10) wildly swings a sword and cuts a man's ear off in a misguided effort to defend Jesus. Jesus tells him to put the sword away. If He wanted saving, He could ask the Father and 12 legions of angels would arrive. He will not resist. The Scriptures of the prophets must be fulfilled. This passage parallels Mark 14:43–50, Luke 22:47–53, and John 18:1–11.

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.