Matthew 26:66 - Printer Friendly

ESV: What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death."

NIV: What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.

NASB: what do you think?' They answered, 'He deserves death!'

CSB: What is your decision?" They answered, "He deserves death!"

NLT: What is your verdict?' 'Guilty!' they shouted. 'He deserves to die!'

KJV: What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.

NKJV: What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

In a tense moment, the high priest has pressed Jesus to answer a direct question, under oath before God, about whether He is the Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 26:62–63). Jesus has been waiting for this moment, as well, to make His official claim before Israel's official ruling body (Isaiah 53:7).

Jesus declares that He is indeed the Christ, the Messiah, who will wield the power of God Himself and return to earth to judge with God's judgment (Matthew 26:64). This references Psalm 110:1 as well as the prophecies of Daniel 7:13–14:

"Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."

This is not a vague statement. There is no room, at all, for anyone to misunderstand what Jesus means here. This is a claim to not merely be the Chosen One of God, but a claim to be God. Fully grasping Jesus' claim—and rejecting it (John 5:39–40)—the high priest tears his robes, declares that they have all heard Jesus speak blasphemy, and demands the council make their judgment. Israel's ruling religious leaders answer instantly: He deserves death. This, of course, is what they'd already planned to do (John 11:48–53).

Israel, through the highest levels of leadership, has now formally rejected the Son of God as the Messiah (Matthew 23:37). They have scorned Him to His face and sentenced Him to die.

Matthew 26:57–68 describes Jesus' sham trial before members of the Jewish ruling body. False witnesses accuse Jesus of crimes worthy of a death sentence; their attempts are so transparently false that the effort fails. Finally, the high priest challenges Jesus to state that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus agrees, and even adds to the declaration. The high priest and council agree Jesus is guilty of blasphemy and condemn Him to death. Mark 14:53–65, Luke 22:63–71, John 18:12–14, and John 18:19–24 explain different perspectives on the same events.

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.