Matthew 26:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,

NIV: When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples,

NASB: When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples,

CSB: When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples,

NLT: When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples,

KJV: And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,

NKJV: Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples,

For the fifth time in his book, Matthew concludes a long description of Jesus' teaching with similar words: "When Jesus had finished all these sayings" (Matthew 7:27; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1). Jesus will not teach again before His crucifixion.

The previous two chapters contain what Bible scholars call the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:3). Jesus, sitting on the Mount of Olives, has described future events, including their own persecution, the destruction of the temple, the return of the Son of Man at an unknown moment, and the judgment to follow His return after a time of tribulation on the earth.

Much of what Jesus has taught must have been baffling to the disciples, especially before Jesus' death, resurrection, and return to heaven. Eventually, it will become clear to them. For now, though, the time of Jesus' teaching has come to an end. The time of His great suffering is about to begin.

Matthew 26:1–5 shows that Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen to Him in the next few days. He tells the disciples He will be handed over for crucifixion at Passover. Meanwhile, the high priest, chief priests, and elders are plotting to arrest Jesus secretly and have Him killed. They decide to wait until after the Passover feast so as not to provoke the crowds to riot in defense of Jesus.

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.

Accessed 5/5/2024 3:49:18 AM