Matthew 26:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

NIV: and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.

NASB: and they plotted together to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.

CSB: and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.

NLT: plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him.

KJV: And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.

NKJV: and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.

Jesus told His disciples openly that He would be condemned by Israel's religious leaders and handed over to the Romans to be executed (Matthew 16:21–23; Mark 10:33). Matthew shows that this is exactly what the chief priests and elders are plotting to accomplish together. They are gathered at the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Specifically, they hope to secretly arrest Jesus and kill Him without inciting the crowds to riot over this treatment of a man many believe to be a prophet of God.

Why this risk? Why are they so eager to eliminate Jesus? The religious leaders have two clear motives to get Jesus out of the way. First, their goal is to maintain the peace in Israel and keep the people from rebelling against Rome and bringing the Empire's wrath down on the tiny country (John 11:48). Not only would this avoid additional bloodshed, it also conveniently keeps the religious leaders in their positions of power and relative comfort.

Secondly, though, Jesus has publicly and thoroughly condemned the scribes and the Pharisees as hypocrites. During this week, He has even depicted their lawful choices as attempts to bring glory only to themselves (Matthew 23:1–7). Jesus' teaching is a direct threat to the credibility of the men gathered at the home of the high priest on this day.

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.