Matthew Chapter 26
The Lord Jesus finished his teaching. This was the end of his teaching ministry and the beginning of his redemption ministry.
"Ye know" the Lord Jesus said to them. The Lord Jesus told them on several occasions what would happen to him. Their minds, however, were filled with their own assumptions and they could not hear what he plainly told them.
It is amazing that the Lord Jesus told his disciples he would be betrayed into the hands of those who wanted to kill him. He assured them he would die but he would rise again and meet them in Galilee. None of them understood what the Lord Jesus said so clearly.
How often do we think we understand what the Lord is doing? How often do we think we understand what is happening? I often say if the Lord Jesus appeared to me and gave me simple instructions I would still mess up. Apparently, I'm the same kind of man these disciples were. They did not understand what the Lord Jesus said. My prayer is that I might grow each day in grace and hear God's word and obey it as these men learned to do.
As soon as the Lord Jesus predicted what would happen we see that his enemies gathered together and plotted how to kill him.
The Lord Jesus predicted his death. A woman came to him at the house of Simon the leper and broke an expensive jar of perfume and anointed him. The disciples were upset with the woman and thought this act of worship was a waste. In other gospels the disciple who protested was Judas who betrayed the Lord Jesus. Judas kept the money bag and was a thief the scriptures tell us. He probably wanted the money for himself, even though he spoke about the "poor". Also, it is interesting that the Lord Jesus said what this woman did would always be remembered and included wherever the gospel was preached. Of course, this is true, because we see this included in the gospels and it is often preached on as well.
I wonder if she knew why she poured this perfume on the Lord Jesus? In my opinion she was motivated by love for the Lord Jesus but the Lord stated that what she did was in preparation for his burial.
Immediately after the disciples were rebuked we see the next move Judas made was to betray the Lord Jesus. Perhaps all this talk of dying and burial was the final straw in his mind. Perhaps he thought the Lord had lost his mind. Whatever the motivations it is apparent he cast away any faith he had in the Lord Jesus. He cast in his lot with the enemies of God though he later regretted this.
Judas went to the chief priests and sold himself as a betrayer. He sold himself and the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. From that time Judas looked for an opportunity to betray the Lord Jesus. He did not have to wait long.
When I read these scriptures about Judas betraying the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver I want to search my own heart and ask the question: what would I betray the Lord Jesus for? Would it be money? Would it be love of comfort or pleasure more than God? Would it be because I cannot endure being in a furnace of suffering and so cast away my faith that the Lord is still with me? What would it take for me to throw away my faith in the Lord Jesus and turn my back on him?
I think it is important to ask these questions and not be confident in myself or assume I would never betray the Lord. I am the same as these men. I am no different than Peter or any of the men who ran away.
The Lord Jesus had friends who were not mentioned by name. They reserved an upper room for him. The disciples were instructed where to go and speak to a man. They prepared everything for the Passover. The disciples were participants in preparations but everything was done ahead of time.
A topic at this meal was the Lord's betrayer. It was as if the Lord needed to get this off his heart first. Notice the reaction of the disciples. Each one examined his own heart instead of pointing fingers at others in the room. Each one wondered, "Is it I?"
This is a good question to ask myself on a regular basis. A good prayer is to ask the Lord to put his finger on anything in my heart, character, life, or attitude which might cause me to betray or deny him. I want to be wholehearted in my appraisal of myself. I know I am weak as water. Only by God's grace can I stand with the Lord through the trials in life.
A transformation happened from the Passover to the new way of observing the Lord's supper. This transformation took place because the Lord Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Every lamb Israel sacrificed looked forward to when the Lord Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all mankind. The Lord Jesus was the Lamb of God. John the Baptist proclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
The Lord Jesus said that the wine is a symbol of his blood of the new testament and the bread symbolized his body given for us. The Lord Jesus invites us to eat and to drink of this bread of life and this living water which is Himself. He doesn't give us abstract principles or ideas to live by. Instead, the Lord Jesus gives Himself. He is the bread. He is the wine. He is everything we need for life, godliness, and for eternal life. The Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through him. (John 14:6) There is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
The Lord Jesus told them they would be offended and he would be left alone. He said he would die but rise again. He told them he would see them again in Galilee. He told them he would rise again and meet them in Galilee.
Peter expressed his opinion that he was better than the others. He said he would never leave the Lord and would die with him.
We should humble our heart and rely on God's grace to deliver us from temptation. We can do nothing in our own strength.
The Lord Jesus replied to Peter and told him exactly what he would do. He told Peter how many times he would deny the Lord Jesus and that he would do this before the rooster crowed in the morning.
This must have shocked Peter but though the Lord Jesus told him this it still did not prevent Peter from doing exactly what the Lord Jesus predicted.
This account should make us tremble and examine our own lives. Are we so strong? Are we so confident? Peter demonstrated the difference between self-confidence and the reality of failure in temptation. He was a good example and with the help of the Lord we should search our heart. Let us humble ourselves and admit that if not for the grace of God we would do the same thing Peter did. We are no different. We are no better than Peter or any of these disciples who stumbled that night.
At the Garden of Gethsemane the Lord Jesus sought his Father before he was betrayed into the hands of sinners. The Lord Jesus set aside Peter, James, and John to accompany him. Yet even these three chosen disciples went to sleep. They were unable to keep their eyes open even this close to the end. They slept even as the enemy approached.
I think there are parallels in this account and what happens with the church in the last days before the return of the Lord Jesus. There is again this deep, supernatural sleep upon the church. Everyone seems oblivious and blind to an enemy who approaches to kill, steal, and destroy.
When I read this verse "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" I am reminded that there is no other way for men to be saved. If there was any other way for men to be saved surely God would have allowed it rather than see his only begotten Son crucified. This passage reminds me of how heinous it is when people say there is some other way to God than through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus encouraged his disciples to watch and pray so they would not enter temptation. He said the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. Even here in his darkest hour the Lord Jesus was concerned about his disciples. He thought about their welfare and tried to help them while his own life was in peril.
Always remember that it was not unbelievers who betrayed Christ.
It was a man who spent three years in ministry with the Lord Jesus who betrayed him. It was a man who took part in feeding the multitudes with miraculous bread. It was a man who saw the Lord Jesus walk on water. It was a man who witnessed the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and the lame walking. It was this man, Judas, who betrayed the Lord Jesus with a kiss.
Notice the Lord Jesus went willingly. He did not resist this arrest but committed himself into the hands of his Father. This was to fulfill prophecy as Matthew pointed out.
What was the crime the Sanhedrin charged the Lord Jesus with? It was the crime of being who he was. He was Christ and He is forever the Christ, the Messiah. He told them he would be seated at the right hand of glory and return in clouds of heaven. After his statement they accused him of blasphemy and condemned him. It is interesting that their conviction of the Lord Jesus as the Christ is a testimony against themselves. In my opinion, I think this was what the Lord Jesus meant when he said to them "Thou hast said". Out of their own mouths they confessed him as Messiah and then rejected him.
They thought they judged the Lord Jesus but it was the Lord Jesus who judged them. He is the final judge of the universe and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess the Lord Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2)
Just as the Lord Jesus predicted Peter denied the Lord three times before the rooster crowed. In the end Peter remembered the word of the Lord and cried bitterly for his sin.
