Matthew 26
COMMENTARY:
: 2 You know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. (3860 “betrayed” [paradidomi] means give over, deliver, hand over to authority, give up, or to surrender.)
DEVOTION: Jesus never left HIS disciples wondering what was going to happen next. HE told them what was going to happen to HIM when HE went to Jerusalem.
HE told them that HE was going to die. HE told them that HE was going to rise from the dead on the third day. HE had illustrated it by giving them the example of Jonah in the great fish. Jonah was three days in the fish until he repented and accepted the LORD’S mission to Nineveh.
The word was used eight times by the LORD. They were in Jerusalem. It was going to happen soon and HE wanted them to be prepared. It was going to happen before the feast of Passover.
This is another significant reference to the Old Testament when the blood of a lamb was put on the doorpost before the angel of death came into Egypt. When the angel of death arrived at the house and saw the blood of the lamb on the doorpost he passed over the house. The firstborn child in that house was not killed.
Jesus as the Son of man was going to die for the sins of the world. HE was going to be given over by one of the twelve men that HE picked to be a disciple. HE knew what was happening before it did. HE knew it was Judas who was going to deliver HIM over to the religious leaders who wanted to kill HIM.
All these actions were predicted by the prophets thousands of years before they happened. The Holy Spirit watched over the writing of the Bible to make sure that every detail was accurate. Even the amount of money Judas was going to receive from the religious leaders and what they would do with it after he tried to return it.
CHALLENGE: Look at the details of the prophecies of the Old Testament and New Testament and realize that every one of them is going to be true. The Word of God studied will never return void.
: 11 For you have the poor always with you, but ME you have not always. (4434 “poor” [ptochos] means a person with few or no possessions, pitiful, inferior, needy, begging, powerless, or destitute.)
DEVOTION: Waste is quite the topic in many circles. We have a lot of government waste at present and our debt keeps getting bigger. People think that there can be cuts but no one wants them in their field. Everyone wants all they can get and no one wants to sacrifice.
Here we find that a woman brings a container of perfume worth a lot of money and she pours it on HIS head to anoint HIM before HIS death. The disciples looked at it as a waste of something worth a lot of money that could be used to help the poor they see on the streets every day.
Jesus makes a statement that we don’t seem to understand. HE states that the poor will always be with us. There will never be a time that someone will be poor. Some are poor because they are lazy. Some are poor because they have not been given the intelligence to be able to handle a job that can support them. Some are poor because they have the intelligence but no job opportunity. There are excuses and reasons why some people are poor.
Jesus is not saying that we are not to help the poor because HE says just the opposite in other places. It is just this one time just before HIS death that HE received honor in preparation for HIS burial.
Once HE is gone they have a responsibility to do all they can for the poor. The members of the first church in Jerusalem sold all that they had to make sure all the new members of the church were fed. They had a special group called deacons to make sure that widows were taken care of in the church.
CHALLENGE: We are to care for the poor. We are to care more about Jesus.
: 15 And said to them, What will you give me, and I will deliver HIM to you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. (2476 “covenanted” [histemi] means to enumerate a sum of money, maintain, establish, pay, to cause to stand, or remain firmly.)
DEVOTION: Have you ever betrayed a friend? How about a relative? Here we have one of the disciples who was with Jesus for three years coming to the religious leaders to see what he can get for betraying Jesus.
Judas was the treasurer for the disciples. He seemed to have money on his mind most of the time. It is thought that he thought that Jesus was going to be king and he would be the treasurer of the nation.
However, Jesus informed HIS disciples many times that HE was going to be killed by the religious leaders. That hindered Judas’ plan to be rich. So he thought he would earn some money in the meantime by turning Jesus over to the religious leaders to be killed.
Once he did his betrayal he had second thought but it was too late. The religious leaders were not going to give Jesus back. He gave the money back and hung himself because he realized what he did was wrong and thought that he could never be forgiven for his sin.
That was true of him but not of us. Jesus says that all sin can be forgiven except that of not becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit leads people into a relationship with Jesus. Everyone will be given an opportunity in their life to say yes or no to Jesus.
CHALLENGE: They will have no excuse when they stand before the LORD to be judged.
: 74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. (2653 “curse” [anathematize] means to invoke a curse. | 3630 “swear” [omnuo] means to threaten, to affirm with an oath, to invoke, swear by.)
DEVOTION: The final week was full of activity. The disciples asked Jesus about celebrating the Passover. HE told them to set it up in a room that would be given for that purpose. While celebrating HE introduced the LORD’S Supper. It was a time of worship with the disciples.
After the supper they sang a song and left for the garden of Gethsemane. On the way to the garden, he told of how the disciples would run away from HIM. Peter who is guilty of having foot in mouth disease said he would never deny the LORD. Jesus told him that he would deny HIM three times before the cock crow.
Jesus then led three of the disciples with HIM away from the other disciples. HE went to prayer and they went to sleep. This happened three times and then the LORD told that the people were coming to take HIM to be killed.
Judas came with a group of individuals from the high priest. They were there to arrest Jesus. Peter cut off the ear of one of the servants. Jesus healed it and told him that the LORD could send twelve legions of angels for HIS protection if HE asked.
Now we come to the part where Peter is in the courtyard getting warm. He is confronted three times about his relationship with Jesus. The first time he said “I don’t know what you are talking about.” The second time said “I don’t know the man.”
Finally, he was confronted a third time and he began to use language he shouldn’t have and say something like “on my mother grave’ or something worse, that he didn’t know Jesus.
Right then the cock crewed. Peter remembered what the LORD had said. He remembered that all the disciples said they wouldn’t run away or deny HIM. He had said that he “would never be offended” regarding knowing Jesus as HIS friend. He used the word “never.” This is not the end of the story but this chapter leaves it there. It leaves it with one of the key three disciples denying the LORD three times. The other one is there in the courtyard. The third one is nowhere to be found.
Peter was one of the three who went with Jesus on many special occasions. He was close to Jesus. He walked on the water to Jesus. He opened his mouth too often. He had said that he would not deny Jesus. Here we have the occasion when he did deny Jesus. He went back to his old ways of lying about his relationship with Christ. He said he never knew him. He said it so that he used language that was not right for a disciple to use.
We sometimes think that we would never deny the LORD. We look down on Peter and think that he wasn’t a good follower. We think that we are better followers than him. We look at other Christians and see them sinning and think they are just like Peter.
We sometimes find that some Christians go back to their old ways of using language that is not right to use. Some never stop using language that is not right to use.
What is the point? We are all capable of denying the LORD. Each day we have a choice to make regarding our actions. Our actions tell others who we are serving. Our actions tell others what we are really like. Sometimes in a self-righteous time, we can say that we are not as bad as others. That does not matter. What matters is what does Jesus think? Is HE going to look down on us and remind us that the cock crowed?
It is our prayer that those who receive these devotions will not use language that would not give glory to the LORD. It is our prayer that we would not deny the LORD in front of others. There might come a time in our life when we will be confronted by someone or a group what wants us to deny the LORD. What will we do? Is there evidence that we are followers of the LORD in our daily life? Are we watching our language? Should we be watching our language? Remember that every idle word is recorded in heaven. What are they recording now?
Remember the rest of the story which will be told in the Gospel of John. Praise the LORD! HE doesn’t give up on us.
CHALLENGE: When confronted about your walk with the LORD, tell them YES, I am a follower of Jesus Christ. Would you like to be one too???
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Christ’s blessing of breadverse 26
Christ’s giving thanksverse 27
Christ goes to prayverse 36
Christ’s prayer to the Fatherverses 39-44
Christ’s prayer for angels possibleverse 53
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Feast of the Passoververses 2, 17, 18
Chief priestsverse 3
High priestverse 3
Feast of unleavened breadverse 17
Sang a hymnverse 30
Templeverse 55
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Gospelverse 13
As it is writtenverse 24
New Testamentverse 28
For it is writtenverse 31
Scripture fulfilledverse 54
Scriptures of the prophetsverse 56
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Father’s kingdomverse 29
Father – Jesus prayer to verses 39, 42
Father could send angelsverse 53
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
Jesusverses 1, 6, 10, 17, 19, 26, 31, 34, 36, 49-56, 57, 59, 63-64, 71, 75
Betrayedverse 2
Crucifiedverse 2
Anointing of Jesusverse 7
Burialverse 12
Masterverses 18, 25, 49
Lordverse 22
Shepherdverse 31
Risenverse 32
Began to be sorrowful and very heavyverse 37
Prayed to Fatherverses 39-44
Daily teaching in Templeverse 55
Christverses 63, 68
Son of Godverse 63
Sitting at the right hand of powerverse 64
Coming in the clouds of heavenverse 64
Jesus of Galileeverse 69
Jesus of Nazarethverse 71
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Temple of Godverse 61
Living Godverse 63
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Twelve legions of good angels availableverse 53
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Betrayedverses 2, 16, 21, 23, 24, 45, 46, 48
Subtletyverse 4
Killverse 4
Indignationverse 8
Thirty pieces of silververse 15
Sinsverse 28
Offendedverse 33
Denialverses 34, 72, 73, 75
Temptationverse 41
Sinnersverse 45
Thiefverse 55
False witnessverses 59, 60, 61
Blasphemyverse 65
Spit on Jesusverse 67
Buffeted Jesusverse 67
Smote Jesusverses 67, 68
Curseverse 74
Swearverse 74
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Giving to the poorverses 9, 11
Good workverse 10
Preach the gospelverse 13
Give thanksverse 27
Remission of sinsverse 28
Sing a hymnverse 30
Sheepverse 31
Prayverses 36, 39, 42, 44, 53
Watchverses 38, 40, 41
Doing will of Godverse 39
Teachingverse 55
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Chief priestsverses 3, 14, 47, 59
Scribesverses 3, 57
Elders of the peopleverses 3, 47, 57, 59
High priest : Caiaphasverses 3, 51, 57, 62, 63, 65
Bethanyverse 6
Simon the leperverse 6
Mount of Olivesverse 30
Galileeverse 32
Gethsemaneverse 36
Hands of sinnersverse 45
Friend = Judasverse 50
High Priest’s palaceverse 58
Councilverses 59, 66
Church (New Testament people of God)
Disciplesverses 1, 8, 17-30, 35, 36, 56
Judas Iscariotverses 14, 25, 47
Peterverses 33, 35, 37, 58, 69, 71-75
Two sons of Zebedeeverse 37
Asked three disciplesverses 38, 40, 45
Last Things (Future Events)
Coming in the clouds of heavenverse 64
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