Matthew 26

¹When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples,[#26:1–28:20] The five books with alternating narrative and discourse (Mt 3:1–25:46) that give this gospel its distinctive structure lead up to the climactic events that are the center of Christian belief and the origin of the Christian church, the passion and resurrection of Jesus. In his passion narrative (Mt 26 and 27) Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but with omissions (e.g., Mk 14:51–52) and additions (e.g., Mt 27:3–10, 19). Some of the additions indicate that he utilized traditions that he had received from elsewhere; others are due to his own theological insight (e.g., Mt 26:28 “…for the forgiveness of sins”; Mt 27:52). In his editing Matthew also altered Mark in some minor details. But there is no need to suppose that he knew any passion narrative other than Mark’s.; #: see note on Mt 7:28–29. : Matthew turns Mark’s statement of the time (Mk 14:1) into Jesus’ final prediction of his passion. : see note on Mk 14:1.]

²“You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”[#Mk 14:1–2; Lk 22:1–2.]

³Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,[#was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.]

⁴and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death.[#Jn 11:47–53.]

⁵But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.”[#: the plan to delay Jesus’ arrest and execution until after was not carried out, for according to the synoptics he was arrested on the night of Nisan 14 and put to death the following day. No reason is given why the plan was changed.]

The Anointing at Bethany.

⁶Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[#Mk 14:3–9; Jn 12:1–8.]

⁷a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table.

⁸When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and said, “Why this waste?

⁹It could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, “Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me.

¹¹The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me.[#Dt 15:11.]

¹²In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.[#: cf. Mk 14:8. In accordance with the interpretation of this act as Jesus’ anointing, Matthew, more consistent than Mark, changes the purpose of the visit of the women to Jesus’ tomb; they do not go to anoint him (Mk 16:1) but “to see the tomb” (Mt 28:1).]

¹³Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her.”

The Betrayal by Judas.

¹⁴Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests[#Mk 14:10–11; Lk 22:3–6.; #: see note on Lk 6:16.]

¹⁵and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver,[#The motive of avarice is introduced by Judas’s question about the price for betrayal, which is absent in the Marcan source (Mk 14:10–11). : the same Greek verb is used to express the saving purpose of God by which Jesus is handed over to death (cf. Mt 17:22; 20:18; 26:2) and the human malice that hands him over. : the price of the betrayal is found only in Matthew. It is derived from Zec 11:12 where it is the wages paid to the rejected shepherd, a cheap price (Zec 11:13). That amount is also the compensation paid to one whose slave has been gored by an ox (Ex 21:32).; #Zec 11:12.]

¹⁶and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

Preparations for the Passover.

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”[#Mk 14:12–21; Lk 22:7–23.; #: see note on Mk 14:1. Matthew omits Mark’s “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.”; #Ex 12:14–20.]

¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’”[#By omitting much of Mk 14:13–15, adding , and turning the question into a statement, , Matthew has given this passage a solemnity and majesty greater than that of his source.]

¹⁹The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

The Betrayer.

²⁰When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve.

²¹And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”[#Given Matthew’s interest in the fulfillment of the Old Testament, it is curious that he omits the Marcan designation of Jesus’ betrayer as “one who is eating with me” (Mk 14:18), since that is probably an allusion to Ps 41:10. However, the shocking fact that the betrayer is one who shares table fellowship with Jesus is emphasized in Mt 26:23.]

²²Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

²³He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.

²⁴The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”[#: the enormity of the deed is such that it would be better not to exist than to do it.; #Is 53:8–10.]

²⁵Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”[#Peculiar to Matthew. : cf. Mt 26:64; 27:11. This is a half-affirmative. Emphasis is laid on the pronoun and the answer implies that the statement would not have been made if the question had not been asked.]

The Lord’s Supper.

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.”[#See note on Mk 14:22–24. The Marcan-Matthean is one of the two major New Testament traditions of the words of Jesus when instituting the Eucharist. The other (and earlier) is the Pauline-Lucan (1 Cor 11:23–25; Lk 22:19–20). Each shows the influence of Christian liturgical usage, but the Marcan-Matthean is more developed in that regard than the Pauline-Lucan. The words over the bread and cup succeed each other without the intervening meal mentioned in 1 Cor 11:25; Lk 22:20; and there is parallelism between the consecratory words ( ). Matthew follows Mark closely but with some changes.; #Mk 14:22–26; Lk 22:14–23; 1 Cor 11:23–25.; #See note on Mt 14:19. : a prayer blessing God. : literally, . is an addition to Mark’s “take it” (literally, “take”; Mk 14:22). : the bread is identified with Jesus himself.; #1 Cor 10:16.]

²⁷Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you,[#: see note on Mt 15:36. : cf. Mk 14:23–24. In the Marcan sequence the disciples drink and then Jesus says the interpretative words. Matthew has changed this into a command to followed by those words. : see Lv 17:11 for the concept that the is “the seat of life” and that when placed on the altar it “makes atonement.” : the present participle, “being shed” or “going to be shed,” is future in relation to the Last Supper. : Greek peri ; see note on Mk 14:24. : see note on Mt 20:28. : a Matthean addition. The same phrase occurs in Mk 1:4 in connection with John’s baptism but Matthew avoids it there (Mt 3:11). He places it here probably because he wishes to emphasize that it is the sacrificial death of Jesus that brings .]

²⁸for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.[#Ex 24:8; Is 53:12.]

²⁹I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father.”[#Although his death will interrupt the table fellowship he has had with the disciples, Jesus confidently predicts his vindication by God and a new table fellowship with them at the banquet of the kingdom.]

³⁰Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.[#See note on Mk 14:26.]

Peter’s Denial Foretold.

³¹Then Jesus said to them, “This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written:[#Mk 14:7–31.; #: literally, “will be scandalized in me”; see note on Mt 24:9–12. : cf. Zec 13:7.; #Zec 13:7; Jn 16:32.]

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed’;

³²but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.”

³³Peter said to him in reply, “Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be.”

³⁴Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”[#: see note on Mt 14:25. The third watch of the night was called “cockcrow.” : see note on Mt 16:24.; #Lk 22:33–34; Jn 13:37–38.; #26:69–75.]

³⁵Peter said to him, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And all the disciples spoke likewise.

The Agony in the Garden.

³⁶Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”[#Cf. Mk 14:32–52. The account of Jesus in Gethsemane is divided between that of his agony (Mt 26:36–46) and that of his betrayal and arrest (Mt 26:47–56). Jesus’ (Mt 26:37) in face of death is unrelieved by the presence of his three disciples who, though urged to him (Mt 26:38, 41), fall asleep (Mt 26:40, 43). He prays that his death may be avoided (Mt 26:39) but that his Father’s will be done (Mt 26:39, 42, 44). Knowing then that his death must take place, he announces to his companions that for his being has come (Mt 26:45). Judas arrives with an armed band provided by the Sanhedrin and greets Jesus with a kiss, the prearranged sign for his identification (Mt 26:47–49). After his arrest, he rebukes a disciple who has attacked the with a (Mt 26:51–54), and chides those who have come out to seize him with as if he were a (Mt 26:55–56). In both rebukes Jesus declares that the treatment he is now receiving is the fulfillment of the scriptures (Mt 26:55, 56). The subsequent flight of is itself the fulfillment of his own prediction (cf. 31). In this episode, Matthew follows Mark with a few alterations.; #Mk 14:32–42; Lk 22:39–46.; #: the Hebrew name means “oil press” and designates an olive orchard on the western slope of the Mount of Olives; see note on Mt 21:1. The name appears only in Matthew and Mark. The place is called a “garden” in Jn 18:1.; #Jn 18:1.]

³⁷He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress.[#Heb 5:7.; #: cf. Mt 17:1.]

³⁸Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.”[#Ps 42:6, 12; Jon 4:9.; #Cf. Ps 42:6, 12. In the Septuagint (Ps 41:5, 12) the same Greek word for is used as here. : i.e., “enough to die”; cf. Jon 4:9.]

³⁹He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”[#Jn 4:34; 6:38; Phil 2:8.; #: see note on Mk 14:36. Matthew omits the Aramaic ’abbā’ and adds the qualifier . : see note on Mk 10:38–40.]

⁴⁰When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?

⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”[#: see note on Mt 6:13. In that verse “the final test” translates the same Greek word as is here translated , and these are the only instances of the use of that word in Matthew. It is possible that the passion of Jesus is seen here as an anticipation of the great tribulation that will precede the parousia (see notes on Mt 24:8; 24:21) to which Mt 6:13 refers, and that just as Jesus prays to be delivered from death (Mt 26:39), so he exhorts the disciples to pray that they will not have to great that his passion would be for them. Some scholars, however, understand (literally, “not enter”) as meaning not that the disciples may be spared but that they may not yield to the temptation of falling away from Jesus because of his passion even though they will have to endure it.]

⁴²Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, “My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!”[#: cf. Mt 6:10.; #6:10; Heb 10:9.]

⁴³Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again.

⁴⁵Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.[#Jn 12:23; 13:1; 17:1.]

⁴⁶Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus.

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people.[#Mk 14:43–50; Lk 22:47–53; Jn 18:3–11.]

⁴⁸His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, “The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”

⁴⁹Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him.[#: see note on Mt 23:6–7. Jesus is so addressed twice in Matthew (Mt 26:25), both times by Judas. For the significance of the closely related address “teacher” in Matthew, see note on Mt 8:19.]

⁵⁰Jesus answered him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

⁵¹And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

⁵³Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?

⁵⁴But then how would the scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?”

⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area, yet you did not arrest me.[#: cf. Mk 14:49. This suggests that Jesus had taught for a relatively long period in Jerusalem, whereas Mt 21:1–11 puts his coming to the city for the first time only a few days before.]

⁵⁶But all this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.[#26:31.]

Jesus Before the Sanhedrin.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.[#Mk 14:53–65; Lk 22:54–55, 63–71; Jn 18:12–14, 19–24.; #: see note on Mt 26:3.]

⁵⁸Peter was following him at a distance as far as the high priest’s courtyard, and going inside he sat down with the servants to see the outcome.

⁵⁹The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death,[#: see note on Lk 22:66.]

⁶⁰but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward[#Dt 19:15; Jn 2:19; Acts 6:14.; #: cf. Dt 19:15. : there are significant differences from the Marcan parallel (Mk 14:58). Matthew omits “made with hands” and “not made with hands” and changes Mark’s “will destroy” and “will build another” to and (can) . The charge is probably based on Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction; see notes on Mt 23:37–39; 24:2; and Jn 2:19. A similar prediction by Jeremiah was considered as deserving death; cf. Jer 7:1–15; 26:1–8.]

⁶¹who stated, “This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God and within three days rebuild it.’”

⁶²The high priest rose and addressed him, “Have you no answer? What are these men testifying against you?”

⁶³But Jesus was silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”[#Is 53:7.; #: possibly an allusion to Is 53:7. : peculiar to Matthew; cf. Mk 14:61.]

⁶⁴Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you:[#Ps 110:1; Dn 7:13.; #: see note on Mt 26:25. : the Son of Man who is to be crucified (cf. Mt 20:19) will be seen in glorious majesty (cf. Ps 110:1) and (cf. Dn 7:13). : see note on Mk 14:61–62.]

From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power’

and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? You have now heard the blasphemy;[#: the punishment for was death by stoning (see Lv 24:10–16). According to the Mishnah, to be guilty of blasphemy one had to pronounce “the Name itself,” i.e., Yahweh; cf. Sanhedrin 7:4, 5. Those who judge the gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial by the later Mishnah standards point out that Jesus uses the surrogate “the Power,” and hence no Jewish court would have regarded him as guilty of blasphemy; others hold that the Mishnah’s narrow understanding of blasphemy was a later development.]

⁶⁶what is your opinion?” They said in reply, “He deserves to die!”

⁶⁷Then they spat in his face and struck him, while some slapped him,[#The physical abuse, apparently done to Jesus by the members of the Sanhedrin themselves, recalls the sufferings of the Isaian Servant of the Lord; cf. Is 50:6. The mocking challenge to is probably motivated by Jesus’ prediction of his future glory (Mt 26:64).; #Wis 2:19; Is 50:6.]

⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy for us, Messiah: who is it that struck you?”

Peter’s Denial of Jesus.

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. One of the maids came over to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”[#Mk 14:66–72; Lk 22:56–62; Jn 18:17–18, 25–27.]

⁷⁰But he denied it in front of everyone, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about!”[#: see Mt 10:33. Peter’s repentance (Mt 26:75) saves him from the fearful destiny of which Jesus speaks there.]

⁷¹As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.”

⁷²Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man!”

⁷³A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; even your speech gives you away.”[#: Matthew explicates Mark’s “you too are a Galilean” (Mk 14:70).]

⁷⁴At that he began to curse and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately a cock crowed.

⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” He went out and began to weep bitterly.[#26:34.]