Jesus Was Anointed,
Betrayed and Denied
– Matthew Twenty-Six –
Jesus knew the cross was both sure and
certain. He was prepared to redeem mankind with His precious blood! He was calm
and precise when He told His disciples again what was going to happen to Him in
This is the record of the last time the
Passover would ever be observed with the approval of God. Here Jesus would call
out Judas, the one that would betray Him. On this solemn occasion the Lord instituted
the Lord's Supper or the Communion. Jesus went unto a place called
In Matthew twenty-six Jesus said to the
apostles, "All ye shall be offended because of me this night." They
would scatter like a flock of sheep. Peter protested by saying, "Though
all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended." Then Jesus said to Peter, "Verily I say
unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou
shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also
said all the disciples." In a few short hours Peter denied the Lord
three times just like Jesus had predicted.
The anointing and betrayal of Jesus –
Matthew 26:1-16: The chief priests, scribes and elders plotted with
Caiaphas to destroy Jesus. Their intention was to by trickery, kill Jesus.
Nevertheless, they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar
among the people." (Matthew 26:5)
Jesus was in "
One of the twelve, a man named Judas, was
guilty of betraying Jesus. Thirty pieces of silver is the price he received to
betray the Son of God. Judas "sought opportunity to betray Him."
(Matthew 26:16) Matthew 26:24 says, "The Son of man goeth as it is written
of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been
good for that man if he had not been born." Many people today will do the
same thing that Judas did. They will sell out their Lord and Master, Jesus
Christ, for a short-lived piece of this world's goods.
The Passover and Communion – Matthew 26:17-35:
Jesus ate the Passover with the disciples for the final time. This was the
last Passover in two senses: (1) Jesus would soon die and would not be on earth
to observe Passover, and (2) Passover was a part of the Law of Moses that ended
at the death of Jesus. As they ate Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you,
one of you will betray me. (Matthew 26:21)
Jesus' death is to be remembered by
Christians on the first day of each week. The Lord's Supper is a memorial to
His death. This powerful memorial involves bread that is His body and the cup
that is His blood. The bread that we break is symbolic of His wounded, pierced,
and broken body, all of which was absolutely essential and necessary for Him to
undergo if we were ever to know redemption from sin. The reason Jesus came to
die was so that sin could be destroyed and we could be a part of His church!
The cup or fruit of the vine that we drink is symbolic of His precious blood
that was shed for our salvation. (I Peter 1:18) The Lord's Supper is a memorial
kept by the Lord's disciples (those in the kingdom) in memory of the death of
the Savior every Sunday.
Jesus told the disciples that the sheep
would be scattered. This fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7. Jesus also
predicted Peter would deny Him three times. (Matthew 26:34) Peter protested by
saying, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (Matthew 26:35)
The prayer in
Judas came with a kiss and betrayed His
friend. (Matthew 26:49-50) During Jesus' arrest, Peter cut off a man's ear with
a sword. This fulfilled prophetic words. Jesus had power to call twelve legions
of angels to help, but to fulfill prophecy He refrained from doing so. (Matthew
26:54) Even when the disciples "forsook Him and fled", the prophecies
were being fulfilled. (Matthew 26:56)
The mock trials and denials – Matthew 26:57-75:
The Sanhedrin was the "Supreme Court" of the Jews. The council
sought "false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death." (Matthew
26:59) Jesus was condemned by the words of two false witnesses. (Matthew
26:61-62) They were angry at Jesus' claim of power and also His claim to be the
Son of God. (Matthew 26:63-66) Even before the Sanhedrin Jesus was beaten, spit
on, and "struck with the palm of their hands." (Matthew 26:67)
Peter felt two emotions. Fear caused him
to run away. Love caused him to stay close by Jesus. Peter denied the Lord
Jesus, even cursing and swearing that he did not know Jesus. The crowing of the
rooster brought shame to Peter's heart. "Peter remembered the word of
Jesus who had said to him, Before the rooster crows,
you will deny Me three times." So he went out and wept bitterly."
(Matthew 26:75)
If Jesus could willingly endure this
suffering for us, surely we can live for Him! To prepare for eternity you must
obey the gospel NOW and keep faithful to God. The seriousness of judgment and
eternity says that sinners should come to Christ and live for Him. Purify your
heart by faith (John