The Plan to Kill Jesus
Matthew 26
1After Jesus finished saying all these things, he told his followers, 2“You
know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day
the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified.”
3Then the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had a meeting at the
palace of the high priest, named Caiaphas. 4At the meeting, they planned to set a
trap to arrest Jesus and kill him. 5But they said, “We must not do it during the
feast, because the people might cause a riot.”
Perfume for Jesus’ Burial
6Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. 7While
Jesus was there, a woman approached him with an alabaster jar filled with
expensive perfume. She poured this perfume on Jesus’ head while he was eating.
8His followers were upset when they saw the woman do this. They asked,
“Why waste that perfume? 9It could have been sold for a great deal of money and
the money given to the poor.”
10Knowing what had happened, Jesus said, “Why are you troubling this
woman? She did an excellent thing for me. 11You will always have the poor with
you, but you will not always have me. 12This woman poured perfume on my body
to prepare me for burial. 13I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is
preached in all the world, what this woman has done will be told, and people will
remember her.”
Judas Becomes an Enemy of Jesus
14Then one of the twelve apostles, Judas Iscariot, went to talk to the leading
priests. 15He said, “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” And they
gave him thirty silver coins. 16After that, Judas watched for the best time to turn
Jesus in.
Jesus Eats the Passover Meal
17On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the followers came to
Jesus. They said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover
meal?”
18Jesus answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The
Teacher says: The chosen time is near. I will have the Passover with my
followers at your house.’” 19The followers did what Jesus told them to do, and
they prepared the Passover meal.
20In the evening Jesus was sitting at the table with his twelve followers. 21As
they were eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will turn against
me.”
22This made the followers very sad. Each one began to say to Jesus, “Surely,
Lord, I am not the one who will turn against you, am I?”
23Jesus answered, “The man who has dipped his hand with me into the bowl
is the one who will turn against me. 24The Son of Man will die, just as the
Scriptures say. But how terrible it will be for the person who hands the Son of
Man over to be killed. It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
25Then Judas, who would give Jesus to his enemies, said to Jesus, “Teacher,
surely I am not the one, am I?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, it is you.”
The Lord’s Supper
26While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and
broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it;
this is my body.”
27Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers.
He said, “Every one of you drink this. 28This is my blood which is the new
agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to
forgive their sins. 29I tell you this: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine again
until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus’ Followers Will Leave Him
31Jesus told his followers, “Tonight you will all stumble in your faith on
account of me, because it is written in the Scriptures:
‘I will kill the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter.’
Zechariah 13:7
32But after I rise from the dead, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33Peter said, “Everyone else may stumble in their faith because of you, but I
will not.”
34Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, tonight before the rooster crows you will say
three times that you don’t know me.”
35But Peter said, “I will never say that I don’t know you! I will even die with
you!” And all the other followers said the same thing.
Jesus Prays Alone
36Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to
them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37He took Peter and the two sons
of Zebedee with him, and he began to be very sad and troubled. 38He said to
them, “My heart is full of sorrow, to the point of death. Stay here and watch with
me.”
39After walking a little farther away from them, Jesus fell to the ground and
prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, do not give me this cup of suffering. But
do what you want, not what I want.” 40Then Jesus went back to his followers and
found them asleep. He said to Peter, “You men could not stay awake with me for
one hour? 41Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants
to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
42Then Jesus went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not
possible for this painful thing to be taken from me, and if I must do it, I pray that
what you want will be done.”
43Then he went back to his followers, and again he found them asleep,
because their eyes were heavy. 44So Jesus left them and went away and prayed a
third time, saying the same thing.
45Then Jesus went back to his followers and said, “Are you still sleeping and
resting? The time has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to sinful
people. 46Get up, we must go. Look, here comes the man who has turned against
me.”
Jesus Is Arrested
47While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve apostles, came up.
With him were many people carrying swords and clubs who had been sent from
the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders of the people. 48Judas had
planned to give them a signal, saying, “The man I kiss is Jesus. Arrest him.” 49At
once Judas went to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Teacher!” and kissed him.
50Jesus answered, “Friend, do what you came to do.”
Then the people came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51When that
happened, one of Jesus’ followers reached for his sword and pulled it out. He
struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.
52Jesus said to the man, “Put your sword back in its place. All who use
swords will be killed with swords. 53Surely you know I could ask my Father, and
he would give me more than twelve armies of angels. 54But it must happen this
way to bring about what the Scriptures say.”
55Then Jesus said to the crowd, “You came to get me with swords and clubs
as if I were a criminal. Every day I sat in the Temple teaching, and you did not
arrest me there. 56But all these things have happened so that it will come about as
the prophets wrote.” Then all of Jesus’ followers left him and ran away.
Jesus Before the Leaders
57Those people who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas, the high
priest, where the teachers of the law and the older Jewish leaders were gathered.
58Peter followed far behind to the courtyard of the high priest’s house, and he sat
down with the guards to see what would happen to Jesus.
59The leading priests and the whole Jewish council tried to find something
false against Jesus so they could kill him. 60Many people came and told lies about
him, but the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came
and said, 61“This man said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in
three days.’”
62Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to
answer? Don’t you have something to say about their charges against you?” 63But
Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “I command you by the power of the
living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
64Jesus answered, “Those are your words. But I tell you, in the future you will
see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God, the Powerful One, and
coming on clouds in the sky.”
65When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes and said, “This man has
said things that are against God! We don’t need any more witnesses; you all
heard him say these things against God. 66What do you think?”
The people answered, “He should die.”
67Then the people there spat in Jesus’ face and beat him with their fists.
Others slapped him. 68They said, “Prove to us that you are a prophet, you Christ!
Tell us who hit you!”
Peter Says He Doesn’t Know Jesus
69At that time, as Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a servant girl came to him
and said, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70But Peter said to all the people there that he was never with Jesus. He said,
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
71When he left the courtyard and was at the gate, another girl saw him. She
said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72Again, Peter said he was never with him, saying, “I swear I don’t know this
man Jesus!”
73A short time later, some people standing there went to Peter and said,
“Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus. The way you talk shows it.”
74Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, “I don’t know the
man.” At once, a rooster crowed. 75And Peter remembered what Jesus had told
him: “Before the rooster crows, you will say three times that you don’t know
me.” Then Peter went outside and cried painfully.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version
SITUATION
Jesus looked toward the Passover and his death. He prepared his disciples by teaching them and spending time alone in prayer.
OBSERVATION
Jesus willingly obeyed God during the events leading up to his death. This obedience made salvation possible.
INSPIRATION
Consider the holiness of Christ. We need this first of all to be firmly grounded in our security in Christ. ...
It is important therefore that we understand the righteousness of Christ, and the fact that His righteousness is credited to us.
On numerous occasions the Scriptures testify that Jesus during His time on earth lived a perfectly holy life....
But the holiness of Jesus was more than simply the absence of actual sin. It was also a perfect conformity to the will of His Father....
It is possible to do the right action from the wrong motive, but this does not please God. Holiness has to do with more than mere acts. Our motives must be holy, that is, arising from a desire to do something simply because it is the will of God....
Consider the holiness of Christ, because His life is meant to be an example of holiness for us....
Consider then His statement, "I always do what pleases Him” Do we dare take that as our personal goal in life? Are we truly willing to scrutinize all our activities, our goals and plans, and all of our impulsive actions in the light of this statement: "I am doing this to please God"? ...
This is the example we are to follow. In all of our thoughts, all of our actions, in every part of our character, the ruling principle that motivates and guides us should be the desire to follow Christ in doing the will of the Father. This is the high road we must follow in the pursuit of holiness, (From The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges)
APPLICATION
Do you really want to follow Christ's example by doing the will of the Father? Are you ready and willing to submit your plans, thoughts, and behavior to him? If submitting is difficult for you in a particular area, pray specifically that God will help you,
EXPLORATION
Loyalty and Obedience-Joshua 22:2-5; Psalm 119:33-37; John 21:15-17; Philippians 4:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16.
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