Words of Jesus Part 23

Matthew 26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,
2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Our wonderful compassionate Jesus again prepared His disciples of what was to come. It didn't really register in their minds until after the event occurred but they were told of events shortly to come to past. Perhaps they were blinded on purpose so that they would not attempt to prevent the death of Christ.

Matthew 26:3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

Until the Second coming of Jesus Christ when He sets up a kingdom in which there will be no poor; the poor is always among us. While we should try to stamp out poverty, we will not be able to do it. The poor just might be among us to see how we treat them. God sees every time we pass by on the other side and avoid the poor, disabled and hurting. It is wonderful to praise and worship God in our church services. That should increase as evil days approach us but we must not be guilty of only outward worship. If we know of situations where a family is without food and clothing, and we are able financially to help them, then we should where possible. I realize that sometimes we just don't know and we can't always give to everyone that calls a church because there are many who make a living out of fleecing churches, organizations and people they know even. We can however, find them if we look and give to those we find.

Matthew 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

We sometimes ignore the significance of women in the bible. Here is one lady that heard the warnings Jesus gave and anointed Him ahead of time. She may have understood what He was going to have to do for the salvation of all mankind and knew that His death was imminent.

Matthew 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

Why would someone be awarded a memorial for just anointing a body for burial? It must have been deeper than that. Perhaps her faith could actually see what was to happen to Jesus and it was her faith that the Lord commended. The oil was costly and perhaps the sacrifice she was making was great. She probably bought it with her own means. Notice also, that every time we mention the part about this woman we fulfill the scriptures about telling this story as a memorial.

Matthew 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 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.

God is a just God. Judas was not allowed to seal his own fate without proper warning from the Lord. This was to happen to fulfill scripture but Judas was given warning before he was allowed to betray Jesus.

Another thought here is a reminder to all of us that we are usually tempted with something that is our weakness. Judas had a weakness of money and gain. He betrayed the Lord to gain money. He had the power to choose not to give into that temptation. Another weakness may have been anger. If he was the one objecting to the above woman's waste of money, he was rebuked by the Lord and it might have angered him a little, spurring him to go ahead with the temptation already in his heart.

Matthew 26:25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

The shed blood of Jesus is what was necessary for remission of sins. Like the blood on the door posts in the days of the Passover, Jesus suffered during the same season of the Passover to become the final sacrifice for the sins of mankind. All those that obeyed the commands of the first Passover and placed the blood on the doorposts and then staying inside until the death angel passed over, were spared the death of their firstborn. All those that refused to hear, suffered a death of each and every firstborn. Those that refuse to believe and obey God's command to repent and believe the Son of God that was sent to save us from sin, will perish and lose their eternal souls. A huge price was paid to obtain our salvation, if we ignore it, we perish. Jesus gave us a way to escape the loss of our souls for eternity. He paid the price of death for us even though He did no sin to deserve any death.

If we were traveling on a long road and came a fork in the road. One road went to the left and ther other went to the right. A sign was posted that said the road to the left had a bridge up ahead that was damaged and unsafe, take the road to the right. If we ignored the sign and went to the left, the bridge would collapse under our weight.

Every time we partake of the Lord's supper or communion, we remember the body that Jesus gave and the blood that He shed for our sins. It is a sacred ordinance.

Matthew 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

Jesus awaits our reunion with Him before He will drink of the fruit of the vine. However we drink it on occasion to remember this sacrifice He made for our salvation.

Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Singing was part of worship then and now. They sang even before Jesus returned to heaven.

Matthew 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Another fulfillment of prophecy, this time in Zechariah.

Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Matthew 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

They would see Christ before He ascended by to the Father in Heaven.

Matthew 26:33 Peter answered and said unto him, though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

How we need to be careful about boasting. How many times do we say, "Oh, I would never do that." Instead we could say, "By the grace of God I hope that I wouldn't be capable of that."

Matthew 26:34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

This is a noble feeling that he sincerely had, not realizing the weakness of the flesh when unequally yoked with unbelievers.

Matthew 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

What anguish the Lord must have felt just before His crucifixion. He knew that he would suffer physical pain for hours and also every one of our filthy sins (murder, thefts, adultery, pediophilia, fornication) and every sin that breaks the law in the books written by Moses, would enter His own body just before it His death. Jesus Himself did not break even one of those laws but He paid the price of the consequences of all those sins just as if He had of done them. He took our place. We broke the law, He didn't. His death now can count on the behalf of every person who repents and believes in the sacrifice He made on their behalf.

Matthew 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Can we not watch one hour?

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

This may have been why Peter later was weak when he was surrounded with unbelievers.

We cannot walk in the spirit, we cannot be fruitful and abound, we cannot walk a holy life unless we watch and pray. Weakness and compromise comes when we are lulled into spiritual sleep.

Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

If there had been another way to save mankind from an eternity in hell, God would not have allowed this to happen to His own Son. There is no other way.

Matthew 26:43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

Jesus knew that He needed prayer to follow through with the task ahead. How much more do we?

Matthew 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

There could have been a space of time between these two verses.

Matthew 26:46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

Not everyone that greets us warmly, has good intentions toward us.

Matthew 26:49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.
52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

This is the same words given to the martyrs in Revelation in which those that kill with the sword will be killed. Their days are numbered and they continue only a short time.

Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Indicating that Jesus didn't have to die for our sins. The angels could have rescued Him at any time.

Matthew 26:54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

It is so great to read the Old Testament fulfilled in the New Testament.

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53 is the chapter that describes the first coming of Jesus Christ the best. It is so detailed, it would be hard to miss if one was really looking for it.

Matthew 26:55 In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.
56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.
57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
58 But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.

At least Peter tried to stay with Him and not forsake Him but we see from this part of scripture that we cannot succeed by "following Him afar off." We have to live close to Him.

Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,
61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

This may seem like a silly thing to put a man to death for, but in those days there was no, freedom of religion. Whatever the religious beliefs were practiced by those in authority, was enforced upon all the citizens. The government and religion was a force that ruled most countries. If one broke a religious law, they could be condemned to death just like they would be if they killed someone. In fact most religions held it a greater sin to break a religious law than to kill or steal.

Matthew 26:62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?
63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

We are still waiting for this day to arrive. Even so come Lord Jesus.

Matthew 26:65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

The priest were so passionate about the seriousness of blasphemy that they tore at their clothes and really put on a show to convince the authorities that Jesus deserved death. Notice Jesus didn't have any fancy lawyers to come to His defense.

Matthew 26:66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

Jesus knew exactly who hit Him but would not give into the temptation to use His power just to satisfy someone's fault finding spirit. We see this all through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Matthew 26:69 Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
70 But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
71 And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
72 And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
73 And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee.
74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.

He tried to be one of the crowd and blend in unnoticed but He soon succumbed to pressure. We would probably do the same thing.

Matthew 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

I would have wept too. However, we too can deny Christ every time we show shame for anyone to know who we believe in. Do we openly claim Christ when we are around people of like faith only? We can deny Him by allowing sin to creep back into our lives after His blood has cleansed us from sin. We can deny Christ by accepting false doctrine contrary to the truth of God's word. We can deny Christ by ignoring His word, ignoring His Spirit within us, and by doing our own thing instead of God's way. It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of Christ, but quite another to live by His teachings.

Words of Jesus Part 24

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