1754 | Matthew 26:16
out for him thirty pieces of sil ver. o 16 From then on Ju das watched for an op por tu nity to hand him over.
The Last Supper
26:17-19pp— Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13 26:20-24pp— Mk 14:17-21 26:26-29pp— Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; 1Co 11:23-25
17 On the first day of the Fes ti val of Un leav ened Bread, p the dis ci ples came to Jesus and asked,“ Where do you want us to make prep a ra tions for you to eat the Pass over?”
18 He re plied,“ Go into the city to a cer tain man and tell him,‘ The Teacher says: My ap pointed time q is near. I am go ing to cel e brate the Pass over with my dis ci ples at your house.’” 19 So the dis ci ples did as Jesus had di rected them and pre pared the Pass over.
20 When eve ning came, Jesus was re clin ing at the ta ble with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eat ing, he said,“ Truly I tell you, one of you will be tray me.” r
22 They were very sad and be gan to say to him one af ter the other,“ Surely you don’ t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus re plied,“ The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will be tray me. s 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is writ ten about him. t But woe to that man who be trays the Son of Man! It would be bet ter for him if he had not been born.” 25 Then Ju das, the one who would be tray him, said,“ Surely you don’ t mean me, Rabbi?” u Jesus an swered,“ You have said so.” 26 While they were eat ing, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it v and gave it to his dis ci ples, say ing,“ Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, say ing,“ Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the a covenant, w which is poured out for many for the for give ness of sins. x 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on un til that day when I drink it new with you y in my Fa ther’ s king dom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Ol ives. z
26:15 o Ex 21:32; Zec 11:12
26:17 p Ex 12:18‐20
26:18 q Jn 7:6, 8, 30; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1
26:21 r Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21
26:23 s Ps 41:9; Jn 13:18
26:24 t Isa 53; Da 9:26; Mk 9:12; Lk 24:25-27, 46; Ac 17:2, 3; 26:22, 23
26:25 u Mt 23:7
26:26 v Mt 14:19; 1Co 10:16
26:28 w Ex 24:6-8; Heb 9:20 x Mt 20:28; Mk 1:4
26:29 y Ac 10:41
26:30 z Mt 21:1; Mk 14:26
26:31 a Mt 11:6 b Zec 13:7; Jn 16:32
Jesus Predicts Peter’ s Denial
26:31-35pp— Mk 14:27-31; Lk 22:31-34
31 Then Jesus told them,“ This very night you will all fall away on ac count of me, a for it is written:
“‘ I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ b b
a 28 Some manuscripts the new b 31 Zech. 13:7
goes beyond the desire for money, although“ thirty pieces of silver”( v. 15) may have equaled 120 drachmas, i. e., more than four months’ minimum wages. Most likely, he could not accept the fact that Jesus was not going to lead a literal rebellion to help overthrow Rome. 26:17 – 35 This passage describes what is called the Last Supper, the meal from which Christians developed their practice of the Lord’ s Supper( communion, the Eucharist). See especially 1 Cor 11:17 – 34. In this context, it was the Jewish Passover meal, celebrated on the first day( which began at nightfall) of the weeklong Festival of Unleavened Bread( v. 17; see Exod 12).“ The first day” was the 14th of Nisan( March-April) and was also called the day of Preparation of the Passover. The Passover meal was eaten the evening of the 14th after sunset— and therefore technically on the 15th, since the Jewish day ended at sunset. The Festival of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of Nisan( see Lev 23:5 – 6). 26:18 – 19 As with the securing of the donkey for Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem( 21:1 – 3), this could either be a prearranged strategy or a sign of Jesus’ supernatural knowledge and authority. 26:18 My appointed time. Ultimately refers to the time of his death.
26:20 reclining at the table. See note on v. 7. 26:21 As with the previous predictions of his death and resurrection, this one shows that Jesus is not caught off guard by these tragic events. 26:23 The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me. Not a clear disclosure of the betrayer’ s identity because all will have dipped their bread into the sauce as part of the Passover ritual. It was the custom— still practiced by some in the Middle East— to take a piece of bread or a piece of meat wrapped in bread and dip it into a bowl of sauce( made of stewed fruit) on the table. 26:24 Like so many biblical texts, this one juxtaposes divine sovereignty with human responsibility without any hint of tension between the two. The death of the divine Messiah is predicted in Isa 52:13— 53:12, but the actual perpetrators are fully accountable. It would be better for [ the betrayer ] if he had not been born. Refutes any notion of universalism( that everyone will eventually be saved) or annihilationism( that the lost simply cease conscious existence after death). 26:25 You have said so. A veiled affirmative, perhaps also implying Judas’ s self-indictment. John 13:22 – 30 suggests that most of the disciples did not hear this particular interchange. 26:26 – 28 When Jesus“ took bread”( v. 26) and
“ took a cup”( v. 27) and declared,“ This is my body... This is my blood”( vv. 26,28), he is adding rich symbolism to the already highly symbolic Passover meal( see notes on vv. 26,27,28). 26:26 took bread... broke it. The broken bread represents his body, soon to be crucified. 26:27 a cup. The cup of wine, probably the third of four in the Passover meal and symbolizing redemption, stands for the blood shed in his death“ for the forgiveness of sins”( v. 28). 26:28 covenant. God’ s new one, prophesied in Jer 31:31 – 34. 26:29 Jesus may have left the fourth and final cup of wine of the Passover ceremony undrunk to anticipate the great end-time banquet still to come( Isa 25:6 – 8). 26:30 hymn. One of the praise psalms or Hallel psalms( Pss 113 – 118) with which the Passover meal concluded( see note on Mark 14:26). the Mount of Olives. Immediately opposite the eastern gate to the temple precincts and the city of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley. 26:31 – 35 Jesus predicts Peter’ s denial. In v. 31 Jesus interprets Zech 13:7 as predicting an attack on himself as the Messianic“ shepherd,” leading to“ the sheep”( his followers) being“ scattered.” Verse 56 fulfills v. 31, and 28:7 fulfills v. 32. Peter protests that he will not desert his Lord, but Jesus replies that Peter