Matthew 26:53 | 1755
26:32 c Mt 28:7 , 10 , 16
26:34 d ver 75 ; Jn 13:38
26:35 e Jn 13:37 26:37 f Mt 4:21
26:38 g Jn 12:27 h ver 40 , 41
26:39 i Mt 20:22 j ver 42 ; Ps 40:6-8 ;
Isa 50:5 ; Jn 5:30 ; 6:38 26:40 k ver 38 26:41 l Mt 6:13 26:45 m ver 18 26:49 n ver 25
26:50 o Mt 20:13 ; 22:12
26:51 p Lk 22:36 , 38 q Jn 18:10
26:52 r Ge 9:6 ; Rev 13:10
32 But af ter I have risen , I will go ahead of you into Gal i lee .” c 33 Pe ter re plied , “ Even if all fall away on ac count of you , I never will .” 34 “ Truly I tell you ,” Jesus an swered , “ this very night , be fore the rooster crows , you will disown me three times .” d
35 But Pe ter de clared , “ Even if I have to die with you , e I will never dis own you .” And all the other dis ci ples said the same .
Gethsemane
26:36-46pp — Mk 14:32-42 ; Lk 22:40-46
36 Then Jesus went with his dis ci ples to a place called Geth sem ane , and he said to them , “ Sit here while I go over there and pray .” 37 He took Pe ter and the two sons of Zeb e dee f along with him , and he be gan to be sor row ful and trou bled . 38 Then he said to them , “ My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow g to the point of death . Stay here and keep watch with me .” h 39 Go ing a lit tle far ther , he fell with his face to the ground and prayed , “ My Fa ther , if it is pos si ble , may this cup i be taken from me . Yet not as I will , but as you will .” j 40 Then he re turned to his dis ci ples and found them sleep ing . “ Couldn ’ t you men keep watch with me k for one hour ?” he asked Pe ter . 41 “ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation . l
The spirit is will ing , but the flesh is weak .” 42 He went away a sec ond time and prayed , “ My Fa ther , if it is not pos si ble for this cup to be taken away un less I drink it , may your will be done .”
43 When he came back , he again found them sleep ing , be cause their eyes were heavy . 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time , say ing the same thing .
45 Then he re turned to the dis ci ples and said to them , “ Are you still sleep ing and resting ? Look , the hour m has come , and the Son of Man is de liv ered into the hands of sin ners . 46 Rise ! Let us go ! Here comes my be trayer !”
Jesus Arrested
26:47-56pp — Mk 14:43-50 ; Lk 22:47-53
47 While he was still speak ing , Ju das , one of the Twelve , ar rived . With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs , sent from the chief priests and the el ders of the people . 48 Now the be trayer had ar ranged a sig nal with them : “ The one I kiss is the man ; ar rest him .” 49 Go ing at once to Jesus , Ju das said , “ Greet ings , Rabbi !” n and kissed him . 50 Jesus re plied , “ Do what you came for , friend .” a o Then the men stepped for ward , seized Jesus and ar rested him . 51 With that , one of Jesus ’ companions reached for his sword , p drew it out and struck the ser vant of the high priest , cut ting off his ear . q
52 “ Put your sword back in its place ,” Jesus said to him , “ for all who draw the sword will die by the sword . r 53 Do you think I can not call on my Fa ther , and he will at once put at
a 50 Or “ Why have you come , friend ?”
will “ disown ” him “ three times ” that “ very night , before the rooster crows ,” i . e ., well before daybreak ( vv . 33 – 34 ). The disciples deny they could engage in such treachery ( v . 35 ), but vv . 56,69 – 75 prove Jesus right . 26:36 – 46 Gethsemane is a garden at the base of the Mount of Olives . The name means “ oil press .” Olive trees flourished there . No other passage in the Gospels so clearly and poignantly expresses Jesus ’ humanity . Even having repeatedly predicted the events to come , he longs to avoid such agony . His “ soul is overwhelmed with sorrow ” ( v . 38 ). But he also surrenders entirely to God ’ s will ( v . 39 ). This pattern of praying is repeated twice more ( vv . 42,44 ). 26:37 Peter and the two sons of Zebedee . These three disciples — Peter , James , and John — form Christ ’ s inner circle ( cf . 17:1 ). 26:39 cup . A metaphor for God ’ s wrath ( see note on 20:22 ). If there were any way possible , the completely human Jesus would avert the horrible suffering ahead . Here is the classic example of one not getting what they ask for in prayer , but through no fault of the one praying !
26:41 The spirit is willing , but the flesh is weak . The truth of this principle is illustrated by the disciples , who , with far less at stake than Jesus , cannot stay awake and pray . Even Christ ’ s closest followers may want to obey him , but they find their bodies and / or sinful human natures unable to cooperate . 26:46 my betrayer . At last Judas comes with the authorities . There will be no more time for sleep or prayer . 26:47 – 56 All of the details of Jesus ’ arrest highlight how Jesus understands exactly what is happening to him , has the ability to resist , but voluntarily chooses to submit to God ’ s plan . 26:47 Judas , one of the Twelve . It seems odd for Matthew to repeat this so soon after v . 14 , but he may be underlining the indignity of one so close to Jesus turning into his betrayer . Roman guards would have brandished the “ swords ”; Jewish ones , the “ clubs .” 26:48 kiss . Jesus may have resembled one or more of his disciples in his appearance so that in the darkness of night it would have been hard to be sure which one he was . The kiss would identify him . Men frequently greeted each other with kisses on both cheeks , but as a sign of friendship not hostility ! Judas ’ s treachery is turning even more ironic ( cf . Luke 22:48 ). 26:49 Judas cannot bring himself to call Jesus anything more exalted than “ Rabbi ” (“ teacher ”). 26:50 Do what you came for . The Greek here is terse : lit . “ What you came for .” “ Do ” completes the probable sense . friend . A surprisingly kind address , given that Judas has come to betray Jesus . 26:51 his sword . . . the servant of the high priest . John 18:10 identifies the disciple wielding his sword as Peter and the servant of the high priest as Malchus . 26:52 – 54 Jesus uses what may have been a commonsense proverb ( v . 52 ) to remind Peter that violence begets violence , whereas he has come so that the Scriptures that predict his atoning death for humanity ’ s sins might be fulfilled ( vv . 24,54,56 ). After all , if he needed violent resistance , he could call on as many as 72,000 (“ twelve legions of ”) angels to annihilate the arresting party ( v . 53 )! Luke 22:51 adds that Jesus proceeds to heal the servant ’ s ear .