Notes on Matthew 26:31-61

Matthew 26:31

I will strike the shepherd. Jesus quoted from Zech. 13:7 and referred to himself as God's Shepherd and his disciples as God's flock, the true people of God.

Matthew 26:33

I will never fall away. Peter, who was Jesus' lead disciple and who became the leader of the church after Pentecost (Acts 2) was sincere and whole-hearted in following Jesus. But under persecution even Peter failed Jesus, denying his association with Jesus out of fear of persecution (Matt. 26:69-75).

Matthew 26:37

Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. These three disciples, Peter, James, and John, were the leaders among the Twelve Disciples and were called by Jesus to be with him at especially important times (Mark 5:37; Matt. 17:1) but even they failed Jesus at his time of need (Matt. 26:40, 43, 45).

Matthew 26:39

Yet, not as I will, but as you will. Even at the point of great sorrow and pain, facing his own suffering and death, Jesus showed himself to be the faithful and obedient Son who always submits to God's will (Matt. 3:17; 4:1-11; 12:50; 26:42). See WLC 185; WSC 103.

Matthew 26:48-49

Whomever I kiss, he is the one. Typical of many cultures, Jewish people in the first century greeted their friends with a kiss. Judas had agreed to kiss Jesus as the sign to the Jewish leaders which person in the crowd was Jesus in the dark garden at night.

Matthew 26:51

Struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Matthew does not tell which disciple drew his sword (maybe to protect the disciple's identity) but John 18:10 tells us that it was Peter and the servant's name was Malchus. Luke 22:51 tells us that Jesus healed the servant's ear.

Matthew 26:52

Put your sword back in its place. Jesus rejected using violence to protect or expand his kingdom. He was willing to submit to God's will, which was for him to suffer and die (Matt. 26:39, 42). See HC 105.

Matthew 26:53

He would send more than twelve legions of angels. Even as Jesus submitted to God's will in the temptations at the beginning of his ministry (Matt. 4:1-11), so he trusted God's will when facing his own death.

Matthew 26:54,56

The scriptures be fulfilled… the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. Jesus as the fulfillment of Scripture is a repeated and central theme throughout Matthew's Gospel. No specific OT texts are quoted here and it seems the point is that all of these events concerning Jesus fulfill the overall message of Scripture. The point is that Jesus was faithfully completing all of God's work in the world. See WLC 49.

Matthew 26:57

The scribes and the elders. In Jesus' day the Jewish people were governed by a religious group of elders who were part of an elite group of educated people who were experts in the Scriptures and God's laws.

Matthew 26:61

"I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days." Nowhere in Matthew does Jesus say that he would destroy the temple, but John 2:19 records that Jesus said this and therefore the saying must have been well-known and used as an accusation against Jesus. However, John 2:21 makes clear that Jesus was referring to his own body, which he was willing to give over to death in obedience to the Father.

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