Notes on Matthew 26:57-27:2

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.

Matthew 26:63

Jesus was silent. Matthew describes Jesus like Isaiah's Suffering Servant who was like a sheep who was silent as it was led to slaughter (Isa. 53:7). Peter will later use this as an example for Christians to not revile when reviled but to entrust themselves to their heavenly Father (1 Pet. 2:23).

Matthew 26:63

The Christ, the Son of God. This central description of Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) and the Son of God is what was rightly said of Jesus at crucial points throughout the story, including Jesus' baptism (Matt. 3:17), his temptation (Matt. 4:1-11), Peter's confession (Matt. 16:16), Jesus' transfiguration (Matt. 17:5), and at his death on the cross (Matt. 27:54). Even though the high priest does not believe Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, he recognized that this is the most important question about Jesus.

Matthew 26:64

Son of Man. This title was how Jesus referred to himself regularly (Matt. 8:20; 9:6; 16:13; 20:28; 24:27, 30). It comes from Dan. 7:13-14 where a divine being is in heaven in submission to God and also ruling over all the world, the perfect description of who Jesus is.

Matthew 26:65

Tore his clothes. Tearing one's clothes was a sign of great distress or anger. The high priest rightly perceived the height of Jesus' claim, but incorrectly accuses him of blasphemy (cf. Matt. 9:3).

Peter Denies Jesus - Matthew 26:69-75

Simon Peter, the leader of Jesus' disciples, was a man of whole-hearted faith, but fear and self-protection made him deny his connection with Jesus. This all happened as Jesus predicted it would (Matt. 26:21-23; cf. Luke 22:31). The story of Peter's forgiveness and full restoration by Jesus is found in John 21:15-19. See WCF 11.5, 17.3, 18.4; WLC 195.

Matthew 26:75

Wept bitterly. Peter genuinely regretted and repented of his failure. Peter's repentance was different from Judas' remorse that does not lead him back to Jesus (Matt. 27:3-5).

Matthew 27:1

Plotted against Jesus to put him to death. Starting in Matt. 12:14, the Jewish leaders have been plotting to kill Jesus. Even though they believed Jesus to be a blasphemer, under Roman rule they did not have the authority to put anyone to death. Instead, they needed to get Jesus in trouble with the Roman Empire authorities. This was why they took him to Pilate (Matt. 27:2).

Matthew 27:2

Pilate the governor. In Jesus' day the Jewish people and Palestine were ruled by the Roman Empire. Pontius Pilate was the Roman-appointed governor in charge of the Jewish area.

Related Resources

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.