Read Matthew 26:47–56
Questions from the Scripture text: What was Jesus doing (Matthew 26:47, cf. Matthew 26:46)? Who came? With whom? What had he given them (Matthew 26:48)? What was this sign? What did he say to do to Him? To whom does Judas go (Matthew 26:49)? What does he say? What does he do to Him? What does Jesus ask him (Matthew 26:50)? What did the mob do? But what did one of those with Jesus do (Matthew 26:51)? Striking whom? With what effect? What does Jesus tell him to do (Matthew 26:52)? Why? What could Jesus Himself had done (Matthew 26:53)? What rhetorical question does He ask in Matthew 26:54? What is the implied answer? Whom does Jesus address in Matthew 26:55? What does He ask them? What is He calling them to reflect upon? What hadn’t they done? Why does He say that this has happened in this particular way (Matthew 26:56)? What do the disciples do at this point?
What does Jesus show about Himself, during His arrest? Matthew 26:47–56 looks forward to the morning sermon in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these ten verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Jesus displays His commitment to dying on the cross for our sins, and His compassion to even those who are sinning against Him.
Jesus’s commitment. Jesus’s prayers have been answered. No, the cup has not passed from Him. Indeed, the Scriptures said that salvation must happen this way (cf. Isaiah 52:13–53:12), and here we see Him absolutely determined to go in the manner written of Him.
Jesus emphasizes that this is what He is doing, when He calls Judas “friend” (Matthew 26:50) in allusion to Psalm 41:9, Psalm 55:13.
And Jesus demonstrates is resolve when He rebukes (Matthew 26:52) His obviously unskilled (Matthew 26:51) defender. It was necessary for Him to die, not by the sword but by the cross. He was not about to be taken on account of being overpowered (Matthew 26:53), but on account of submission to Scripture (Matthew 26:54). Indeed, His own reference to Zechariah 13:7 is here fulfilled (Matthew 26:56, cf. Matthew 26:31).
The Lord Jesus was committed to going to the cross.
Jesus’s compassion. Even in the midst of being betrayed, Jesus ministers to three different parties. First, He confronts Judas with his intentions. Jesus isn’t actually wondering about Judas. He knows exactly why Judas is here (Matthew 26:46). Rather, as God did with Adam (cf. Genesis 3:9, Genesis 3:11), Jesus is confronting Judas with his sin, giving him opportunity to come to repentance.
Second, He instructs His disciple defender. This fisherman is such a poor swordsman that, in his attempt to dispatch what would have had to be the first of a multitude of assailants, he succeeded only in lopping off a servant’s ear. Jesus rebukes this misguided defense (Matthew 26:52), encourages him to think more fully and spiritually (Matthew 26:53), but especially to submit to the Scriptures and the will of God. This is not just a command to yield to whatever God has decided, but a call to meditate upon the necessity of the atonement of Christ, the Just dying for the unjust.
Third, Jesus instructs he crowd. Their actions should have embarrassed them and made them question what they were doing. It was obvious that He was not the sort of person who merited the response and actions that they were taking (Matthew 26:55). Their not being able to recognize him without Judas’s sign (Matthew 26:48) indicated that these had never gone to hear Him preach, for they could not identify Him, and He confronts them with that fact in Matthew 26:55. They were not familiar with His words, preached during His earthly life; nor, did they understand His words by the prophets (Matthew 26:56). In love, Jesus confronts us about our failure to worship Him, trust Him, and entrust ourselves to Him, by urging upon us the importance of hearing and heeding His words!
How are you showing your commitment to being saved only in the way that God has said? What is that way? How are you responding to Jesus? What use are you making of the Scriptures, by which He teaches you about you and Himself?
Sample prayer: Lord, thank You for being determined to go to the cross for us, and indeed for going to that cross and dying for our sins. And thank You for the compassion in which You keep instructing us, so that we would worship You, and trust You, and entrust ourselves to You. By the ministry of Your Spirit, give us to do just that, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!
Suggested Songs: ARP41B “All Those Who Hate Me” or TPH55 “O Hear My Cry for Mercy, God”
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