Matthew 26

Jesus knew that He had come to die for us as the Passover Lamb, and He taught His disciples clearly about the fact that He would suffer and be crucified. In Matthew 26 we see this great truth through the stories of two weak men who were close followers; Peter, who denied our Lord, and Judas, who betrayed Him, handing Him over to those who sought to kill Him.

The immediate initiating event that led to the cross is presented here as an encounter between Jesus and a woman who anointed His body for burial. She poured out upon His head a very expensive ointment. This disturbed many of the disciples, but it was apparently a turning point in the life of Judas. It was after this extravagance that Judas went to the chief priests, who were looking for an opportunity to quietly arrest Jesus away from the eyes of a sympathetic crowd. They offered Judas thirty pieces of silver to turn over the Messiah to those who were determined to end His life. The wheels of human injustice were now clearly in motion. It only remained for Judas to find the right opportunity to betray the Christ.

That opportunity came at the time of our Lord's choosing. All of these events were in His sovereign control. It was on the night associated with the Passover, when Jesus instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, that Jesus would bring up the topic of betrayal. He said, "One of you will betray Me." He knew that Judas was that one. Judas would do what was determined for him to do, despite the warning that this act of betrayal would be worthy of God's sure judgment, and that it would have been better for him if he had never been born.

What Judas and the chief priests sought to secretly accomplish, Christ was willing to do openly by His own holy will. They wanted to see Him dead, and He was willing to die. He was going to the cross in order to obey His Father, and to shower us with the greatest love, for He would take the debt of our sins off our broken backs and carry the load for us. Jesus gave His body for us. He shed His blood for us. This would be a fulfillment of the necessary requirements of the covenant of grace, so that our sins might be atoned for.

The disciples supposed themselves to be spiritually strong men who were ready to die rather than deny Jesus. They rejected the clear word of Christ that night that they would all be scattered. Especially Peter insisted that he would never abandon Jesus, even if all the rest fled.

The sufferings of Christ were devastating. He was near to death from His own grief, even before His arrest. He understood what was ahead of Him, and He asked His Father if there was any other way. The answer was clear. There was no other way for the requirements of the covenant to be met. There was no other way for heaven to be won for redeemed sinners. All this could never have been accomplished by the goodness, wisdom, or the power of men. When Christ was in anguish in the garden, His three closest disciples could not even stay awake and pray according to His instruction. Only our Messiah could work our redemption, and that salvation could only have come through His death. He was resolved to do His Father's will.

What other alternative could there have been? It can be our unholy impulse to assume that we, as disciples of Christ, could have won peace with God through our own dedication to Him. What about those original followers of the Lord? Would they not have easily had the same foolish impulse? Could a Judas save? Could the one who betrayed the Lord with a kiss bring blessing to anyone? What about Peter? He was ready to use the sword to bring about the kingdom. Could this have brought us heaven? He was not even able to stand firm as an observer of the awful proceedings that would follow, and he denied the Lord three times in one evening. The Scriptures would be fulfilled. All the disciples fled from the King of the church. He would save us by His own righteousness and love.

There certainly were many powers that seemed to be arrayed against Jesus that night. Yet it would not be the lies of false witnesses or the plots of powerful religious leaders that would be the ultimate causes of our Lord's death. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, from before the foundation of the world, consented willingly to this extreme humiliation, this suffering that lead to the height of God's glory. The One who died on the cross is now at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory. He did not have to be pushed to die, or trapped by His enemies. He was willing to suffer and save.

The pains of our Messiah have become for us a part of His glory. Was He despised by men? Did they spit in His face? Did they slap Him and mock Him? Did one of His friends betray Him? Did His leading disciple claim to have no knowledge of Him? These disturbing events have somehow become our boast. They remind us of His unique power and love, and motivate us in His service. Judas could not save anyone, neither could Peter, and neither can we. We will not boast in any man's gifts or accomplishments, but we will boast in Jesus Christ, especially in His suffering love.