Matthew 26:1-75
The Plot Against Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
The Last Supper
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
“‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
35 But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.
Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus Arrested
47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.”
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. 51 With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
52 “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
55 In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. 56 But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
Jesus Before the Sanhedrin
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. 58 But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
59 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. 60 But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward 61 and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 63 But Jesus remained silent.
The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
64 “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”[e]
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?”
“He is worthy of death,” they answered.
67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
Peter Disowns Jesus
69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.
70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”
73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”
74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Holy Wednesday is often referred to as "Silent Wednesday" because, unlike the busy days of teaching that preceded it, the Gospels record very little of Jesus’s public ministry on this day...In the first 16 verses of Matthew 26 is where we look and find the two definitive events that mark this turning point in Holy Week: the extravagant anointing of Jesus at Bethany and the calculated betrayal by Judas Iscariot...By focusing on these specific passages, we can see a powerful contrast between a heart of pure worship and a heart consumed by greed...While the religious leaders were meeting in secret at the palace of Caiaphas to plot His death, Jesus was resting among friends, receiving an act of LOVE that He promised would be told as a memorial wherever the Gospel is preached...
Holy Wednesday, often referred to as Spy Wednesday, stands as a solemn bridge between the public teachings of Jesus and the beginning of His Passion...While Matthew 26 spans several days of Holy Week, including the Last Supper and the Agony in Gethsemane, the opening sixteen verses specifically anchor the events traditionally associated with this pivotal Wednesday...We learn from the very beginning of the chapter that Jesus was fully aware of the timeline of His sacrifice, telling His disciples that the Passover was two days away and the Son of Man would be delivered up to be crucified...This Divine Certainty contrasts sharply with the secretive and fearful plotting of the chief priests and elders who gathered at the palace of Caiaphas...These religious leaders were motivated by a desire to maintain their earthly authority through stealth rather than through Truth...In the midst of this brewing storm, the narrative shifts to Bethany, providing a beautiful and contrasting scene at the house of Simon the leper...
While many traditions separate the events of this chapter into different days, we are choosing to use all of Matthew 26 for these verses of the day because it provides a complete and uninterrupted narrative of the Savior's final hours of preparation and betrayal...By looking at the chapter as a whole, we see the Divine Sovereignty of Jesus as He announces the coming Passover, the calculated malice of the religious leaders in the palace of Caiaphas, and the tragic turn of a friend into a foe...This comprehensive view helps us understand that the cross was not an accident of history, but a destination Jesus moved toward with perfect clarity and LOVE...
In this second paragraph of Matthew 26, we see the heart of the day revealed through a woman who approached Jesus with an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil...The anointing at the house of Simon the leper is one of the most heart touching moments in the entire New Testament...The woman chose to generously give Jesus this anointing, and even though the oil was incredibly expensive, it was exactly the right thing to do at exactly the right time...While the disciples looked at the monetary value and saw a waste of resources, the woman looked at the value of the Savior and saw a worth that no amount of money could ever match...Her act of pouring the oil on His head was a public declaration of His Kingship and a tender preparation for His burial...Jesus defended her actions against the indignation of those around the table, showing us that true righteousness is found in total devotion rather than calculated logic...This woman’s generosity stands as a permanent memorial because she recognized the urgency of the moment and the holiness of the One standing before her...We learn that when we give our best to Christ, it is never a waste, regardless of what the world or the critics might say...Her anointing Jesus is a powerful truth that emphasizes that the woman's choice to provide this expensive anointing was not a waste, but a profound act of righteousness and spiritual foresight...There is Great Beauty of her generosity in contrast to the earthly logic of the disciples and the greed of Judas...
So on Holy Wednesday, as the woman in Bethany was anointing Jesus for His burial, the Eleven other disciples (less Judas) seem to have been caught in a state of spiritual "business as usual"...While Jesus was explicitly speaking of His death, the disciples were likely preoccupied with the logistics of the Passover or perhaps even their own status in the coming Kingdom...Their reaction to the woman's "waste" of expensive perfume reveals that they were thinking in earthly, practical terms—calculating the cost of the oil rather than sensing the gravity of the moment...This suggests that they weren't worried because they didn't truly believe the end was near; they were still looking for a political or social victory, which shielded them from the "poignant" reality Jesus was facing...
In watching the Disciples later sleeping in Gethsemane is perfectly aligned with this...Their inability to stay awake for even one hour shows a lack of "spiritual urgency"...On Holy Wednesday, they were likely enjoying the hospitality of Simon the Leper, perhaps feeling a sense of security because they were with Jesus and the crowds were still largely on His side...This false sense of security is what made the arrest so devastatingly effective at scattering them...They hadn't mentally or spiritually prepared for a suffering Savior, so they saw no reason to be anxious or afraid...They were living in the "afterglow" of Palm Sunday, completely unaware that the shadows of the cross were already stretching across the room...
This serves as a cautionary tale about the difference between being "near" Jesus and being "in tune" with His heart...The disciples were physically present at the anointing, yet they missed the meaning of this anointing pertaining to His death...They were physically present in the garden, yet they fell asleep...Holy Wednesday is a day that highlights the gap between Jesus’s heavy burden and the disciples’ lightheartedness and having no anxiety...It reminds us to ask ourselves if we are truly watching and praying, or if we, like the Eleven, are coasting on past victories while the most significant moments of our faith are happening right in front of us...
These events, on Holy Wednesday in Bethany, serve as the final catalyst for Judas Iscariot, who represents the ultimate "spy" in this Holy Week drama...Matthew 26:14 tells us that Judas went to the chief priests to negotiate a price for his loyalty, eventually settling on thirty pieces of silver...This betrayal on Holy Wednesday is a haunting reminder that even those closest to the Light can be blinded by the shadows of greed or disappointment...As we study these verses, we learn that Holy Wednesday is a day of deep spiritual contrasts...It is a day where we see the height of devotion through the woman’s oil and the depth of betrayal through Judas’s silver...It teaches us that while the world may plot in secret, God’s Plan of redemption moves forward with absolute transparency and LOVE...The chapter reminds us that Jesus was not a victim of circumstance, but a willing participant in a Divine Rescue Mission that began long before the priests met at Caiaphas’s palace...