Matthew 26

—this is my body.] This is a figurative mode of expression, and must be understood to mean, This is the representation or sign of My body, in the same sense as the lamb is called the passover. The bread could not be Christ’s natural body whilst He was alive; for it was His body that performed the action of breaking and giving the bread; nor could the wine in the cup be His blood, for that was still flowing in His veins. Bp. Mann.

These words can by no natural construction support the doctrine of transubstantiation maintained in the Romish Church. For the words when uttered by the priest cannot surely signify more than when they were uttered by Christ Himself; and He evidently alluded to the approaching sacrifice of Himself on the cross; on which His body was to be broken and pierced, and His blood shed by the nails, and by the spear. Dr. Hales.

The Catechism of our Church affirms, that “the body and blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord’s supper.” The meaning of which is, that although in one sense all communicants equally partake of the outward signs of the body and blood of Christ, yet in a much more important sense, the “faithful” only, the pious and virtuous receiver, eats His flesh and drinks His blood, shares in the life and strength derived to men from His incarnation and death, and, through faith in Him, be-

Christ’s prayer and agony in the garden. ANNE DOMINI 33.

—nevertheless, not as I will, &c.] Notwithstanding our Lord’s extreme agony of mind, we find that He displayed the utmost firmness and fortitude of soul, and the constant termination of His prayer was, “Not My will, but Thine be done.” He submitted with the most perfect resignation to those calamities, which He felt so acutely, and deprecated so earnestly. From His example we should learn what conduct we ought to observe when distress and misery overtake us. We are not only allowed, but we are encouraged by what He did, to pour forth our petitions to the throne of Grace, for help in time of need. We are permitted to pray for the removal of our calamities with earnestness and with fervour: we may implore the Almighty that the bitter cup of affliction may pass away from us; but the conclusion must always be the same which His was, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Of one thing we may be assured, that if the evils which overwhelm us are not removed, yet our supplications shall not be vain; we shall at least be enabled to bear them. And though we must not expect to have an angel sent from heaven to

Matthew 26:5

5.—Not on the feast day,] The day of the passover. It seems probable that their design was not to apprehend Jesus till the eight days of the paschal feast were concluded, and when the multitude of people, who came to Jerusalem for that occasion, should be diminished; but Judas, having come to the chief priests soon after, and made an offer of betraying Him in the night, they changed their design, and seized upon Him on the evening of the first of these eight days, intending to have Him tried and condemned in the night, and crucified early in the morning, before the multitude of the people should come together. Bp. Pearce.

Matthew 26:6

6.—in Bethany,] Bethany was on the mount of Olives, about fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem. It was in this place that our Lord performed the signal miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, John xi. 1, 18. Mr. Maundrell informs us that it is at present a very small village. Dr. Wells.

Matthew 26:7

7.—a woman] See the note at John xii. 3.

—and poured it on his head,] This act, however it may appear strange to us, was perfectly conformable to the customs of ancient times, not only in Asia, but in the more polished parts of Europe; and, among the Jews particularly, the custom of anointing the head seems to have been almost as common a custom as that of washing the face. See Matt. vi. 17, 18. The particular act here recorded was intended as a mark of respect to our Lord by this devout woman. Bp. Porteus.

said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

Anno DOMINI 33.

Matthew 26:8

8.—saying, To what purpose is this waste? &c.] It was only Judas Iscariot who said this, and that from covetousness, John xii. 4—6. Some of the disciples seem to have approved of it, by reason of the pretext of charity, Mark xiv. 6, and the rest did not contradict it, but approved by their silence; on which account they are here mentioned without any exception, as uniting with Judas. Dr. Whitby.

Matthew 26:10

10.—Why trouble ye the woman?] Why do you blame the woman? Surely, this expense is as well bestowed on Me whilst I am alive, as in preparing My dead body for burial; on which occasion you know it is the constant custom to use costly spices and perfumes, John xix. 39, 40. Bp. Mann. Thus Jesus, seeing at once the piety of her heart, and the purity of her intentions, with that sweetness of temper which was natural to Him, not only accepted her humble offering with complacency, but generously defended her against the illiberal cavil. Bp. Porteus.

Matthew 26:12

12.—did it for my burial.] The woman’s design was to shew her respect for Jesus, but He takes occasion hence to forewarn His disciples, that His burial was approaching. Grotius.

Matthew 26:13

13.—Wheresoever this gospel &c.] This, as we know, was no vain prediction; it has been most literally and punctually fulfilled, and we ourselves are witnesses of its completion at this very moment. Bp. Porteus. Three out of the four Evangelists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, have recorded this event. Bp. Pearce.

Matthew 26:15

15.—for thirty pieces of silver.] For thirty shekels, about £3. 10s. 8d. of our money. It appears from Exod. xxi. 32, that this was the price to be paid for a slave or servant when killed by a beast. So vilely was His esteemed who shed His precious blood for man; and so true it is, that Christ took upon Him the form of a servant. Drs. Hammond and Whitby.

Matthew 26:17

17.—the first day of—unleavened bread] The morning of the day, (Thursday,) on the evening of which the paschal lamb was ordered to be slain. Though, strictly speaking, they were not obliged to abstain from leavened bread till the paschal supper, yet,

Christ eateth the passover. Anno DOMINI 33. him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?

Matthew 26:23

23.—He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish,] In Barbary, and probably in the East, when the food is any liquid substance, after having broken their bread into small pieces, they dip their hands and their morsels together in it. Dr. Shaw.

Matthew 26:24

24. The Son of man goeth &c.] I must indeed suffer, Jesus says, according to the will of God, and according to the prophecies concerning Me: but, though the Divine Wisdom thinks fit to use the wickedness of My betrayer as an instrument to effect His great designs; yet the wickedness of him, who thus wilfully and maliciously betrays Me, is not on this account the less; and therefore his punishment will be so grievous, that it were happy for him had he never been born. Dr. S. Clerke.

Matthew 26:25

25.—Thou hast said.] This expression affirms, Yes, thou art the person whom I mean. The words seem spoken to Judas apart. We should here observe, on the one hand, the divine foreknowledge of Christ, in discovering the hidden designs of the heart; and, on the other hand, the deceitfulness of sin, which drives men to their destruction, notwithstanding the plainest warning. Bp. Mann. This was said to Judas in a low voice, unheard by the rest. Dr. Hales.

Matthew 26:26

26.—Jesus took bread, &c.] We should bear in mind that our Lord was now solemnly commemorating the passover, the most considerable of all the sacrifices appointed under the Old Testament, and the type of the great sacrifice for sin, made by “Christ our Passover,” 1 Cor. v. 7. In the expressions therefore which He uses, He refers to the occasion present, and the objects before Him, which must all be taken into the account, if we would comprehend the fulness of His meaning. It is as if He had said, You are eating the flesh of this lamb; the blood of it has been shed on the altar to make atonement. But you must now know that these things are but shadows. I am the great sacrifice, and My blood the true atonement. Eat of this bread, drink of this cup, considering them as representing My body and blood, and you shall be partakers of what was always the end and meaning of the legal passover; of this body, which is just now going to be offered in sacrifice to God for the sins of

Matthew 26:38

38.—My soul is exceeding sorrowful.] Was ever sorrow like unto His sorrow, in the day when God laid on Him the iniquity of us all? How should the serious consideration of all this make us lament and mourn, loath and abhor ourselves, and repent in dust and ashes, that we should have been the occasion of so much grief and anguish, horreur and consternation to the Son of God Himself! Bp. Beveridge.

What more lively representation can we possibly desire of our Lord’s willing sufferings for our sakes, than this which the tragical scene in the garden sets before our eyes? Those tortures of body, and that exceeding sorrow and heaviness, even unto death; those agonies and earnest prayers, which extorted even drops of blood, and a most vehement importunity that the bitterness of that cup, which He was then about to drink, might, if possible, pass from Him: these are all indications of anguish and grief of heart, greater than can be expressed. By all these pangs our Lord has convinced us, at how dear a price He thought our souls worth purchasing; what obligations to love and gratitude are laid upon those for whom He endured so much; and how highly displeasing in the sight of God sin must ever be, since so heavy a load of suffering was laid by God on the Son of His love, when through His unspeakable kindness He submitted to bear the sins of others. Dean Stanhope.

Where is the wise disputer of the world, who says that pain and afflictions are not evils? Bring him to Gethsemane; there shall be see a just Man and perfect, a Man whose conscience reproaches Him with no vice or folly, a Man whose life hath been piety and love, unaffected piety, disinterested love; a Man in whose ample mind are hidden all the treasures of knowledge; a Man assuredly entitled to every comfort which the consciousness of perfection, of perfect virtue, and of perfect wisdom, can bestow: he shall see this wise, this good, this perfect Man, this Man in union with Divinity, overwhelmed with grief and tribulation. Surely He bears our griefs, He carries our sorrows, He under-

Matthew 26:39

39.—fell on his face, and prayed.] We find our Lord resorting to prayer in His last extremity, and with an earnestness, a vehemence of devotion, proportioned to the occasion. The terms, in which the Evangelists describe His devotion on this occasion, are the strongest that could be used. As soon as He came to the place, He desired His disciples to pray. This did not content Him; this was not sufficient for the state and suffering of His mind. He parted even from them: He withdrew about a stone’s cast and kneeled down. Hear how His struggle in prayer is described. Three times He came to His disciples, and returned again to prayer; thrice He kneeled down at a distance from them, repeating the same words. Being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly; drops of sweat fell from His body, as if it had been great drops of blood; yet in all this, throughout the whole scene, the constant conclusion of His prayer was, “Not My will, but Thine be done.” It was the greatest occasion that ever was; and the earnestness of our Lord’s prayer, the devotion of His soul, corresponded with it. Scenes of deep distress await us all. It is in vain to expect to pass through the world without falling into them. But we have in our Lord’s example a model for our behaviour, in the most severe and trying of all occasions; afflicted, yet resigned; grieved and wounded, yet submissive; not insensible of our sufferings, yet increasing the ardour and fervency of our prayer in proportion to the pain and acuteness of our feelings. But whatever may be the fortune of our lives, one great extremity at least, the hour of approaching death, is certainly to be passed through. What ought then to occupy us? Prayer. Prayer, with our blessed Lord, was the refuge from the storm; almost every word He uttered during that tremendous scene was prayer: prayer the most earnest, the most urgent; repeated, continued, proceeding from the recesses of His soul; private, solitary; prayer for deliverance; prayer for strength; above all, prayer for resignation. Archdeacon Paley.

—O my Father.] Our Saviour on no occasion uttered vehemest or rapturous ejaculations in His prayers. As the Lord’s prayer is a model of calm devotion, so His words in the garden are unaffected expressions, of a deep indeed, but sober piety. He never appears to have been worked up into anything like that elation, or that emotion of spirits, which is occasionally observed in most of those, to whom the name of enthusiast can in any degree be applied. Archdeacon Paley.

—if it be possible, let this cup &c.] We must re- Christ’s agony in the garden. Anno DOMINI 33. nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Matthew 26:41

41.—the spirit indeed is willing, but &c.] Immediately after that our Lord had desired His disciples to watch and pray, that they might not be overcome by the severe trials that awaited them, He adds, feeling for the infirmity of human nature, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak;” that is, I know your hearts are right, and your intentions good; but the weakness of your frail nature overpowers your best resolutions. Bp. Portens. His gentle rebuke is mixed with a gracious apology for the weakness and infirmity of human nature. Dr. Hales.

Matthew 26:45

45.—Sleep on now, &c.] He means, By your watching ye can shew no farther kindness or concern for Me, as I am now to be delivered into the hands of those who are emphatically styled sinners. Dr. Whitby.

He is betrayed and apprehended. Anno DOMINI 52.

Matthew 26:46

46.—Whomsoever I shall kiss.] It was the custom of the Jews thus to salute each other, as a token of regard, or after a long absence, &c.; as fully appears from Luke vii. 45. Grotius.

50.—Friend, wherefore art thou come? He seems to have put this question to Judas, not as desiring a reply, but to strike the traitor with deeper conviction of his guilt. Bp. Mons.

Matthew 26:51

51.—one of them which were with Jesus] St. John only, (chap. xviii. 10,) of all the Evangelists, mentions that it was St. Peter who did this act of violence. The probable reason is, that St. Peter was dead when St. John wrote his Gospel, and was alive when the other three wrote; they therefore were unwilling to expose him to the risk of reproach or punishment, by recording his name, as a person who had opposed the magistrates in such a manner. Bp. Pearce.

Matthew 26:52

52.—all they that take the sword &c.] This seems to have been a proverbial expression. Our Saviour probably meant to signify by it to His disciples, that such weapons as the sword are not those by which the Messiah’s cause was to be defended. Dr. Campbell. We are not to infer from this reproof given to St. Peter, that the use of the sword in self-defence is unlawful; but that the use of it against the magistrates and ministers of justice (which was the case in the present instance) is unlawful. It was meant also to check that propensity, which is but too strong and apparent in a large part of mankind, to have recourse to the sword on all occasions, and more particularly to restrain private persons from arranging private injuries, which they should rather leave to the magistrate or to God. In all such cases, they who take the sword unjustly and rashly, will probably, as our Saviour here forewarns them, perish with the sword; with the sword of their adversary, or of the magistrate. This denunciation may also allude to the Jews who now seized on Jesus; and may be meant to intimate to His disciples, that it was perfectly needless for them to draw their swords on these miscreants, since they would all perish at the siege and capture of Jerusalem by the sword of the Romans. Bp. Porteus.

Matthew 26:53

53.—twelve legions of angels?] The Roman legion consisted of about six thousand men. Our Saviour seems to mention twelve, in allusion to His twelve Apostles, who were now about to forsake Him. Bp. Pearce.

Matthew 26:54

54. But how then shall the scriptures &c.] If it had been the intention of Providence to protect Jesus and his religion by force, there is no doubt but a host of

angels might have been sent to defend Him, as one was actually sent to comfort Him. But this would have defeated the very purpose for which He came into the world, which was, that He should “make His soul an offering for sin,” Isa. liii. 10. The Prophets foretold, more particularly Isaiah and Daniel, that He should do so. And, besides this, nothing could be more abhorrent from the spirit of His religion, than force, violence, and bloodshed. These instruments of destruction He left to fanatics and impostors. The only weapons He made use of were of a different nature; the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, and the armour of righteousness. Bp. Porteus.

Matthew 26:56

56. But all this was done, &c.] That is, all these things were foreseen by the providence of God, and have a visible tendency to prove the truth of the prophecies concerning My death. Bp. Mons.

—that the scriptures—might be fulfilled.] As the various events which befell our heavenly Redeemer while on earth are said to have come to pass, “that the Scriptures might be fulfilled;” so on the other hand those Scriptures were therefore written, and the things recorded in them were done, because the supreme Wisdom had foreordained the events that should correspond to them. The services under the Mosaic law, and before it, were but “a shadow of good things to come.” The Redeemer’s death was the whole meaning of every sacrifice in all ages; and when at last, in the fulness of time, He was offered upon the cross, He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Dr. Ogden.

—forsook him, and fled.] Here we have the exact completion of that prophecy which He had just before delivered, that all His disciples should be offended because of Him; that is, should desert Him, that very night. And, that this prediction was so accomplished, is clear beyond all controversy, because it was an event which the disciples would for their own credit gladly have suppressed, if they durst. By recording this event, they recorded their own weakness and pusillanimity. And we may be perfectly assured that they would not invent a falsehood, on purpose to perpetuate their own disgrace. We have therefore in this incident a demonstrative proof that our Lord’s prophecy was actually fulfilled, and that the Evangelists were men of the strictest veracity and integrity, who were determined to sacrifice every thing, even their own reputation, to the sacred cause of truth. Bp. Porteus.

What became of the panick-struck Apostles, we are Christ is falsely accused, and condemned. Anno DOMINI 33.

Matthew 26:59

59.—sought false witness] Sought for some testimony which might affect his life; and no such testimony could be given without being false. Bp. Pearce. There was no difficulty in finding out and suborning false witnesses in abundance, who were perfectly well disposed to conform to their wishes; but they found for a long time none whose evidence came up to the point they aimed at, that of charging Him with a capital crime by such evidence as would induce the Roman governor to ratify their sentence. Bp. Porteus.

Matthew 26:60

60.—yet found they none.] None which amounted to a capital charge. Bp. Pearce.

Matthew 26:61

61.—I am able to destroy &c.] Our Saviour meant, not the material fabric of the temple, (John ii. 21.) but the frame of His bodily constitution; which, though they might destroy it by putting Him to death, would nevertheless be restored to life again in three days. But, as He used a figurative expression, the Jews made this malicious and perverse application of it in the literal sense. Bp. Mann. To speak disrespectfully of, or to prophesy against, the temple, was considered by the Jews to be blasphemy, and, of course, a capital offence. Bp. Porteus.

It is observable, that, although St. Matthew relates the charge, upon which our Lord was condemned, to be a threat of destroying the temple, yet he does not inform us upon what circumstances the calumny was founded. This information is afforded us by St. John in the early part of his history, John ii. 18—22. Now, as there is not the least appearance of care or design in St. John, to make his narrative tally with those of the other Evangelists, we are furnished by this casual agreement with a striking incidental proof of the veracity of the two historians. Archdeacon Paley.

Matthew 26:63

63. But Jesus held his peace.] He disdained to make any answer to such unfounded and contemptible accusations. Bp. Porteus.

—I adjure thee by the living God.] I require thee

Matthew 26:64

64.—Thou hast said:] Thou hast said what is true, I am the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God: for all these were synonymous terms among the Jews. Bp. Porteus.

—nevertheless &c.] Nevertheless, ye shall shortly see a convincing evidence of it, in that wonderful and unparalleled destruction which I shall send upon the Jewish nation. Dr. S. Clarke. “On the right hand of power” means, “at the right hand of God the Father,” who is sometimes called “power” by the Jews. Dr. Hammond. Also “to come in the clouds of heaven,” was looked upon by the Jews as a certain indication of their Messiah. The expression here refers to Dan. vii. 13. Dr. Whitby.

Matthew 26:65

65.—rent his clothes.] As a mark of horreur and indignation. Bp. Porteus.

Matthew 26:66

66.—he is guilty of death.] His crime subjects Him, by the law of Moses, to the punishment of death. Bp. Mann.

Matthew 26:67

67. Then did they spit &c.] Such were the indignities offered to the Lord of all by His own infatuated creatures; and, although He could with one word have laid them prostrate at His feet, yet He bore all these insults without a single murmur or complaint, and never once spake unadvisedly with His lips. “Though He was reviled, He reviled not again; though He suffered, He threatened not,” I Pet. ii. 23. Bp. Porteus.

Such were the injuries and indignities which the meek and lowly Jesus bore without a murmur, thus fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah, chap. l. 5, 6; liii. 4—8. Dr. Hales.

Matthew 26:68

68.—Prophesy unto us.] He was at this time blind- Anno DOMINI 33. x Chap. 16. 27. Thess. 4. 16. Rom. 14. 16. Peter’s denial and repentance. Anno DOMINI 33. Mark 14. 64. Luke 22. 55. John 18. 25.

Matthew 26:69

69.—in the palace.] In the courtyard or common hall, appointed for the lower sort of people. Bp. Mann.

Matthew 26:72

72.—thy speech bewrayeth thee.] His accent and dialect discovered him to be a Galilcan, as all the Apostles were. Bp. Mann.

Matthew 26:75

75.—And he went out, and wept bitterly.] The reflections, that crowd upon the mind from this most affecting incident of St. Peter’s denial of his Master, are various and important. This event should first be well remarked, as it affords a clear and striking accomplishment of our Saviour’s prediction, that before the cock crew, St. Peter should deny Him thrice; and, next, as it affords a melancholy proof of the infirmity of human nature, the weakness of our best resolutions when we are left to ourselves, and the extreme danger of too much confiding in our own strength. That St. Peter was most warmly attached to Jesus, that his intentions were upright, and his professions at the moment sincere, there can be no doubt. But his temper was too hot, and his confidence in himself too great. When our Lord told him, and all the other Apostles, that they would desert Him that night, St. Peter was the first to say to Him, “Though all men shall be offended because of Thos, yet will I never be offended.” And when Jesus again assured him, that before the cock crew he should deny Him thrice, St. Peter insisted with still greater vehemence on his unshaken fidelity, and declared, “that though he should die with Him, yet would He not deny Him.” Yet deny Him he did, with execrations and oaths; and left a memorable lesson, even to the best of men, not to entertain too high an opinion of their own constancy and firmness in the hour of temptation. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Cor. x. 12.

And hence we see the wisdom and the necessity of looking beyond ourselves, of looking up to Heaven for support and assistance in the discharge of our duty. “Trust then in the Lord,” as the wise king advises, Prov. iii. 5, 6, “with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Bp. Porteus. See further note at Mark xiv. 72.

The sudden repentance of St. Peter is no less remarkable and surprising than his fall. While he was

even abjuring his Lord with oaths and imprecations, one pitying look of his now doubly suffering Master, mingled with regret, pierced him through, and melted him into tears of contrition and godly sorrow, that worketh repentance. His fall furnishes a melancholy instance of natural infirmity, even in the heat of men, who presume on their own strength and sufficiency to resist temptation, while His speedy rising again sets before us an encouraging example of the invigorating power of Divine grace triumphing over the tempter. Dr. Hales.

There can be no stronger proof of the candour and humility of the sacred writers, than is afforded by the manner in which they speak of their own characters, and their own faults and weaknesses. The crime of St. Peter in denying his Lord, and that of St. Paul in his bitter persecution of the church, are not suppressed, though their reputation must have been deemed so essential to the Christian cause, and though their transitory, but great, offences were followed by a whole life of penitence. Thus, throughout their writings, all is open and undisguised; no secret is made of the names or transgressions of any of the Apostles; the slowness of their understandings, their prejudices and bigotry, their temporal views and contentions for power, their desertions of their Divine Master in the hour of distress, the accidental differences which occurred between them in the course of their ministry, are all fully and plainly related. Dr. Graves.

Chap. XXVII. ver. 1.—took counsel against Jesus &c.] It was related in the last chapter, that the chief priests and elders had, in their summary way, without the shadow of justice, without any consistent evidence, decided the fate of Jesus, and pronounced Him guilty of death. Their next care was, how to get this sentence confirmed and carried into execution; for under the Roman government, they had not at this time the power of life and death; though they could try and condemn a criminal, they could not execute him without a warrant from the Roman governor: they accordingly determined to carry Him before Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea at that time. But then, in order to ensure success in that quarter, it was necessary to give their accusations against Jesus such a shape and colour, as should prevail upon the governor to put Him to death. For this purpose, they found it

Christ is delivered to Pilate. Judas hangeth himself. Anno DOMINI 33.