ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Matthew 26

Matt. 26:1–27:66 The Crucified Messiah. Matthew narrates the events leading to Jesus’ death: (1) the Passover and Lord’s Supper and events in Gethsemane (26:1–46); (2) Jesus’ arrest, trials, and conviction (26:47–27:26); and (3) Jesus’ beating, crucifixion, death, and burial (27:27–66).

Matt. 26:2 The Passover was celebrated annually in remembrance of Israel’s exodus from Egypt (see notes on Exodus 12). Son of Man. See note on Matt. 8:20. This is the fourth time that Jesus predicts his arrest and crucifixion (see 16:21; 17:22–23; 20:17–19).

Matt. 26:3–4 chief priests and the elders of the people. Representatives of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Jerusalem, but not the full assembly. palace. The private residence of the high priest. Caiaphas was high priest a.d. 18 to 36. He was the son-in-law of Annas, the previous high priest (see note on John 18:24).

Matt. 26:5 feast. Thousands of pilgrims made the journey to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. There was much national pride as they recalled their ancestors’ liberation from bondage in Egypt. uproar. Popular uprisings were common, especially during such feasts.

Matt. 26:6–13 Matthew records this account of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany thematically. John records it chronologically, on Saturday night before Jesus’ triumphal entry (John 12:1–11).

Matt. 26:6 Bethany. See note on 21:17. Jesus had most likely healed Simon the leper. The meal is hosted in Simon’s home. People healed of leprosy were not required to live apart from the general population.

Matt. 26:7 a woman. Identified in John 12:3 as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. expensive ointment. “Pure nard” (see Mark 14:3; John 12:3), a perfume oil used for solemn acts of devotion (see note on Mark 14:3–5).

Matt. 26:9 large sum. The perfume was valued at “more than three hundred denarii” (Mark 14:5), approximately a year’s wages for the average worker.

Matt. 26:14 one of the twelve. Judas’s treachery is heightened by the fact that he is one of Jesus’ chosen apostles.

Matt. 26:15–16 thirty pieces of silver. In the OT, this was the penalty paid by the owner of an ox that gored a slave to death (Ex. 21:32). Equivalent to about four months’ wages for a laborer, this meager sum suggests the low esteem in which both Judas and the chief priests held Jesus.

Matt. 26:17 first day of Unleavened Bread. The Festival of Unleavened Bread lasted seven days in the Jewish month of Nisan (late March or early April; see Lev. 23:5–6). prepare for you to eat the Passover. Preparations for the Passover were made on Thursday afternoon. Jesus and the disciples ate the Passover meal after sundown on Thursday evening. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper later that evening.

Matt. 26:20 reclined at table. In formal dining, the host took the center seat at a U-shaped series of low tables. He was surrounded by the most honored guests on either side. The guests reclined with their heads toward the tables and their feet toward the wall.

Matt. 26:23 He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me. The custom was to take a piece of bread or a piece of meat in bread and dip it into a common bowl of sauce on the table. Each of those around the room had done so. At this point the betrayer could have been any of the Twelve.

Matt. 26:24 as it is written. A reference to the suffering servant prophesies in Isaiah 42–53.

Matt. 26:25 Rabbi. The larger group around the table addresses Jesus as “Lord” (v. 22), but Judas addresses him as “Rabbi,” or “Teacher.” There is no record of Judas ever calling Jesus “Lord.” You have said so is a Greek expression that deflects responsibility back upon the one asking a question (see v. 64).

Matt. 26:26 bread . . . this is my body. Jesus’ physical death fulfills the ceremonies surrounding the Passover lamb and other OT sacrifices. He will become the sacrificial atonement for the people’s sins.

Matt. 26:27 cup. Most likely the third of four cups in the Passover observance—the cup of blessing, or the cup of redemption. It corresponds to God’s third promise in Ex. 6:6.

Matt. 26:28 blood of the covenant. The cup foreshadows the shedding of Jesus’ blood and his absorbing of God’s wrath. This opens the way for the redemption of all peoples through the new covenant relationship with God that was promised to the people of Israel (see Jer. 31:31, 34).

Matt. 26:29 drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. The messianic banquet (compare 8:11; Rev. 19:9).

Matt. 26:30 hymn. Perhaps Psalms 113–118, or Psalm 136.

Matt. 26:31 You will all fall away. All the disciples will forsake Jesus and run (v. 56). They will still be his disciples, but they will fail to stand with him against persecution.

Matt. 26:34 rooster crows. Marking the sunrise.

Matt. 26:36 Gethsemane means “oil press,” indicating a garden area on the Mount of Olives where olive oil was prepared.

Matt. 26:39 fell on his face. In this typical posture of complete humility in prayer, Jesus lays his life before his Father. He prepares to accomplish his life’s mission—to bear the sins of the world—which is what this cup signifies. See note on 20:22–23.

Matt. 26:41 Their temptation was to sleep and thus to fail in their responsibility to support Jesus. It may also refer to the temptation to deny Jesus when he is led away to the cross (see vv. 31–35).

Matt. 26:47 one of the twelve. See note on v. 14. The great crowd included Roman soldiers assigned to the temple for security, carrying swords, and temple police and personal guards of the chief priests and Sanhedrin (elders), carrying clubs.

Matt. 26:48 kiss. A customary way for friends in ancient Israel to greet one another now becomes the means of betrayal.

Matt. 26:49 Rabbi. See note on v. 25.

Matt. 26:50 When Jesus addresses Judas as Friend, he uses a word meaning “acquaintance,” rather than a word implying closeness or affection.

Matt. 26:51 one of those who were with Jesus. Simon Peter (see John 18:10–11). servant of the high priest. Malchus (see John 18:10).

Matt. 26:53 twelve legions. 72,000 soldiers. A Roman legion at full strength had 6,000 soldiers.

Matt. 26:56 Compare Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12–13.

Matt. 26:57–58 The headquarters of Caiaphas the high priest was likely a mansion, probably on the eastern slope of Jerusalem, overlooking the temple area.

Matt. 26:59 The whole council (the “Sanhedrin”) need not include all 70 members of the highest court of the Jews. It may indicate only those hastily assembled in the middle of the night (23 members made a quorum). The Romans were ultimately in control of all judicial proceedings, but they allowed their subjects some freedom to try their own cases.

Matt. 26:61–62 I am able to destroy the temple of God. Jesus’ opponents misquoted this saying and took it out of context (see John 2:19–21).

Matt. 26:63 Jesus is silent, fulfilling Isa. 53:7 and making his accusers responsible for his death. tell us if you are the Christ. Caiaphas wants Jesus to admit to this charge so that he can be accused of rebellion against Rome and be tried before Pilate.

Matt. 26:64 You have said so. See note on v. 25. Jesus declares that he is not only the human Messiah anticipated by the Jews but also the divine Son of Man (see Dan. 7:13–14; note on Matt. 8:20) who sits at the right hand of God (Ps. 110:1–2).

Matt. 26:65 tore his robes. Such an action was normally prohibited for the high priest (Lev. 10:6; 21:10), but Jesus’ astounding claim causes a strong response. blasphemy. Because Jesus claims divine status as the Son of Man.

Matt. 26:66 If Jesus is lying by claiming to be divine, then indeed he deserves death according to Jewish law (see Lev. 24:10–23). The irony is that he will be executed for telling the truth.

Matt. 26:71–72 oath. See 5:33–37.

Matt. 26:73 All of Jesus’ disciples except Judas were from Galilee. Judeans looked down on Galileans because of their regional accent.

Matt. 26:74 curse . . . swear. Most likely calling upon God’s wrath to strike him if he is lying.