Just East of Eden : THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 26

Thursday, April 26, 2018

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 26

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 26

When Yeshua finished these talks, He turned to His disciples, saying, “You know that in 2 days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given up to be crucified.”

The chief priests and elders of the people then met at the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. They plotted together as to how they could, by some trick, get Yeshua arrested and killed. They said, however, ‘It must not take place during the festival, lest a riot break out among the people.’

Yeshua went to Bethany, in the home of Simon, the leper. While He was at the table there, a woman came up to Him with a bottle of very expensive perfume, and poured it on His head. When the disciples saw this, they were angry, and said, ‘Why such waste? This ointment could have been sold at a good price and given to the poor.’ Yeshua knew what they were saying, and said to them, “Do not find fault with the woman. She has done Me a kind act. The poor you will have with you always, but you will not always have Me with you. When she poured this ointment on My body, she was really preparing Me for My burial. And I tell you that wherever the Gospel will be preached in the whole world, what this woman has now done will be told in her memory.”

Then one of the 12, Judas Iscariot by name, went to the chief priests. He asked, ‘How much will you pay me if I hand Him over to you?’ They agreed on 30 pieces of silver, and paid him. So, from then on, Judas was looking for a good chance to let them take Him.

On the 1^st day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Yeshua to ask, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover meal?’ Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, “My time is near. I shall keep the Passover, together with My disciples, at your place.” The disciples did as Yeshua had told them, and they prepared the Passover. When evening came, He took His place at the table with the 12. Then, while they were eating, He said, “I have this to tell you, that 1 of you will betray Me.” They became very sad, and one by one asked Him, ‘Is it I, Adonai?’ He answered, “The 1 who will betray Me is the one who has just dipped his hand with mine in the dish. The Son of Man is going just as it has been written concerning Him, but woe to the 1 who betrays the Son of Man! It were better for that man if he had never been born.” Judas, the 1 who was betraying Him, also asked, ‘Teacher, I am not the one, am I?’ he answered him, “Yes, you are the man.”

Then, while they were seated, Yeshua took bread, blessed and broke it and gave to His disciples saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then, having taken a cup, He offered thanks and gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, each of you, for this is My blood of the New Covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you that I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the day when I shall drink the new wine with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Then, after they had sung a hymn, they went to the Mount of Olives. “Tonight,” Yeshua said to them, “you will all take offense and desert Me, for Scripture says, ‘I will kill the Shepherd; then the sheep of His flock will be scattered to the winds’ (Zechariah 13:7). But I shall be raised again from the dead, after which I shall go on before you into Galilee.” Simon said to Him, ‘Even if all the others should desert You, I will never desert You.’ Yeshua said to him, “Listen! This very night, before the rooster crows, you are going to disown Me 3 times.” Simon answered Him, “I will never, never disown You, not even if I have to die for You!” All the other disciples said the same.

Then Yeshua came with them to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “You sit down here while I go over yonder to pray.” He took with Him Simon and the 2 sons of Zebedee, but became sad and deeply depressed. He said to them, “My soul is ready to die of sorrow. You stay here and watch with Me.” He went on a little further, then fell on His face and prayed, saying, “Elohim, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by. Yet, not My will but Yours be done.” Then He went back to His disciples and found them asleep. To Simon He said, “Could you not watch with Me for even an hour? Watch and pray that you may not have to be tempted. Man’s spirit is willing, but his flesh is weak.”

Again, a second time, He went over by Himself and prayed. “Elohim,” He said, “”if this cup can not pass Me by without My drinking it, then Your Will be done!” He came back again and found them sleeping, for their eyelids were heavy. He left them sleeping and went again to pray a third time, asking the same thing. This done, He went back to His disciples, saying to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Wake up! The time is at hand when the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up! Let us go! See there, my betrayer is close at hand!” Suddenly, even as He was speaking, there came Judas, 1 of the 12, followed by a great rabble armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the chief priests and elders of the people. The betrayer had given them a signal beforehand. He had said, ‘The man whom I great with a kiss – it is He. Seize Him!” He went right up to Yeshua and said, ‘Hail, master!’ and kissed Him. But Yeshua said to him, “Friend, what do you come for?” Then they came up to Yeshua, laid their hands on Him and arrested Him. At this, 1 of the men with Yeshua drew his sword and gave a servant of the high priest a blow, cutting off an ear. “Return your sword to its place.” Yeshua said to him, “for all who take up the sword will die by the sword. Don’t you believe that if I asked Elohim, even now, he will send more than a 100,000,000 angels? And how else can the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it has to be this way?” At the same time, Yeshua spoke to the rabble. “Why have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as though I was a robber? I have been with you daily, teaching in the Temple, but you never laid hands on me before. But this has all taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.”

The disciples then all deserted Him. They fled.

Yeshua was led to Caiaphas, the high priest, by those who had arrested Him. The scribes and the elders were gathered together there. Simon followed Him at some distance, right up to the high priests courtroom. And he went in and took a seat among the attendants, to see the outcome. The chief priests and the whole Council were looking for false testimony against Yeshua, by which they might put Him to death. But they could find none, even though many came forward and lied about Him. At last, 2 false accusers came up saying, ‘This man said, “I can destroy God’s Temple and rebuild it again in 3 days”’. Then the high priest, standing up, asked Him, ‘Have You no answer to make? What do You say to these accusations brought against You?” Yeshua kept silent. The high priest then said to Him, “I put You on oath, by the living God, to tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Yeshua now answered him, “Yes, it is true, as you say. And I tell you that from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” At this, the high priest ripped his clothes and cried out, ‘He has blasphemed! What more do we have of witnesses? Yes, indeed, you, yourselves, have all heard Him blaspheme. What do you say?’ They answered, ‘He deserves death!’ Then they spat in His face and hit Him with their fists. Some slapped Him on the cheek with their open hands. They mockingly said, ‘Christ, You are a prophet. Tell us, then, who is that fellow who just now gave you a blow?’

Now Simon was outside, sitting in the courtyard, when a servant girl came to him and said, ‘Say, you were with Yeshua, the Galilean!’ But he made denial before them all, saying, ‘I don’t know what you are talking about.” Then he went out and stood near agate, and was seen by another girl, who said to the bystanders, ‘This man was with Yeshua, the Nazarene.’ He made denial once more, and with an oath. ‘I don’t know the man,’ he said. After a while, some of the bystanders came up and said to Simon, ‘Surely you are one of them, for even your dialect makes that plain.’ Once more, he began to curse and swear, saying, ‘I don’t know the man!’ And right then the rooster crowed. Then Simon remembered what Yeshua had told him – “Before the rooster crows you are going to disown Me 3 times” – and he went out and wept bitterly.