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The Book of Matthew

Key Verse: Matthew 26:63-64

…The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Jesus was arrested and taken before Caiaphas, the high priest, the teachers of the law, and the elders – men who should have recognized him as the Son of God, but did not – men whose only goal was to find some fault in him, some excuse to bring about his death, for his very existence challenged their authority. Many people came forward and lied about Jesus and still they hesitated to condemn him. Two witnesses said truthfully…

Matthew 26:61 - … “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

Jesus stood silent throughout all the testimony and Peter, who had followed, watched his master’s accusers defile his name. Angered by Jesus’ silence and failure to defend himself, Caiaphas said…

Matthew 26:63-64 - … “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

This admission enraged high priest who accused Jesus of blasphemy (by definition, about the same as cursing God). The assembled crowd, in a riotous mood, called for his death, surged forward…

Matthew 26:67 – Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?”

Peter, who had retreated to the courtyard, was thrice accused of being one of Jesus’ followers by people around him, swearing each time that “I don’t know the man.”… and then a rooster crowded.

Matthew 26:75 – 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.

Can you imagine the guilt, the self-loathing, that Peter must have felt as he realized what he had just done? And yet, we deny Christ every day by our actions just as Peter did then.

Jesus, having been condemned to death, was bound and handed over to Pilate, the governor. When Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned to death, he saw how wrong he had been, knew he had sinned, and gave back the thirty pieces of silver he had been paid to betray Jesus. Unable to live with this heinous act on his conscience, he hanged himself.

The chief priests, unable to add this “dirty money” back into their treasury, used it to buy the potter’s field as a burial site for foreigners and to this day it is called “The Field of Blood,” thus bringing to fruition the prophecy of Jeremiah…

Matthew 27:9-10 – Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me”

When Jesus came before Pilate, he was asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” and Jesus replied “Yes, it is as you say.” Then Jesus took up his silent stance once more and refused to reply to any of the accusations brought against him.

Pilate’s wife had warned him…

Matthew 27:19 – …. “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

It was the custom of the times for the governor to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd during the Feast. He held, at that time, a notorious man named Barabbas. Having found no fault in Jesus himself, and feeling that surely the vast majority of the crowd would also see his innocence, but not realizing the influence the priests and elders had over the people, he called out…

Matthew 27:17 - … “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”

The crowd shouted back “Release Barabbas!! Crucify Jesus!!” Seeing that he could not sway them, Pilate, quite literally, washed his hands of the matter and stated…

Matthew 27:24-25 – I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”

Barabbas was then released and Jesus was flogged and handed over to be crucified. The soldiers gathered around Jesus, stripped him and placed a scarlet robe around his shoulders and a crown of thorns upon his head. They knelt before him in mock obeisance to “The King of the Jews.”

Matthew 30:31 – After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Ruth’s comments: I awoke this morning to a feeling of overwhelming loneliness. Do you think Jesus felt that way too? forsaken, forlorn, forgotten? Take a moment today and consider the absolute worst day of your life, what your feelings were then, and then multiply that by about a million times. Even then we can never come close to his feeling of abandonment and loneliness

Next Week: The crucifixion.

Reference: The Holy Bible – NIV and King James Version