Matthew 26:1-75
Jesus is focused. He had dedicated His life to us; His entire purpose is to organize and encourage our complex and difficult lives on Earth. He is devoted to teaching everyone who will listen to God's message. As humans, we can barely understand the magnitude of the responsibility Jesus had. Jesus' responsibility was greater than we could bear, His adversaries stronger. In addition to this great responsibility, Jesus came here with the knowledge that despite His efforts, He would be tortured and crucified by humans. Jesus came here to save us from those humans who dealt so cruelly with Him and so deceptively with us.
Christians often focus entirely on the fact that Jesus died. I am here to celebrate not that He died, but that He lived. God is not vengeful against the children who He loves -- God does not require blood to assuage a vengeance against us for our failures. Instead, God gave Earthly LIFE to Jesus so that during it, He could teach, inform and gather humanity under God's wing. Jesus is our savior because He lived. Jesus is our savior because during His life, He gave us the instruction and the wisdom we needed. He gave us the instruction to live for others and to subsequently nourish ourselves. He gave us the wisdom we needed to distinguish truth from lies, the wisdom to escape the wrath of the wicked.
Jesus is aware of His limited time on Earth and yet it does not distract Him; He is not scared or anxious. Jesus will be betrayed and ignored for generations, He knows that, and yet He teaches wholeheartedly, with focus and no distraction. Jesus is the embodiment of selflessness. The embodiment of courage.
Jesus knew, too, that His Father (our Father), God -- was waiting for Him in a beautiful eternity. Jesus remembered that no man could harm Him beyond God's repair. While we cannot equate with Jesus, we can and should also find courage in the fact that our spiritual bodies belong to God and cannot be harmed. No man has power over Jesus and no man has power over you because you love and trust God.
Our works define our soul. Many religions will teach you that you are saved by Jesus if you believe in Jesus and this is an inaccurate crime against you. You must know what God has repeated throughout the Bible: James 2:14 Faith without works is dead. Some religions will tell you that you should not fear losing your place in Heaven, that once you believe in Jesus, you have earned your place. This is wildly inaccurate.
God does not want you to fear: His house is expansive, His house welcomes everyone who ever was and will be and can shelter everyone who ever was and will be. But God does remind you that you must earn your place by your works. Your good actions. Jesus came to teach you to save yourself. Jesus came to teach you that God forgives, aids and loves you when you work in His name. When you forgive, aid and help fellow humans, you earn your place and you earn the gifts He has to give you. God never expects more of you than you can handle as well learned in earlier chapters of this book of Matthew. You have nothing to fear, there is space for you and you are welcomed inside. However, you must walk to your place... you must live the through the journey to get there. You must take the right paths to reach the destination. You choose the right paths by making the right decisions and working with good intention.
Jesus came to teach you... Jesus did not come in order to allow you to be lazy and float through life without purpose. Prove to Him your gratitude for the knowledge He shares with you at the expense of His life here. Use your gifts from God to help others.
26:1 Jesus just finished a massive message but he does not stop for a break. He finishes the important message and then moves right into another one. God and Jesus work diligently so that we are prepared for every circumstance headed our way.
26:2 Jesus gives them the specific date of His capture. God prepared Jesus for this; He knows exactly when everything will occur. He's brave in the face of adversity.
26:3-4 Jesus' adversaries gather together in an effort to bring Him down. They believe they will succeed but they have no chance against God. Jesus is lifted up, eternally, in God's light.
26:5 Jesus' adversaries plan the date of His capture. Jesus has multitudes of followers who the adversaries do not want to deal with (and who will be especially energetic during Passover) and so they wait until an opportune moment. But do not forget that God ultimately controls every situation. God allows this great deception to be plotted and undertaken in order to teach a message. Nothing can be accomplished against God.
26:6-7 Now Jesus encounters a devout woman. This woman loves Him so much that when she saw an opportunity to worship Him, she took it. We are humble humans, we do not have much to offer Jesus but we do have our love and this woman expressed her love by sharing a precious oil with Jesus. Her efforts will be criticized by her peers.
26:8-9 I wish for you to be especially careful not to criticize a person with good intentions. Do not search for weakness or failure in a person who is trying their best. We each have individual journeys and we do not often get everything right our first time trying. It is discouraging to try and still be judged and laughed at.
This woman used her moment with Jesus to show her love and gratitude. That should always be allowed and cherished. We must take time to show the people who we love how much we love them.
26:10-11 Jesus reminds them that when He is gone, their entire lives will be devoted to the poor and the meek. Jesus reminds them that His time is limited and that He is leaving soon. If this woman wishes to show her gratitude and to absorb the moment of Jesus' presence, she should be allowed to do so.
Jesus comes here through God and therefore Jesus is God with them. It is not unreasonable to allot time toward expressing your love to Jesus and God. Spent time communicating with Jesus; if you love Him, tell Him so.
26:12 This woman was despairing. She knew she had to say goodbye, for a time, to Jesus in the actual flesh before her. She was expressing her love and devotion because she pained at the thought of what lie ahead of Him. Deception. Torture. Death in the flesh.
26:13 Jesus always raises up the bullied. Jesus rewards and cherishes the meek. This quiet woman is beloved by God and He wants the entire world to know it.
26:14-16 Judas went to Jesus' adversaries and traded Jesus' life for money. Before you express hatred or disgust for Judas, remember that if he regretted his actions (and we will find out if he did) God forgave him. Remember also that Jesus came here to teach and He has not paused his mission. We can learn and relate Judas' betrayal to our times now.
So many people trade decency for money. People love money: wealth of jewels and materials and money. Often, people will protect or procure their money by denying or using others.
Be careful not to trade your Home with God for wealth on Earth. If even one person suffers from your accumulation of money, you have traded your space. You should be devoted to people and not to money. Remember that Jesus taught us to give and give until we have nothing left. In today's world, we save our money and be buy things for our own pleasure but a pure, true, good child of God rejects those things and devotes everything they have to helping others. If someone is hungry and you can feed them - feed them. Protect a person before you protect your bank account.
Side note: Judas might have arranged the bribe thinking that Jesus would never allow Himself to be overtaken and therefore he (Judas) would have gained money and kept Jesus as well. We do not know the mind and reasoning behind Judas' actions (just as we do not know this for any person) but we do know that God arranged Jesus' entire life to be lessons within lessons for us. Therefore: Judas played his part and I'll give you a spoiler -- he truly regrets his actions in Matthew 27:3.
Side note: Judas might have arranged the bribe thinking that Jesus would never allow Himself to be overtaken and therefore he (Judas) would have gained money and kept Jesus as well. We do not know the mind and reasoning behind Judas' actions (just as we do not know this for any person) but we do know that God arranged Jesus' entire life to be lessons within lessons for us. Therefore: Judas played his part and I'll give you a spoiler -- he truly regrets his actions in Matthew 27:3.
26:17 Passover is approaching and the disciples want to plan how they will celebrate with Jesus. The Passover is a celebrate of God, from as early as Genesis, guiding and rescuing His children.
26:18 Jesus directs them to a certain place. We can deduce that the details of this particular Passover, like Jesus' purpose on Earth, was all organized and prearranged. Therefore, this "certain man" was likely expecting to host the meal at his home.
26:19 Therefore, everything went as planned.
26:20 This is a famous moment in the Bible, Jesus sits at the table with the 12 and informs them of the situation to come.
26:21 And... Jesus drops the bomb. Metaphorically. One of the 12 disciples will betray Him.
26:22 This comes as a shock to the disciples. They can't imagine going against Jesus.
26:23 Jesus knows which of the disciples will betray Him -- Jesus came informed and prepared.
26:24 Jesus reminds them that everything will happen as planned long before His birth here (which we know as the Old Testament - Psalm 22). Woe to the man who betrays Jesus because they are going to be so ashamed of themselves that they won't be able to withstand the pressure of it.
26:25 Judas and Jesus have a moment of knowing between them. On the surface, Judas is only asking the same question that everyone else has asked. If we look deeper, Judas is asking Jesus if Jesus is aware of Judas' betrayal. How does Jesus answer? Jesus does not accuse Judas... He simply says "You said it." In other words, Jesus is communicating with Judas this message: You know what you have done and I know what you have done; I have not accused you of anything... but you have admitted it. Admitted it how? By thinking of himself immediately after Jesus describes the man who will betray Him.
26:26 Bread is symbolic of Jesus' teaching. The teaching feeds people. The teaching has been blessed by Jesus' life spent spreading it and revealing its beauty. Nourish yourself with the word of God, with everything Jesus stands for.
26:27 Jesus gives thanks to God. Jesus always remembers to keep God in the forefront of every situation. Jesus is in awe of our Father and expresses His gratitude in all moments. Jesus knew the plan; He knew that His mission here was to save multitudes of children and Jesus is thankful for the opportunity to do just that. He is also thankful for a God who would arrange such a circumstance.
Instead of abandoning humanity (who make many mistakes, cause many pains), God returned through Jesus to help us save ourselves from... ourselves.
26:28 The blood (beverage) is symbolic of Jesus' time here. Always quench your spiritual thirst with the teaching of Jesus (which came despite the consequence of His bloodshed by humans).
26:29 Jesus is saying farewell... for now. His purpose here is coming to a close and He won't be spending anymore time with humanity until we complete our own purpose here and meet Him in the eternity.
26:30 They spend a bit of time rejoicing in God's name, basking in the presence of Jesus and then they returned to the mission.
26:31 Jesus warns them that their individual journeys as teachers will be difficult. We learn throughout the Bible (and in Zechariah referenced here) that the children of God will be scattered around the world. Not only will they be scattered, but they will forget their true God. Bringing the children home or into realization of God will not be simple. It's going to be a path on which many generations of teachers of the word will stumble.
26:32 Jesus tells them that after He has been raised (when He comes in His spiritual body after His earthly death) He will meet up with them again in Galilee. Jesus is going to have another lesson for them. They need to be made aware of the capabilities of God... of the deathless-ness of those who love God.
26:33 Peter is confident in his love of Jesus. Peter proclaims that he will never stumble. This is a bold and courageous statement, and likely Peter truly does mean what he says. Jesus wants to teach a lesson though that generations of teachers will also have to learn: "Easier said than done."
It's easy for the disciples to feel brave while Jesus is standing alongside them. It's easy for us to feel brave when we are in the comfort of our own homes, away from adversaries. But when the reality of what we are preparing for occurs -- we tend to shrink back a little (or a lot) afraid.
Faith and trust in God is something that is build overtime. Through circumstance we strengthen our courage in such a way that cannot be prepared for beforehand.
26:34 Jesus humbles Peter's remarks by breaking some bad news to him -- Peter is not as courageous as he thinks (yet). This very night in the verse, Peter will deny Jesus... three times!
26:35 Peter pledges his allegiance to Jesus even to death -- but again, easier said than done and also, actions speak louder than words. We might honestly believe we are capable of something and then become surprised when we found out it's not true, that we are not. But we can become able through experience.
26:36 Jesus goes to communicate with God. This one of the biggest events that will ever happen (second only to Jesus and God's final coming and maybe it's even a tie). They have huge plans that are on the brink of happening and changing the world... it makes sense that Jesus would check in with our beautiful, strong, brilliant Father.
26:37 Jesus experiences a powerful moment in this verse on our behalf. He's "deeply sorrowful" and "distressed" because Jesus knows of the suffering that is to come on the Earth. Jesus knows that it will be a long, painful journey for humanity. He knows that people will abandon God and that in their abandonment, they will become victims and contributors to greed and violence.
Jesus cares about us - it's why He came! Jesus and God love us as an extension of themselves, they devote their love to us even though we don't always (or ever) appreciate it.
26:38 Jesus is so distraught that He feels it could kill Him. Compassionate people can relate to this - their hearts feel torn from their bodies when they witness a horrible injustice. We use the term a lot but Jesus truly had the weight of the world on His shoulders.
26:39 Jesus is so pained by what He knows humanity will face, He asks good -- is there any other way we can save them?
God is fair and God loves us: because of these two qualities, God gives us our complete freedom to make our own decisions. God is fair because He does not force us to be or do anything that we do not wish to do or be - and because of this, there are many consequences. In order to be fair, God has to allow us to hurt each other (if we chose to) during this trial in which we define who we are. God loves us so much that He gives us the opportunity to choose to love Him back. He wants our true, authentic love. God does not want a world full of robots who a programmed or ordered to love Him... no, never. You know who wants that kind of world? Satan.
Our lives on Earth are our chance to declare our true love for God. Our lives on Earth are our chance to declare the nature of our souls. We choose who we want to be.
Jesus, while praying to God, knows that this method must be the only method. This method is the only true and fair method. But Jesus is so acutely aware of the consequences of allowing humans free will. Jesus feels the pain and suffering that will be caused by this freedom (because humans hurt, neglect and deceive each other).
Jesus yearns for God to come up with another solution -- but He knows, this is the only way to get authentic results. Jesus is saying to God: Let the choice be ultimately yours, always, but as Your Servant, I must at least try.
26:40 Jesus returns to find the disciples sleeping. This is a metaphor. Jesus is about to leave the Earth for a time... just as Jesus left them to go pray for a time. Jesus returns to find them asleep. In His absence, they got no work done and they were not vigilant. When Jesus leaves them for Heaven (for a time) He needs them to work and to be vigilant. He needs us to work and to be vigilant.
26:41 Jesus instructs them: 1) Be observant so that no wicked ideas or temptations confuse or corrupt you. 2) Always pray to stay in communication with God. Always remind yourself and God that you are focused and determine and aware of Him. You will not get lost when you tether yourself to God. By praying, you strengthen that tether.
He's reminding us that despite our best intentions (our spirit), our bodies are a weakness. Our bodies desire things for themselves that often mute the good intention of our spirit. Just as Peter felt brave (spiritually) the weakness of his body is going to dilute that bravery.
Jesus is telling us that if we remain aware of our weak points, we can protect them from being taken over. We can't have blind, untested confidence. We have to be aware of difficulty and familiar with the hard work it takes to work through it. Our spirits can carry us through anything... as long as we train our bodies to listen to it.
26:42 Jesus returns to communicate with God. Jesus accepts that God's plan must happen. Jesus is worried for humanity but He accepts that their best chance is to complete their (our) journey here. Jesus is saying... well, if this must happen, let's do it. I'll do it, He is accepting His purpose and He's ready to carry it out. Jesus is our Strong Spirit who we learn from.
26:43 Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping again. This is not unlike humanity. God fills our world with evidence of Him: stars and plants and animals and the complex physiology of all of it... yet, we fall asleep to it. We disregard the wonder of our world. Likewise, we fall asleep when we are supposed to be watching. Jesus warns us over and over again that the wicked in the world will work tirelessly to corrupt out bodies... and if we are not working hard against it, we will be corrupted. The disciples continue to fall asleep.. they continue not to takes God's warnings. Humanity continues to sleep as well.
26:44 Jesus returns to communicate with God. After returning to find the disciples sleeping, Jesus is definitely convinced that humanity must be left to make their choices. Because God can not trust our word. The disciples are supposed to be students of Jesus... and they proclaim their love and belief and allegiance to Him... yet when it comes to listening to Him, when it comes to action, they are not listening and they are not acting. God must know who we are... not who we say we are -- and to do that, we are here on Earth for Him to find out.
26:45 Jesus has to awaken them again. He's incredulous -- it's time for Jesus to be betrayed and His own students (who were informed beforehand) are not even ready. This is symbolic of the end. God will return and so many will be caught off guard.
26:46 Get up, get ready. It's time.
26:47 The adversaries arrive. Judas brings them to Jesus.
26:48 Judas arranges this situation with the chief priests and elders (the corrupt leaders of church and state): the person I kiss will be Jesus. Remember that in this time, there was no internet... no photographs. Jesus had the protection of being somewhat hard to distinguish... until Judas pointed Him out.
This kiss is a standard greeting so Judas believes he is being stealth... but Jesus is aware of the situation.
26:49 Judas identifies Jesus to the people who seek to kill Him.
26:50 Still Jesus has not accused Judas. Jesus knows what is about to happen but He does not flee or express anger, fright or frustration. He greets Judas kindly and is then immediately captured.
26:51 The disciples react. Their instinct is to protect Jesus.
26:52 Jesus stops the disciples from fighting. Jesus does not want any blood shed in His name. Jesus does not want a person to be killed. Jesus is reminded him (and us) that the war against our adversaries is a spiritual war.
You can protect yourself and your family (Exodus 21:14) -- but the disciples already had protection. They did not need to kill or maim in that situation... Jesus informed them of the situation beforehand so they knew what to expect and they also knew it had to happen.
26:53 Jesus continues to tell us: God is the Highest. No one can work against God unless He allows it (and He does for a time, during our trial here). Jesus is reminding them of God's power and of their protection. If Jesus needed help, He would immediately have hundreds of angels at His side. Wow. You have God's protection, too. Remember just how powerful He is. It's so brilliant that we cannot fully conceive of His brilliance.
26:54 Jesus reminds them that the scripture, God's plan, must happen as it was planned. Therefore, Jesus reminds them that He must be taken.
26:55 Jesus is bringing common sense to the situation. Jesus is being taken with swords and clubs and a strong, armed group of men... as if He is a criminal. Jesus always taught openly. Jesus taught peacefully and yet He is being captured as if He has committed a terrible crime.
Well, to those corrupt men... Jesus' crime was helping and healing the people those evil men wished to control and abuse.
26:56 Jesus' arrest correlates exactly with what was predicted. The disciples likely were some combination of 1) being overwhelmed by the situation and 2) accepting the situation. They back off.
26:57 Jesus is brought to where all of his adversaries are gathered.They need to prepare for round 2, what to do now that Jesus is in their captivity.Remember that these adversaries are men of the church. These men are supposed to represent and defend kindness and honesty. These same type of hypocrites exist today. Many "religious" people are judgmental and dishonest... and many people who seem meek and humble are courageous and just. We have to be observant. Do not just follow the word of another person because they lead a church -- observe them as you would any other human.
26:58 Peter followed Jesus.
26:59 All of these men (Jesus' adversaries) spoke lies of Him hoping that their lies would be evidence enough to sentence Jesus to death.
26:60 A lot of people tried to lie but they failed. They could not think of anything that would stand up as truth or proof.
26:61 They are trying to come up with any little piece of information they can to twist and make Jesus come across as a criminal. They have nothing. Jesus did not say that He could or would destroy anything. In verse 24:2, Jesus predicts that the temple will be destroyed. Be careful for people who will take scripture and twist it! Satan loves to twist scripture and he knows it well enough to trick you if you're not careful and informed.
26:62 The chief priest wants to hear from Jesus; he asks Jesus to defend Himself.
26:63 The chief priest starts demanding an answer from Jesus but Jesus remains quiet. Jesus knows that anything He says will be twisted and turned against Him (Remember Chapter 4 of Matthew). Jesus knows this is a sham and He does not waste words on it.
26:64 Jesus is letting them tangle themselves up in their own words -- All of the accusations against Jesus are accusations that were spoken by his adversaries. Jesus never walked around forcing people to bow to Him or follow Him... never!
Regardless of this entire situation... they (and we) we all see the true God return and our mess here on Earth will not prevent or delay that.
26:65 They call Jesus blasphemous. Jesus has only spoken the truth, that God will return. There was nothing blasphemous about his statement but the evil mean are eager to punish Him and jump at any chance to do so.
26:66 They declare that Jesus is deserving at death. Only an evil person could come to such a conclusion. You can understand why God needs to know who we really are... and why he destroys and eliminates some people. Some people are truly wicked and selfish.
26:67 Jesus is disgraced and beaten. For what? For being kind and honest and fair. You have protection from God just like Jesus... you have eternity, your soul cannot be killed. But you will face adversaries, God will give you the courage and love to survive it.
26:68 They mock Jesus. They hit Him from behind and tease Him. The joke is on them -- not only did Jesus, of course, know everything about the people who would betray and harm Him... He always knows that they will be eliminated.
This verse is especially difficult to read for those with a compassionate heart. Be strong. Jesus is strong and God is strong and these horrible men do not have any power.
26:69 Peter is still there, having followed Jesus. A servant comes out and asks Peter if he came with Jesus. This will be Peter's first denial of Jesus.
26:70 Peter got scared. Peter saw how Jesus was treated and he was terrified. Peter's first instinct was to deny his familiarity with Jesus. His instinct was to protect himself. If we are honest with ourselves -- we know that this is an understandable response. We all want to be strong... but we must learn to be strong (through God).
26:71 Peter is identified again as a student of Jesus by another person.
26:72 Peter's second denial. He's scared... Peter does not want to be captured and tortured, he wants to get out of there.
26:73 Peter is identified a third time.
26:74 Peter vehemently denies relation to Jesus a third time that night and scripture is fulfilled.
Jesus warned Peter. Talk is cheap... you have to back it up. You have to be able to face your adversaries to defend your beliefs and this takes work. You have to work to build up courage... and courage is trust and faith in God. It is trust and faith that God will always protect you. Peter wasn't quite there... yet.
26:75 Peter remembers Jesus' warning and he weeps. Peter is ashamed of himself for being a coward. Peter loves Jesus and believes in Jesus but Peter's courage is not yet developed. God is forgiving and patient... God works with us to build up our courage and our wisdom. God gives us the time we need to become comfortable in trusting Him. But it was a difficult moment for Peter... his spirit was ready and eager to defend Jesus but his weak body got scared. We must let our spirit take the driver seat... easier said than done but doable with God.
26:48 Judas arranges this situation with the chief priests and elders (the corrupt leaders of church and state): the person I kiss will be Jesus. Remember that in this time, there was no internet... no photographs. Jesus had the protection of being somewhat hard to distinguish... until Judas pointed Him out.
This kiss is a standard greeting so Judas believes he is being stealth... but Jesus is aware of the situation.
26:49 Judas identifies Jesus to the people who seek to kill Him.
26:50 Still Jesus has not accused Judas. Jesus knows what is about to happen but He does not flee or express anger, fright or frustration. He greets Judas kindly and is then immediately captured.
26:51 The disciples react. Their instinct is to protect Jesus.
26:52 Jesus stops the disciples from fighting. Jesus does not want any blood shed in His name. Jesus does not want a person to be killed. Jesus is reminded him (and us) that the war against our adversaries is a spiritual war.
You can protect yourself and your family (Exodus 21:14) -- but the disciples already had protection. They did not need to kill or maim in that situation... Jesus informed them of the situation beforehand so they knew what to expect and they also knew it had to happen.
26:53 Jesus continues to tell us: God is the Highest. No one can work against God unless He allows it (and He does for a time, during our trial here). Jesus is reminding them of God's power and of their protection. If Jesus needed help, He would immediately have hundreds of angels at His side. Wow. You have God's protection, too. Remember just how powerful He is. It's so brilliant that we cannot fully conceive of His brilliance.
26:54 Jesus reminds them that the scripture, God's plan, must happen as it was planned. Therefore, Jesus reminds them that He must be taken.
26:55 Jesus is bringing common sense to the situation. Jesus is being taken with swords and clubs and a strong, armed group of men... as if He is a criminal. Jesus always taught openly. Jesus taught peacefully and yet He is being captured as if He has committed a terrible crime.
Well, to those corrupt men... Jesus' crime was helping and healing the people those evil men wished to control and abuse.
26:56 Jesus' arrest correlates exactly with what was predicted. The disciples likely were some combination of 1) being overwhelmed by the situation and 2) accepting the situation. They back off.
26:57 Jesus is brought to where all of his adversaries are gathered.They need to prepare for round 2, what to do now that Jesus is in their captivity.Remember that these adversaries are men of the church. These men are supposed to represent and defend kindness and honesty. These same type of hypocrites exist today. Many "religious" people are judgmental and dishonest... and many people who seem meek and humble are courageous and just. We have to be observant. Do not just follow the word of another person because they lead a church -- observe them as you would any other human.
26:58 Peter followed Jesus.
26:59 All of these men (Jesus' adversaries) spoke lies of Him hoping that their lies would be evidence enough to sentence Jesus to death.
26:60 A lot of people tried to lie but they failed. They could not think of anything that would stand up as truth or proof.
26:61 They are trying to come up with any little piece of information they can to twist and make Jesus come across as a criminal. They have nothing. Jesus did not say that He could or would destroy anything. In verse 24:2, Jesus predicts that the temple will be destroyed. Be careful for people who will take scripture and twist it! Satan loves to twist scripture and he knows it well enough to trick you if you're not careful and informed.
26:62 The chief priest wants to hear from Jesus; he asks Jesus to defend Himself.
26:63 The chief priest starts demanding an answer from Jesus but Jesus remains quiet. Jesus knows that anything He says will be twisted and turned against Him (Remember Chapter 4 of Matthew). Jesus knows this is a sham and He does not waste words on it.
26:64 Jesus is letting them tangle themselves up in their own words -- All of the accusations against Jesus are accusations that were spoken by his adversaries. Jesus never walked around forcing people to bow to Him or follow Him... never!
Regardless of this entire situation... they (and we) we all see the true God return and our mess here on Earth will not prevent or delay that.
26:65 They call Jesus blasphemous. Jesus has only spoken the truth, that God will return. There was nothing blasphemous about his statement but the evil mean are eager to punish Him and jump at any chance to do so.
26:66 They declare that Jesus is deserving at death. Only an evil person could come to such a conclusion. You can understand why God needs to know who we really are... and why he destroys and eliminates some people. Some people are truly wicked and selfish.
26:67 Jesus is disgraced and beaten. For what? For being kind and honest and fair. You have protection from God just like Jesus... you have eternity, your soul cannot be killed. But you will face adversaries, God will give you the courage and love to survive it.
26:68 They mock Jesus. They hit Him from behind and tease Him. The joke is on them -- not only did Jesus, of course, know everything about the people who would betray and harm Him... He always knows that they will be eliminated.
This verse is especially difficult to read for those with a compassionate heart. Be strong. Jesus is strong and God is strong and these horrible men do not have any power.
26:69 Peter is still there, having followed Jesus. A servant comes out and asks Peter if he came with Jesus. This will be Peter's first denial of Jesus.
26:70 Peter got scared. Peter saw how Jesus was treated and he was terrified. Peter's first instinct was to deny his familiarity with Jesus. His instinct was to protect himself. If we are honest with ourselves -- we know that this is an understandable response. We all want to be strong... but we must learn to be strong (through God).
26:71 Peter is identified again as a student of Jesus by another person.
26:72 Peter's second denial. He's scared... Peter does not want to be captured and tortured, he wants to get out of there.
26:73 Peter is identified a third time.
26:74 Peter vehemently denies relation to Jesus a third time that night and scripture is fulfilled.
Jesus warned Peter. Talk is cheap... you have to back it up. You have to be able to face your adversaries to defend your beliefs and this takes work. You have to work to build up courage... and courage is trust and faith in God. It is trust and faith that God will always protect you. Peter wasn't quite there... yet.
26:75 Peter remembers Jesus' warning and he weeps. Peter is ashamed of himself for being a coward. Peter loves Jesus and believes in Jesus but Peter's courage is not yet developed. God is forgiving and patient... God works with us to build up our courage and our wisdom. God gives us the time we need to become comfortable in trusting Him. But it was a difficult moment for Peter... his spirit was ready and eager to defend Jesus but his weak body got scared. We must let our spirit take the driver seat... easier said than done but doable with God.
