Matthew 26 – 28

This is the first of four times we get to relive Jesus’ death on the cross. Chapter 26 has a bunch of stories including the last supper, praying in the garden, Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denials. Each verse could be deconstructed into a book or sermon easily, so excuse the short and choppy thought today.

Verse 26:37 caught my eye in how it was worded:

Then He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and He grew sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Why did Matthew not say John and James the two sons of Zebedee? I think it’s interesting how different details are mentioned in each account and often wonder if there are significant meanings or it’s just the way he described John and James.

Verse 26:75 ends with Peter realizing he did what he denied he would:

And Peter remembered. He remembered that Jesus had looked at him with something like pity and said, “This very night, before the cock crows in the morning, you will deny Me three times.” And Peter went outside, sat down on the ground, and wept.

In the moment he was protecting his life and not denying Jesus. But when the cock crowed the third time he did this he realized that Jesus was more. Jesus saw the future and Peter could do nothing. Even knowing the future did not change it!

Verses 27:9 & 10 are interesting to me since they talk about prophecy:

 And when the priests bought Potter’s Field, they unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy made long ago by the prophet Jeremiah: “They took 30 pieces of silver, the price set on the head of the man by the children of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the Potter’s Field as the Eternal One instructed.”

There reference is in Jeremiah 32:6 -9 and I don’t necessarily get this from my reading of different versions. To me Jeremiah is describing a specific transaction and it does not seem to match the one in Matthew. Now I am not a scholar in anyway and rely on Google for my checks and cross checks. One has to jump around a bunch into different chapters before it’s clear, but this and the Zechariah reference you can quickly see the prophecy, it’s just not crystal clear in the reading and reference.

Verses 27:51 & 52 are noted of interest:

⁵¹ At that instant, the temple curtain was torn in half, from top to bottom. The earth shook; rocks split in two; ⁵² tombs burst open, and bodies of many sleeping holy women and men were raised up.

Verse 51 has to be mentioned since it referrers to the veil between man and God. Once Jesus died that veil was torn from God to man or top to bottom. But rest is what gets me. We often read it as these are the events compressed between his death and resurrection. Yet when you read this it says “bodies” and not Jesus. What is being described here sounds like a horror movie and not something I would like to be a part of. Who were the “sleeping holy women and men” anyway? And notice “women” are first, is this evidence that the women can’t preach mantra is false?

This is the part of the story that is hard for most to get, until it resides in their hearts. That is the key about all this … either it is real to you personally or it’s just a story; a bad one at that when you think about it. Imagine selling this as a movie or book today!! No way would they buy it.