The Plot to Kill Jesus and His Last Supper

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospel accounts:

(Matthew 26:1) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 

In the last chapter, Jesus had been telling His disciples all about His second coming and the final judgment.  He continued speaking to them:

(2) "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified."

Jesus told His disciples something they surely knew, that the Feast of the Passover was coming in two days.  He then matter-of-factly added something they surely did not know, that He was at that time to be betrayed to be crucified.  They may have remembered that Christ had told them that He would suffer many things by the priests, scribes, and elders, who would deliver Him up to the Gentiles to be crucified, but they surely had no idea of the timing and that it was coming so soon.

(3) Then assembled together the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people, to the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas. 

About that same time, exactly two days before the Passover, as confirmed in Mark 14:1, the chief priests, the scribes of the law, and the elders of the people who were the civil magistrates, assembled together, bringing together ecclesiastics and government.  Evidently, all these together made up the Sanhedrin, the great council that had the supreme authority, both in civil and ecclesiastical affairs.  They met at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas.  One would suspect that they met at Caiaphas's palace rather than a more public regular meeting place of the Sanhedrin because they wanted to meet privately.

(4) And consulted that they might take Jesus subtlety and kill Him.

This Sanhedrin council, meeting privately, deliberated about how they might take Jesus by trick or deceit and have Him killed.

(5) But they said, "Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people."

The council agreed that they should not do this thing on the Passover because they feared an uproar among the people.  However, God's plan was to have the perfect Lamb sacrifice publicly offered up on the Passover.

(6) Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, (7) There came to Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head as He sat.

Jesus, being in Bethany, a place about two miles from Jerusalem, came to be in the house of Simon the leper.  This Simon was so called to distinguish him from other Simons, and had most likely been healed of the disease by Jesus, but still retained the name.  While there, a woman came to Jesus with an alabaster box of some very precious ointment and poured it on His head.  This would have been an act of love and respect for our Lord Jesus Christ, probably delightfully fragrant and refreshing to His head.  More than that, she surely must have had faith that He was God's anointed, and by her act she therefore anointed Him her Lord.

(8) But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, "To what purpose is this waste?"

When Jesus's disciples witnessed this act, at least some of them were very indignant at the apparent waste.  We learn later from the account in John 12:4-6 that it was Judas Iscariot who was the chief complainer among them.

(9) "For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor."

The disciples continued with their point about "this waste" of precious ointment, that it could have been sold and the money given to the poor.  The account in John told us these were the words of Judas, although from verse 8 above, it seems that other disciples saw it as a waste, as well.

(10) When Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me."

When Jesus became aware of the disciples' indignation of the woman's act, He asked why they troubled her; she had done a beautiful thing for her Lord.  What a lesson there is in this!  We must not rashly judge the motives of another.  There was no crime in what the woman did, and only God knows the motives of the heart in a situation like this.  

(11) "For you have the poor always with you, but Me you have not always."

Once again, Jesus knew the woman's heart, and with the foreboding premonition of His death, she did a good thing for Him in preparing Him for burial.  There is another lesson in this.  We mustn't judge a person's motives, but also Jesus said the poor would be with them always, so there would always be opportunities to help them.  However, He would not always be with them.  This tells me that Jesus Himself is more important than all the good works we do in His name.  Yes, whenever we do something for the least of men, we do it for Jesus, but it must never be at the expense of Jesus.  I think of the way people think our government must provide for the poor, and in itself, that is not a bad thing.  However, the government doesn't want any part of God in it.  It seeks to separate God from the public square, ban Him, actually.  But He is the most important.  He comes first, and because of our love for Him, we give willingly to the poor.

(12) "For in that she has poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial."

Indeed, Jesus said that the woman had done this for His burial.  She was surely under the influence of the Holy Spirit to do this, and it served as confirmation to His disciples of His coming death.

(13) "Verily, I say to you, wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, also shall this, what this woman has done, be told as a memorial to her."

Jesus told His disciples that what this woman had done for Him would be forever part of Gospel history, and here we are reading about it this day.  What a beautiful testimony that such a seemingly small act would forever be remembered by Christians!

(14) Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, (15) And said, "What will you give me, and I will deliver Him to you?" And they pledged to him thirty pieces of silver.

It is interesting to note that Judas went to the chief priests immediately after the incident with the woman which he considered waste.  It is obvious he was very concerned about money.  He now asked the chief priests what they would give him to deliver Jesus to them.  They agreed upon thirty pieces of silver.  It is also shocking to note that it was Judas who approached them.  They did not seek him out and make him an offer he couldn't refuse.  He himself went willingly to the chief priests to betray Jesus for money.  In doing this, we witness the heart of Judas in action.

(16) And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

From then on, Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus for that thirty pieces of silver.

(17) Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?"

There were seven of these days that the Jews did not eat leavened bread, in commemoration of the time they fled Egypt so quickly that they had no time to leaven their dough.  On this first day the Passover lamb was to be killed in the afternoon and eaten that evening.  According to the account in Luke, these disciples came to Jesus asking where to prepare to eat the Passover after He had given the order to go and prepare it.  It appears also from Luke that it was Peter and John who may have asked the question where they should go, as Jesus sent those two to prepare.

(18) And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Master says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"

The account in Mark says that Jesus better described the man to whom they were to go to, a man bearing a pitcher of water.  They were to follow him into the house to which he carried the pitcher.  Also according to other accounts, the certain man with whom they were to converse was the master of the house, not the servant they had followed.  They were to tell him that their Master said His time was at hand and that He and His disciples would keep the Passover at his house.  His "time" most likely meant the time of His suffering, not the Passover.  I read that the Greeks most often used the original word used here, "kairos," to mean a time of affliction or calamity.  This man was either well acquainted with Jesus and His disciples, or this was arranged under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

(19) And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they made ready the Passover.

The disciples did just as Jesus had instructed them, and they prepared the Passover.  That would have meant procuring a lamb, having it killed, and then roasted.

(20) Now when the evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.

When the evening came, after the Passover had been prepared, and likely after the Passover lamb had been eaten or at least some of it, as it was usually eaten standing and in haste, as it would have been on that first great Passover, Jesus sat down with His twelve disciples.  Then again, Jesus being the true Passover Lamb in this case, perhaps the usual laws were suspended in this case.

(21) And as they ate, He said, "Verily I say to you, that one of you shall betray Me."

While they ate, Jesus told the disciples that one of the twelve sitting with them would betray Him, delivering Him into the hands of the chief priests.  That had to have been a bit of a shock to Judas, who had already betrayed Jesus with his agreement to deliver Him up.

(22) And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and every one of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"

Isn't it interesting that even the eleven innocent disciples began to question themselves?  They had no idea how the betrayal would come, and were so sorrowful that it would come at all; and to be at the hands of one of them was even more distressing.

(23) And He answered and said, "He who dips his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me."

The Jews used a bitter sauce with their Passover meal said to remind them of their bitter bondage in Egypt.  There were probably several dishes around the table, into which those sitting closest to a particular one, might dip at the same time.  Jesus said that the one who dipped with Him was the one who would betray Him.

(24) "The Son of man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."

Jesus said He would be going through what had been planned, prophesied, and written about Him, but He pitied the man who of his own choice betrayed Jesus.  He said it would have been better for that man if he had never been born!  Judas was not pre-destined to do this; he indeed had a choice.  God, being omniscient, knew that it would be Judas who would ultimately betray Him, so He used him to fulfill His purpose, but He did not do it against Judas's will.  Of that, you can be sure!  God is all-good and just, and would never force anyone against his will.

(25) Then Judas who betrayed Him, answered and said, "Master, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said."

Judas, of course, knew he was the one who was betraying Christ, but he probably asked to be just like all the other disciples who asked, so he would not bring suspicion to himself by remaining silent.  Jesus indeed told him it was just as he said, it was him.  I'm sure it was with lament and sorrow that Jesus admitted it was Judas, His own disciple, who betrayed Him.  I would imagine if Judas had repented and asked for forgiveness at this point, it would have been granted him, and another way would have been provided to carry out what must take place.  However, it seems he must have quietly asked the Lord if it was him, because it appears the disciples did not suspect him in later events.  He was still being secretive, although he now knew that Jesus knew, as he should have guessed all along that He would know.

(26) As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."

They had been eating the Passover supper and lamb, so now Christ began a new supper, if you will, the Last Supper.  Before it was the Passover lamb that represented the departure from Egypt after the angel of death had passed over the houses of the Israelites who had done what God told them to do.  Now Jesus took the bread, asked a blessing over it, broke it, and gave some to each of His disciples, telling them to eat it for this bread represented His body.  He was now about to fulfill God's purpose as the ultimate Passover Lamb of God.

(27) And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "You all drink of it. (28) For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Jesus then took the cup of wine and gave it to each of His disciples, instructing that they all drink of the cup, for it represented His blood and that of a new covenant.  The old testament or covenant called for the sprinkling of the blood of bulls, and was called the blood of the covenant (Exodus 24:8).  This new covenant, with Christ's precious blood that was soon to be sacrificed and shed for the remission of sins, was now being instituted, or fulfilled, which is the more precise term.  This wasn't a new covenant that did away with the old, for Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).  But this new covenant provided the ultimate perfect blood sacrifice to end all others.

(29) "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

Jesus, indicating His time with them was very short, told His disciples He would not again drink wine with them until the time when He would drink wine of an entirely different kind in His Father's kingdom, and they would also be there to partake of it.

As this is a very long chapter, I will end this post here, at the end of the Last Supper with Christ's institution of Communion, which He said in Luke 22:19, to do in remembrance of Him.  It was in remembrance of His death, His body and blood, given in sacrifice to all who would partake of it, by those who would consecrate their souls to be in communion with Him and in service to Him.  Believers spiritually feed on Christ's body and blood by faith, which is the hand and mouth of the soul.