Matthew Chapter 26

Matthew 26:1-16 ~ The Memorial of the Anointing of Jesus

"They did not recognize Judas Iscariot as being any different than they. He was out evangelizing. He was out ministering. He was out helping with the ministry needs. Then it turns out that he was not of the Lord to begin with. This is very instructive for us. Somebody can be just following along with the wrong motive. Instead of seeking for and serving the Lord, they are seeking money or some other position. A lot of people today who are seeking positions in the church and they have the wrong motive."

Matthew 26:17-35 ~ The Passover Meal

"There is a difference between denial and betrayal. Judas was of the devil, he was demonic.  And yet for three years he participated, and looked, and acted, and talked just like the rest of the disciples to the point they could not tell the difference. He was not a disciple that went bad or did wrong.  He was of the devil to begin with. The Lord chose Judas to perform this purpose according to prophecy. But Peter is another example of the denial of Jesus. He did not betray Jesus, he is just full of pride. Faith did not fail Peter - Jesus kept him the whole time but He did let Peter fail. He let Peter see what he is really made of, and then Peter was later restored. There is a difference between betrayal and denial."

Matthew 26:36-46 ~ The Purpose for Prayer

"He began to be grieved and to be distressed. These are very important words that we just read over. But the implication of these words is shocking. I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit led Matthew to emphasize the difficulty that Jesus went through. It surprises me that Jesus, who is without sin, struggled in His soul. The text tells us that Jesus was grieved and distressed over His upcoming crucifixion. So we learn a few things from this information. Just being in a human body made of flesh can cause grief and distress. Difficulties will accompany every situation Satan brings against us. It does not have to do with sin - the difficulties will be there because Satan is bringing things against us."

Matthew 26:47-56 ~ The Surrender of Jesus

"See Jesus is establishing the fact that He could have just left, knocked them all over and left. So His identification to the crowd is His submission to the betrayal of Judas was voluntary. He volunteered himself. What the Lord was saying was, 'You are not capturing Me, I am surrendering. This is to fulfill the Father's will.'"