Matthew Lessons 14-28 Matthew Lesson 1 - 16:13-20 Matthew Lesson 2 - 17:1-9 Matthew Lesson 3 - 20:1-16 Matthew Lesson 4 - 21:1-11 Matthew Lesson 5 - 21:33-45 Matthew Lesson 6 - 22:1-14 Matthew Lesson 7 - 24:36-51 Matthew Lesson 8 - 26:17-30 Matthew Lesson 9 - 26:36-46 Matthew Lesson 10 - 26:63-75 Matthew Lesson 11 - 27:41-52 Matthew Lesson 12 - 28:1-15 Matthew Lesson 13 - 28:16-20 Extra - Transfiguration Extra - Matthew 2:1-2, 11

Matthew Lesson 10 - 26:63-75

Lesson 10 - Matthew 26:63-75

LAST WEEK (Mt. 26:36-46): We saw and heard Jesus as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane while preparing Himself to face arrest, humiliation, agonizing pain, and death on the cross. From the lesson we learned that Jesus' struggle at Gethsemane-the place of crushing-played an essential role in fulfilling God's plan of redemption. Had Jesus failed there, He would have failed at the cross, but His success in the Garden assured victory at the cross. The truth and application of that lesson resides in the power of effective prayer, with Christ Himself as our model. Like Jesus, each of us should have a private place, free of outside distractions-our own Garden of Gethsemane-in which to pray to God in complete humility and surrender. Like Jesus, life can, and indeed will, present us with trials that are beyond our capacity alone. If Jesus needed to pray in the Garden in order to face the cross, what makes us think we can endure the trials of life any other way? " When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Ps. 34:17-18. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Phil. 4:6.

THIS WEEK: As today's lesson opens we find Jesus, following His betrayal by Judas and arrest by the Jewish authorities, facing a trial before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. As you read these lesson verses describing this mockery of a judicial proceeding, ask yourself who is controlling events: the Jewish powers-that-be or Jesus? But in vv.69-75, notice the contrast between Jesus and Peter. Ask yourself what is controlling Peter as he responds to the events rapidly unfolding around him.

Read Matthew 26:63-64 - Affirmed by Scripture

63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Note: This trial was a travesty from the beginning. V.59 reveals the chief priests and the Sanhedrin conspired to offer false testimony against Jesus in order obtain a death sentence. In vv.60-61, two witnesses, misquoting and taking a previous statement of Jesus totally out of context (Jn.2: 19-21), testified that Jesus claimed He was able to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. In v. 62, after making baseless accusations against Jesus, the high priest pointedly asked, "Have you no answer to make?"

"Jesus remained silent" (v.63a) - Jesus' silence fulfills Isa. 53:7, (He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;) and places responsibility for His death directly on His accusers. His silence was the silence of patience, not cowardice or indifference. Had He wanted to, Jesus could have mounted a powerful defense, calling forth scores of people to bear witness to His deity, power, and authority-people He taught, people He healed, people from whom he cast out demons, and people He raised from the dead. But He did not.
"high priest (Caiaphas) said...I adjure you...tell us if your are the Christ, the Son of God" (v.63b1) - the term "I adjure you" could be translated "I put you under oath by the living God," and was used to compel a true answer. Notice the confrontational attitude of Caiaphas, who behaved more like a prosecutor than the impartial judge he is supposed to be-a farce. Frustrated by Jesus' silence, Caiaphas moves right to the central issue: Are You the Messiah?(e.g., you have been accused of a crime; do you admit committing a crime?) From Caiaphas, this is an implied admission that Jesus had been shown to be innocent up to this point.
"you have said so" (v.64a) - Instead of defending Himself, Jesus simply testified to the truth, for He was indeed the Christ, the Son of God. He answered as briefly and directly as possible.
"But I tell you (v.64b) - Here, Jesus went on to explain His identity in terms of the future (i.e., second coming) based on two OT prophecies (note, this gets somewhat complex):
- "Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power" alluded to Ps. 110:1, proving that the Messiah would be both David's bloodline descendant (in human form) and David's Lord (as the Son of God, seated at the right hand of God). Jesus use of the term "Power" in reference to God the Father was a common Jewish practice of showing reverence for God's name, which is something Caiaphas surely would have understood.
- "Son of Man...coming on the clouds of heaven" referred to Dan. 7:13-14 in which the Son of Man was granted authority from God over an everlasting kingdom that would never pass away. Thus, Jesus was claiming that in the future He would be recognized as occupying the highest position in God's kingdom, the very throne of God. This was also a warning to those sitting in judgment of Him now that He would return to earth and one day sit in judgment of them-a far more binding judgment.

Note: Jesus' application of these prophecies to Himself, i.e., claiming to be God's equal (which as the second part of the Trinity, He in fact is) was regarded as blasphemy by the unbelieving Jewish leaders, a crime worthy of death (cf. Lev. 24:10-23).

Read Matthew 26:65-68 - Denied by His Opponents

65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.66 What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death." 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?"

"Tore his robes" (v.65a) - an indication of righteous outrage, probably genuine, even if terribly mistaken. Jewish tradition actually specified how this was to be done.
"He has uttered blasphemy" (v.65b) - "Uttering" is a legal term for spoken misrepresentation. If it had been anyone other than Jesus, the charge would have been true, but it was certainly no crime for the Messiah, the true Son of God, to declare who He really is.
"judgment...They answered" (v.66a) - This is the Sanhedrin, probably not the entire 70 members, but at least 23 or more for a quorum. They sat as both judge and jury with the power to render a verdict.
"He deserves death" (v.66b) - This was the legal penalty for blasphemy under Lev. 24:10-23; however, the verdict demonstrates the true extent of the Sanhedrin's depravity of man-total spiritual blindness. It is a sad irony that in total perfection, God in the flesh came to earth and lived among men, and this was man's reply to Him-rejection, the unforgivable sin.
"spit...slapped...struck Him" (v.67) - Commentators suggest this was done by minor court officials in order to humiliate Jesus and make a mockery of His claims. Mk. 14:65 indicates that Jesus was blindfolded when His opponents began their torment.
"Prophecy...Who...struck You?" (v.68) - after striking Him, possibly with a rod or whip, they challenged His prophetic abilities and ask Him to identify His attacker. This is senseless cruelty-the basest type of evil.

Read Matthew 26:69-75 - Abandoned

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." 71 And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man." 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." 74 Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

Note: After Jesus' arrest and seizure by Council officials, v.58 states, "Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

"Peter...sitting outside in the courtyard " (v.69a) - Peter shows some courage at this point by putting himself in a hostile environment.
"servant girl came up to him...said, You were with Jesus..." (v.69b) - Notice that Peter, unlike Jesus, is not facing hostile court or an angry mob.
"he denied...do not know what you mean" (v.70) - Peter's courage fails him when his own personal safety is threatened, and he lies to protect himself.
"servant girl saw...said...was with Jesus of Nazareth (v.71) - "he denied with an oath...I do not know the man" (v.72) - When another servant girls claims to have seen him with Jesus, Peter not only lies again, but swears an oath that he doesn't even know Him. An oath was not profanity but called on the name of something sacred, i.e., God, to guarantee the statement was true, thus, he not only lied but also committed blasphemy by taking the LORD's name in vain (Ex. 20:7). Peter's fears and lack of faith drove him straight into the devil's trap.
"bystanders...said...your accent betrays you" (v.73) - Sometime later, seeing Peter's confusion, a group of bystanders began making fun of him, egging him on. Galileans spoke Hebrew with a distinct accent, easily recognizable by Judeans. Jn. 18:26 adds that one of these accusers was a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off in the Garden.
"began to invoke a curse on himself and swear...I do not know the man" (v.74a) - Here Peter's attempts at self-preservation have become so desperate that he has lost all self-control. A "curse and swear" would be something like calling on God's wrath to strike him dead if he's lying. This kind of profane outburst would be suggestive of someone who did not follow Jesus.
"immediately the rooster crowed" (v.74b) - Peter receives a divine reminder of his spiritual failure.
"remembered the words Jesus had spoken...wept bitterly" (v.75) - Peter remembered Jesus' words in Mt. 26:34 and his own declaration in v.35, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you." He had failed this trial miserably and all he could do now was weep bitterly. Yet, Peter would be restored and see the risen Christ in Galilee. Peter was not like Judas, who became an apostate, rejecting Jesus as Messiah; Peter was a backslider whose faith had weakened at a critical moment.

APPLICATION:

At His mockery of a trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus provided the supreme example of how, as Christians, we should face persecution. First, when we are falsely and wrongly accused, patient silence is often the best response. In these situations, there is usually no correct answer. Second, when faced with a direct question, the simple truth is always the best answer. Truth, though not always the easiest or most convenient answer, is always the best defense. In today's lesson, Christ condemned Himself by telling the truth. Could any of us be as strong?
In the trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus was in control of events all the way through. He had plotted His course in the Garden of Gethsemane and followed it in complete obedience to the very end-death on the cross of Calvary. In contrast, the Sanhedrin and the court officials at the trial presented a picture of people completely out of control, like animals.
Peter's overconfidence-relying on human ability-was his downfall at Jesus' trial. Starting with the first lie in v.70, he got himself in deeper and deeper, to the point of no return, even using God's name in vain and invoking curses on himself to deny any connection with Jesus. But this failure was both a bitter lesson and a valuable learning experience, one which prepared him for the many tests of faith that would come after the resurrection.
The number three is prominent in Peter's life during Jesus' last days on earth: (1) he fell asleep three times in the Garden of Gethsemane; (2) he denied Jesus three times at His trial before the Sanhedrin; and (3) he was asked three questions at the Sea of Galilee by the post-resurrection Christ, which led to his affirmation in Jn. 21:15-19. Peter's story is a reminder to Christian's today that failure does not need to be fatal and final.