Sinfulness of Man

Setting and Overview
Three different scenes follow the temptation in Gethsemane to end chapter 26, the betrayal and arrest, the appearance before the Sanhedrin, and Peter’s denials. While the emotions of the scenes may not be depicted as vividly in the narration as the previous scene, the events of each are devastating, and the three of them together can be even more overwhelming. That cannot, however, serve as a deterrent to our willingness to settle into these passages. Instead, it should capture our attention. What do we need to learn from these scenes, and how will they help us to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others?

Exposition
In verse 46, we had seen Jesus announcing the return of Judas, which sets up the account of the arrest, which begins with the focus on Judas. While the sign of the kiss had a very practical purpose to point out Jesus to the crowd, it was nevertheless a cruel perversion of a sign of friendship. Jesus’ address of Judas therefore is devastatingly ironic, and likely stuck with Judas along with Jesus’ pointing out the manner of Judas’ betrayal (Luke 22:48.) The spotlight then moves to the disciples as one of them (identified in John 18 as Peter) cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus corrects him, however, both pointing out that Jesus does not need their physical protection and also reminding them that unprovoked violence contradicts his earlier commands (Matthew 5:38-44.) Jesus also calls out the crowd. They would certainly claim that they are doing a righteous thing, but Jesus challenges them with a question of why they would need to arrest him in the manner of a hiding insurrectionist, when he has been openly teaching in the temple courts. While the crowd surely had no answer to the challenge, it is the disciples at this point who finally lose their nerve and flee.
Matthew, like each of the Gospel writers, only preserves part of the legal proceedings against Jesus. Jesus is first brought before Annas (John 18:12-24), but Matthew picks up when he is brought before Caiaphas, who was the high priest in the eyes of the Romans. Peter at this point is observing, although still doing so from a distance. The officials are looking for any testimony that will give a basis for them to be able to find Jesus guilty and refer him to the Romans for the death penalty, but they cannot get two witnesses to agree (Mark 14:56.) Two eventually come forward and give testimony relating to Jesus rebuilding the temple (John 2:19), although their testimony is not only inaccurate and misleading, but even they do not completely agree with each other (Mark 14:59.) For the Sanhedrin’s purposes, that testimony is close enough, and so Caiaphas pushes the issue by charging Jesus under oath to answer whether or not he is the Messiah. Jesus responds by quoting Psalm 110:1, identifying himself as the Messiah, and Daniel 7:13-14, connecting the Messiah to the Son of Man in Daniel. This is enough for Caiaphas, who charges Jesus with blasphemy, and the others there follow by spitting on him, striking him, and mockingly calling on him to prophesy, which together represents challenges to his authority, power, and knowledge.
Matthew immediately follows this with the account of Peter being approached by a slave girl. The initial approach is very nonthreatening, but Peter nonetheless responds by denying that he had been with Jesus, although the denial comes only by implication as he literally says that he can’t understand her. There is no such technicality the second time, however, as another girl makes a similar accusation of Peter to others, and he responds by denying the claim with an oath. Finally, others chime in and point out that his accent identifies him as a Galilean, which surely must mean that he was with Jesus. Peter denies it again, this time even more forcefully, at which point the rooster crows. It is at this moment that Jesus also looks at Peter (Luke 22:61) and Peter realizes that he has denied Jesus just as Jesus predicted, and he responds by weeping bitterly.

Examination and Application
Taken together, these three accounts are a powerful reminder of the sinfulness and rebellion of mankind (Romans 3:8, 23, 8:7-8, I John 1:8, James 3:2, Ecclesiastes 7:20.) From the weakest disciple to the strongest, from the Jewish officials to the Romans, all show their disobedience just as Isaiah 53:6a predicted. We can imagine that Matthew’s Jewish readers may have even reflected on Isaiah 53:6a as they read these accounts, and saw these sections together as emphasizing the rebellion of all. If that is where we place our focus, however, we are missing the main story. Jesus is increasingly silent as these scenes progress, but he is still very much in control, directing and correcting in the garden, proclaiming his authority when on trial, and even demonstrating the truth of his prophesy in Peter’s denials. All is happening as part of his obedience to the Father’s will, for him to go to the cross as the sacrifice for the sin of the world. The main story here doesn’t stop with Isaiah 53:6a, it continues forward to 53:6b. The LORD is causing the sin of all of us to attack him. Jesus is fully obedient even in this darkest of times. The light was shining in the darkness, and the darkness had not mastered it.