Plotting the Death of Jesus
Matthew 26:1-16
February 3, 2013
Well, Christmas and missions month are now behind us.
And I trust that God spoke to your heart during that time
In regard to how He would desire to use you in His mission
To spread the gospel throughout the word.
Furthermore I hope that as God made that clear to you,
That you submitted to His call and are in the process of obedience.
But now missions month is behind us
And we are going to resume our study of Matthew’s gospel.
And we jump back in to this study just before the 26th chapter.
• It is presently Wednesday, two days before His crucifixion.
• He has already entered the city
• He has already cleared the temple
• He has already humiliated the Pharisees
• He has most recently given His Olivet Discourse
And now we reach the climax of Matthew’s gospel.
I’ve often told you that I am a firm believer than in studying any book of the Bible you must first grasp the main point of the author.
You must first find the main reason the author sat down to write,
And once that main point is understood
All the parts and pieces then fall into place and begin to make sense.
To put it another way, if you will take some time studying the forest, then it will make more sense when you go back and start studying each individual tree.
Well, having been nearly 3 years in Matthew’s gospel
We should have a pretty good grasp on Matthew’s point.
No gospel focuses on the Messiahship of Jesus like Matthew’s gospel.
We’ve seen His lineage, His coronation, His credentials.
But proving Jesus to be the Messiah is only half of the point.
With Jesus, it’s not just who He is, it is also what He did.
There has never been any confusion or any debate
About the most elevated and important event of Scripture.
That event is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
• We love the incarnation.
• We celebrate the resurrection.
• We anticipate the glorious return.
But all of those events are only important because of the crucifixion.
That is why Paul said:
1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
There really is no other event in human history that equals it.
• It was the cross that demonstrated that God is love.
• It was the cross that purchased pardon for sinners.
• It was the cross broke the power of sin.
• It was the cross that appeased God’s holiness.
And so Matthew isn’t just out to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.
Matthew is out to prove that Jesus is the Messiah who came to deliver His people, not with a sword, but with a cross.
So we are about to hit that focal point of Matthew’s gospel.
Everything has been leading up to this.
In fact Jesus has already mentioned that this was coming
Several times in this gospel.
It was first introduced in chapter 12
Matthew 12:40 “for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
He better explained it in chapter 16
Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”
It was reaffirmed after Jesus was transfigured
Matthew 17:11-12 “And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
And again that same day
Matthew 17:22-23 “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.”
And again after the rich young ruler encounter
Matthew 20:17-19 “As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”
There is no doubt the point that Matthew has been making.
• Israel, this is your Savior.
• This is your Deliverer.
• This Jesus is not only the Messiah, but also the perfect sacrifice for sin.
And now we finally come to this point here in his gospel.
Chapters 26-28 are all about the death of Jesus.
(I’ve given you an outline in your bulletin to all this)
And this morning we see that the ball is about to start rolling.
This morning we see the plot.
There are four main things here.
#1 THE SOVEREIGN ANNOUNCEMENT
Matthew 26:1-2
These two verses are actually very important
To Matthew’s point in his gospel.
Not only are they about the 6th time that Jesus has foretold of His death,
But they help us get a proper perspective on the event of the cross.
(1-2) “When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”
“these words” were the Olivet Discourse.
And having studied it, you are familiar that in that discourse Jesus spoke of the events leading up the end and His return to judge mankind.
The Olivet Discourse shows Jesus in power, coming to judge and reign.
(Certainly that is the image of Jesus the disciples longed for)
However, it was not the time for the second coming.
It was the time for the crucifixion.
And so after indulging the disciples with visions of the end,
Jesus now brings them back to reality and events at hand.
The disciples needed to grab hold of what was coming.
“You know that after two days the Passover is coming…”
Of course they knew that, it was perhaps the biggest day in Israel.
“and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”
The joy of his return is now interrupted with the reality of His death.
Jesus has to pull their minds back to the task at hand.
And this announcement, along with the 5 that precede it
Are actually very important.
The obvious and logical way for the world to view the cross
Would be as a major defeat of Jesus’ plan and ministry.
From the casual observer, what is could be concluded that this would be reformer failed in His mission?
It looks like Jesus is silenced.
It looks like He lost.
If you will remember, this was even the initial mindset of His followers.
Remember the men walking on the road to Emmaus?
Luke 24:18-21 “One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.”
And even after He appeared
Thomas still wouldn’t believe until he could touch the wounds.
The cross looks like God’s plan failed.
The cross looks like the Messiah died.
If that were the case, those who wrote about the life of Jesus
Would certainly not make the cross the focal point of their story.
They would spend a great deal of time on His miracles, and His preaching,
And would make His death a mere technicality.
But this cross wasn’t a defeat.
In fact the cross was the predetermined sovereign plan of God.
The cross may have shocked the disciples, but it didn’t shock Jesus.
This was all part of the plan.
God was in full control the entire time.
Remember when Jesus stood before Pilate?
John 19:10-11 “So Pilate said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?” Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
Pilate was under the delusion that he was in control.
The reality was Pilate had no control.
He was chosen to fulfill the plan of God for Jesus to be crucified.
Even in Jesus’ sermons he spoke of this authority over His own death.
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
And Jesus knew that death was all part of the plan.
John 12:27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Even in the garden, listen to Jesus confidence as to who was in control.
Matthew 26:51-54 “And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
This was God’s doing.
This was God’s plan.
Remember Peter’s sermon at Pentecost?
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.”
It is just important that you and I understand that God and not man
Is the driving force behind the cross.
Now certainly man willingly agreed to the process,
But it was God who predetermined the cross.
It was God who reached out to sinners,
Not sinners who forced God to pay their pardon.
So when you think about the plot to the cross,
FIRST AND FOREMOST THINK ABOUT GOD.
The Sovereign Announcement
#2 THE SINISTER ARRANGEMENT
Matthew 26:3-5
Verse 1 and 2 give us the divine perspective.
These verses give us the human one.
God planned the cross, but these men were more than willing to oblige.
It is similar to the story of Pharaoh.
• 5 times he hardened his own heart.
• 5 times God hardened his heart for him.
This is the human side.
This is fallen man playing right into the hands of God’s saving plan.
And that is really easy to prove.
(3-4) “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him.”
John’s gospel gives a little more insight here.
John 11:47-53 “Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.”
And so you can see that it was all about jealousy.
They were afraid they were losing their clout.
And the plan is to seize Him and kill Him.
Now that might make it seem like this was all their idea.
But look at the next verse.
(5) “But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”
Now I must remind you that up until now
There have been several times they tried to kill Jesus and could not do it.
Luke 4:28-30 “And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.”
John 5:18 “For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.”
John 7:25 “So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?”
John 7:30 “So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
John 8:20 “These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
John 10:39 “Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.”
I mean they tried time and time again to seize Him and kill Him
And could not do it.
Now they find one time in which they don’t want to seize and kill Him.
That was during the Passover.
And yet, that is exactly when God
Ordained for the crucifixion to occur.
Christ was the Passover Lamb
He had to die during the Passover.
God had this planned.
These men are meeting in secret seeking to kill the Son of God,
But they are merely puppets to God’s divine plan.
The Sovereign Announcement, The Sinister Agreement
#3 THE SINCERE ANOINTING
Matthew 16:6-13
Just to help you understand; this story is a flashback.
• Jesus is on the Mount of Olives, headed into Jerusalem.
• He did not make a quick trip out to Bethany.
This is an incident that had occurred a few days prior,
But Matthew recalls it and includes it here.
(That, by the way, is the way the Holy Spirit worked for these men
Who were writing Scripture)
Jesus had told them:
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
That is what happened here.
As Matthew was telling the story,
The Holy Spirit brought this account to His mind.
No doubt, in it’s own right this is a beautiful story of
The true love and devotion of one who has been touched by Jesus.
But the Holy Spirit obviously reveals to Matthew
That this story had greater significance than just that.
Two really important things occurred back at that house in Bethany.
1) Jesus was again prophetic in regard to His death.
2) This was the incident that pushed Judas over the edge.
Matthew certainly did not realize all of that while he was in Simon’s home,
But now rewriting the gospel account, the Holy Spirit has made that clear.
This event was a significant turning point.
Now, they are “at the home of Simon the leper”
The fact that Simon was in his home indicates he had been made clean of
And since leprosy had no cure, this man had obviously been cured by Jesus.
Now Jesus is in his home.
And verse 7 says “a woman come to Him with an alabaster vile of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.”
John 12 tells us that Lazarus was also there,
And Martha was serving and this woman was in fact Mary.
And she not only anointed His head,
But also His feet and wiped them with her hair.
This was a tremendously sacrificial and worshipful event on Mary’s part.
And Jesus says in verse 12, “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepared Me for burial.”
It could have actually been that Mary understood what none of the disciples had yet grasped, that Jesus was going to die.
• This was without a doubt one of those mind-blowing moments.
• This ranks right up there with the widow’s mites.
• This is Mary giving what everyone around her thought was way excessive.
I suppose it begs the question, “How much is too much to give to Jesus?”
Well, the disciples obviously thought Mary crossed the line.
(8-9) “But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? “For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Now that certainly SOUNDS like a good little Christian attitude.
But let me remind you of their motives.
John 12:4-6 “But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.”
I’ve been in places before with a Judas mentality.
They could come up with all sorts of reasons why not to waste money,
And most of the time their reason sounded spiritual.
It may have in fact been nothing more than a desire
To keep their money to themselves.
What Judas saw was a missed opportunity
To line his own pockets and he commented on it.
What is clear from Matthew’s gospel is that his reasoning seemed good
To the rest of the disciples who joined him in scolding Mary.
(10-13) “But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. “For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. “For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. “Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
And there you have to love Jesus.
He wasn’t belittling the concept of giving to the poor.
Obviously Jesus was all for it. We just learned that in the Olivet Discourse.
But Jesus also wasn’t minimizing the importance of worship,
And sacrificial worship at that.
If the poor are your goal.
If helping the poor is your passion,
Then you are in luck, you’ll never be without an opportunity.
But Mary saw a greater opportunity before her.
She saw her Savior about to endure the agonies of hell for her,
And the least she could do was give the best she had to honor His sacrifice.
And think about it.
If Jesus was going to die for you, would you at least pay for the suit for Him to be buried in?
And how nice of a suit would you buy Him?
How would you honor the death of your Savior?
Mary not only gave the finest possession in her home,
But she also humbled herself in the way she gave it.
She was announcing her gratitude for the death of her Savior.
And friends just for a moment can I remind you about worship?
We are embarking on this study of the death of the Son of God.
WHAT HE IS ABOUT TO ENDURE, HE ENDURED FOR YOU.
• In what way have you endeavored to thank Him?
• In what way have you endeavored to honor Him?
• Do you have an alabaster vile?
Many today just want to accept the blood of Jesus
And then brag that they got it for free; a bargain price.
Not Mary.
He was pay a debt she could never pay,
The least she could do was tell Him thank you with all she had.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
And that is what we are talking about here.
• Worship is our job.
• Worship is our priority.
• It is not something we should be told to do.
• And it’s certainly not something we should scorn in others
Do you know what the difference is between ministry and worship?
Ministry is where God gives you gifts so that you can serve Him.
Worship is where we give God gifts because He has blessed us.
Look at the Old Testament.
People were always bringing things to God (sheep, oxen, grain)
People weren’t going to receive from God.
Worship is when you present your gifts to God.
That is what Mary is doing.
If Christ really did for us what Scripture says He did,
Then the least we can do is give the best we have.
That is what Mary did.
She understood the cross.
But as I told you, this event is significant for more than just that.
The Sovereign Announcement, The Sinister Arrangement, The Sincere Anointing
#4 THE SHOCKING AGREEMENT
Matthew 26:14-16
ONE OF HIS OWN BETRAYS HIM
It is obvious that Mary’s worship was more than Judas could stand.
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
(14) “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?”
If he couldn’t make money following Jesus,
Then he would make money forsaking Him.
Satan took the greed of Judas and used it
To push his heart towards the absolute unthinkable.
1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Judas certainly fit that bill.
“And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him.”
This amount was actually prophesied in Zechariah 11.
More than that, it was the restitution price paid for a gored slave.
If you had an ox that gored someone else’s slave to death.
To compensate for the loss of the slave, you owed his owner 30 pieces of silver.
I hope you see the contrast.
• John’s gospel said that Mary’s perfume was worth 300 denarii,
• But Judas sold Jesus for much less than that.
One gave all she could.
The other took what he could get.
They make quite a contrast don’t they?
(16) “From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”
And now you see how the death of Jesus began to unfold.
It was God’s plan, it was God’s will.
But it was also crafted in the hearts of wicked and greedy men.
All of this came together to bring about the death of Jesus.
But in this, there is a valuable lesson for us, and that lesson is
Determining what the death of Jesus is worth to you.
Friends, man didn’t do this, God did this.
It was His love that motivated this.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
But the question is, how you will respond to it.
When Mary contemplated it,
She knew she couldn’t take his place.
She knew his death was necessary.
But she could give what she had to honor it as best she could.
Judas was just the opposite.
• Judas saw the death of Jesus as a means to earthly gain.
• He didn’t see Jesus’ death as a reason to give.
• He saw Jesus’ death as means of obtaining.
Which are you?
• Do you see it as Mary did, and are motivated to worship?
• Or do you see it as Judas did, and wonder what you can get from it?
I’ve always loved the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”
After viewing the cross, the final stanza says this:
“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
What would you offer Jesus in gratitude
For taking your place on the cross?
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
