the Second Week after Easter
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New American Standard Bible
Matthew 26:2
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“You know
Ye know that after two dayes is the feast of the Passeouer, and the Sonne of man is betrayed to be crucified.
Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
"You know that the day after tomorrow is the day of the Passover Feast. On that day the Son of Man will be given to his enemies to be crucified."
"You know that the Passover is coming in two days, and the Son of Man is to be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion."
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion."
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion."
"You know that the Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
"You know that two days from now will be Passover. That is when the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross."
"As you know, Pesach is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution-stake."
Ye know that after two days the passover takes place, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
"You know that the day after tomorrow is Passover. On that day the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies to be killed on a cross."
Ye know that after two dayes is ye Passeouer, and the Sonne of man shalbe deliuered to be crucified.
You know that after two days will be the passover, and the Son of man will be betrayed to be crucified.
"In two days, as you know, it will be the Passover Festival, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
"You know that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man will be handed over in order to be crucified."
You know that the Passover is coming after two days, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.
Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
After two days is the Passover, and the Son of man will be given up to the death of the cross.
"You know that after two days the Pesach is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
"You know that the Passover will take place in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1; John 12:1;">[xr]
You know not that after two days is the Petzcha [fn] and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
Ye know that after two days is the Passover; and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
Ye knowe, yt after two dayes is ye feast of Passouer, and the sonne of man is betrayed, to be crucified.
Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
Ye know that after two days is the Passoever, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
"You know that in two days' time the Passover comes. And the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
Ye witen, that aftir twei daies pask schal be maad, and mannus sone schal be bitakun to be crucified.
You know that after two days the passover comes, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified.
Ye know that after two days is the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
"You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."
"As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
"You know that the special religious supper to remember how the Jews left Egypt is in two days. The Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to a cross."
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
Ye know that, after two days, the passover, taketh place, - and, the Son of Man, is to be delivered up, to be crucified.
You know that after two days shall be the pasch: and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified.
"You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified."
Ye knowe that after ii. dayes shalbe ester and the sonne of man shalbe delyvered to be crucified.
`Ye have known that after two days the passover cometh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified.'
Ye knowe, that after two dayes shalbe Easter, and the sonne of man shalbe delyuered to be crucified.
ye know that in two days the feast of the passover will begin, and the son of man be delivered up to be crucified.
"Passover is in a couple of days and it will be then that the Boss's Son will be double-crossed by one of his own and killed."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
know: Mark 14:1, Mark 14:2, Luke 22:1, Luke 22:2, Luke 22:15, John 13:1
the feast: Exodus 12:11-14, Exodus 34:25, John 2:13, John 11:55, John 12:1
betrayed: Matthew 26:24, Matthew 26:25, Matthew 17:22, Matthew 20:18, Matthew 20:19, Matthew 27:4, Luke 24:6, Luke 24:7, John 13:2, John 18:2
Reciprocal: Numbers 28:16 - General Deuteronomy 16:2 - sacrifice Matthew 16:21 - began Matthew 26:18 - My time Matthew 26:21 - Verily Matthew 26:45 - the hour Mark 9:31 - The Son Mark 14:41 - the Son Mark 15:6 - General Luke 9:44 - for Luke 23:33 - they crucified John 18:4 - knowing John 18:32 - the saying 1 Corinthians 11:23 - the same
Cross-References
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;
And the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.
Now the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.
And Abimelech said, "What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."
the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they argued with him.
Trust in the LORD and do good; Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Ye know that after two days is [the feast of] the passover,.... Which was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt; and was typical of Christ the passover, who was now to be sacrificed for his people. This was said on Tuesday, and on the Thursday following, the passover began. Christ speaks of this as a thing well known to the disciples, as it must be, since it always began on a certain day, the fourteenth of the month Nisan; which month answered to part of our March, and part of our April; and though there was very frequently an intercalation of a whole month in a year, made by the sanhedrim, to keep their festivals regularly in the proper season of the year; yet previous public notice was always given of this, either by fixing a paper upon the door of the sanhedrim r, signifying such an intercalation made, which served for the inhabitants of Jerusalem; or by sending messengers with letters into all distant places s, acquainting them with it. So that the times of these festivals were always well known; even to the common people:
and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified; it must not be thought that this was equally known by the disciples, as the former; for though they might know, or at least remember, that Christ had told them that he should suffer many things of the priests, Scribes, and elders, who would deliver him to the Gentiles, to be crucified; yet might not understand that this passover was to be the time, when this should be done: by "the son of man", Christ means himself, who was truly and really man, the seed of the woman, the son of Abraham and of David; a character by which the Messiah is described in the Old Testament, Psalms 80:17 Daniel 7:13, and hence frequently used by Christ of himself; which, as it expresses the truth of his human nature, so the weaknesses and infirmities he bore in it; and is very properly used here, when he is speaking of his being to be betrayed and crucified. What he says of himself is, that he is "betrayed"; that is, is to be betrayed, or will be betrayed, meaning at the passover, which was to be in two days time. Christ speaks of his being betrayed, as if it was already done; not only because it was so near being done, there being but two days before it would be done; but because it was a sure and certain thing, being determined in the purpose of God, and foretold in prophecy that it should be; and besides, Judas had now resolved upon it within himself, and was forming a scheme how to bring it about. And this respects not only the act of Judas in betraying him into the hands of the chief priests, but also the delivery, as the word here used signifies, of him by them, to the Roman governors; for they, as Stephen says, were also his betrayers and murderers; yea, it may include the delivery of him by Pilate, to the Jews and Roman soldiers; and the rather, because it follows, "to be crucified"; which was a Roman, and not a Jewish punishment. This was typified by the lifting up the brazen serpent on a pole, and foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament, Psalms 22:16, and predicted by Christ himself, sometimes more covertly, John 12:32, and sometimes in express words, Matthew 20:19, and was a very painful and shameful death, and which showed him to be made a curse for his people. It appears from hence; that the crucifixion and death of Christ, were not casual and contingent events, but were determined by the counsel of God, with all circumstances attending: the betraying and delivery of him were by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God; and not only his death, but the manner of it by crucifixion, was pointed out in prophecy, and was a certain thing; and the very time of his death was fixed; which shows the early concern of God for the salvation of his people, and his wonderful grace and mercy to them: and it is clear from hence, that Christ had perfect knowledge of all this: he knew not only that he should be betrayed, but he knew from the beginning who would betray him; he not only knew that he should die, but he knew what kind of death he should die, even the death of the cross; and he knew the exact time when he should die, that it would be at the following passover, which was just at hand; and he had suggested this to his disciples, and therefore he speaks of it as a thing known unto them; at least what they might have known, and concluded from what he had said to them,
Matthew 20:18, and the whole is a considerable proof of his being God omniscient. And he thought fit to put his disciples in mind of it, because the time drew nigh; that their memories being refreshed with it, they might be prepared for it, and not be surprised, shocked, and offended at it, when it came to pass; which shows the tender concern our Lord had for them.
r Targum in Cant. vii. 4. s Maimon Hilch. Kiddush Hachodesh, c. 4. sect. 17.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
After two days is - the feast of the Passover.
See the notes at Matthew 12:1-8. The festival of the Passover was designed to preserve among the Jews the memory of their liberation from Egyptian servitude, and of the safety of their first-born in that night when the firstborn of the Egyptians perished, Exodus 12:0. The name âPassoverâ was given to the feast because the Lord âpassed overâ the houses of the Israelites without slaying their first-born, while the Egyptians were cut off, Exodus 12:13. It was celebrated seven days, namely, from the 15th to the 21st of the month Abib or Nisan (April), Exodus 12:15-20; Exodus 23:15. During all this period the people ate unleavened bread, and hence the festival was sometimes called the âfeast of unleavened bread,â Exodus 12:18; Leviticus 23:6. On the evening of the fourteenth day, all the leaven or yeast in the family was removed with great care, as it is to the present time - a circumstance to which the apostle alludes in 1 Corinthians 5:7.
On the tenth day of the month the master of a family separated a lamb or a goat of a year old from the flock Exodus 12:1-6, which he killed on the 14th day before the altar, Deuteronomy 16:2, Deuteronomy 16:5-6. The lamb was commonly slain at about 3 oâclock p. m.. The blood of the paschal lamb was, in Egypt, sprinkled on the door-posts of the houses; afterward it was poured by the priests at the foot of the altar, Exodus 12:7. The lamb thus slain was roasted whole, with two spits thrust through it - one lengthwise and one transversely - crossing each other near the forelegs, so that the animal was in a manner, crucified. Not a bone of it might be broken - a circumstance strongly representing the sufferings of our Lord Jesus, the Passover slain for us, John 19:36; 1 Corinthians 5:7. Thus roasted, the lamb was served up with wild and bitter herbs, Not fewer than ten, nor more than twenty persons, were admitted to these sacred feasts. At first it was observed with their loins girt about, with sandals on their feet, and with all the preparations for an immediate journey. This, in Egypt, was significant of the haste with which they were about to depart from the land of bondage. The custom was afterward retained.
The order of the celebration of this feast was as follows: The ceremony commenced with drinking a cup of wine mingled with water, after having given thanks to God for it. This was the âfirst cup.â Then followed the âwashing of hands,â with another short form of thanksgiving to God. The table was then supplied with the provisions, namely, the bitter salad, the unleavened bread, the lamb, and a thick sauce composed of dates, figs, raisins, vinegar, etc. They then took a small quantity of salad, with another thanksgiving, and ate it; after which, all the dishes were removed from the table, and a second cup of wine was set before each guest, as at first. The dishes were removed, it is said, to excite the curiosity of children, and to lead them to make inquiry into the cause of this observance. See Exodus 12:26-27. The leading person at the feast then began and rehearsed the history of the servitude of the Jews in Egypt, the manner of their deliverance, and the reason of instituting the Passover. The dishes were then returned to the table, and he said, âThis is the Passover which we eat, because that the Lord passed over the houses of our fathers in Egypt;â and then, holding up the salad and the unleavened bread, he stated the design, namely, that the one represented the bitterness of the Egyptian bondage, and the other the suddenness of their deliverance.
This done, he repeated Psalms 113:1-9; Psalms 114:1-8, offered a short prayer, and all the company drank the wine that had been standing some time before them. This was the âsecond cup.â The hands were then again washed, and the meal then eaten with the usual forms and solemnities; after which they washed the hands again, and then drank another cup of wine, called âthe cup of blessing,â because the leader was accustomed in a particular manner, over that cup, to offer thanks to God for his goodness. This is the cup which our Saviour is supposed to have taken when he instituted the Lordâs Supper, called by Paul âthe cup of blessing,â 1 Corinthians 10:16. There was still another cup, which was drunk when they were about to separate, called the âHallel,â because in connection with it they were accustomed to repeat the lesser Hallel, or Psalms 115:0; Psalms 116:0; Psalms 117:1-2; Psalms 118:0. In accordance with this, our Saviour and his disciples sang a hymn as they were about to go to the Mount of Olives, Matthew 26:30. It is probable that our Saviour complied with these rites according to the custom of the Jews. While doing it, he signified that the typical reference of the Passover was about to be accomplished, and he instituted in place of it âthe supperâ - the communion - and, of course, the obligation to keep the Passover then ceased.
The Son of man is betrayed - Will be betrayed. He did not mean to say that they then knew that he would be betrayed, for it does not appear that they had been informed of the precise time; but they knew that the Passover was at hand, and he then informed them that he would be betrayed.
To be crucified - To be put to death on the cross. See the notes at Matthew 27:35.
Matthew 26:3
Then assembled ... - This was a meeting of the great council or Sanhedrin.
See the notes at Matthew 5:22.
The palace - The original word properly denotes the Hall or large area in the center of the dwelling, called the court. See the notes at Matthew 9:1-8. It may be understood, however, as referring to the palace itself.
The high priest - Holding the office that was first conferred on Aaron, Exodus 28:0. The office was at first hereditary, descending on the oldest son, Numbers 3:10. Antiochus Epiphanes (160 BC), when he had possession of Judea, sold the office to the highest bidder. In the year 152 BC, Alexander, King of Syria, conferred the office on Jonathan (1 Macc. 10:18-20), whose brother Simon was, afterward created by the Jews both prince and high priest, 1 Macc. 14:35-47. His posterity, who at the same time sustained the office of kings, occupied the station of high priest until the time of Herod, who changed the incumbents of the office at pleasure - a liberty which the Romans ever afterward exercised without any restraint. The office was never more fluctuating than in the time of our Saviour. Hence, it is said that Caiaphas was high priest âfor that year,â John 11:51. Persons who had been high priests, and had been removed from office, still retained the name. Hence, more than one high priest is sometimes mentioned, though strictly there was but one who held the office.
Matthew 26:4
By subtlety - By guile, deceit, or in some secret manner, so that the people would not know it.
Jesus was regarded by the people as a distinguished prophet, and by most of them, probably, as the Messiah; and the Sanhedrin did not dare to take him away openly, lest the people should rise and rescue him. They were probably aware that he had gone out to Bethany, or to some place adjacent to the city; and as he passed his nights there and not in the city, there was need of guile to ascertain the place to which he had retired, and to take him.
Matthew 26:5
Not on the feast-day - Not during the feast.
The feast lasted for seven days. A vast multitude attended from all parts of Judea. Jerusalem is said to have contained at such times âthree million people.â Amid such a multitude there were frequent tumults and seditions, and the Sanhedrin was justly apprehensive there âwouldâ be now, if, in open day and in the temple, they took away a teacher so popular as Jesus, and put him to death. They therefore sought how they might do it secretly and by guile.
Matthew 26:6
In Bethany - See the notes at Matthew 21:1.
Simon the leper - Simon, who had been a leper.
Leper - See the notes at Matthew 8:1. It was unlawful to eat with persons that had the leprosy, and it is more than probable, therefore, that this Simon had been healed - perhaps by our Lord himself. John John 12:1 says that this was the house where Lazarus was, who had been raised from the dead. Probably Lazarus was a relative of Simonâs, and was living with him. Further, he says that they made a supper for Jesus, and that Martha served. He says that this was six days before the Passover. From the order in which Matthew and Mark mention it, it would have been supposed that it was but two days before the Passover, and after the cleansing of the temple; but it is to be observed,
1.That Matthew and Mark often neglect the exact order of the events that they record.
2.That they do not âaffirmâ at what time this was. They leave it indefinite, saying that âwhileâ Jesus was in Bethany he was anointed by Mary.
3.That Matthew introduced it here for the purpose of giving a âconnectedâ account of the conduct of âJudas.â âJudasâ complained at the waste of the ointment John 12:4, and one of the effects of his indignation, it seems, was to betray his Lord.
Matthew 26:7
There came to him a woman - This woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, John 12:3.
Having an alabaster box - The âalabasterâ is a species of marble, distinguished for being light, and of a beautiful white color, almost transparent.
It was much used by the ancients for the purpose of preserving various kinds of ointment in.
Of very precious ointment - That is, of ointment of âgreat value;â that was rare and difficult to be obtained. Mark Mark 14:3 and John John 12:3 say that it was ointment of spikenard. In the original it is ânard.â It was procured from an herb growing in the Indies, chiefly obtained from the root, though sometimes also from the bark. It was liquid, so as easily to flow when the box or vial was open, and was distinguished particularly for an agreeable smell. See Song of Solomon 1:12. The ancients were much in the habit of âanointing or perfumingâ their bodies, and the nard was esteemed one of the most precious perfumes. John says there was a âpoundâ of this, John 12:3. The âpoundâ in use among the Jews was the Roman, of twelve ounces, answering to our troy weight. That there was a large quantity is further evident from the fact that Judas says it might have been sold for 300 pence (about 9 British pounds), and that the âhouseâ was filled with the odor of the ointment (John).
And poured it on his head - They were accustomed chiefly to anoint the head or hair. John says John 12:3 that she poured it on the âfeetâ of Jesus, and wiped them with her hair. There is, however, no contradiction. She probably poured it âbothâ on his head and his feet. Matthew and Mark having recorded the former, John, who wrote his gospel in part to record events omitted by them, completes the account by saying that the ointment was also poured on the feet of the Saviour. To pour ointment on the âheadâ was common. To pour it on the âfeetâ was an act of distinguished âhumilityâ and of attachment to the Saviour, and therefore deserved to be particularly recorded.
As he sat at meat - That is, at supper. In the original, as he âreclinedâ at supper. The ancients did not sit at their meals, but âreclinedâ at length on couches. See the notes at Matthew 23:6. She came up, therefore, âbehind himâ as he lay reclined at the table, and, bending down over the couch, poured the ointment on his head and his feet, and, probably kneeling at his feet, wiped them with her hair.
Matthew 26:8
They had indignation - John says that âJudas expressedâ indignation.
Probably some of the others felt indignation, but Judas only gave vent to his feelings. The reason why Judas was indignant was, that he had the âbagâ John 12:6 - that is, the âpurse,â or repository of articles âgivenâ to the disciples and to the Saviour. He was a thief, and was in the habit, it seems, of taking out and appropriating to his own use what was put in for them in common The leading trait of Judasâs character was avarice, and no opportunity was suffered to pass without attempting by base and wicked means to make money. In his example an avaricious man may learn the true nature and the effect of that groveling and wicked passion. It led him to commit the enormous crime of betraying his Lord to death, and it will always lead its possessor to guilt. No small part of the sins of the world can be traced to avarice, and many, and many a time since the days of Judas has the Lord Jesus been betrayed among his professed friends by the same base propensity.
Is this waste - This âlossâ or âdestructionâ of property. They could see no use in it, and they therefore supposed it was lost.
Matthew 26:9
Sold for much - Mark and John say for three hundred pence - that is, for about 9 British pounds.
This, to them, was a large sum. Mark says they complained against her. There was also an âimpliedâ murmuring against the Saviour for suffering it to be done. The grumbling was, however, without cause. It was the âpropertyâ of Mary. She had a right to dispose of it as she pleased, answerable not to them, but to God. âTheyâ had no right over it, and no cause of complaint if it had been wasted. So Christians now are at liberty to dispose of their property as they please, either in distributing the Bible, in supporting the gospel, in sending it to pagan nations, or in aiding the poor. The people of the world, like Judas, regard it as âwasted.â Like Judas, they are indignant. They say it might be disposed of in a better way. Yet, like Judas, they are interfering in that which concerns them not. Like other people, Christians have a right to dispose of their property as they please, answerable only to God. And though an avaricious world esteems it to be âwasted,â yet, if their Lord commands it, it will be found to be the âonly wayâ in which it was right for them to dispose of that property, and will be found not to have been in vain.
Matthew 26:10
Trouble ye the woman - That is, disturb her mind by insinuations, as if she had done wrong.
A good work on me - She has done it with a mind grateful, and full of love to me.
The work was good, also, as it was preparative for his death, Matthew 26:12.
Matthew 26:11
For ye have the poor ... - Mark adds, âWhensoever ye will, ye may do them good.â It was right that they should regard the poor.
It was a plain precept of religion (see Psalms 41:1; Proverbs 14:21; Proverbs 29:7; Galatians 2:10), and our Saviour would not prohibit it, but do all that was possible to excite his followers to the duty. But every duty should be done in its place, and the duty âthenâ incumbent was that which Mary had performed. They would afterward have abundant occasion to show their regard for the poor.
Me ye have not always - He alludes here to his dying, and his going away to heaven. He would still be their friend and their Saviour, but would not be physically always present with them, so that they could show kindness âin this wayâ to him.
Matthew 26:12
She did it for my burial - It is not to be supposed that Mary understood clearly that he was then about to die - for the apostles, it seems, did not fully comprehend it, or that she intended it for his burial; but she had done it as an act of kindness and love, to show her regard for her Lord.
He said that it was a proper preparation for his burial. In ancient times, bodies were anointed and embalmed for the purpose of the sepulchre. Jesus said that this was âreallyâ a preparation for that burial; a fitting him in a proper manner for the tomb.
Matthew 26:13
A memorial - Anything to produce âremembrance.â This would be told to her honor and credit, as a memorial of her piety and self-denial; and it is right that the good deeds of the pious should be recorded and had in recollection.
Matthew 26:14
Then one of the twelve ... - Luke says that Satan entered into Judas.
That is, Satan tempted (instigated) him to do it. Probably he tempted Judas by appealing to his avarice, his ruling passion, and by suggesting that now was a favorable opportunity to make money rapidly by selling his Lord.
Judas Iscariot - See the notes at Matthew 10:4.
Unto the chief priests - The high priest, and those who had been high priests. The ruling men of the Sanhedrin. Luke adds that he went also âto the captainsâ Luke 22:4. It was necessary, on account of the great wealth deposited there, and its great sacredness, to guard the temple by night. Accordingly, men were stationed around it, whose leaders or commanders were called âcaptains,â Acts 4:1. These men were commonly of the tribe of Levi, were closely connected with the priests, were men of influence, and Judas went to them, therefore, as well as to the priests, to offer his services in accomplishing what they so much desired to secure. Probably his object was to get as much money as possible, and he might therefore have attempted to make a bargain with several of them apart from each other.
Matthew 26:15
And they covenanted with him - Made a bargain with him.
Agreed to give him. Mark says they âpromisedâ to give him money. They did not pay it to him âthen,â lest he should deceive them. When the deed was done, and before he was made sensible of its guilt, they paid him. See Matthew 27:3; Acts 1:18.
Thirty pieces of silver - Mark and Luke do not mention the sum. They say that they promised him âmoneyâ - in the original, âsilver.â In Matthew, in the original, it is thirty âsilvers, or silverlings.â This was the price âof a slaveâ (see Exodus 21:32), and it is not unlikely that this sum was fixed on by them to show their âcontemptâ of Jesus, and that they regarded him as of little value. There is no doubt, also, that they understood that such was the anxiety of Judas to obtain money, that he would betray his Lord for any sum. The money usually denoted by âpiecesâ of silver, when the precise sum is not mentioned, is a shekel - a silver Jewish coin amounting to about 50 cents, or 2 shillings, 3d. The whole sum, therefore, for which Judas committed this crime was 15, or 3 pounds, 7 shillings, 6d (circa 1880âs).
Matthew 26:16
Sought opportunity to betray him - Luke adds, âin the absence of the multitude.â This was the chief difficulty - to deliver him into the hands of the priests so as not to have it known by the people, or so as not to excite tumult.
The âopportunityâ which he sought, therefore, was one in which the multitude would not see him, or could not rescue the Saviour.
To betray him - The word âbetrayâ commonly means to deliver into the hands of an enemy by treachery or breach of trust; to do it while friendship or faithfulness is âprofessed.â All this took place in the case of Judas. But the word in the original does not necessarily imply this. It means simply to âdeliver up,â or to give into their hands. He sought opportunity âhow he might deliver him up to them,â agreeably to the contract.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 26:2. The passover — A feast instituted in Egypt, to commemorate the destroying angel's passing over the houses of the Israelites, when he slew the firstborn of the Egyptians. See the whole of this business largely explained in the Notes on Exodus 12:1-27. This feast began on the fourteenth day of the first moon, in the first month, Nisan, and it lasted only one day; but it was immediately followed by the days of unleavened bread, which were seven, so that the whole lasted eight days, and all the eight days are sometimes called the feast of the passover, and sometimes the feast or days of unleavened bread. See Luke 22:1-7. The three most signal benefits vouchsafed to the Israelites were,
1. The deliverance from the slavery of Egypt; to commemorate which they kept the feast of unleavened bread, and the passover.
2. The giving of the law; to commemorate which, they kept the feast of weeks.
3. Their sojourning in the wilderness, and entrance into the promised land; to commemorate which, they kept the feast of tabernacles.
See these largely explained, Exodus 23:14; Leviticus 23:2-40.
The Son of man is betrayed, (rather delivered up,) to be crucified. — With what amazing calmness and precision does our blessed Lord speak of this awful event! What a proof does he here give of his prescience in so correctly predicting it; and of his love in so cheerfully undergoing it! Having instructed his disciples and the Jews by his discourses, edified them by his example, convinced them by his miracles, he now prepares to redeem them by his blood! These two verses have no proper connection with this chapter, and should be joined to the preceding.
