Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

26:2 The Passover was celebrated annually in remembrance of Israel's exodus from Egypt under Moses' leadership (see notes on Exodus 12). Son of Man. See note on Matt. 8:20. This is the fourth and final time that Jesus predicts his arrest and crucifixion (cf. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19).

26:3-4 chief priests and the elders of the people. Representatives of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Jerusalem, but not the full assembly. palace. The private residence of the high priest. Caiaphas (high priest a.d. 18 to 36, and son-in-law of Annas, the previous high priest; see note on John 18:24). Archaeologists discovered in 1991 an elaborate ossuary (a box for reburying the bones of the dead) in a burial cave in Jerusalem with slightly varied inscriptions that read, "Joseph son of Caiaphas."

26:5 feast. Thousands of pilgrims annually made the journey to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, and nationalistic fervor ran high as they recalled the liberation of their ancestors from bondage in Egypt. uproar. Popular uprisings were increasingly common especially during such feast periods, and the chief priests and elders were reluctant to arrest Jesus openly because of his popularity with the people.

26:6-13 Matthew thematically organizes this account of Jesus' anointing at Bethany, while John (John 12:1-11) places it chronologically on Saturday night before Jesus' triumphal entry.

26:6 Bethany. See note on 21:17. Simon the leper had most likely been healed by Jesus, since the meal is hosted in Simon's home even though lepers were required to live apart from the general population.

26:7 a woman. Identified in John 12:3 as Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. expensive ointment. "Pure nard" (cf. Mark 14:3; John 12:3), a perfume oil used for solemn acts of devotion. More common household oils were used to anoint guests, for medicine, and for other purposes (see note on Mark 14:3-4).

26:8-12 given to the poor. What seems like a waste to the disciples, Jesus calls a beautiful thing. If the disciples' real concern was for the poor, there would always be an opportunity to care for the poor because they will always have the poor with them (v. 11). There would not be much opportunity, however, to demonstrate their love for Jesus. Given his impending death, the anointing of Jesus' body becomes a dramatic foreshadowing of the events to come. prepare me for burial. In her act of devotion, Mary unknowingly prepares Jesus' body for being laid to rest in the tomb.

26:9 large sum. The perfume was valued at "more than three hundred denarii" (Mark 14:5), approximately a year's wages for the average worker. poor. Poverty was widespread in Israel.

26:14 one of the twelve. The treachery of Judas's deed is heightened by the fact that he is one of Jesus' closest followers, a member of his inner circle.

26:15-16 thirty pieces of silver. In the OT, this was the penalty paid by the owner of an ox that gored a slave to death (Ex. 21:32). Equivalent to about four months' wages for a laborer (about $7,500 in modern terms), this meager sum suggests the low esteem in which Jesus was held by both Judas and the chief priests. opportunity to betray him. Judas's treachery reveals that he was not a true believer (cf. Luke 22:3-4).