August 7, Matthew 26
Jesus knew in advance what was going to happen. He knew by week’s end he would be dead. As the days passed, he approached the dark events with a confident, elegant dignity. He spoke with matter-of-fact calmness about torture, death and burial drawing nearer with
each passing hour. It’s almost all summed up in what Jesus told the disciples to tell the fellow at whose house they would eat the Last Supper: “The Teacher said, ‘My time is at hand.’” In addition to the mistreatment and suffering he would receive at the hands of the Jewish authorities and Roman soldiers, he knew betrayal, denial and abandonment by those closest to him lay just ahead. Yet he walked through it, calm and under control.
He had lived his whole life under the Father’s direction. This dark night would be no exception. He would not resist. He would not call down the angel legions to rescue him. He was somber, but there is no hint of reluctance or reservation in his words. Jesus commended Mary for anointing him, talked with Judas about betraying him and told the disciples about denying and deserting him—all in the same, even tone.
Later when his enemies came to arrest him, when the kangaroo court was perverting any sense of justice they might have ever entertained and when the high priest was forgetting his own dignity and making a spectacle of his accusations, peace characterized Jesus’ words and actions.
What trust! What love! What mastery and emptying of self! Jesus was not enduring the horrific prelude to the cross by his own strength, but by the power of God in whom he trusted. He so loved his Father and us that he was willing to suffer to carry out the plan and to redeem us.
The Jewish authorities were plotting his death. The disciples were grumbling about Mary’s extravagance. At the Passover table, he had to endure the duplicity of the one who’d already made a deal to hand him over to the enemies. It wasn’t just Peter who was promising to die before denying; all the disciples said the same thing. At the center of the swirling darkness stood Jesus. The hands that had broken the bread and passed the cup at the supper table would soon be bound and blood soaked. But he was ready.
My admiration and appreciation for Jesus grows every time I read about the events of the last night. I fear I have been too much like the betrayer, the denier and the forsakers. I do not want to be anything like Jesus’ cruel enemies. When adversity comes, I want to be like Jesus.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide
for Your Journey Through the New Testament,
Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—August 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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