Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:14-27:66

Matthew 26:57-27:2

Those who had arrested Jesus led him away

to Caiaphas the high priest,

where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

Peter was following him at a distance

as far as the high priest’s courtyard,

and going inside he sat down with the servants

to see the outcome.

The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin

kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus

in order to put him to death,

but they found none,

though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward who stated,

“This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God

and within three days rebuild it.’”

The high priest rose and addressed him,

“Have you no answer?

What are these men testifying against you?”

But Jesus was silent.

Then the high priest said to him,

“I order you to tell us under oath before the living God

whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“You have said so.

But I tell you:

From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man

seated at the right hand of the Power’

and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.’”

Then the high priest tore his robes and said,

“He has blasphemed!

What further need have we of witnesses?

You have now heard the blasphemy;

what is your opinion?”

They said in reply,

“He deserves to die!”

Then they spat in his face and struck him,

while some slapped him, saying,

“Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?” 

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.

One of the maids came over to him and said,

“You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”

But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,

“I do not know what you are talking about!”

As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him

and said to those who were there,

“This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.”

Again he denied it with an oath,

“I do not know the man!”

A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,

“Surely you too are one of them;

even your speech gives you away.”

At that he began to curse and to swear,

“I do not know the man.”

And immediately a cock crowed.

Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:

“Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.”

He went out and began to weep bitterly.

When it was morning,

all the chief priests and the elders of the people

took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

They bound him, led him away,

and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I meditate today on the Passion of your Son and his trial before Caiaphas. I am moved to tears as I contemplate what he suffered on account of my sins and those of my brothers and sisters. I thank you for sending him to redeem me and release me, through his passion and death, from the slavery to sin and the fear of death.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The High Priest Tore His Robes: When the high priest tore his robes at Jesus’ nighttime trial, it was a moment of outrage or sorrow. We see this in the Old Testament. When Reuben, the firstborn son of Jacob, returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was no longer in the pit, he tore his clothes at the loss of his brother (Genesis 37:29). When Elijah was taken up into heaven, his disciple, Elisha, tore his clothes at the loss of his mentor (2 Kings 2:12). But there might be something deeper going on. In Numbers 20:26-28, Moses defrocked the high priest Aaron on top of Mount Hor and transferred the high priesthood to his son, Eleazar. Furthermore, the Law of Moses forbade the high priest to tear his sacred vestments (Leviticus 10:6; 21:10). Taken together, we can discern the transfer of the high priesthood from Caiaphas to Jesus, the true and eternal high priest. The high priesthood was stripped from Caiaphas, who tore his priestly garment, and given to Jesus, who wore a seamless garment (John 19:23; Leviticus 16:4; 21:10).

2. The Revelation of the Son of Man: When Jesus was asked about his identity at his trial, he chose to reveal himself not only as the “Christ” and “Son of God” but also as the “Son of Man.” All three titles have some ambiguity to them. The title “Christ” simply meant an “anointed one.” Priests, prophets, and kings were all anointed. But it could also refer to the long-awaited Messiah and royal Son of David – the Christ that prophets such as Isaiah and Daniel prophesied would come to establish justice, liberate the people of God, and lead a new Exodus. The title “son of God” could mean either an angel or a king who, by the covenant with David, was an adopted “son of God.” But when Jesus claims he is the only-begotten “Son of God,” he doesn’t mean that he is an angel or merely a king. He is the eternally begotten divine Son, who is one with God the Father. Finally, the title, “son of man,” could simply mean that he is a human being, a “son of Adam.” But the way Jesus uses it is in reference to a prophecy of Daniel, which speaks about “one like a son of man” who receives power, authority, and kingship from God, the Ancient of Days. The “Son of Man” is the title Jesus prefers to refer to himself because it means that he is both human and divine and that he has been sent by God the Father to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. 

3. Peter’s Denial: While Jesus is inside on trial, Peter is outside, in the high priest’s courtyard, and he, in a sense, is put on trial. Unlike Jesus, who, under oath, answers truthfully about his person and mission, Peter denies three times, and the third time under oath, that he was a disciple of Jesus or even knew Jesus. Jesus didn’t flinch from the truth when he was struck across the face. Peter flinched just because someone called out his Galilean accent. As Jesus stood and endured persecution, punches, spitting, and slaps across the face, Peter was warming his hands by a fire and denying that he knew the man he had followed faithfully for three years. While Jesus was led out, bound, to be handed over to the Roman governor, Peter fled from those who accused him of being one of Jesus’ disciples. However, Peter will repent from his denials of Jesus, and will testify to Jesus over the course of several decades, and ultimately give his life for his Lord and teacher, the Son of God, the Christ, and the Son of Man.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I kneel before your Cross today and revere you on the Cross. You loved me to the end and suffered for my sins. I unite my life and all that I am to you, asking that you transform my simple offering and present it in a worthy and pleasing way to God the Father.

Living the Word of God: How can I embrace suffering and sacrifice this Holy Week? What time will I dedicate to prayer and liturgy this week? How am I called to take up my cross today?