Matthew 26:17–30

Jesus said: ‘This is my blood.’

Jesus explained the meaning of his death. He would die soon. He explained this at his last supper (evening meal).

The previous study showed the reactions of some people to Jesus. They were a contrast to Jesus. He showed that he had more power than all the people had. There is the same subject in this study, too. Jesus told his *disciples what would happen. He said that one of them would give him to his enemies. Jesus knew which one of them it would be too (Matthew 26:25). Then Jesus told them more about how he would die.

Matthew repeated one word three times. It was the word ‘Passover’. (Exodus 12 describes its meaning.) The word was in Matthew 26:17, 18, and 19. Jesus was the person in charge at the meal. Matthew wanted us to understand this. (Read Matthew 26:26–30.)

Jesus had said when he was going to die. It would be at Passover. John’s *Gospel tells us the exact time. Jesus died on the day before Passover. (Read John 19:14–18.) It was at the same time that people were killing the Passover lambs. (Note: lambs are young sheep.) So Jesus had his own Passover meal. It was a day earlier than the official event. But people seemed to use slightly different dates for the event. This was true during the time of Jesus.

The Passover had always shown Jesus’ death. And he wanted people to know it. His death gave the Passover its full meaning. We can learn three things from this:

• Jesus died for the benefit of other people. That was true about the original Passover lamb. (Read Exodus 12:11–12.) Isaiah 52:13–53:12 also shows this.
• Jesus died as a sacrifice for sin (Matthew 26:28). He died for other people, because they were *sinners.
• Jesus died to take the punishment that we should have. God hates *sin. He must punish it. We all deserve that punishment. But Jesus took our place.

Jesus’ death is still good for us

This does not seem to be possible. So, many people do not believe it. But God can forgive sin. And he still forgives sin. Jesus took all the punishment for our sin. There can be no greater punishment than death. (Read Romans 6:23.) And Jesus died. So, each person can know that God really does forgive his or her sin. But there is more. God does not remember our *sin. (Read Jeremiah 31:33–34.)

There is another reason why Jesus died. It was to make us God’s family and friends (Matthew 26:29). Jesus, the Messiah, described his great big meal. He was referring to a custom that took place in ancient times. Then, such a big meal was only for a person’s family and for friends. Jesus was speaking about a family relationship in Matthew 26:28. His words refer to Exodus 24:8. That was the time when God made the Jews become his family.

Jesus’ *sacrifice was particular too. He died for many people (Matthew 26:28). This means that he did not die in general for everyone. His death is good for all who come to him. But Jesus died for each person. So, a believer (Christian) can say: ‘Jesus died for me.’ Jesus died for more people than we could ever count. What a wonderful thing Jesus did when he died! He could not have done anything more. He is the answer to all our needs. God accepts us. He forgives us. He gives us his peace and his love. And all this is because of Jesus’ death.

But we must receive the benefits of Jesus’ death (Matthew 26:26). We must ‘eat’ and ‘drink’ (Matthew 26:26–27). These words are signs. This means that they describe what we can do. We can share with Jesus in his death. We do this by a total trust in Jesus. We believe that his death is the only way to God.

Finally, this passage shows us that *sin is a terrible thing. Judas may not have stayed for the special part of the Passover meal. There is some doubt about that. But other things are clear. Jesus told him the truth about his death. Jesus appealed to him in a gentle way. He showed his love for Judas. (Surely, that was the main purpose of Matthew 26:20–25.) But Judas still chose to be against Jesus. He knew that enemies wanted to kill Jesus. But he still led them to Jesus.

Questions

• Someone might say: ‘God is a God of love. So he will not keep anybody out of heaven for ever.’ What could you say to that person?
• Today, we still have the ‘Passover meal’ like the meal that Jesus had. We call it by different names. It could be the *Lord’s Table, Holy Communion, the Last Supper, or the Eucharist. What truths should you remember at this time? The truths about the special meal should have effects in your life. Does its effect depend on your thoughts at the time? Look again at Jesus’ teaching in this passage. Then discuss your ideas.
• Jesus died for all the people in the world. (Read John 3:16.) So, why are they not all believers (Christians)?