Matthew 26:31–56

Jesus said: ‘I want your will to happen.’

These verses are very serious. They show that Jesus’ death was necessary. They describe clearly just how awful his death would be.

The agony (extreme pain)

Read Matthew 26:36–42. They help us to see a little bit of what Jesus was suffering. But words cannot really describe just how terrible Jesus felt. That is why various translations use different words. Jesus felt that he was ‘very close to death’ even then. [Note: Luke was a doctor. In his book, he said that drops of blood from Jesus fell to the ground. This is in Luke 22:44. It is a medical state. It only happens with extreme pain of the emotions and of the mind.] Because of his extreme pain, Jesus wanted to be with his best friends.

Men and women know extreme pain and despair too. This happens especially when they will soon die. But Jesus’ pain was worse. Jesus was God as well as man. So, we may think that he could not feel the same agony as us. This passage shows us that the opposite is true. Jesus’ agony was greater. This was because he knew what would happen (Matthew 26:39). We do not know the future. If we did, we might not be able to bear the pain of it. So God is very kind to us.

But Jesus knew all that would happen. And something else made his extreme pain even worse. Jesus was the holy God. He hated sin. Now, he would be in the power of sinners (Matthew 26:45). He had created them. But they would kill him!

There was even more. Jesus knew that Judas would not be loyal. He would lead the enemies to Jesus. (Read Matthew 26:21–25 and Matthew 26:46–50.) Jesus knew, too, that his close friends would leave him. (Read Matthew 26:31–35 and 56b.) Finally, Jesus knew that he could escape. He could escape, if he chose to do that. (See Matthew 26:53. A legion was 6000 men.) But he knew that he would not do this. He chose to die.

The necessity

This passage emphasises that it was necessary for Jesus to die. Jesus had peace in the time of his troubles. He had the strength to continue. But, like us, he did not want to die (Matthew 26:39). But the Father did not stop his Son from dying on the cross. This shows us that there was no other way. It was the only way to bring men and women to God. The *NT writers understood this well. (Read Acts 4:12.) We can have peace with God only because of Jesus.

Even Jesus’ three closest friends left him. (Read Matthew 26:40–41.) All the *disciples left him too. (Read Matthew 26:43, 45 and 56.) Jesus knew that men are weak. He knew it better that they did (Matthew 26:31)! Jesus knew everything that would happen. But he did not run away from it. He was the only person who could be as brave as that.

Finally, notice what Jesus was like on the way to the cross. He was so gentle and kind. He told his *disciples that they would leave him. But he told them something else too. He would welcome them back afterwards (Matthew 26:32)! That was how it would always be.

Questions

• Jesus forgives you when you do not trust him. Can you really say that you forgive yourself? It is hard for some people to forgive themselves. How could you help such a person?
• Muslims say that Jesus cannot be the Son of God. This is because he suffered such extreme pain. What could you say to them?
• How can one person’s death save other people from death?