Mateus 26
Theophylact of Ohrid
Mateus 26:1-2
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said unto His disciples, Ye know that after two days it is the Pascha, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. After speaking of the kingdom and of retribution, it was opportune that He should then speak also concerning His own Passion, all but saying, "And those who crucify Me shall merit the fire." — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:3-4
The law commanded that there be one high priest for life, but they, contrary to the law, had then the practice of making a new high priest each year, so that there were many. So they approached the high priest of that year to deliberate a murder with him whose duty it was to punish murderers. "The high priests" are those who had already fulfilled their year of service. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:5
Intending to commit this unholy murder, they were fearful, not of God, but of the multitude. For the high priests were afraid that if they murdered Jesus on the feast, the multitude would rise up in His defense, or that the people would refrain from offering the prescribed sacrifices on account of the murder, and so the high priests would lose the profit they gained from the sacrifices. Perhaps the high priests also feared that if He were murdered on the feast, His death would become all the more renowned and noteworthy; for they wished to erase all memory of Him. So in this manner they plotted before the feast to murder Him immediately after the feast. But He allows them to arrest Him at the time of Pascha, thus showing that He goes to His Passion not when they wished, but rather when He so desired. So that when the figurative Pascha took place, then it was that the true Pascha occurred. We can also understand from this the degree of their bloodthirstiness. For though they had not wished to slay Jesus on the feast, when they found the betrayer they did slay Jesus at that very time, forgetting even the multitude in their eagerness to accomplish their will. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:6-7
Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious myrrh, and poured it on His head, as He sat at table. Some say that there are three women who anointed the Lord, of whom the four evangelists make mention (Mk. 14:3-9, Jn. 12:1-8, Lk. 7:36-38). Others say that there are two, the one mentioned by John, who is Mary the sister of Lazarus, and the one mentioned here by Matthew, who is the same one mentioned by Luke and Mark. Some say that this Simon the leper is the father of Lazarus, and that Christ cleansed him of leprosy and then ate dinner with him. Some also say that when the Lord told His disciples to go to a certain man who would show them an upper room furnished (Lk. 22:10-12), that He sent them to this man. And of course the man welcomed the Lord to celebrate the Pascha there. So when the woman saw the leper who had been cleansed, she dared to believe that she too would obtain remission of sins and cleansing of spiritual leprosy. She confessed great faith by unstintingly pouring out such precious myrrh. She poured it out on His head, honoring the chiefest part. And you also, O reader, if you suffer from the spiritual and Pharisaical leprosy of arrogance which cuts us off from God, accept Jesus into your house and anoint Him with the myrrh of the virtues. For you are able to procure myrrh for Jesus Who has cleansed you of your leprosy, and to pour it over His head. What is the head of Christ if not His divinity to which we offer the fragrance of the virtues? For David says, "Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, O Lord" (Ps. 140:2). Offer, then, fragrance of myrrh, intricately blended of many virtues, to Christ's divinity. For if you teach that Christ is not merely a man, but also God, then you have made fragrant His head, that is, His divinity, with your words of theology. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:8-9
Since the disciples had heard much about almsgiving and had given it much consideration, they found fault with the woman, thinking that God desired mercy towards others more than honor for Himself. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:10
But He rebukes the disciples for their unwarranted criticism of the woman. For one should not expect exalted things from those who have only recently approached Christ, and especially from those whose emotions are unrestrained, but one should accept even their measure of faith. For whenever someone wants to offer a gift to God, do not scorn him, or cut him off in his eagerness by sending him away to give to the poor, but let him fulfill his offering. But if he should ask your advice as to whether he should give to the poor or make an offering to God, advise him to give to the poor. However, if he has already made the offering to God, there is no reason to scorn him, for one should prefer honor rendered to God above everything else, even almsgiving itself. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:11
Nor should you think that because Christ in His love for mankind accepts mercy shown to others as something offered to Himself, that we should overlook God and only practice almsgiving. For if this were so, we ought then to steal from the temples and use what is stolen for almsgiving. But it is not so; and that you may understand that it is not the same thing to show mercy to the poor and to honor Christ Himself and to serve Him, listen: "For ye have the poor always with you; but Me ye have not always." Do you see, then, that it is one thing to serve Christ and another thing to show mercy to the poor, even though Christ in His love for mankind accepts for Himself the things that are done for the poor? — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:12-13
For in that she hath poured this myrrh on My Body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. He teaches us that the woman did this by some divine inspiration, prefiguring His death and the burial of His Body. For the Lord would not have allowed Himself to be anointed with myrrh if it did not reveal a mystery. Being God, He foretold what would be, that the deed which the woman did would be told everywhere in praise of her. Behold God's love for mankind, how He rewards the woman with a great gift; for He causes her memorial to be kept universally, for as long as His Gospel endures. How did the myrrh symbolize His burial? It was the practice among the Jews to prepare bodies for burial by anointing them with myrrh, as the Egyptians did, to prevent decay and foul odor. He is saying, "By pouring the myrrh the woman shows that My Body will be buried." He said all these things to shame and reprove Judas by whom He would be betrayed and handed over for burial. Understand it also in a spiritual sense: the leper is the Gentile people, the sinful woman is the congregation and the Church from among the Gentiles, who poured out myrrh, that is, faith, on the head of Christ, which is His divinity. For everyone who believes that Christ is God pours out myrrh on the head of Christ. But Judas, who rebuked the woman, as John says (Jn. 12:4-6), is a symbol of the Jews who still to this day murmur against the Church. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:14
When the woman who was a stranger and a harlot had shown Jesus such honor, then it was that His own disciple departed to betray Him. For it was not without meaning that the evangelist says, "Then went...," but in order to show the shamelessness of Judas. He adds the name "Iscariot" to better identify him. For there was another Judas who was also called Lebbaeus (Mt. 10:3 and Lk. 6:16). The betrayer, however, was from a certain village named Iscara. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:15
"They covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver," that is, they agreed, they determined an amount to give, and not as many think, that they weighed out and paid the money. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:16
"He sought an opportunity" to betray Him to them when He was alone, for they feared the multitude, and for this reason they paid Judas to inform them when Jesus would be alone. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:17
He says, "The first day of the feast of the unleavened bread," meaning "the day before the feast of the unleavened bread," as we would say it. They intended to eat the Pascha on Friday evening, which was called "the feast of the unleavened bread." The Lord, therefore, sends the disciples on Thursday, which the evangelist calls "the first day of the feast of the unleavened bread," being the day before the Friday on the evening of which they would eat the unleavened bread. The disciples then approach and ask, "Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Pascha?" For neither they, nor He, had their own house. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:18
He sends them to a man whom they did not know and who did not know them, just as He had done before entering Jerusalem when He sent them to find the ass, showing them that He is able by His words alone to persuade even those who do not know Him at all to accept Him. He wanted to keep the Pascha, lest He appear opposed to the law. He calls His slaying His "time," so that we may learn that He was not slain unknowingly or unwillingly. And to the words, "I will keep the Pascha at thy house," He adds "with My disciples," so that there would be sufficient preparation for the large number of those who intended to eat. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:20
From this some believe that the Lord did not eat the Pascha that year. For they say that only while standing was the Paschal lamb to be eaten. Yet Christ sat down; hence it could not have been the Pascha which He ate. But we might say that first He ate the Pascha standing, and then He sat down and gave them His own Mystery and Sacrament. For having first kept the Pascha in type, He then kept it in truth. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:21
He foretells the things that Judas would do, in order to correct him by making him ashamed of what he planned to do while they ate together, and by filling him with dread and awe as he realized that he was about to betray God Who knows the hearts of men. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:22
The other disciples were agonized, for though the conscience of each was clear, they put more trust in Christ than in themselves since He knew their hearts better than they did. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:23
Jesus openly reproves the betrayer since he did not amend his ways when he was reproved secretly. This is why He reveals him by saying, "He that dippeth his hand with Me," so that even now he might amend his ways. But Judas was shameless and dipped his hand into Christ's dish. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:24
Then Christ said, "The Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him," that is, even though it is preordained that Christ suffer for the salvation of the world, Judas of course is not to be honored for the part he played, but rather, woe to him! For he did not do this deed in cooperation with God's will; instead he did it out of his own malice. For if you consider well, Christ [in His human nature] did not desire beforehand to be crucified; He shows this when He prays that the cup might be taken from Him. But since Christ [in His divine nature] knew from before all ages that because of the malice of the enemy there was no other way for man to be saved, what He had not willed beforehand became His will. By saying that it would have been better if that man had not been born, He shows that it is better not to exist than to exist in sins. Observe also the word "goeth." It shows that His dying will not be death, but instead a departure to another place. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:26
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My Body. Matthew added the words "as they were eating," to reveal the cruelty of Judas. For worse than a beast, Judas did not become more meek when he partook of the common meal. Not even when reproved did he listen, but he went so far as to taste of the Lord's Body, and still did not repent. But some say that Christ did not give the Mysteries to the other disciples until Judas had left. So we too should do the same and withhold the Mysteries from those who are evil. When He is about to break the bread He gives thanks, teaching us also to offer the Bread with thanksgiving. At the same time He also shows by this that He gladly accepts as if it were a gift the breaking of His own Body, that is, His death, and that He is not displeased as if it were something that He is unwilling to accept, so that we too, in the same manner, might gladly accept martyrdom as a gift. By saying, "This is My Body," He shows that the bread which is sanctified on the altar is the Lord's Body Itself, and not a symbolic type. For He did not say, "This is a type," but "This is My Body." By an ineffable action it is changed, although it may appear to us as bread. Since we are weak and could not endure to eat raw meat, much less human flesh, it appears as bread to us although it is indeed flesh. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:27-28
And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Just as the Old Testament had sacrificial slaughter and blood, so too the New Testament has Blood and slaying. He said, "shed for many," meaning "shed for all," for "all" are also "many." Why did He not say above, "Take, eat, all of you," but here, "Drink of it, all of you?" Some say that He said this because of Judas; for Judas took the bread and did not eat it, but hid it to show to the Jews that Jesus called bread His own Body. But Judas drank the cup, albeit unwillingly, not able to hide that at all. For this reason, then, Christ said, "Drink of it, all of you." In a more spiritual sense, some say that not all are able to approach the solid food, but only those who are more mature, while all can drink. For this reason, then, He said, "Drink of it, all of you." For all can receive the simpler teachings. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:29
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom. Having tasted of the cup, He forgoes bodily drink from that time on. But He promises some new manner of tasting in the kingdom, that is, after the Resurrection. For when He rose He ate and drank in some new manner, not in need of the food of bodily taste, but rather to confirm the true and real nature of His Body. He appropriately calls His own Resurrection the "kingdom," for when He abolished death, He truly appeared as King. Or, you might understand it in this way: the new drink is the revelation of the mysteries of God, which will be revealed in the kingdom of God, that is, at the second coming. They are new, that is, of such a nature as we have not heard before. Christ is said to drink these things with us, in that He considers our benefit to be His food and drink. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:30
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. They sang a hymn of praise when they had eaten, so that we might learn to do the same as well. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and not to any other place, lest He appear to be fleeing. For it was not to some unknown place that He went, but to a place very well known to the Jews. At the same time, He departed from that bloodthirsty city, abandoning it so that He might be pursued, and might later reprove them for coming after Him even as He was retreating from them. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:31-32
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall stumble and fall because of Me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. As God He foretells what will be. To avoid offending them by seeming to accuse them, He says, "It is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad" (Zechariah 13:7), thus implying, It is I Who have held you together and My departure from you will scatter you. The Father is said to "smite" the Son, in that the Jews crucified the Lord in accordance with the Father's plan of salvation, hence, with His consent. It is said that the Father smote, because He was able to prevent it, yet did not. Then Jesus takes away their grief by announcing to them the good tidings, saying, "I shall rise and go before you, that is, precede you, into Galilee." By this He shows that He will leave Jerusalem and go to the Gentiles, for Gentiles dwelt in Galilee. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:33-34
Peter answered and said unto Him, Though all shall stumble and fall because of Thee, yet will I never stumble and fall. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crows, thou shalt deny Me thrice. With great audacity Peter alone promises not to stumble. Therefore Christ permitted him to fall in order to convince him not to be confident in himself but in God, and also to value Christ's words as more trustworthy than his own knowledge of himself. Because Peter's words "though all men shall stumble and fall" were full of arrogance, Christ shows him to be a braggart who did not know his own weakness. The Lord then foretells to him both the hour, that it will be "this night" and "before the cock crows," and also the number of the denials, that he will deny Him three times. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:35-36
Peter said unto Him, Even if I must die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Likewise also said all the disciples. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go away and pray yonder. Wanting to show that he had genuine love, Peter contradicted the Saviour. He had earlier been freed of the fear that he himself might be the betrayer, and now Peter, with great love but also out of a desire for honor, began to rise up against the others and even to oppose Christ. But equally the other disciples, before they had experienced the trials, in ignorance made promises that they would not be able to keep. Jesus went away to pray in private, for prayer requires quiet and solitude. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:37
He does not take all the disciples with Him, but only the three to whom He showed His glory on Mt. Tabor, lest the others see Him very heavy of heart while He was praying, and be scandalized. But He leaves even these three and goes away to a place to pray that was yet more private. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:38
He was sorrowful and heavy in accord with the divine plan, so as to confirm that He was truly man. For it is human nature to fear death; it was against our nature that death entered, and for this reason our nature flees from it. At the same time, Christ was sorrowful so that the devil would unknowingly leap upon Him, the God-man, and bear Him down to death as though He were mere man, and thus the devil himself would be crushed. Moreover, if the Lord had rushed towards death it would have given the Jews the excuse that they did not sin in killing one who was so eager to suffer. From this we learn not to throw ourselves into trials and temptations, but to pray that we may be delivered from them. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:39
For this reason, too, He did not move away a great distance, but was near the three disciples, that they might hear Him and remember when they themselves fell into temptations, and pray in the same manner. He calls His Passion a cup [as of wine], either because of the sleep which it brought, or because it became the cause of gladness and salvation for us. He wants the cup to be removed either to show that as a man subject to nature He pleads to escape death, as was said above, or because He did not wish the Jews to commit a sin so grave that on account of it the temple would be destroyed and the people perish. Yet He desires that His Father's will be done, that we also may learn that it is precisely when our nature draws us away from obedience that we must obey God and fulfill His will. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:40-41
And He cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Because Peter and the other disciples had been brash and made reckless promises, Jesus now rebukes them for their weakness, and in particular addresses Peter. Could you not keep vigil one hour with Me? How then will you lay down your life for Me? But again, after wounding them with His rebuke, He heals them by saying that the spirit is willing, but the weakness of the flesh resists. That is to say, I consider you deserving of forgiveness, because you fell asleep not out of disdain, but out of weakness. But since you are weak, do not be overly bold; rather pray that you not enter into temptation at all. Others understand "that ye enter not into temptation" to mean "that you not be defeated by temptation." For, they say, He did not bid us to be without temptations, for temptations are our crowns. Rather He bids us to pray that we not be swallowed up by temptation and enter into its belly, as into the belly of a wild beast. For he who is overcome by temptation enters into it, that is, is swallowed up by it. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:42-43
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if this cup can not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done. And He came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And He left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. When you hear that the Lord Himself prayed many times, learn, O man, that you ought to pray continuously when beset by temptations. When Jesus found them sleeping again, He did not rebuke them lest He grieve them, but He let them be. And He left them and prayed for the third time, thus confirming His human nature. For the number three signifies both truth and confirmation. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:45-46
Then cometh He to His disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray Me. Showing that He has no need of their help, even when He is about to be betrayed, He says to them, "Sleep on now." Or, He is speaking with irony, as if to say, "Behold, the betrayer is at hand - sleep, if you so desire and time allows." Then He rouses them from that place where He was praying and approaches those who are about to arrest Him, and goes forward to meet them as if they were about to present Him with some delightful gift. Thus we see that Christ God prayed as a man in Gethsemane to confirm the divine economy, the plan of salvation. His prayer in Gethsemane also showed His desire to avoid His suffering, knowing that as a consequence of the Crucifixion the Jews would be destroyed for their sin against Him. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:47
Do you see the weapons of the chief priests? Staves and swords! So peaceful were they, and possessed of such a spirit of meekness! The evangelist says, "one of the twelve," marveling that though Judas had been chosen and ranked among the first, yet he gave himself to the devil. So you, too, O man, be fearful though you may be among the most intimate of the Lord's friends, lest you become careless and lazy and fall away. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:48
Judas gave a sign because it was night and they were not able to identify Jesus. For those who came to arrest Him were not from the multitude, but were servants of the high priest, who perhaps did not know Jesus at all. But the disciple reveals the Master to them with a kiss. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:49
For Judas knew the Lord's love for mankind, and hence was emboldened to kiss Him. The Lord was patient even to the last moment, eager to win Judas by His long-suffering. Even so Judas was not brought to reason, whereupon the Lord caused the servants of the high priest to fall, as John says (Jn. 18:5-6), so that in falling down they would recognize His power. But even so they did not desist from their brazenness, whereupon Jesus gives Himself over to them. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:50
He calls Judas "friend," deriding and disparaging him for supposedly giving Him a friend's kiss. "Wherefore art thou come?" means "For what reason have you come here? As a friend? Then there was no need to come with swords. As an enemy? Then why do you kiss Me?" Thus He rebukes him as a treacherous deceiver. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:51
Peter was the one who drew the sword, as John says (Jn. 18:10). For he had a sword, having just recently sacrificed the lamb which they ate. But let us not condemn Peter, for it was not on his own behalf, but for his Master, that he acted so zealously. But the Lord converts Peter to the evangelic life lived according to the Gospel, teaching man not to use the sword, not even when presuming to avenge God. Peter cuts off the ear, signifying that the Jews suffered from the infirmity of deafness in that they would neither hear nor heed. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:52
Then Christ gives the dictum of the law, that he who slays will himself be slain. For the law says that "they who take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Gen. 9:6 and Jer. 15:2). He implies that the Jews who take up the sword against Him will be destroyed by the sword of the Romans. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:53
He did not say, "I can bring to My side twelve legions of angels," but "[I can] pray to My Father," speaking by divine dispensation as a man, out of consideration for their weakness. By sweat, by fear, and in many ways did He show His human nature. For His words would not have seemed plausible if He had said, "I Myself can bring angels to My side." Instead of twelve disciples, He says, "Twelve contingents of angels would stand beside Me if I so desired." The legion is the largest military contingent, consisting of six thousand horsemen. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:54
All these things must be, He says, in order to fulfill the Scriptures which had foretold them. The Jews were not wicked because the Scriptures had foretold that they would be; rather, these events were described in the Scriptures beforehand by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit because the Jews would do these things of their own evil will. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:55-56
In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take Me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on Me. But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. He shows the absurdity of their efforts, and that they did not seize Him by their own strength. "For when I was in the temple," He says, "you wanted to take Me but you could not because I did not permit you; but now I voluntarily give Myself over to you. For I know that it is impossible that the Scriptures which foretold your wickedness should be proved false." — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:55-56
Then all the disciples forsook Him, and fled. And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him afar off unto the high priest's court, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. The other disciples fled, but Peter, who was more fervently devoted to the Master, followed at a distance. If John also followed, it was not as a disciple but as an acquaintance of the high priest (Jn. 18:15). — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:58
Peter, who was more fervently devoted to the Master, followed at a distance. If John also followed, it was not as a disciple but as an acquaintance of the high priest (Jn. 18:15). — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:59-60
Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death; but found none: yea, though many false witnesses came forward, yet found they none. They brought Jesus to Caiaphas who was the high priest for that year. There Caiaphas spent the night along with the others, not keeping the Pascha at that time, but waiting so that they might kill the Lord, and thus transgressing the law (Jn. 18:28). For the Lord kept the Pascha in keeping with the law, but they despised the law that they might slay the Lord. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:61
Truly these were false witnesses. For Christ had not said, "I am able to destroy," but "You shall destroy." And He had not said, "the temple of God," but "this temple," that is, "My Body." And again, He had not said, "I shall build," but "I shall raise." So they were clearly false witnesses, the Lord having said one thing while they reported that He had said another. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:63
Jesus therefore kept silent, knowing that their tribunal was unlawful. For how would a verbal defense persuade those whom signs had not persuaded? The high priest asks the question, wanting to induce Him to blaspheme; so that if He should say, "I am the Son of God," He might be condemned as a blasphemer, but if He should deny it, the High priest would have Him as a witness against Himself. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:64
At the last came two false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto Him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus was silent. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said. Truly these were false witnesses. For Christ had not said, "I am able to destroy," but "You shall destroy." And He had not said, "the temple of God," but "this temple," that is, "My Body." And again, He had not said, "I shall build," but "I shall raise." So they were clearly false witnesses, the Lord having said one thing while they reported that He had said another. Jesus therefore kept silent, knowing that their tribunal was unlawful. For how would a verbal defense persuade those whom signs had not persuaded? The high priest asks the question, wanting to induce Him to blaspheme; so that if He should say, "I am the Son of God," He might be condemned as a blasphemer, but if He should deny it, the High priest would have Him as a witness against Himself. But the Lord caught those sophists in their own cunning, and answers, "Thou hast said," meaning, "Your mouth has confessed that I am the Son of God." — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:64
Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven. He is speaking to them from the prophecy of Daniel who said, "I saw one coming as the Son of Man upon the clouds" (Daniel 7:13). For since they thought that He was deluded, as He appeared to them in humble form, He said, "You shall see Me then coming in power and seated with the Father." "Power" here means that of the Father, and the Son of Man will be coming not from earth but from heaven. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:65-66
Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy! What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty unto death. It was the practice of the Jews to tear their garments whenever something insufferable would befall them. In order to deceive the crowd, Caiaphas tears his clothes as if he were faced with manifest blasphemy, meaning to create the impression that Christ had greatly blasphemed, and thus to impel the crowd to say that He was guilty unto death. Nevertheless, learn that when Caiaphas rent his clothes, it was a symbol that the high priesthood of the Old Testament had been rent. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:67-68
Then did they spit in His face, and buffeted Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? When they had condemned Him, then they abused Him and mocked Him, wrapping His face in a cloth, as another evangelist says (Lk. 22:64, Mk. 14:65). They mocked Him in this manner because the people considered Him a prophet. To "buffet" is to strike with the hands with the fingers clenched, or, to put it more plainly, to punch with the fist. — Commentary on Matthew
Mateus 26:69-75
Now Peter sat without in the courtyard: and a servant girl came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech discloseth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crows, thou shalt deny Me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly. Overcome with immense fear, Peter forgot his promises and became enslaved to human weakness, as if he were lifeless with fear, not knowing what he was saying. Understand it also in the spiritual sense, that Peter was rebuked by the servant girl, that is, by human weakness which is lowly and meant to be governed, until the cock crowed and brought him to his senses. The rooster is the Word which does not permit us to be lazy and to sleep, but says, "Wake up and rise, O sleeper!" Peter, therefore, was wakened by the Word as if by a rooster. Going out of the palace of the high priest, that is, the confines of a hardened mind, and leaving behind senselessness, he wept bitterly. While he was in the courtyard of the hardened mind, he could not weep, for he had lost his sense; but as soon as he went out, he came to his senses. — Commentary on Matthew