Key Truth: Jesus humbly and willingly submits to God’s will in order to redeem those who betray Him, wrongly accuse Him, and deny Him outright.

Jesus Betrayed

Matthew 26:47-56

“Hence it is again evident, that we are much more courageous and ready for fighting than for bearing the cross.”

John Calvin, Commentary on Matthew

How do you respond to people betraying you or letting you down? Do you tend to seek self-satisfying retaliation of self-denying reconciliation when confronted with sin and evil?

Jesus Tried

Matthew 26:57-68

“. . . could I feel as I ought to feel in sympathy with the terrible shame of Christ and then could I interpret those feelings by any language known to mortal man, surely you would bow your heads and blush! And you would feel rising within your spirits a burning indignation against the sin that dared to put the Christ of God to such shame as this! I want to kiss His feet when I think that they spat in His face.”

Charles Spurgeon,
“A Sermon Intended for Reading on Lord’s-Day, July 12, 1896”

What do you want from God? How do you respond when God does not do or say what you want or expect?

Jesus Denied

Matthew 26:69-75

“The means of grace are given to us so that we might grow spiritually and become strong, yet how neglectful we are of these means. . . . The fall of Peter should be a warning to all of us. He himself tells us that a vital, growing, spiritual life is the best means to keep us from falling (2 Pet. 1:5-11).”

Mark E. Ross, Let’s Study Matthew

How do you respond when through your sin you deny Christ?

Matthew 26:47-75 teaches us that:

- while we are masters of destruction in our relationships with God and neighbors, Jesus is the Lord of reconciliation.

- while we are those who lie to get what we want, Jesus clung to the truth unto death in order to get to us.

- while we are quick to deny Jesus in the midst of suffering, Jesus endured the worst of suffering in order to be faithful to us.