St Matthew Chapter XXVI : Verses 1-5
Contents
- Matt. xxvi. 1-5. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text.
- Additional Notes: The Passover.
Matt. xxvi. 1-5
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| The Sanhedrin plot to put Jesus to death. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Et factum est : cum consummasset Jesus sermones hos omnes, dixit discipulis suis :
2 You know that after two days shall be the pasch, and the son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified:
Scitis quia post biduum Pascha fiet, et Filius hominis tradetur ut crucifigatur.
3 Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiphas:
Tunc congregati sunt principes sacerdotum, et seniores populi, in atrium principis sacerdotum, qui dicebatur Caiphas :
4 And they consulted together, that by subtilty they might apprehend Jesus, and put him to death.
et consilium fecerunt ut Jesum dolo tenerent, et occiderent.
5 But they said: Not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people.
Dicebant autem : Non in die festo, ne forte tumultus fieret in populo.
Notes
1. when Jesus had ended all these words, — i.e. the last discourse of His public life. The words recorded by St John (xiii. 31.-xvii. 26) were addressed to the apostles privately in the Cenacle.
2. after two days. Two days after the Sanhedrin had plotted against Jesus.
shall he the pasch. One of the three great annual religious feasts (the other two were Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles). This feast was kept in memory of the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt, when the destroying angel, passing over the houses of the Jews, the doors of which were sprinkled with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, did not strike the first-born of the Jews with death. This feast was celebrated on the 14th of Nisan (March to April).
Note. — The days of unleavened bread followed the Pasch, and lasted for seven days. Hence these two solemnities were looked on as one feast of eight days’ duration. When the Israelites left Egypt, their departure had been so hurried that they had not had time to leaven their dough on account of the Egyptians pressing them to depart. It was in memory of this event that each year, at the same epoch, the Jews abstained from leavened bread.
The word “ pasch ” is used of —
(a) The deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt.
(b) The Paschal lamb.
(c) The feast of the Pasch, and of the Azymes which followed.
3. the chief priests and ancients. The other Synoptists add, and the scribes ; thus we get the three classes that constituted the Sanhedrin.
called Caiphas. Josephus refers to him as “Joseph Caiphas” (Ant., xviii. 2. 2).
4. consulted together. They held an informal council for this purpose, since they gathered in the court of the high-priest. Lightfoot and others hold that the formal meetings of the Sanhedrin could take place only in the “ Gazith,” a large chamber in the inner court of the Temple.
by subtilty. The Sanhedrin sought how they might by some wile lay hold on him, and kill him. They wished to take Him by some cunning, underhand way. They had tried to ensnare Jesus —
(а) By specious arguments.
(b) By discrediting Him with the Romans.
They could not take Him by force, since they feared the people. Often at the Paschal season there were over two million Jews gathered together in Jerusalem. Judas’ treachery came opportunely to their aid. They did not decide on the kind of death, nor on the day, but Jesus had predicted both.
5. But they said: Not on the festival day. By this they probably understood not until the eight days’ feast was over, when the multitudes would have left Jerusalem. All the Synoptists call attention to the fact that the Sanhedrin feared the people (St Luke).
lest perhaps there should be a tumult. Tumults were not infrequent at the time of the Passover, and as a precaution against such risings it was customary for the Romans to double the garrison in the castle of Antonia ; the Roman governor himself dwelt there during the feast.
We read that when Archelaus was over the Jews, some thirty years before our Lord’s death, there was a sedition in order to avenge the death of two rabbis, Judas and Matthias. In their attempts to put it down the Romans killed 3000 Jews. A similar incident occurred on another occasion, during the feast of Pentecost. (See Josephus, Antiq., xvii. 9. 3, 10. 2).
Additional Notes
From St John’s narration we gather that the plot here mentioned was not merely the result of Christ’s enemies having been defeated and silenced by Christ in the courts of the Temple during the Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week. These defeats, together with Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the expulsion of the money-changers, had certainly added to their hatred and desire for vengeance, but even before the Pasch we find that “ the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew where he was, he should tell, that they might apprehend him ” (St John xi. 56). In spite of this strict command, none revealed Christ’s hiding-place in Ephrem ; and when He came to the Temple in triumph on Palm Sunday, His enemies dared not lay hands on Him. The Sanhedrin, who did not fear God, feared man, therefore they plotted to seize Him “ by wile.”
The Passover. — In Exodus xii. 1-14 we find full directions how the Feast of the Passover was to be kept. These details were somewhat modified later. Thus the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the altar, not on the door-posts ; the Jews reclined on couches at the Paschal supper, instead of eating it in travelling attire and with staff in hand. They were also allowed to disregard the command, “ let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning” (Exod. xii. 22). Under the kings of Israel, this feast was not celebrated regularly. Only three celebrations are mentioned in the time of the kings. After the return from captivity, the Passover was regularly observed. The date varied, as it depended on the full moon of March.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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