Matthew 26:26–29, 36–39; 27:45–46, 50–54

Bible Studies for Life
Associate professor of religion, Department of religion, Samford University

Jesus’ Death Brought Forgiveness of Sins (26:26–29)
While Jesus and the disciples were eating, He took the bread, gave thanks and then broke the bread. This blessing was an act of thanksgiving to God and would have been stated, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord Our God, king of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth.” The blessing over the wine, recounted in verse 27, would have been stated, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord Our God, king of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.” Such actions in a Passover meal were preceded by a lengthy statement of the meaning of the bread and the lamb and a recitation of Psalm 113 and 114, which celebrate the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. 

Notice how Jesus presided throughout the meal, as did the father of a Jewish family. The new feature of His speech lay in His last words: “This is my body.” Just as the bread was broken, so Jesus’ body would be broken, and just as the people of Israel had been associated with the deliverance from Egypt by eating the Passover meal, so the disciples participated in the work soon to be accomplished in Jesus’ death by taking and eating this food. 

The “blood of the covenant” is a phrase that recalls Exodus 24:8, in which the sprinkling of the dedicated blood means that the people now share in the blessings of the covenant made at Sinai. Jesus’ death, then, would inaugurate a new covenant of God with humanity. 

Jesus’ Death Fulfilled God’s Plan (26:36–39)
The name of the garden, “Gethsemane,” comes from a word meaning “olive press.” John 18:1–2 speaks of a “garden” on the far side of Kidron and suggests that Jesus often went there with His disciples. Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled.” The latter word is found only here and in Philippians 2:26 and reflects the agonizing obedience of One who still hopes in God but knows that a cruel death awaits Him. The words addressed to the disciples are echoes of Psalm 42:6 and 43:5. 

The “cup” is an Old Testament metaphor used of punishment and retribution, but here it involves suffering and death. Jesus’ obedience and loyalty to God are never put in question by the prayer. However, He could well have been considering the establishment of an earthly kingdom without having to endure the suffering. This was the primary goal of the tempter in the wilderness: He offered Jesus the whole kingdom if only Jesus would bow down to him. In doing so, Jesus would have circumvented all the suffering. Gethsemane, then, is the other bookend of the two accounts of Jesus struggling with His most ultimate, sacrificial decision.

Jesus’ Death Revealed He Was God’s Son (27:45–46, 50–54)
All the Gospels but John report the “darkness” from noon until 3 p.m. Matthew and Mark give Jesus’ cry of abandonment in different forms. Mark wrote Eloi, which is Aramaic, and Matthew wrote Eli, which is Hebrew. The Hebrew form is more helpful in explaining the misinterpretation of the word as a call to the prophet Elijah (Elias). 

Some have been troubled by the cry of abandonment, which quotes Psalm 22:1. However, a study of that Psalm suggests a beautiful method by which Jesus the rabbi was teaching us even as He hung in agony on the cross. Verses in the Psalm paint a picture of a sufferer who is mocked and dehydrated, whose bones are out of joint, whose “mouth is dried up like a potsherd,” with dogs surrounding him and whose his hands and feet are pierced while those around cast lots for his clothes (see Psalm 22:7–8, 14–18). One cannot help but envision this intense depiction and find the crucified Christ in it. And indeed this psalm of lament ends as a psalm of victory: Posterity will serve the Lord, and future generations will proclaim His righteousness. Indeed the good news will be declared that “he has done it” (Ps. 22:31). Could this itself be a prophetic bookend to the later reality of the One who declared victoriously, “It is finished”?