Matthew 26:51

Matthew 26:51

In Mat. 26:51-55 the Bible says, “And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and cut off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up your sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Do you think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are you come out as against a thief with swords and staves in order to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and you laid no hold on me.”

In Luke’s account of these circumstances surrounding the arrest of Jesus, Jesus actually told the disciples to go and buy a sword. They went and came back with two swords and Jesus said that two swords were sufficient. Obviously, two swords would not have been sufficient to fight off the armed mob that came to arrest Jesus; but two swords were sufficient to accomplish the purpose that Jesus had for them. Jesus wanted to teach the disciples a lesson about violence. Even when He was arrested, Jesus was thinking of ways to use that situation to teach His disciples. The Lord will attempt to do the same thing in our lives. In everything that happens to us, we should always ask ourselves the question, “What does God want me to learn from this?” God loves us as much as He did the disciples, and He is arranging our circumstances to teach us things just like He did the disciples.

Jesus was teaching the disciples a lesson about violence. He said, “They that live by the sword, shall die by the sword.” The disciples were young men. The people in most societies who are the most prone to become violent are the young men. The disciples lived in a violent time. The Romans ruled with a ruthless arm of iron, and Jesus Himself would soon be a victim of a miscarriage of justice at the hands of the Romans. It would have been easy for the disciples to have concluded that they needed to fight fire with fire, and that they needed to use the force of arms to accomplish their goals or to avenge the death of their leader. Simon the Zealot, one of the disciples, had already been a member of the Zealots, as signified by his name. The Zealots were a group similar to some of the paramilitary groups in our country that advocated armed resistance to the government. But Jesus said that He could have called 10 legions of angels to destroy His enemies if He wanted to use force, but Jesus proved that love is stronger than hate, and peace is wiser than violence. It may be the will of God for you to learn to suffer in peace. If you endure your suffering properly by faith, and do not return an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, you will be glad that you did, and when all is said and done there will be a positive result from it, and you will see good triumph over evil.

This same lesson about violence needs to be learned today. There is a lot of violence in our society also. There are those who commit violent crimes, and there are those who commit acts of violence in the home. Most of the violence: both of a criminal nature and a domestic nature, is committed by young men. Striking another person for any reason is unacceptable if you are going to heed this warning given by Christ. To learn this lesson is listed as a qualification in I Timothy and Titus where it says that “no striker” should ever be a pastor.

There are many people who speak out against violent crime. But some of those same people commit acts of violence in their home. They that live by the sword shall die by the sword: they that are violent will reap the consequences that violence can bring. It’s the law of retribution, the principle of human behavior that says that how you treat others is how you will end up being treated. Jesus said, “With the same measure that you mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

One of the places in the homes in which there is violence is in the area of child abuse. Some of the child abuse can be attributed to unwise teaching about spanking children. It says in Hebrews that the Lord chastens us even as a father chastens his son. But God does not strike us with a rod or a stick when He corrects us. He is much more gentle and much more kind than that. In Proverbs 22:15 it says, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” This does not mean to use a literal rod, and does not mean to strike your child. This verse is not talking about a literal rod. The “rod of correction” simply means that correction is a rod.

If you tell people to spank their children, it will result in many bad consequences because according to Jesus, “violence begits violence.” An adult is so much bigger and stronger than a child that it is too easy to cross the line and hit too hard. Just like the courts are sometimes wrong and condemn an innocent person, so are the parents sometimes wrong in thinking that a child deserves to be punished. Think of the emotional damage that can be done if a child is beaten for any reason; but then especially if they are innocent! Hitting a child also teaches them a bad lesson. It teaches them that it is okay to strike someone if you do not approve of their behavior.

Too much responsibility is often put on the parents for the behavior of the children. But children are individuals. They are responsible for their own actions. Proponents of civil disobedience have learned that no human can be forced to do anything. If a human chooses not to do a thing, he might even lie down in front of a tank in order to avoid doing that thing. The Bible emphasizes the responsibility of children for their own behavior. The one commandment of the 10 commandments that refers to the parent-child relationship, places the responsibility on the children to do what is right. It says “honor your mother and father.” If a child goes bad or goes wrong, it is not the fault of the parent; it’s the fault of the child. You are responsible for your own behavior, no matter how old you are. Some of the violence in the homes is due to the fact that some parents are frustrated and think that they must do more in order to get the child to do what is right. But the child must want to do what is right, or nothing will work. That’s the importance of being born again. The ultimate answer to improved behavior for any human, whether child or adult, is a heart that is dedicated to serving God.

Jesus warned His disciples about violence. He said, “They that live by the sword shall die by the sword.” There are many causes to the violence of our society. The movies and videos and television shows that too often present violence as entertainment are partly responsible. There is also the peer pressure of being around violent people: “a little leaven leavens the whole bunch.” There is the natural outcome of sinful human nature: the first person born into the world, Cain, became a murderer without television and without bad examples. But the abuse done by parents, who have been incorrectly taught that spanking is necessary; is also partly to blame for the violence. The clear teaching from the words and the example of Jesus is: “Don’t be a violent person, because violence begits violence.” Violence is striking any other person. You should never strike another person, and certainly not your own children.

Proverbs 28:17 says, “A man that does violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit.” Proverbs 16:29 says, “A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him into the way that is not good.” Psalm 11:5 says, “The Lord tries the righteous, but the wicked and him that loves violence his soul hates.”

Jesus said that they that live by the sword shall perish by the sword. And a mob of the citizens of Jerusalem came out with swords and staves to arrest Him. Then they beat and tortured Him in the presence of the Jewish leaders and King Herod. Forty years later the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman legions. They who lived by the sword, died by the sword.

In Mat. 26:56 Jesus said, “All of this came to pass so that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” There are many proofs that the Bible is true and many reasons to believe that it is without error; and one of the most important reasons to believe so, is because Jesus did. He said that whatever was written by the prophets had to be fulfilled. If anyone ever claims that the Bible has errors in it, you will know right away that they do not have the Spirit of God nor the mind of Christ. No matter how intelligent they sound or how convincing are their arguments; they will eventually be proven wrong. Paul wrote in II Tim. 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Mat. 26:57 says, “And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.” Jesus was actually judged in front of three separate courts. The first group before whom Jesus was taken is given here: the high priest, the scribes, and the elders. Later He was taken to Pilate. Pilate sent Him to King Herod, and King Herod sent Him back to Pilate. Two of these events are recorded here in Matthew, and all three of them in Luke. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be rejected, and we see here that the rejection was thorough and complete. He stood before the religious leaders and was rejected; He stood before the Jewish civil leader, King Herod, and was rejected; He stood before Pilate, the governor and representative of Caesar, and the real authority of the land, and was condemned to death; He stood before the citizens of Jerusalem, and they cried out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” Isaiah prophesied 500 years before that He would be called “a man of sorrows, and well acquainted with grief.”

When Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders, what happened to Him is actually something that is a common experience to those who follow God. No matter what religion you are a part of; you must be a follower of God above all else. This is what Jesus meant when He said to call no man your master. Organized religion tends to degenerate, and over time tends to be governed by a rigid set of rules and regulations and traditions. And these things tend to block the working and leading of the Spirit of God. Therefore if you are led by the Spirit of God; at some point in your life you will probably come at odds with the religious leaders who operate under the same principles that governed the Jewish religious leaders during the time of Christ, and we know what they did to Him.

The religious leaders during the time of Christ could stand no more truth; they could stand nothing that threatened their control or their security. So Christ was arrested, and we continue reading what happened to Him in Mat. 26:58-63. It says, “But Peter followed Him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 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, yet found they none. 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, Do you answer nothing? what is it that these witness against you? But Jesus did not answer. And the high priest answered and said to him, I adjure thee by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Again we see the fulfillment of Isaiah 53 which was written 500 years before Jesus. Is. 53:7 says, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” How strong the Lord was. Sometimes strength is shown by doing nothing and saying nothing. What a contrast between the Lord and ourselves, because we so easily complain when we feel that we have been wronged or that our rights have been violated. The next time that you hear someone protest when their rights are violated, remember that Christ did not do so when He could have.

Mat. 26:64-75 says, “Jesus said unto him, You have said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face, and beat him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, you Christ, who is he that struck you? Now Peter sat in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, You also were with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I do not know what you are talking about. 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 you also are one of them; for your speech betrays you. Then began he to curse and to swear saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, you shall deny me three times. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”

The love and patience and power of God for us all; is amazing. We saw how Jesus used the circumstances of His arrest to teach the disciples and the rest of us a lesson about violence. Now we see how Jesus used the circumstances of His judgment and torture to teach Peter and the rest of us a lesson about the mercy of God. God understands us. He knows that we are weak in our natural state. He knows that we are only human, and He knows what is in man. When Peter boasted that he would die with Christ, Jesus knew that Peter was not ready for that kind of faithfulness to God. Although, the day would come when Peter would eventually die for Christ. But he was not ready for it yet.

But God was not done with Peter, and He is not done with you either. Peter failed miserably, but what he did after his failure is a lesson to be learned. It says that he went out and wept bitterly. We know that later Jesus appeared to Peter to assure him that he had been forgiven, and that God still had things for him to do. If you are like most of us, you will probably fail one or more times in ways that are just as despicable as the cowardice of Peter. If you do, make sure that you respond the way that he did: make sure that you repent of your sins, and you will find the same complete and total forgiveness that Peter found. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

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