Notes on Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18 "Not as I Will, but as Thou Wilt" CFM lesson for June 10-16

I'm a bit late to the game this week since my family just got back from a ten-day trip to the Northwest. Instead of writing for my blog, we did such epic things as see the gum wall in Seattle. These are my notes from last week's study, and I hope to catch up by the end of the week on this week's scriptures.

Plot to Kill Jesus, Matthew 26:1-5, Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:1-2

The desire to wait until after the feast is interesting. In the Student Manual, it points out that, "They knew that many people admired Jesus Christ, and they were concerned that if they tried to take Jesus when there were so many pilgrims in Jerusalem for the holidays, there would be riots." I wonder if they would have waited to take Jesus if it were not for Judas and the easy opportunity he represented to take Christ in the night?

Christ's Anointing, Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, (see also Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8)

The accounts don't quite agree between the synoptics and John. In John, the location is at a house in Bethany where Lazarus lived, and the woman who does the anointing is Mary, Martha's sister, while the synoptics have the location at the house of Simon the leper and the woman is unnamed. Matthew and Mark have her anoint his head, John his feet. There is also a separate, chronologically earlier account in Luke of a sinner woman who bathed Christ's feet. In all three of the later accounts, the disciples murmur at the waste of the ointment, but only in John is Judas pointed out as the one who did the complaining, and John adds that he was in charge of the money bag and was stealing from it. Some think there could have been two anointings, but the details agree so much that others reconcile the two together by saying that the house of Simon the leper must also be Mary's house and that perhaps he was her deceased husband. The detail about the house being of Simon the leper is discussed here by Julie Smith.
The irony of Judas being the one to complain is rich, given that very soon, he would betray the Son of Man for much less money than the cost of the ointment. One source I read said the cost of betrayal was 10 times less than that of the ointment.
Christ says that the woman hath wrought a great work and had anointed him for burial. I wonder if the woman knew that was the purpose of her actions? Had she understood from Christ's teachings that His time to die was near while the Apostles still didn't grasp it? I wonder what significance the anointing had to Jesus and the people around him? It was obviously significant enough that Christ promises that the work of the woman would be told where ever the gospel is declared. It also shows the respect Christ had for women. Christ would later wash the disciples' feet, yet here it was a woman who washed His. I love the detail in John that this was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and one of his most devoted disciples.
What to do with our resources and wealth when the world is in such poverty is a constant question for good Christians everywhere. The story of the woman shows both that efficiency isn't the goal and that "wasting" resources doesn't seem to be a huge concern to the Savior in this case. Elder Holland says this on the subject, "Given the monumental challenge of addressing inequity in the world, what can one man or woman do? The Master Himself offered an answer. When, prior to His betrayal and Crucifixion, Mary anointed Jesus’s head with an expensive burial ointment, Judas Iscariot protested this extravagance and “murmured against her.”7

Jesus said:“Why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work. … “She hath done what she could.”8

“She hath done what she could”! What a succinct formula! A journalist once questioned Mother Teresa of Calcutta about her hopeless task of rescuing the destitute in that city. He said that, statistically speaking, she was accomplishing absolutely nothing. This remarkable little woman shot back that her work was about love, not statistics. Notwithstanding the staggering number beyond her reach, she said she could keep the commandment to love God and her neighbor by serving those within her reach with whatever resources she had. “What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean,” she would say on another occasion. “But if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less [than it is].”9 Soberly, the journalist concluded that Christianity is obviously not a statistical endeavor. He reasoned that if there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance, then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages.

Judas' Betrayal, Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, Luke 22:3-6, (see also John 13:2)

For more on the foretelling of Judas and Peter's betrayal, see my notes here.

I love this quote from the student manual: Each of them in turn began to ask, “Lord, is it I?” (Matthew 26:21–22). President Boyd K. Packer(1924–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles encouraged us to follow the example of the Apostles in these verses and consider whether counsel from the Lord and His servants pertains to us:

“There is a lesson to be drawn from the twenty-sixth chapter of Matthew. The occasion, the Last Supper.‘And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.’ (Matthew 26:21.) I remind you that these men were apostles. They were of apostolic stature. It has always been interesting to me that they did not on that occasion nudge one another and say, ‘I’ll bet that is old Judas. He has surely been acting [strange] lately.’ It reflects something of their stature. Rather it is recorded that:‘They were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?’ (Matthew 26:22.). Would you, I plead, overrule the tendency to disregard counsel and assume for just a moment something apostolic in attitude at least and ask yourself these questions: Do I need to improve myself? Should I take this counsel to heart and act upon it? If there is one weak or failing, unwilling to follow the Brethren, Lord, is it I?” (“That All May Be Edified”[1982], 237).

Preparation for the Passover, Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13

Christ has a room prepared for this meal they are to meet together. The disciples are directed to meet a man carrying water who will have a home for them to meet in.
I've heard Dan Peterson point out that the word used in the text for the upstairs room is the same as the one used for "inn" in Luke's infancy narrative. At least at this time, there was room in the inn for Christ, though soon He would be left alone.
Wayment notes, "Passover was a celebration of deliverence from Egypt, and families shared in the celebrations. It is likely that the families of the disciples and others were in attendance at this meal." It's also likely that there were women at the meal doing the preparation and serving. How does that change the picture to think of a larger gathering than just the twelve and Jesus?

The Sacrament, Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:15-20

I have been pondering the deep symbolism here. Just as the Passover meal was given once a year to remember the deliverance from slavery and death in Egypt, this new meal of the sacrament is given to remember our own deliverance through the blood of the Lamb of God. At the Passover meal, they ate the lamb whose blood lay on their door and represented their protection and salvation. At this last supper, Christ says that the bread will be eaten as his body and the wine for his blood poured out for them.
From the student manual, "The Savior’s statement, “This is my blood of the new testament” (Matthew 26:28), alluded to important terms in the Old Testament. The word that is translated testament can mean “covenant.” When the Lord made His covenant with the children of Israel, the people covenanted to obey the words of the Lord. Moses offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and then he took blood from the sacrifice and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you” (Exodus 24:8; see also Exodus 24:3–8). When Jesus Christ alluded to this statement, as recorded in Matthew 26:28, He taught that the new “testament,” or covenant, was about to be ratified with blood, just like the old covenant, and that the blood He would shed for us would cover our sins and blot them out, just as the sacrificial blood symbolically covered the people in Moses’s day."
Also from the student manual, it says, "As recorded in Matthew 26:29, the Savior told His disciples that He would not drink the fruit of the vine again until He drank it with them in His Father’s kingdom. Thus, the sacrament not only symbolizes the Savior’s Atonement but also looks forward in anticipation to the time when He will return to the earth in glory (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). In the latter days, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith details of a future occasion when He will drink the fruit of the vine on the earth. As recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 27, the Lord revealed that He will partake of the sacrament again on the earth with His followers, including many ancient prophets, such as Moroni, Elias, John the Baptist, Elijah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph who was sold into Egypt, Peter, James, and John, “and also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all” (see D&C 27:4–14). The Lord’s followers include “all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world” (D&C 27:14). This means that if we remain true and faithful to the covenants that we have made and endure to the end, we will be among those who partake of the emblems of the sacrament with the Savior at this future time.
A hymn is sung before going to the Mount of Olives. I have often wondered what was sung, and both Wayment and the student manual point out that singing the Hallel, or Psalms 113-118, was a traditional part of the Passover meal.
The timing of the Savior's crucifixion is different in John than in the other gospels. They make the last supper the Passover meal, while John has Christ slaughtered on the day of Passover, at the same time as the Passover lambs would have been slaughtered in the temple. Various ways of reconciling these differences have been proposed. One is simply that both John and the synoptics are correct, that this was a Passover meal, but that Christ, knowing He would not be there for the meal, celebrated the feast early.
Eric Huntsman explains, "The timing of Jesus’s last Passover, however, presents one of the most significant differences between John’s Passion narrative and that of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Whereas the synoptic Gospels clearly state that the Last Supper was a Passover meal (see Matthew 26:17–20; Mark 14:12–17; Luke 22:1, 7–14), John never explicitly identifies the Last Supper as a traditional seder or Passover meal. On the contrary, the narrative of John seems to suggest that the Passover actually began at sunset on the day that Jesus was crucified—in other words, according to traditional reckoning on Friday evening rather than Thursday evening (see John 18:28; 19:31, in which the preparation day was likely the day when the Passover was prepared). [14] This timing appears to have been significant for John because of its connection to the slaying of the Paschal Lambs before the Passover festival. According to Josephus, on the preparation day leading up to Passover, lambs were slaughtered in the temple beginning at the ninth hour and continuing until the eleventh hour, [15] so the sacrifices would be completed before the festival began at sundown. While John does not give an actual time for Jesus’s death on the cross, the synoptics indicate that He died at or near the ninth hour (see Matthew 27:46–50; Mark 15:34–37; Luke 23:44–46). In other words, Jesus, the Lamb of God, died as a sacrifice on the cross at the moment that the priests of the temple began slaughtering the Paschal Lambs.
Reconciling John’s timing with the synoptics’ is difficult. On the one hand, they may be correct, and John has altered the timing for theological and literary reasons to illustrate vividly that Jesus was the Lamb of God slain for the world. On the other, John may be correct, and the synoptic authors have altered the account’s timing to emphasize that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. A possible support for this idea is the fact that no lamb is mentioned as part of the Last Supper meal in the synoptics, even though the eating of the lamb on that occasion would have been a powerful image. Since neither of these options is completely satisfactory for those who want to preserve the integrity of all four Gospel accounts, various suggestions have been made to explain how both could be correct. Propositions include the possibility that Sadducees and Pharisees might have celebrated the festival according to a slightly different calendar, or that Galileans and Judeans used a different calendar. [16] Perhaps a more satisfactory explanation might be that Passover actually began the evening after Jesus was crucified, but Jesus, knowing that He would not be alive then to celebrate it with His disciples chose to celebrate it early (see Luke 22:15, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer”). [17]"

Who is the Greatest, Luke 22:24-30

Only Luke places this detail, about the continued debate over who is the greatest among the disciples, in the story of Christ's last few days. All the other accounts of this have this happening much earlier. See my notes from May 13-19 for commentary. In Luke's account, Christ tells His disciples that the greatest among them will be the servant of them all. Then He says, "Ye are they which have stayed with me in my trials." (verse 28, Wayment translation). Perhaps Luke wants to contrast the constancy of the disciples up to this point with their betrayal, denial, and temporary abandonment to come. Will we be disciples who are willing to stay with Christ in His trials and serve as He did? It also seems that Luke wants us to remember this earlier teaching of Christ, that He came to be a servant, as he describes the following events of the suffering and death of Christ. Christ, through His willing submission on our behalf, performs the greatest service ever rendered.

Gethsemane, Matthew 27:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, John 18:1

Gethsemane, the garden, or grove, of olive trees, means "olive press." Olives were crushed to create the oil so vital to life and ritual in the Bible. Jesus was also crushed here as he bore the weight of our sins and our sorrows.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell describes the scene, In Gethsemane, the suffering Jesus began to be ‘sore amazed’ (Mark 14:33), or, in the Greek, ‘awestruck’ and ‘astonished.’

“Imagine, Jehovah, the Creator of this and other worlds, ‘astonished’! Jesus knew cognitively what He must do, but not experientially. He had never personally known the exquisite and exacting process of an atonement before. Thus, when the agony came in its fulness, it was so much, much worse than even He with his unique intellect had ever imagined! …

“The cumulative weight of all mortal sins—past, present, and future—pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow, too, a part of the awful arithmetic of the Atonement. (See Alma 7:11–12; Isa. 53:3–5; Matt. 8:17.) The anguished Jesus not only pled with the Father that the hour and cup might pass from Him, but with this relevant citation. ‘And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me.’ (Mark 14:35–36.) …

“In this extremity, did He, perchance, hope for a rescuing ram in the thicket? I do not know. His suffering—as it were, enormity multiplied by infinity—evoked His later soul-cry on the cross, and it was a cry of forsakenness. (See Matt. 27:46.)

“Even so, Jesus maintained this sublime submissiveness, as He had in Gethsemane: ‘Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:39.)”

When Christ finds his disciples asleep, I can't help but feel convicted of my own times of weakness. Can I not watch with the Savior by focusing on him for the few minutes of the sacrament? Can I watch with Him by being more aware of the needs of those around me? Or will I be asleep? My own spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. I'm tired, worn out, distracted, self-absorbed, and unaware way too often.

Christ prays that if possible, the cup will pass from Him, and yet it did not. Still, an angel was sent to strengthen Him. While my worthiness and strength does not even approach the Savior's, I can see so many times when God has sent comfort and help to allow me to endure the trials that I have asked in faith for Him to take away. God is in the small details of our lives. Many times, He doesn't take away the challenges and pains of mortal life, but He does have ways of strengthening us to endure them.

Hebrews 12:4 recalls what is talked about in Luke as Jesus sweat great drops of blood. It says, "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." We know from Latter-day scripture that Christ' suffering was incredibly intense. Christ says in D&C 19, "Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."
The Book of Mormon also witnesses in Alma 7, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
Christ bore not just our sins, but our sorrows, griefs, and devastating mortal experiences. Elder Tad Callister writes, "“What weight is thrown on the scales of pain when calculating the hurt of innumerable patients in countless hospitals? Now, add to that the loneliness of the elderly who are forgotten in the rest homes of society, desperately yearning for a card, a visit, a call—just some recognition from the outside world. Keep on adding the hurt of hungry children, the suffering caused by famine, drought, and pestilence. Pile on the heartache of parents who tearfully plead on a daily basis for a wayward son or daughter to come back home. Factor in the trauma of every divorce and the tragedy of every abortion. Add the remorse that comes with each child lost in the dawn of life, each spouse taken in the prime of marriage. Compound that with the misery of overflowing prisons, bulging halfway houses and institutions for the mentally disadvantaged. Multiply all this by century after century of history, and creation after creation without end. Such is but an awful glimpse of the Savior’s load. Who can bear such a burden or scale such a mountain as this? No one, absolutely no one, save Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of us all” (The Infinite Atonement [2000], 105)."

Christ is Betrayed and Arrested, Matthew 27:47-56, Mark 14:43-52, Luke 22:47-53, John 18:2-12

Matthew adds the detail that Judas kisses Christ to betray Him.
When Peter draws his sword and cuts an ear off, Christ heals the ear. Lynn Wilson points out, "All four Gospels share the story, but only John includes both names, Peter and Malchus. This suggests that Malchus became a believer and a Christian, as his name was known. Even at this time of danger and confusion, Jesus taught a message of peace, “all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” (Matthew 26:52). He also submitted to His Father’s will, “the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11)."
The arrest takes place at night, and Christ points out the irony that He was daily in the temple teaching openly but they dared not do anything out in the open. Evil seems always to want to hide in the darkness.

Christ Before Caiphas the High Priest, Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-65, Luke 22:54-72, John 18:13-24

From the Student Manual, "Caiaphas was the high priest from A.D. 18 to 36 and was a son-in-law of Annas, who was the high priest from A.D. 7 to 14. Caiaphas belonged to the Sadducees. During New Testament times, the position of high priest had become a corrupt political appointment rather than a legitimate priesthood office. Caiaphas held the position longer than any other high priest in New Testament times, indicating his close cooperation with Roman government leaders like Pontius Pilate."
Gerald Smith points out, "Trial by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, was supposed to be done in the day time, as a public event. The importance of a fair trial was set in stone as part and parcel of the law set down by Moses. The accused was not to be mocked nor hit, nor was the high priest to rent or rip his clothing. No one asked Jesus if there were any witnesses for him. False witnesses were supposed to be rigorously questioned to ensure their charges were not drummed up."
In contrast to the corrupt high priest who judged Him, Christ was the pure high priest, chosen from the foundations of the world to make atonement for all of us and mediate between us and God. The Book of Hebrews reminds us, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Witnesses testify against Christ and Mark tells us that none of them agreed with each other.
One of Christ's only reply to Caiphus is to quote from Old Testament prophecies (Wayment points to Psalms 110:1 and Daniel 7:13) that the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of power and come in clouds of glory. In contrast to their fake judgment and mockery of justice, Christ will rule in righteousness and judgment. He will one day judge those who judge him now.
The high priests see Christ's response as blasphemy and now have their justification for killing him. Of course, according to Roman law, they don't have the power to put someone to death so they deliver Him to Roman authorities. Since Rome couldn't care less about Jewish blasphemy laws, there they claim that Jesus says He is the King, implying that He was guilty of treason.
Throughout the crucifixion, it is the chief priests who continually fight against Jesus. They conspire with Judas. They bring Him in and are the first to try Him. They deliver Him to the Romans and then stir up the crown and pressure Pilate into the crucifixion. In doing so, they unwittingly perform the function that high priests have been tasked with from the beginning of the law of Moses, that of choosing and taking the sacrificial lamb to the slaughter. They have chosen Christ and are there to the end to see to the bloody deed.
John adds the detail that Christ was also brought before Annas as well as Caiaphus.

Peter's Denial, Matthew 27:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:56-62, John 18:25-27

Peter's earlier determined responses about how he will never falter and is willing to die with Christ, and his drawn sword are gone and in a moment of weakness, he denies knowing Christ. It's easy to see why he might justify saying he didn't know Christ. Perhaps he felt a need to stay with Christ and see witness what would happen to him and thought that if he was acknowledged as His disciple, they would kick him out of the house and any chances of saving Christ would be gone. And yet, when the cock crowed and Jesus looked at Peter (in , he realized what he had done and wept bitterly. In what ways do we fail to live up to our ideals and convictions? What justifications do we give for denying Christ?
All four gospels include Peter's denial. I think that it must have been Peter who shared this story and wanted it told. His worst moment recorded for all to see in every account of the Savior's last days may have felt like penance and also a warning to all others who think they are above such weakness.
In Luke 22:31-32, the Greek word for "you" in "Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you" is plural, meaning "you all," while the next verse, "But I have prayed for thee," uses a singular form of you. Jesus seems to be saying that Satan desired to have all of the disciples, and that He individually prayed for Peter. Christ knows that we all are subject to temptation and trial, but He knows, ministers, and loves us one by one, as He did for Peter.
I love this quote by President Spencer W. Kimball: “I do not pretend to know what Peter’s mental reactions were nor what compelled him to say what he did that terrible night. But in light of his proven bravery, courage, great devotion, and limitless love for the Master, could we not give him the benefit of the doubt and at least forgive him as his Savior seems to have done so fully. Almost immediately Christ elevated him to the highest position in his church and endowed him with the complete keys of that kingdom.

“… Hearing the bird’s announcement of the dawn reminded him not only that he had denied the Lord but also that all the Lord had said would be fulfilled, even to the crucifixion. He went out and wept bitterly. Were his tears for personal repentance only, or were they mingled with sorrowful tears in realization of the fate of his Lord and Master and his own great loss?

“Only hours passed until he was among the first at the tomb as the head of the group of believers. Only weeks passed until he was assembling the saints and organizing them into a compact, strong, and unified community. It was not long before he was languishing in prison, being beaten, abused, and ‘sifted as wheat’ as Christ had predicted. (See Luke 22:31.)”

Hands full and loving it (mostly)

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