Matteo 26:30 Commento

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings,.... Meaning either all that are recorded by this evangelist, all the sermons and discourses of Christ, delivered both to the people of the Jews, and to his disciples; his conversation with the former, and his divine instructions and prudent advice to the latter, together with all his excellent parables, which are largely related in this book; or else what is said in the two preceding chapters, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world, the state of the church, and conduct of his servants to the end of time, expressed in the parables of the virgins and talents, and concerning the last judgment and final state of all men: he said unto his disciples; who now were alone with him: having finished his prophetic, and being about to enter on his priestly office, he gives his disciples some intimations of its near approach.

Then saith Jesus unto them,.... Either before they went out of the house, where they had been eating the passover, and the supper; or as they were going along to the Mount of Olives; which latter rather seems to be the case: all ye shall be offended because of me this night. The words are spoken to the eleven disciples; for Judas was now gone to the high priests, to inform them where Jesus was going that night, and to receive of them a band of men and officers to apprehend him; which is what would be the occasion of all the rest of the disciples being offended: for when they should see their master betrayed by one of themselves, and the officers seize him and bind him, and lead him away as a malefactor, our Lord here suggests, that they would be filled with such fear and dread, that everyone of them would forsake him and run away, and provide for their own safety; yea, would be so stumbled at this unexpected event, that they would begin to stagger and hesitate in their minds, whether he was the Messiah, or not, as the two disciples going to Emmaus, seem to intimate; they would be so shocked with this sad disappointment, and so offended, or stumble, as to be ready to fall from him: and their faith in him must have failed, had he not prayed for them, as he did for Peter; for they thought of nothing else but a temporal kingdom, which they expected would now quickly be set up, and they be advanced to great honour and dignity; but things taking a different turn, it must greatly shock and affect them; and it was to be the case not of one or two only, but of all of them: and that because of him, whom they dearly loved, and with whom they had been eating the passover, and his own supper, and had had such a comfortable opportunity together; and because of his low estate, his being seized and bound, and led away by his enemies; as the Jews were before offended at him, because of the meanness of his parentage and education: and this was to be that very night; and it was now very late, it may reasonably be supposed to be midnight: for since the last evening, or sun setting, they had ate the passover, the ceremonies of which took up much time, and after that the Lord's supper; then the Hallell, or hymn was sung, when Christ discoursed much with his disciples, and delivered those consolatory and instructive sermons, about the vine and other things, occasioned by the fruit of the vine, they had been just drinking of, recorded in the 15th and 16th chapters of John; and put up that prayer to his Father for them, which stands in the 17th chapter; and indeed within an hour or two after, see Mar 14:37, this prediction of Christ's had its accomplishment, and which he confirms by a prophetic testimony: for it is written, in Zac 13:7, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered. This text is miserably perverted by the Jewish writers; though they all agree, that by "the shepherd", is meant some great person, as a king; so the Targum renders it, "kill the king, and the princes shall be scattered": one (u) of them says, that a wicked king of Moab is designed; another (w), a king of the Ishmaelites, or of the Turks; and a third (x), that any, and every king of the Gentiles is meant; a fourth says (y), it is a prophecy of the great wars that shall be in all the earth, in the days of Messiah ben Joseph; and a fifth (z), after having taken notice of other senses, mentions this as the last: that "the words "my shepherd, and the man my fellow", in the former part of the verse, are to be understood of Messiah, the son of Joseph; and because he shall be slain in the wars of the nations, therefore the Lord will whet his glittering sword against the nations, to take vengeance on them; and on this account says, "awake, O sword! for my shepherd, and for the man my fellow": as if the Lord called the sword and vengeance to awake against his enemies, because of Messiah ben Joseph, whom they shall slay; and who shall be the shepherd of the flock of God, and by reason of his righteousness and perfection, shall be the man his fellow; and when the nations shall slay that shepherd, the sword of the Lord shall come and smite the shepherd; that is, every shepherd of the Gentiles, and their kings; for because of the slaying of the shepherd of Israel, every shepherd of their enemies shall be slain, and their sheep shall be scattered; for through the death of the shepherds, the people that shall be under them, will have no standing. Now though this is a most wretched perversion of the passage, to make the word "shepherd" in the former part of it, to signify one person, and in the other part of it another; yet shows the conviction of their minds, that the Messiah is not be excluded from the prophecy, and of whom, without doubt, it is spoken, and rightly applied by him, who is concerned in it, the Lord Jesus Christ; who feeds his flock like a shepherd, is the great shepherd of the sheep, the chief shepherd, the good shepherd, that laid down his life for the sheep; which is intended by the smiting of him: in the text in Zac 13:7 it is read, "smite the shepherd"; being an order of Jehovah the Father's, to Justice, to awake its sword, and sheath it in his son, his equal by nature, his shepherd by office; and here, as his own act, and what he would do himself, "I will smite the shepherd"; for his ordering Justice to smite, is rightly interpreted doing it himself. The Jews cannot object to this, when their own interpreters in general explain it thus, , "God shall cut off the shepherd" (a). The sufferings of Christ, which are meant by the smiting him, were according, not only to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, the will of his good pleasure, but according to his will of command; which justice executed, and Christ was obedient to, and in which Jehovah had a very great hand himself: he bruised him, he put him to grief, he made his soul an offering for sin; he spared him not, but delivered him up into the hands of men, justice, and death, for us all: the latter clause, "and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered", respects the disciples, and their forsaking Christ, and fleeing from him, when be was apprehended; for then, as was foretold in this prophecy, and predicted by Christ, they all forsook him and fled, and were scattered every man to his own, and left him alone. In Zechariah it is only said, "the sheep shall be scattered", Zac 13:7, here, the sheep of the flock; though the Evangelist Mark reads it, as in the prophet, Mar 14:27, and so the Arabic here, and the sense is the same; for the sheep are the sheep of the flock, Christ's little flock, the flock of slaughter, committed to his care; unless it may be thought proper to distinguish between the sheep and the flock; and by "the flock" understand, all the elect of God, and by "the sheep", the principal of the flock; "the rams of his sheep", or "flock", as the Syriac version renders it; the apostles of Christ, who are chiefly, if not solely intended; though others of Christ's followers might be stumbled, offended, and staggered, as well as they; as Cleophas was, one of the two that went to Emmaus, (u) R. Sol. Jarchi, in Zech. xiii. 7. (w) Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, par. 1. c. 37. p. 310. (x) R. David Kirachi, in Zech. xiii. 7. (y) R. Aben Ezra in ib. (z) Abarbitnel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 74. 4. (a) R. Aben. Ezra, R. David Kimchi, & Miclol Yophi in loc.

When the disciples had eaten the bread of blessing, and drunk of the cup of thanksgiving, the Lord instructs them in return for these things to sing a hymn to the Father. And they go to the Mount of Olives, that they may pass from height to height, because the believer can do nought in the valley. Suitably also was the mount of mercy chosen whence to declare the offence of His disciples' weakness, by One even then prepared not to reject the disciples who forsook Him, but to receive them when they returned to Him.

After the disciples celebrated the feast with their teacher and received the bread of blessing and ate the body of the Word and drank the cup of thanksgiving, Christ taught them to sing a hymn to the Father for these gifts and to pass from one height to another height, for the faithful are never able to do anything in the valley. So they went up to "the Mount of Olives," where each one of them, like a fruitful olive tree, was able to say, "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God." And those who had not yet become "like a green olive tree in the house of God" but were still "like olive shoots around the table" of their spiritual father, were also able to be present on the Mount of Olives, about which Zechariah prophesied. And how fitting it was that this mount of mercy be chosen an as the place where the disciples would be forewarned of their future weakness. It is fitting because Christ did not wish upon them what he only foretold, for he was then already preparing to receive converts, not to banish defectors.

Hereby He shows that men confirmed by the powers of the Divine mysteries, are exalted to heavenly glory in a common joy and gladness.

"And when they had sung an hymn, they went out unto the Mount of Olives." Let them hear this, as many as, like swine eating at random, rudely spurn the natural table, and rise up in drunkenness, whereas it were meet to give thanks, and end with an hymn. Hear this, as many as wait not again for the last prayer of the mysteries, for this is a symbol of that. He gave thanks before He gave it to His disciples, that we also may give thanks. He gave thanks, and sang an hymn after the giving, that we also may do this selfsame thing. But for what reason doth He go forth unto the mountain? Making Himself manifest, that He may be taken, in order not to seem to hide himself. For He hastened to go to the place which was also known to Judas.

(Vers. 30.) And having sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. This is what we read in a certain psalm: All the fat of the earth have eaten and adored (Ps. XXI, 30). According to this example, whoever is satisfied with the Savior's bread and intoxicated with the chalice can praise the Lord and ascend to the Mount of Olives, where there is refreshment from labors, consolation from sorrow, and knowledge of true light.

After this example of the Saviour, whosoever is filled and is drunken upon the bread and cup of Christ, may praise God and ascend the Mount of Olives, where is refreshment after toil, solace of grief, and knowledge of the true light.

(in Luc. 22:39.) Beautifully after the disciples have been filled with the Sacraments of His Body and Blood, and, commended to the Father in a hymn of pious intercession, does He lead them into the mount of Olives; thus by type teaching us how we ought, by the working of His Sacraments, and the aid of His intercession, mount up to the higher gifts of the virtues and the graces of the Holy Spirit, with which we are anointed in our hearts.

This hymn may be that thanksgiving which in John, (c. 17.) Our Lord offers up to the Father, when He lifted up His eyes and prayed for His disciples, and those who should believe through their word. This is that of which the Psalm speaks, The poor shall eat and be filled, they shall praise the Lord.] (Ps. 22:26.)

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. They sang a hymn of praise when they had eaten, so that we might learn to do the same as well. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and not to any other place, lest He appear to be fleeing. For it was not to some unknown place that He went, but to a place very well known to the Jews. At the same time, He departed from that bloodthirsty city, abandoning it so that He might be pursued, and might later reprove them for coming after Him even as He was retreating from them.

After setting forth the institution of the new sacrament, here the future scandal of the disciples is foretold. And first, the place is set forth; second, the foretelling, at and he said to them. And this is fitting both to what precedes and to what follows. Hence it can be connected with both. He says therefore and a hymn being said. By this he gives us an example of two things; because first there was the supper and the material meal, after which we ought to give thanks and praise God; Ps. 21:27: the poor shall eat and shall be filled, and they shall praise the Lord that seek him. Likewise, after this there was the sacramental supper, after which also we ought to give thanks. Hence after that, he said a hymn. Hence what is said after communion in the Mass represents this hymn; therefore the faithful ought to wait until the end of the Mass so that they may hear this hymn. And this is what is said in John 17:1: Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee. And having said this, they went out unto Mount Olivet. For Mount Olivet signifies richness, because olives are rich; hence it signifies spiritual richness. In Gen. 49:20: his bread shall be fat. Hence it signifies the richness of grace and of heavenly glory into which one is raised; Ps. 67:16: the mountain of the Lord is a fat mountain. Oil soothes weary limbs, eases pain, and provides fuel and brightness to fire. So it will be in that glory, because all labor will be removed, all pain; all brightness will be present. Likewise, what he says, unto Mount Olivet, is fitting for the foretelling that follows. By oil, mercy is signified: for just as oil floats above other liquids, so does mercy; Ps. 144:9: his tender mercies are over all his works. Likewise, he shows the scandal on the mountain, so that mercy may be signified as going before. When the just man shall fall, he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him, Ps. 36:24.

GLORIOUS ANGELIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, THAT CHRIST IS RISEN--HIS APPEARANCE TO THE WOMEN--THE GUARDS BRIBED TO GIVE A FALSE ACCOUNT OF THE RESURRECTION. ( = Mar 16:1-8; Luk 24:1-8; Joh 20:1). (Mat 28:1-15) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn--after the Sabbath, as it grew toward daylight. toward the first day of the week--Luke (Luk 24:1) has it, "very early in the morning"--properly, "at the first appearance of daybreak"; and corresponding with this, John (Joh 20:1) says, "when it was yet dark." See on Mar 16:2. Not an hour, it would seem, was lost by those dear lovers of the Lord Jesus. came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary--"the mother of James and Joses" (see on Mat 27:56; Mat 27:61). to see the sepulchre--with a view to the anointing of the body, for which they had made all their preparations. (See on Mar 16:1-2). And, behold, there was--that is, there had been, before the arrival of the women. a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, &c.--And this was the state of things when the women drew near. Some judicious critics think all this was transacted while the women were approaching; but the view we have given, which is the prevalent one, seems the more natural. All this august preparation--recorded by Matthew alone--bespoke the grandeur of the exit which was to follow. The angel sat upon the huge stone, to overawe, with the lightning--luster that darted from him, the Roman guard, and do honor to his rising Lord.