Matthew 26:1-5

Matthew 26:1-5. Wednesday, Nisan 12. The Approach of the Passover. Jesus again Foretells His Death. The Sanhedrin meet

Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2.

Cp. John 11:55-57, where we read that "the chief priests and Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him."

That Jesus should be able for so many days to "speak openly in the Temple" and shew Himself to the people without fear of capture is a proof of the deep hold He had taken on the enthusiasm and affection of His fellow-countrymen. The words of St John (quoted above) imply a combination of the priestly and aristocratic party the Sadducees with the democratic Pharisees, against the despised Galilæan, and yet it requires treachery of the deepest dye and a deed of darkness to secure Him.