Matthew: Gethsemane‘s Gifts

Listen along as we near the end of Matthew's gospel.

Notes/Quotes:

Text: Matthew 26:47-75
Title: Gethsemane’s Gifts

“Jesus’ enemies are not his only problem. Jesus’ overzealous followers have historically been as painful to him. Disciples who trust their own instincts and praxis too much, who are too sure that Jesus must admire anything they do to serve and defend him or the oppressed, or who think the salvation of sinners or the liberation of the innocent justifies any means, are taught by this Gospel to think again.” 
- Dale Bruner

“This statement is sometimes interpreted as a call to pacifism, but in fact it is simply an observation that violence breeds violence. Perhaps warfare is sometimes necessary to prevent greater evils done to others but never merely in defense of self or God. Still, the proverbial form as a rationale for Jesus’ command suggests it would apply in other situations too. These will have to be settled on a case-by-case basis.”
- Craig Blomberg

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth. 
—Isaiah 53:7

 “he speaks in his own language, the language he has learned and lived for many years: the language of biblical prophecy. His answer to the question of messiahship is the same oblique form of ‘Yes’ that he gave to Judas in 26.25: ‘You’ve just said so’ or ‘those are your words’. It was perhaps a way of avoiding arrogance or apparent selfish pride. But the ringing affirmation which followed made it clear that Jesus saw himself and his work in terms of the biblical picture of messiahship (the passage about the son of man in Daniel 7, quoted here, was sometimes taken messianically at that time). What's more, he saw the confrontation between himself and Caiaphas as the concrete outworking of the clash between that ‘son of man’ and the Fourth Beast (Daniel 7.7-8), the monster that was waging war against the true representative of God's people.”
- N.T. Wright

“Comes as close as the courtyard, sitting with the guards “to see how this would end.” “Following at a distance” is a wonderful description for the way most of us follow Jesus. We want, as Peter wanted to see how all this will end before we commit ourselves. Unfortunately, that strategy means that we cannot help but end up sitting with the guardians of the established order.”
- Stanley Hauerwas