INTRODUCTION

Jesus goes to a garden to reverse Adam’s sin.  Instead of seizing fruit, the Last Adam submits to His Father and drinks the cup.  In the end, all His helpers – His Eve – flee, and He is left alone to face His accusers.

THE TEXT

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” . . . (Matthew 26:31-56).

SHEPHERD AND SHEEP

All the disciples will be “scandalized” by Jesus; instead of a rock of refuge, they will find Him a stone of stumbling (vv. 31, 33).  As always, Jesus sees these events in the light of prophecy.  The rejected Shepherd-King that Yahweh had placed over Israel (Zechariah 11:4-17) will be struck, and the people scattered into the refining fire of exile (13:7-9).  Jesus predicts a mini-exile, and an eventual “return from Babylon,” as the disciples gather with Him in Galilee (Matthew 26:32).  Peter’s denials will be representative (v. 33-35).  Peter says He will die with Jesus, and that is true: He will die to the feeble discipleship he has exhibited, and rise with Jesus to become the leader of the Twelve.

IN THE GARDEN

When He arrives at the garden, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with Him to pray (vv. 36-37).  These same three disciples previously saw Jesus transfigured in glory on a mountain (17:1-8).  Now they see another revelation of God’s glory, the glory of Jesus’ obedience and suffering.  In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus warned the disciples to be alert and prepared for the coming of the bridegroom (25:1-13), but the disciples don’t watch and pray with Him but instead fall asleep.  Jesus, meanwhile, prays with anguish (vv. 38-39).  He doesn’t approach death with stoic calm, but grieves and laments and asks the Father to remove the cup.  Jesus gives us a model of prayer, not only in this but in His submission to the Father.  As He taught His disciples, His prayer to the Father is “Your will be done” (v. 42; cf. 6:10).

JUDAS AND THE CROWD

After Adam sins, Yahweh comes to the garden seeking him and eventually judging him.  Jesus is the last Adam in the garden; He does not sin, but He is still going to be judged, not by God but by the Jewish court.  Judas has arranged to identify Jesus with a kiss (v. 48-49), a cynical gesture that highlights Judas’ treachery, but also a sign that Jesus is Adam the Bridegroom, betrayed by His bride, Israel (Judas is the Greek form of the word “Judah”).  Through much of His ministry, Jesus has been surrounded by crowds who listen to His teaching and marvel at His miracles. He faces another crowd, a crowd turned into a mob.

FLIGHT

Judas has been enticed by money, like the seed among thorns that is choked out by love of riches (13:22).  The other disciples are like seed on stony ground, which withers when persecution arises (13:21).  An unnamed cuts off the ear of the high priest’s slave, but this is also an abandonment of Jesus and of the Father’s purposes (vv. 51-52).  In the end, the disciples who have left everything to follow Jesus leave Jesus.