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…

Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, &c.] Which was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt; and was typical of Christ the passover, who was now to be sacrificed for his people.

Then assembled together the chief priests About the same time, two days before the passover, that Jesus said these things to his disciples, as is plain from .

And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety The Jews had often attempted his life, but he escaped out of their hands; they had sent officers to apprehend him, but to no purpose; they therefore meet and consult together, to form some scheme, and make use of some stratagem, that they might…

And they said, not on the feast day Upon mature deliberation, it was an agreed point with them, at least it was carried by a majority, that nothing of this kind should be attempted to be done on the feast day, on any of the days of the feast of passover, which was now at hand; though this was…

Now when Jesus was in Bethany Which was about fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, , or about two miles from it. The time of Christ’s death being at hand, he keeps nigh to Jerusalem, where he was to suffer and die, in the room and stead of sinners: in the house of Simon the leper; so called, to…

There came unto him a woman By some thought to be the same that is spoken of in , and by most, to be Mary, the sister of Lazarus, , which may be true; for it is possible that one and the same woman, might perform a like action at different times; for to neither of the above, at the same time, will…

But when his disciples saw it What the woman did, what a costly box of ointment it was, and with what profusion she used it, they had indignation: Mark says, “within themselves”, ; either among themselves, or their indignation was secret in their breasts; their resentment was private, though it…

For this ointment might have been sold for much Mark says, “for more than three hundred pence”, : now if this is to be understood of Roman pence, each penny being seven pence half penny of our money, three hundred pence come to nine pounds, seven shillings, and six pence; but if it is to be…

When Jesus understood it The indignation of his disciples at this action of the woman’s; which he might know, as man, partly by their looks, and partly by their words; though without these, as God, he knew the secret indignation, and private resentment of their minds: he said unto them, why trouble…

For ye have the poor always with you This is said in answer to the objection of the disciples, that the ointment might have been sold, and the money given to the poor.

For in that she hath poured this ointment Which was so very precious, and cost so much, upon my body: for being poured on his head, it ran down all over his body.

Verily I say unto you The following words are prefaced in this manner, to excite attention, and command belief: wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot Who was provoked and exasperated, to the last degree, by this action of the woman, and Christ’s defence of it, and because the ointment was not sold, and the money put into his hand; and being instigated by Satan, who had now entered into him, formed a…

And said unto them Though the words, “to them”, are not in the original text, they are rightly supplied; as they are by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel; and mean the chief priests to whom Judas went, and to whom he made the following…

And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. ] Luke adds, “in the absence of the multitude”, ; in the most private manner, when he was alone, and in some solitary place, that no tumult might arise, and that there might be no danger of a rescue: for so he, and the chief priests, had…

Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread There were seven of these days, and this was the first of them, in which the Jews might not eat leavened bread, from the fourteenth, to the twenty first of the month Nisan; in commemoration of their being thrust out of Egypt, in so much haste, that…

And he said, go into the city to such a man That is, to such a man in the city of Jerusalem, for, as yet, they were in Bethany, or at the Mount of Olives however, without the city; he does not mention the man’s name, but describes him, as Mark and Luke say, and tells them, “there shall meet you a…

And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them They went into the city of Jerusalem; they met the man carrying a pitcher of water home; they followed him into the house he entered; they addressed the master of the house, in the manner Christ directed, who showed them a large upper room, prepared…

Now when the even was come The second evening, when the sun was set, and it was dark, and properly night; for “on the evenings of the passovers near the Minchah, a man might not eat (עד שתחשך) , “until it was dark” [[14]].” This was according to the rule, , he sat down with the twelve, his twelve…

And as they did eat The passover lamb, the unleavened bread, and bitter herbs: he said it was usual, whilst they were thus engaged, to discourse much about the reason and design of this institution.

And they were exceeding sorrowful Partly that Christ should be betrayed at all, into the hands of his enemies, by whom they knew he would be ill used; and partly, that so vile an action should be done, by one from among themselves; and greatly, because they knew not, nor could not conceive, who of…

And he answered and said In order to make them easy, and point out the betrayer to them, he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

The son of man goeth Meaning himself, not to the Mount of Olives, or Gethsemane, or the garden, whither he went a little after this, but out of the world, to his Father: the phrase is expressive of his death, as in , and denotes the voluntariness of it, and which is no ways inconsistent with the…

Then Judas, which betrayed him Or that was about to betray him, as the Ethiopic version reads it: he had taken a step towards it, was seeking an opportunity to do it, and at length effected it: the Persic version reads, Judas Iscariot; who after all the rest had put the question, answered and said,…

And as they were eating The paschal lamb, and just concluding the whole solemnity, which was done by eating some of the “last of all he (that kept the passover) eats of the flesh of the passover, though it be but the quantity of an olive, and he does not taste anything after it; and at the same…

And he took the cup and gave thanks For the Jews blessed, or gave thanks for their wine, as well as for their food, and generally did it in this form [[21]]: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God, the king of the world, who hast created the “fruit of the vine”.” Hence the phrase, “the fruit of the…

For this is my blood of the New Testament That is, the red wine in the cup, was an emblem and representation of his precious blood, whereby was exhibited a new dispensation, or administration of the covenant of grace; and by which it was ratified and confirmed; and whereby all the blessings of it,…

But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth From whence it seems natural to conclude, that Christ had drank of the cup in the supper, as well as at the passover; and it is reasonable to believe, that he also ate of the bread; since it appears from what has been observed before, (See Gill on…

And when they had sung an hymn The “Hallell”, which the Jews were obliged to sing on the night of the passover; for the passover, they say [[10]], was (טעון הלל) , “bound to an hymn”.

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.

But after I am risen again This he says for their comfort, that though he, their shepherd, should be apprehended, condemned, and crucified, should be smitten with death, and be laid in the grave, yet he should rise again; and though they should be scattered abroad, yet should be gathered together…

Peter answered and said unto him Who was always a forward man, free to speak his mind, and was often the mouth of the rest; observing what Christ had affirmed concerning all of them, that that very night, in a very short space of time, they would be offended because of him; and knowing the strong…

Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee Christ, the more strongly to asseverate what he was about to say, uses the word verily, or prefixes his “Amen” to it, as being a certain truth, and what Peter might assure himself of would certainly come to pass: that this night before the cock crow, thou…

Peter saith unto him Mark says, “he spake the more vehemently”, ; his spirits were raised to a greater pitch of resentment, and he expressed himself in stronger terms, and in more peremptory and self-confident language; though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee: he seems to have…

Then cometh Jesus with them The eleven disciples, unto a place called Gethsemane; the Syriac version calls it Ghedsiman; the Persic, Ghesmani, so the Arabic; the Vulgate Latin, and the Ethiopic, Gethsemani: in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel, and in the Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, it is called a…

And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, &c.] James and John, who perhaps were the strongest, and best able to bear the shocking sight, and were his favourite disciples; who were admitted to be with him at other times, when the rest were not; as at the raising of Jairus’s daughter,…

Then saith he unto them The three disciples, Peter, James, and John, who, by his looks and gestures, might know somewhat of the inward distress of his mind; yet he choose to express it to them in words, saying, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.

And he went a little further Luke says, , “about a stone’s cast”, about fifty or sixty feet from the place where they were, and fell on his face, and prayed; partly to show his great reverence of God, the sword of whose justice was awaked against him, the terrors of whose law were set in array…

And he cometh unto the disciples The three he took with him, Peter, James, and John, after he had finished his prayer; and findeth them asleep: many things might contribute to, and bring this drowsiness upon them; as the great fatigue they had had in preparing the passover in the day, the plentiful…

Watch and pray These two are very justly put together. There is, and ought to be, a watching before prayer, and “unto” it; a watching all opportunities, the most suitable and convenient to perform it; and there is a watching in it, both over our hearts, thoughts, words, and gestures, and after it,…

He went away again the second time To the same place as before, or at some little distance; after he had reproved his disciples for their sleeping, and had exhorted them to watchfulness and prayer, suggesting the danger they were liable to, and the condition they were in: and prayed, saying, O my…

And he came and found them asleep again For they were aroused and awaked, in some measure, by what he had said to them; but no sooner was he gone but they fell asleep again, and thus he found them a second time; or, “he came again and found them asleep”; so read the Vulgate Latin, the Syriac,…

And he left them, and went away again At some little distance from them; they being so overpowered with sleep, that he could have no conversation with them: and prayed the third time; as the Apostle Paul did, when under temptation, he prayed thrice that it might depart from him, , saying the same…

Then cometh he to his disciples The three that were nearest to him, “the third time”, as Mark says, , and as it was; and saith unto them, sleep on now, and take your rest.

Rise, let us be going Not to run away from the enemy, but to meet him: this was said, partly to arouse his sleepy disciples; and partly to show his love to his Father, and his submission to his will; as also to express the fortitude of his mind as man; he was now rid of his fears, and free from…

And while he yet spake While he was thus speaking to his disciples, before the last words, he is at hand that doth betray me, were well out of his mouth; such an exact knowledge had Christ of every motion of Judas, of what he was about, and where he was: lo! Judas, one of the twelve, came.

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign By which it might be known who he was; for it being night, though they had lanterns and torches, as John says, , yet Judas himself might not be able to discern, him, so as to point him out, until he came very near him: moreover, Christ and his apostles…

And forthwith he came to Jesus As soon as ever he appeared, before the rest could come up; for, he went before them, as Luke says, and that not only as, their guide to direct them to the person they wanted, but he separated himself from them, that it might not be thought that he came with them, or…

And Jesus said unto him, friend Not in an ironical and sarcastic way, but because he pretended to be his friend, by saluting and kissing him, in the manner he had done; or rather, because Christ had always used him as his friend, his familiar friend, who had been of his councils, and had ate at his…

And behold one of them which were with Jesus Either one of the three that Jesus took with him whilst he was in his agony, leaving the other eight at some distance; or of the eleven, who might now be all with him: however, it is certain, Peter is the person meant; for though he is not named here,…

Then said Jesus unto him That is, unto Peter, put up again thy sword into its place, or sheath. This Christ said not only to rebuke Peter for his rashness, but to soften the minds of the multitude, who must be enraged at such an action; and which was still more effectually done by his healing the…

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father Meaning, if he thought proper, or that there was any necessity for it, or that he was desirous of being rescued out of such hands he was falling into.

But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled That is, should Christ make such a request to his Father, and he should grant it, and an host of angels should be sent to rescue him, and he should be rescued by them; how then should the Scriptures, which speak of Christ’s being taken, and led as a…

In that same hour said Jesus to the multitude That is, to the heads and chief of them, the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders, as Luke says, , for though it was in the dead of the night, and the company such, as they would not have chose to have been seen in at another time; yet so…

But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled Some have thought these to be the words of the evangelist, making this remark upon what was said and done; but by what both Mark and Luke record, , they appear to be the words of Christ himself; who observes this, partly…

And they that had laid hold on Jesus Who were the band, and the captain, and the officers of the Jews, as , or as the Jews themselves say [[15]], the elders of Jerusalem; who not only laid fast hold on him, but bound him; and that both for greater security of him, some of them perhaps knowing how…

But Peter followed him afar off The Ethiopic version adds, alone; and which seems to be the true case; for though there was another disciple who also followed Jesus, and is thought to be John, yet it looks as if they followed him separately, and not together; for the other disciple went into the…

Now the chief priests and elders, and all the counsel Or sanhedrim, which consisted, as the Jewish writers say [[19]], of priests, Levites, and Israelites, of both ecclesiastics and laics; the ecclesiastics were the priests and Levites, and the laics the Israelites, or elders of the people; for if…

But found none That were fit for their purpose; yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none; whose testimonies were sufficient to put him to death, which was what they were resolved upon, or whose witness were not alike and agreed; for according to their law, a man must not die by…

And said, this fellow said Or saith, as De Dieu observes, the Syriac version of this place should be rendered; that is, he has not only said in times past, referring to , but continues to say it, and glory in it: I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days; in which they…

And the high priest arose and said unto him He rose up from his seat in great wrath and anger; partly being vexed, that they could get no other and better testimony; and partly because of Christ’s contemptuous silence, giving no answer to the witnesses, as judging they deserved none; and which…

But Jesus held his peace Knowing it would signify nothing, whatever he should say, they being set upon his death, the time of which was now come; and therefore he quietly submits, and says nothing in his own defence to prevent it.

Jesus saith unto him, thou hast said That is, thou hast said right; or as Mark expresses it, “I am”, , the Christ, the anointed of God, who was so from everlasting, and in time; being before the world was, installed into, and invested with the office of mediator; and in the fulness of time,…

Then the high priest rent his clothes Both his outer and inner garments. This he did, to show his zeal for the honour and glory of God, his grief and concern at the profanation of his holy name by a false oath, and his abhorrence of, and indignation at the blasphemy he supposed Christ to be guilty…

What think ye? &c.] Of the words just now spoken by him; do not they in your opinion amount to a charge of blasphemy and what punishment do you think ought to be inflicted on him? is he guilty of death, or not? This question he put, as being president of the court: they answered and said, he is…

Then did they spit in his face Not the judges, the members of the sanhedrim, but the servants of the high priest, and the officers that had Jesus in hold, and were the guard upon him; see , who seeing him condemned as guilty of death, thought they might insult him at pleasure, and use him in the…

Saying, prophesy unto us, thou Christ Not that they owned him to be the Messiah; but because he asserted himself to be the Messiah, and his followers believed in him as such, they call him so; and in an ironical and sarcastic way, call upon him to divine, and tell them who the persons were, that…

Now Peter sat without in the palace Peter’s denial of his Lord, the account of which follows, is related among the sufferings of Christ; and indeed, the ill usage he met with from his enemies, their spitting in his face, buffeting him with their fists, smiting him on the cheeks with their hands,…

But he denied before them all Which was a very great aggravation of his sin; for, as it is to a man’s commendation to profess a good profession of Christ before many witnesses, so it is to his disgrace, and is resented by Christ, to deny him before men: he did not deny that Christ was God, or the…

And when he was gone out into the porch The Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, “the gate”: and so does Munster’s Hebrew Gospel; but more rightly it is rendered, “the porch”: he did not attempt to go out at the door, and run away, though he could gladly have done it; but he feared to…

And again he denied with an oath He denied a second time, that he had ever been with Jesus, or was a disciple of his; and to put it out of all doubt, and an end to all dispute about it, and further charge of this kind, as he hoped, he annexed an oath to it: he swore by the God of truth; made a…

And after a while Mark says, “a little after”, , and Luke observes, that it was “about the space of one hour after”, : so that here was time to reflect upon what he had been saying, and to guard against another temptation, should he be attacked; but, alas! as yet he was unmindful of his Lord’s…

Then began he to curse, and to swear He swore before, and now he began “to curse”; not Christ, as Saul compelled some to blaspheme him, who professed him, and as the Jews formerly cursed Christ, and his followers, in their synagogues: for Peter’s crime was bad enough, it need not be made worse than…

And Peter remembered the words of Jesus Forgetfulness of God, of his works, of his words, and of his law, of his revealed mind and will, is often the cause of sin; and a remembrance of things is necessary to the recovery of a fallen or backsliding professor; as, of what he is fallen from, of the…