Introduction to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, Matthew 26.1-5

Wow...we have spent close to six months in the book of Matthew, and we are now, finally, entering into the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Let's look back and see where we have been so far.

We started off with the very first devotion, wanting to see what it means and looks like to follow Jesus. This following Jesus is capture in the concept of being a part of his kingdom. This is what the whole book of Matthew is about, is teaching us what it means to be God's kingdom, what it looks like to follow Jesus.

If you remember, the way in which Matthew does this is he presents five different sermons of Jesus, each with corresponding stories that build up to the sermon. It looks like this:


1. Matthew 5-7--The sermon on the proclamation of a king, and the upside-down nature of his kingdom. 

1. Matthew 1-4 was all about the presentation of a king, now we see what this king has to say about his kingdom

2. Matthew 10--The sermon on the ministry of the King.

1. Matthew 8-9 is all about the King's ministry which is two fold: 1. healing the sick and 2. discipling the disciples. This is what his message is about in Matthew 10. 

3. Matthew 13--The sermon on what the Kingdom life is like (in parables)

1. Matthew 11-12 is filled with Jesus training the disciples what it means to be the people of God. 
2. The Pharisees and religious leaders of the day had a different idea of what it means to be the people of God, so there is a lot of conflict involved in this section. 
3. Jesus clarifies it all with his sermon in Matthew 13. 

4. Matthew 18--This sermon is all about Jesus teaching his disciples what the life of discipleship is like. 

1. Matthew 14-17, Jesus is focusing on the twelve disciples, training them and trying to get them ready for his death. 

5. Matthew 23-25-This last sermon is against the Pharisees, prepares them how to live in the “last days” and teaches the disciples how to Be ready, Be faithful and Be Loving. 

1. Matthew 19-22 is beginning Jesus' journey to the cross. And because his journey to the cross is filled with conflict, questions, debates, triumphal entries and all kinds of crazy things, Jesus wants to make sure his disciples know to Be ready and to Be faithful and to Be Loving, unlike the Pharisees. 

We are now entering into the last part of the Gospel of Matthew, the REJECTION of the King. We are going to see conflict, Jesus being betrayed by someone close to him, soldiers accompanying a mob, beatings, the death of a rebel, and a miracle that is the turning point of the history of the world. So buckle up, it's going to be a great ride. 

This section starts simply like this:

¹ When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ² “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” ³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. ⁵ “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”


We see two groups coming together in conflict right at the start. Jesus and his disciples, and the Jewish elite. 


Jesus says it's passover time and he is heading to Jerusalem, and he will be handed over to be crucified. Then you see the Jewish elite scheming on how to kill him.


Right from the very beginning, the message is clear in this section. The King is going to be rejected by the very people he came to help. Yet this doesn't stop him. He sill goes and dies for those who won't accept him.


My question then, is this. Are we willing to die for people who we KNOW will reject our message? We are not called to win thousands of people to Christ, we are not called to success but obedience. 


We are to obey even if NO ONE REPENTS. 


So....will you obey, today?