Matthew 26-28

1. Matthew26-28

2. 4 Most Significant Events in the History of the World 1. Creation 2. Fall 3. Atonement 4. Resurrection

3. Matthew 26:2 He took a day to be alone! Matthew 26:3-4 This was not a place where they would usually meet. It was probably only the leaders that wanted Him dead (Sanhedrin).

4. Matthew 26:6-13 John 12:3-4 (It was Judas who had the problem with it) Bethany was just two miles from Jerusalem. To anoint the head of a guest with ordinary oil was to do him honor, and to anoint his feet was also a sign of honor. Anointing of both with such abundance was an act of expression and adoration. Few kings received that type of treatment (close to one years’ wages).

5. Matthew 26:15 (Zechariah 11:12) The price of an adult slave or oxen. Matthew 26:36-39 “Gethsemane” means oil press. According to John 18:1, it was visited frequently by the Savior (a righteous time out perhaps). John referred to it as a garden that was enclosed and private. Matthew 26:30 “Sung an Hymn” D&C 25:12 Psalms 115:12 = “Sung at Passover Feast”

6. Matthew 26:26-30 “The Administration of the Sacrament” B.H. Roberts insisted they were the most perfect forms of sacred literature to be found. To participate in them is to enter the Holy of Holies of the Atonement (Truth, Way, Light, 39). These prayers spiritualize the physical and physicalize the spiritual. They unite from man’s mortal condition to an eternal family.

7. 3 Facts about Gethsemane • Jesus suffered all things, therefore he understands and can help us (Alma 7:11-12). • Even as a God with infinite capacity, the Savior trembled from pain as He worked out His Atonement (D&C 19:16-19). • No man could endure what the Savior did (Luke 22:43).

8. The Savior showed His great love for us by suffering for the sins of all mankind and by overcoming physical death so that all people could be resurrected. The supreme sacrifice of the Savior also shows the love of our Heavenly Father. “His Father looked on with great grief and agony over His Beloved Son, until there seems to have come a moment when even our Savior cried out in despair: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

9. “In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child has to be taken out of the room so as not to look upon the last struggles, so He bowed His head and hid in some part of His universe. His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh in that moment when He might have saved his Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He did not fail us, for He had not only the love of His Son in mind, but He also had love for us.

10. I rejoice that He did not interfere, and that His love for us made it possible for Him to endure to look upon the sufferings of His Son and give Him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without Him, without His sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into His presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in heaven to give the gift of His Son unto men” (Melvin J. Ballard, Crusader for Righteousness, 1966, 137).

11. “At the very moment, at the hour when the crisis came for him to offer up his life, the Father withdrew Himself, withdrew His Spirit, and cast a veil over Jesus. That is what made him sweat blood. If he had the power of God upon him, he would not have sweat blood; but all was withdrawn from him, and a veil was cast over him, and he then plead with the Father not to forsake him” (Brigham Young, JD, 3:206). (Mosiah 3:7 & D&C 19:18)

12. Speaking of the extent of the suffering required of Christ, President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “We cannot comprehend the great suffering that the Lord had to take upon himself to bring to pass this redemption from death and sin… We get into the habit of thinking, I suppose that His great suffering was when he was nailed to the cross by his hands and his feet and was left there to suffer until he died. As excruciating as that pain was, that was not the greatest suffering that he had to undergo, for in some way which I cannot understand, but which I accept on faith, and which you must accept on faith, he carried on his back the burden of the sins of the whole world. It is hard enough for me to carry my own sins. How is it with you?

13. And yet he had to carry the sins of the whole world, as our Savior and the Redeemer of a fallen world, and so great was his suffering, before he ever went to the cross, we are informed, that blood oozed from the pores of his body” (C.R., October, 1947, 147-48).

14. The Depths Of His Suffering: Matthew 26:39 Christ had fasted for forty days, confronted Satan face to face, weathered mocking, taunting, and abuse; he had endured the stinging pangs of rejection, even the brutal blow of betrayal. To what new depths mush he now have sunk to cry out, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” But it was not possible!

15. The Saviors suffering was like a prodigious boulder thrown into the midst of a glassy pond --- the ripples emanating from Gethsemane and Calvary would, as President John Taylor said, “spread throughout all space” (Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, 152). John Taylor understood that the Savior’s suffering affected universal nature.

16. Even the best of minds, the most influential of speech cannot adequately describe the Savor’s ordeal. Farrar reminds us that it “transcended all that, even in our purest moments, we can pretend to understand (Farrar, Life of Christ, 577). Elder Neal A. Maxwell call it “enormity multiplied by infinity” (Maxwell, “Willing to Submit,” 73). The Savior’s sacrifice required inexhaustible stamina in order to bear the consequences of our sins and weather the temptations of the Evil One (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, 129).

17. Perhaps Frederik Farrar has best articulated, with an eloquence of words and a precision of thought, what others have attempted: “Jesus knew that the awful hour of His deepest humiliation had arrived --- that from this moment till the utterance of that great cry with which He expired, nothing remained for Him on earth but the torture of physical pain and the poignancy of mental anguish. All that the human frame can tolerate of suffering was to be best heaped upon His shrinking body; every misery that cruel and crushing insult can inflict was to weigh heavy on His soul; and in this torment of body and agony of soul even the high and radiant serenity of His divine spirit was to suffer a short but terrible eclipse. Pain in its acutest sting, shame in its most overwhelming brutality, all the burden of the sin and mystery of man’s existence in its apostasy and fall --- this was what He must now face in all its inexplicable accumulation” (Farrar, Life of Christ, 575).

18. Elder Talmage wrote. “Christ agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to the intensity and cause… He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as being possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world’ could inflict… “In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world” (Jesus the Christ, 613).

19. Alma 7:11-12 Joseph Smith declared the Atonement to be the most fundamental doctrine of our faith. All other doctrines he maintained, were appendages to it (Teachings, 121). The Atonement covers these four areas: (Alma 7:11-12) 1. Temptations of every kind 2. Pains and sicknesses of His people 3. Infirmities (weaknesses) 4. Sins

20. Three Greatest Chapters on the Atonement! 1. 2 Nephi 2 2. 2 Nephi 9 3. Alma 34 Elder McConkie I would humbly add Doctrine & Covenants 19.

21. Elder McConkie explained: “We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane. We know he sweat great gouts of blood from every pore as he drained the dregs of that bitter cup his Father had given him. “We know he suffered, both body and spirit, more than it is possible for man to suffer, except it be unto death (D&C 19:18). “We know that in some way, incomprehensible to us, his suffering satisfied the demands of justice, ransomed penitent souls from the pains and penalties of sin, and made mercy available to those who believe in his holy name.

22. “We know that he lay prostrate upon the ground as the pains and agonies of an infinite burden caused him to tremble and would that he might not drink the bitter cup. “We know that an angel came from the courts of glory to strengthen him in his ordeal, and we suppose it was mighty Michael, who foremost fell that mortal man might be. “As near as we can judge, these infinite agonies --- this suffering beyond compare --- continued for some three or four hours” (C.R., April 1985, 9-10).

23. Matthew 26:39 C.S. Lewis spoke of Christ’s foreknowledge preceding his impending death. He also believed the Savior must experience all the conditions of mortality, including the anxieties that accompany the exercise of faith. He reconciled these seemingly conflicting positions as follows: “It is clear that this knowledge (of his death) must somehow have been withdrawn from Him before He prayed in Gethsemane. He could not, with whatever reservation about the Father’s will, have prayed that the cup might pass and simultaneously known that it would not. That is both a logical and psychological impossibility. You see what this involves? Lest any trial incident to humanity should be lacking, the torments of hope --- of suspense, anxiety --- were at the last moment loosed upon Him --- the supposed possibility that, after all, He might, He just conceivably might, be spared the supreme horror. There was precedent. Isaac had been spared: he too at the last moment, he also against all apparent probability….But for this last (and erroneous) hope against hope, and the consequent tumult of the soul, the sweat of blood, perhaps He would not have been very Man (Lewis, Joyful Christian, 171-72).

24. To live in a fully predictable life as suggested by C.S. Lewis, a life devoid of anxiety, suspense, and faith, is a pseudo-human life --- it is no more than a façade. But this was not the case with the Savior. Never was more faith required of any man, at any hour, than when the Savior faced the terrifying aloneness of the hours surrounding the cross. This was the moment when the Father withdrew His spirit and left him comfortless.

25. It is a sobering thought to realize that our sins contributed to the immense suffering of our Savior! Elder James E. Faust so contemplated: “One cannot help wondering how many of those drops of precious blood each of us may be responsible for” (Faust, “Supernal Gift,” 13,). The physical pain of the cross alone, when compared to the accumulated pain of the Garden and the cross, was as a penlight to the sun. Perhaps the cross was chosen because the Savior wanted us to know he had endured man’s greatest for of inhumanity to man; but even then, such anguish was relatively insignificant when compared to the spiritual agony in the Garden, which was extended on the cross (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, 133).

26. Matthew 26:51 Guess who? Peter wasn’t aiming for his ear! (Luke 22:51) Matthew 26:64-68 Pure doctrine! (Acts 7:55-56) Blasphemy! Every improper use of the divine name. When a person heard blasphemy he laid his hands on the head of the offender to symbolize his sole responsibility for the guilt, and rising to his feet tore his robe, which might never again be mended (Jesus the Christ, 188).

27. Consider the experience of Orson F. Whitney, later called to be an apostle of the Lord: “It was a dream, or a visionary dream, as I lay upon my bed in the little town of Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I seemed to be in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. I saw Him as plainly as ever I have seen anyone. Standing behind a tree in the foreground, I beheld Jesus, with Peter, James and John as they came through a little wicket gate at my right….

28. ….leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, the Son of God passes over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which all Bible readers are familiar: “Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” “As he prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was towards me. I was so moved at the sight that I also wept, out of pure sympathy. My whole heart went out to him; I loved him with all my soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else” (Through Memory’s Halls (Independence, Missouri: Press of Zion’s Printing and Publishing Co., 1930, 82-83).

29. Matthew 26:69-73 Peter’s denial! v. 73 Thy speech bewrayeth thee meant: He spoke like a hillbilly Jew, he spoke like a Galilean. This account suggest that Peter was wrong! Ever since Gethsemane, Peter knew that the Savior could have destroyed them (story of the fig tree).

30. Matthew 27 Theme = Is he the King of the Jews or not? It takes us right back to Matthew 1 & 2. Pontius Pilate: Appointed Roman ruler in A.D. 25-26. He was anxious to please Caesar. His political life ended in misfortune (Bible Dictionary). He gave in because his tenure was insecure and he dreaded exposure. Such wrongs had he wrought that when he could have done good, he was deferred through cowardly fear of the accusing past (Jesus the Christ, 648-49).

31. Matthew 27:11-23 Pilate – Herod - Pilate v. 16 Barabbas - evidently a zealot who had killed a Roman. v. 19 Listen to your wife. v. 25 Who was really there?

32. Don’t be so harsh, it was probably just the fanatic leaders who were there. Mormons don’t have a monopoly on dedication. Perhaps other eastern religions will accept the gospel in the future. Remember, they did not have a Joseph Smith, so their devotion must account for something!!!

33. “His Blood Be On Us, and Our Children!” 1. Titus, a Roman, destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 2. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews in the 1900’s. v. 29 “Crown” = Greek for wreath which was symbolic of victory. “Thorns” = A sign of the fall. The soldiers were mocking Christ, but it’s meaning was appropriate!

34. v. 32 “The Cross” Consisted of 2 parts, one a strong stake, 8-9 feet tall fixed into the ground. The second, a cross piece, which was carried by the criminal. v. 34 “Vinegar to drink mingled with gall” = pain killer! v.46 Fourth utterance! The agony of Gethsemane returned! This time he was alone (Luke 22:43).

35. Seven Sayings on the Cross: • Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). • Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). • Woman, behold thy son (John 19:26).

36. 4. My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46). 5. I thirst (John 19:28). 6. It is finished (John 19:30). 7. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46).

37. Matthew 27:40 “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” It was not an idle suggestion, but a powerful reminder that he could!

38. Matthew 27:46 Why Did God Withdraw His Spirit? If this withdrawal had not taken place, the Savior would not have fully known the consequences of sin as experienced by those for whom he suffered. If this were the case, men might say, “He never fully understood the total ramifications of sin. True, he suffered, he agonized, but he never felt the loneliness, the rejection, the estrangement that accompanies the withdrawal of God’s light.” But such was not the case (Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, 142). No one could claim he was spared any consequence of sin. There was no softening of the blow. He descended beneath it all.

39. Elder James E. Talmage suggested another compelling reason for the Father’s withdrawal of his Spirit: “That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fullness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 661).

40. v. 56 Mary Magdalene became one of the closest friends Christ had among women; her devotion to him as her healer and as the one whom she adored as the Christ is as unswerving; she stood close by the cross while the other women tarried afar off in the time of his mortal agony. She was among the first at the sepulcher on the resurrection morning, and was the first mortal to look upon and recognize a resurrected being (J.T.C., 247). v. 60 The Garden Tomb was carved out of solid rock on a hillside in Jerusalem. It is one of two spots that is believed to be the actual location.

41. Matthew 28:11-15 Roman discipline decreed death to every soldier who deserted his post, the guards fled in terror anyways (J.T.C., 678). v. 13 Come on! Could this really happen? v. 16-20 The epilogue and summary. The challenge and the stewardship!