Matthew 26:1-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
VII. The Passion and Resurrection
Chapter 26
The Conspiracy Against Jesus. 1 [a]When Jesus finished all these words,[b] he said to his disciples, 2 (A)“You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” 3 [c]Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 (B)and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. 5 But they said, “Not during the festival,[d] that there may not be a riot among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany.[e]
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- 26:1–28:20 The five books with alternating narrative and discourse (Mt 3:1–25:46) that give this gospel its distinctive structure lead up to the climactic events that are the center of Christian belief and the origin of the Christian church, the passion and resurrection of Jesus. In his passion narrative (Mt 26 and 27) Matthew follows his Marcan source closely but with omissions (e.g., Mk 14:51–52) and additions (e.g., Mt 27:3–10, 19). Some of the additions indicate that he utilized traditions that he had received from elsewhere; others are due to his own theological insight (e.g., Mt 26:28 “…for the forgiveness of sins”; Mt 27:52). In his editing Matthew also altered Mark in some minor details. But there is no need to suppose that he knew any passion narrative other than Mark’s.
- 26:1–2 When Jesus finished all these words: see note on Mt 7:28–29. “You know…crucified”: Matthew turns Mark’s statement of the time (Mk 14:1) into Jesus’ final prediction of his passion. Passover: see note on Mk 14:1.
- 26:3 Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 36.
- 26:5 Not during the festival: the plan to delay Jesus’ arrest and execution until after the festival was not carried out, for according to the synoptics he was arrested on the night of Nisan 14 and put to death the following day. No reason is given why the plan was changed.
- 26:6–13 See notes on Mk 14:3–9 and Jn 12:1–8.
Mark 14:1-2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 14
The Conspiracy Against Jesus. 1 [a]The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread[b] were to take place in two days’ time.(A) So the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to arrest him by treachery and put him to death. 2 They said, “Not during the festival, for fear that there may be a riot among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany.[c]
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- 14:1–16:8 In the movement of Mark’s gospel the cross is depicted as Jesus’ way to glory in accordance with the divine will. Thus the passion narrative is seen as the climax of Jesus’ ministry.
- 14:1 The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread: the connection between the two festivals is reflected in Ex 12:3–20; 34:18; Lv 23:4–8; Nm 9:2–14; 28:16–17; Dt 16:1–8. The Passover commemorated the redemption from slavery and the departure of the Israelites from Egypt by night. It began at sundown after the Passover lamb was sacrificed in the temple in the afternoon of the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan. With the Passover supper on the same evening was associated the eating of unleavened bread. The latter was continued through Nisan 21, a reminder of the affliction of the Israelites and of the haste surrounding their departure. Praise and thanks to God for his goodness in the past were combined at this dual festival with the hope of future salvation. The chief priests…to death: the intent to put Jesus to death was plotted for a long time but delayed for fear of the crowd (Mk 3:6; 11:18; 12:12).
- 14:3 At Bethany on the Mount of Olives, a few miles from Jerusalem, in the house of Simon the leper, Jesus defends a woman’s loving action of anointing his head with perfumed oil in view of his impending death and burial as a criminal, in which case his body would not be anointed. See further the note on Jn 12:7. He assures the woman of the remembrance of her deed in the worldwide preaching of the good news.
John 11:47-53
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.(A) 48 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come[a] and take away both our land and our nation.” 49 (B)But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,[b] said to them, “You know nothing, 50 nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.[c] 53 So from that day on they planned to kill him.(C)
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- 11:48 The Romans will come: Johannine irony; this is precisely what happened after Jesus’ death.
- 11:49 That year: emphasizes the conjunction of the office and the year. Actually, Caiaphas was high priest A.D. 18–36. The Jews attributed a gift of prophecy, sometimes unconscious, to the high priest.
- 11:52 Dispersed children of God: perhaps the “other sheep” of Jn 10:16.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.