It was natural that the impetuous disciple should try to defend his beloved Master. But his action was a piece of madness, and, if persisted in, it must have led to a needless slaughter of the followers of Christ. It was not on this account only, however, that our Lord promptly checked it, although doubtless his keen perception and wise judgment detected the strategic weakness of the situation. A much deeper thought flashes out from his words, and sheds a light on the character of his kingdom and the method of his work.

I. THE CAUSE OF CHRIST CANNOT BE ADVANCED BY THE SWORD. Mohammedanism is its very opposite in this respect. Charles the Great made a fatal blunder when he drove the Saxons into the water of baptism by a charge of his fierce warriors.

1. Christ aims at inward conviction. A religion of external observances may be imposed by force; but you cannot compel a man to believe as you wish. The persuasion of force may induce a particular course of action to be followed; it will never spread the idea it champions.

2. Christ desires to win love. He has not conquered a soul if he has only brought it to silent submission. He seeks much more. He would have the hearts of his people. But the use of force is directly opposed to any such results. You cannot make a man love you by half killing him with sword thrusts. This method might advance a superstition of fear; it could never aid a gospel of love.

II. THE RIGHTS OF CHRIST CANNOT BE DEFENDED BY THE SWORD. At first sight it might seem to be reasonable to defend Christian truths and institutions by force, even although they could not be planted in this way. Constantine thought so, when he brought the whole machinery of the state to support the Nicene party in its opposition to the Arians. But the subsequent change of his own policy, and the long triumph and tyranny of Arianism, proved that he was mistaken. Here is the fatal error of the persecutor in all ages. Nothing is so injurious to a religious cause as the forcible suppression of its enemies. The religion that persecutes exchanges the love and devotion with which it may once have been regarded for horror and aversion. The dreadful Marian persecutions did more to destroy the power of the pope in England than all the assaults of the Protestants. The same fate would follow the same policy if it were pursued in defence of the purest form of the gospel of Christ.

III. THE WORLD AT LARGE SUFFERS IMMENSELY FROM THE SWORD. Occasionally there is a righteous war, as that which resulted in the suppression of slavery in America. But in the vast majority of cases, a war is an almost unmitigated evil to all who are engaged in it. It causes immeasurable sufferings, and it encourages the worst passions. The words of Christ are true in a deeper sense than superficial readers discover. Not only is the fighting man liable to be killed in battle. His behaviour endangers his better nature. The spirit of hate and revenge is fatal to all that is good in him. Thus he perishes by the sword - not alone by the sword of his antagonist, which he provokes, but by the sword which he wields in his own hand. He is a suicide. In defending his body, too often he kills his own soul. - W.F.A.

I. ITS CAUSES.

1. Opposition and fear of injury from those who are the enemies of religion.

2. A too frequent and uniform conformity and intercourse with the world.

3. Self-confidence in spiritual gifts and attainments.

4. A neglect of the private duties of religion.

II. ITS SIGNS.

1. It is testified by signs which do not amount to that flagrant and public departure from the gospel which frequently is displayed.

(1)A relinquishment of public labour in the church;

(2)an irregular attendance upon public ordinances;

(3)a spirit of inattention and carelessness under these ordinances;

(4)an indulgence in social life of useless conversation.

2. Signs which do amount to a positive and public departure from the religion of the cross.

III. ITS EVILS.

1. AS they affect the individuals themselves.

2. As they affect the Church.

(1)They discourage others just setting forth in the way of religion;

(2)they lead others to sin;

(3)they cause mockery of religion.

IV. THE CURE.

1. Call to mind the times of former devotedness.

2. Contemplate the intense guilt of the act.

3. Resolve to forsake the transgression by which it has been brought about.

4. Connect all our convictions.and emotions with prayer for the influence of the Holy Spirit.

(J. Parsons.)

Here we see four things.

I. Base ingratitude.

1. They had received special favours from Him.

2. They were under the greater obligation.

3. Tendency of gratitude to bind to benefactor.

II. Rash impulsiveness, probably roused by

(1)disappointment;

(2)alarm.

III. Involuntary influence. One fled, then all fled. This should

(1)act as incentive to become thoroughly sound in character;

(2)make us cautious as to associations we form.

IV. False policy. Doing wrong to save the body

(1)injures the soul;

(2)endangers it. Learn —

(a)importance of cherishing a practical impression of our obligations to Christ;

(b)of cultivating the habit of acting from intelligent conviction;

(c)of habitually realizing the principle, that the path of duty is the path of safety..

(Homilist.)

The bees were haunting the flowering trees in crowds, humming among the branches, and gathering honey in the flowers. Said Gotthold, "Here is an image of temporal prosperity, So long as there is blossom on the trees, and honey in the blossom, the bees will frequent them in crowds, and fill the place with their music; but when the blossom is over, and the honey gone, they too will disappear. The same happens in the world, among men. In the abodes of fortune and pleasure, friends will be found in plenty, but when fortune flys away, they depart along with it. Temporal gain is the world's honey, and the allurement with which you may entice it whithersoever you will; but where the gain terminates, there likewise do the love and friendship of the world stop. For this reason let all good men be advised to fly to Christ crucified, who never forsakes in their distress those who truly seek Him."

Disheartened by the extraordinary dangers and difficulties of their enterprize, a Roman army lost courage, and resolved on a retreat. The general reasoned with his soldiers. Expostulating with them, he appealed to their love of country, to their honour, and to their oaths. By all that could revive a fainting heart he sought to animate their courage and shake their disgraceful resolution. Much they trusted, admired, loved him; but his appeals were all in vain. They were not to be moved; and, carried away as by. a panic, they faced round to retreat. At this juncture they were forcing a mountain-pass, and had just cleared a gorge where the road, between two stupendous rocks on one side and the foaming river on the other, was but a footpath broad enough for the step of a single man. As a last resort he laid himself down there, saying, "If you will retreat, it is over this body you go, trampling me to death beneath your feet." No foot advanced. The flight was arrested. His soldiers could face the foe, but they could not mangle beneath their feet one who loved them, and who had often led their ranks to victory, sharing like a common soldier all the hardships of the campaign, and ever foremost in the .fight. The sight was one to inspire them with decision. Hesitating no longer to advance, they wheeled round to resume their march; deeming it better to meet sufferings, and endure even death itself, than to trample under foot their devoted and patriotic leader. Their hearts recoiled from such an outrage. But for such as have named the name of Christ not to depart from iniquity, for such as have enlisted under His banner to go back to the world, for such as have renounced sin to return to its pleasures, involves a greater crime. A more touching spectacle bars our return. Jesus, as it were, lays Himself down on our path; nor can any become backsliders, and return to the practice and pleasure of sin, without trampling Him under their feet.

(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

Caiaphas, Jesus, Judas, Peter, Simon, Zabdi, ZebedeeBethany, Galilee, Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, NazarethDeserted, Disciples, Fled, Flight, Forsook, Fulfill, Fulfilled, Order, Pass, Point, Prophets, Scriptures, Writings1. Jesus foretells his own death.
3. The rulers conspire against him.
6. The woman anoints his feet.
14. Judas bargains to betray him.
17. Jesus eats the Passover;
26. institutes his holy supper;
30. foretells the desertion of his disciples, and Peter's denial;
36. prays in the garden;
47. and being betrayed by a kiss,
57. is carried to Caiaphas,
69. and denied by Peter.

Matthew 26:56

     2333   Christ, attitude to OT
     2366   Christ, prophecies concerning
     5436   pain
     5564   suffering, of Christ
     5689   friendlessness
     5819   cowardice
     5973   unreliability
     7632   Twelve, characters of
     8841   unfaithfulness, to people

Matthew 26:54-56

     2422   gospel, confirmation

January 9. "Not as I Will, but as Thou Wilt" (Matt. xxvi. 39).
"Not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt. xxvi. 39). "To will and do of His good pleasure" (Phil. ii. 13). There are two attitudes in which our will should be given to God. First. We should have the surrendered will. This is where we must all begin, by yielding up to God our natural will, and having Him possess it. But next, He wants us to have the victorious will. As soon as He receives our will in honest surrender, He wants to put His will into it and make it stronger than ever for Him. It is henceforth …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 29. "Could Ye not Watch with Me one Hour?" (Matt. xxvi. 40. )
"Could ye not watch with Me one hour?" (Matt. xxvi. 40.) A young lady whose parents had died while she was an infant, had been kindly cared for by a dear friend of the family. Before she was old enough to know him, he went to Europe. Regularly he wrote to her through all his years of absence, and never failed to send her money for all her wants. Finally word came that during a certain week he would return and visit her. He did not fix the day or the hour. She received several invitations to take …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January 3. "Watch and Pray" (Matt. xxvi. 41).
"Watch and pray" (Matt. xxvi. 41). We need to watch for prayers as well as for the answers to our prayers. It needs as much wisdom to pray rightly as it does faith to receive the answers to our prayers. We met a friend the other day, who had been in years of darkness because God had failed to answer certain prayers, and the result had been a state bordering on infidelity. A very few moments were sufficient to convince this friend that these prayers had been entirely unauthorized, and that God had …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

'Until that Day'
'I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.'--MATT. xxvi. 29. This remarkable saying of our Lord's is recorded in all of the accounts of the institution of the Lord's Supper. The thought embodied in it ought to be present in the minds of all who partake of that rite. It converts what is primarily a memorial into a prophecy. It bids us hope as well as, and because we, remember. The light behind us is cast forward on to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Last Pleading of Love
'And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come?'--MATT. xxvi. 50. We are accustomed to think of the betrayer of our Lord as a kind of monster, whose crime is so mysterious in its atrocity as to put him beyond the pale of human sympathy. The awful picture which the great Italian poet draws of him as alone in hell, shunned even there, as guilty beyond all others, expresses the general feeling about him. And even the attempts which have been made to diminish the greatness of his guilt, by …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jesus Charged with Blasphemy
'Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses?'--MATT. xxvi. 65. Jesus was tried and condemned by two tribunals, the Jewish ecclesiastical and the Roman civil. In each case the charge corresponded to the Court. The Sanhedrin took no cognisance of, and had no concern with, rebellion against Caesar; though for the time they pretended loyalty. Pilate had still less concern about Jewish superstitions. And so the investigation in each …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The New Passover
'Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the passover? 18. And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with My disciples. 19. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20. Now when the even was come, He sat down with the twelve. 21. And as they did eat, He said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'This Cup'
'And Jesus took the cup, and grave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28. For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins'--MATT. xxvi. 27, 28. The comparative silence of our Lord as to the sacrificial character of His death has very often been urged as a reason for doubting that doctrine, and for regarding it as no part of the original Christian teaching. That silence may be accounted for by sufficient reasons. It has been very much …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Gethsemane, the Oil-Press
'Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38. Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with Me. 39. And He went a little farther, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Real High Priest and his Counterfeit
'And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58. But Peter followed Him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. 59. Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put Him to death; 60. But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61. And said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Defence of Uncalculating Love
'Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, 7. There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head, as He sat at meat. 8. But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9. For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. 10. When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. 11. For ye have the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Power of Prayer in Relation to Outward Circumstances.
TEXT: MATT. xxvi. 36-46. TO be a religious man and to pray are really one and the same thing. To join the thought of God with every thought of any importance that occurs to us; in all our admiration of external nature, to regard it as the work of His wisdom; to take counsel with God about all our plans, that we may be able to carry them out in His name; and even in our most mirthful hours to remember His all-seeing eye; this is the prayer without ceasing to which we are called, and which is really …
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher

An Awful Contrast
"Then did they spit in his face."--Matthew 26:67. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away."--Revelation 20:11. GUIDED BY OUR TEXT in Matthew's Gospel, let us first go in thought to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest, and there let us, in deepest sorrow, realize the meaning of these terrible words: "Then did they spit in his face." There is more of deep and awful thunder in them than in the bolt that bursts overhead, there is …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 42: 1896

A Woman's Memorial
And now my prayer is that we may be endued this morning with the same spirit as that which prompted the woman, when she broke her alabaster box upon the head of Christ. There must be something wonderful about this story, or else Christ would not have linked it with his gospel, for so hath he done. So long as this gospel lives shall this story of the woman be told; and when this story of the woman ceaseth to exist, then the gospel must cease to exist also, for they are co-eternal. As long as this …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860

Sunday Next Before Easter.
What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. These words, we cannot doubt, have an application to ourselves, and to all Christians, far beyond the particular occasion on which they were actually spoken. They are, in fact, the words which Christ addresses daily to all of us. Every day, when he sees how often we have gone astray from him, he repeats to us, Could ye not watch with me one hour? Every …
Thomas Arnold—The Christian Life

"For they that are after the Flesh do Mind the Things of the Flesh,",
Rom. viii. 5.--"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh,", &c. Though sin hath taken up the principal and inmost cabinet of the heart of man--though it hath fixed its imperial throne in the spirit of man, and makes use of all the powers and faculties in the soul to accomplish its accursed desires and fulfil its boundless lusts, yet it is not without good reason expressed in scripture, ordinarily under the name of "flesh," and a "body of death," and men dead in sins, are …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Wyclif -- Christ's Real Body not in the Eucharist
John Wyclif, eminent as scholar, preacher, and translator, was born in 1324 in Spresswel, near Richmond, Yorkshire, England. Known as the "Morning Star of the Reformation" he was a vigorous and argumentative speaker, exemplifying his own definition of preaching as something which should be "apt, apparent, full of true feeling, fearless in rebuking sins, and so addrest to the heart as to enlighten the spirit and subdue the will." On these lines he organized a band of Bible preachers who worked largely …
Various—The World's Great Sermons, Volume I

That Man must not be Immersed in Business
"My Son, always commit thy cause to Me; I will dispose it aright in due time. Wait for My arrangement of it, and then thou shalt find it for thy profit." 2. O Lord, right freely I commit all things to Thee; for my planning can profit but little. Oh that I did not dwell so much on future events, but could offer myself altogether to Thy pleasures without delay. 3. "My Son, a man often striveth vehemently after somewhat which he desireth; but when he hath obtained it he beginneth to be of another …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Jesus Predicts, the Rulers Plot For, and Judas Bargains for his Death.
(Mount of Olives, Bethany, and Jerusalem. Tuesday After Sunset, Which Jews Regarded as the Beginning of Wednesday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 1-5, 14-16; ^B Mark XIV. 1, 2, 10, 11; ^C Luke XXII. 1-6. ^c 1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. { ^b 1 Now after two days was the feast of the passover and the unleavened bread:} ^a 1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his disciples, 2 Ye know that after two days the passover cometh, and …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Preparation for Passover. Disciples Contend for Precedence.
(Bethany to Jerusalem. Thursday Afternoon and, After Sunset, Beginning of Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 17-20; ^B Mark XIV. 12-17; ^C Luke XXII. 7-18, 24-30. ^c 7 And the day of unleavened bread came, on which the passover must be sacrificed. [See p. 57. Leaven was to the Jew a symbol of corruption and impurity, because it causes bread to become stale. The feast of unleavened bread began properly on the fifteenth of Nisan, and lasted seven days, but this was the fourteenth Nisan, the day on which the paschal …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Judas' Betrayal and Peter's Denial Foretold.
(Jerusalem. Evening Before the Crucifixion.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 21-25, 31-35; ^B Mark XIV. 18-21, 27-31; ^C Luke XXII. 21-23, 31-38; ^D John XIII. 21-38. ^b 18 And ^d 21 When Jesus had thus said, ^b as they sat and were eating, ^d he was troubled in the spirit, and ^b Jesus ^d testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ^b even he that eateth with me. ^c 21 But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. [The foreknowledge of Judas' crime …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Lord's Supper Instituted.
(Jerusalem. Evening Before the Crucifixion.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 26-29; ^B Mark XIV. 22-25; ^C Luke XXII. 19, 20; ^F I. Cor. XI. 23-26. ^a 26 And as they were eating, ^f the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 24 and when he had given thanks, { ^b blessed,} ^f he brake it, ^a and he gave to the disciples, and said, ^b Take ye: ^a Take, eat; this is my body. ^f which is ^c given ^f for you: this do in remembrance of me. [As only unleavened bread was eaten during the paschal supper, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Betrayed, Arrested, and Forsaken.
(Gethsemane. Friday, Several Hours Before Dawn.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 47-56; ^B Mark XIV. 43-52; ^C Luke XXII. 47-53; ^D John XVIII. 2-11. ^d 2 Now Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. [See p. 583.] 3 Judas then, having received the band of soldiers, and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. ^b 43 And straightway, while he yet spake, ^a lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Second Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
(Palace of Caiaphas. Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 57, 59-68; ^B Mark XIV. 53, 55-65; ^C Luke XXII. 54, 63-65; ^D John XVIII. 24. ^d 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. [Foiled in his attempted examination of Jesus, Annas sends him to trial.] ^b and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ^a 57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, ^c and brought him into the high priest's house. ^a where …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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