Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:54
But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
54. But how then ] Rather, how then, omit “but.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 54. But how then] Had I such a defence – shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say, that thus it must be? That is, that I am to suffer and die for the sin of the world. Probably the Scriptures to which our Lord principally refers are Psa 22, 69, and especially Isa 53, and Da 9:24-27. Christ shows that they had no power against him but what he permitted; and that he willingly gave up himself into their hands.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 lamb to the slaughter, and of his various sufferings, and the circumstances of them, have their accomplishment? “declaring”, as the Arabic version supplies, or as the Ethiopic version, “which say”,
that thus it must be; that the Messiah must be apprehended, and suffer, and die. The several parts of the sufferings of the Messiah are foretold in the writings of the Old Testament; the spirit of Christ, in the prophets, testified before hand of them; as that he should be reproached and despised of men, Ps 22:6, be spit upon, smote, and buffeted, Isa 1:5, be put to death, Ps 22:15, and that the death of the cross,
Ps 22:15, and be buried, Isa 53:9, and also the several circumstances of his sufferings, which led on to them, or attended them; as the selling him for thirty pieces of silver,
Zec 11:12, the betraying him by one of his familiar friends,
Ps 41:9, the seizing and apprehending him, and which is particularly referred to here, Isa 53:7, his disciples forsaking him, Zec 13:7, and even his God and Father, Ps 22:1, his suffering between two thieves, Isa 53:12, the parting of his garments, and casting lots on his vesture, Ps 22:18, the giving him gall and vinegar when on the cross, Ps 69:21, and not breaking any of his bones, Ps 34:20, yea, the Scriptures not only declared, that these things should be; but the necessity of them also, that they must be; because of the purposes and decrees of God, which are eternal, immutable, and unfrustrable; for as God had determined on his salvation of his people by Christ, and that through his sufferings and death, these were determined by him also, even the time, nature, manner, and circumstances of them; and which the Scriptures declare, and therefore must be likewise; and because of the covenant of grace, which is sure, unalterable, and unchangeable; in which Christ agreed to assume human nature, to obey, suffer, and die in it, and so do his Father’s will, which was to bear the penalty of the law, and undergo the sufferings of death, and which therefore must be, or Christ’s faithfulness fail. Moreover, on account of the law and justice of God, which required his bearing the curse, as well as fulfilling the precept of the law: and especially on account of the salvation of his people, which could not be effected without them, they must be. Christ, in these words, discovers a very great concern for the fulfilling of Scripture; and that because it is the word of God, which must not be broken; and because throughout it he is spoken of, in the volume of it, it is written of him, to do the will of God; even in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms: and besides, he was the minister of the circumcision, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers; and even agreeably to them, and upon the foundation of them, he had himself predicted his own sufferings: and as those were to be the rule of the faith and practice of his people in all ages, he was concerned for their accomplishment in every point; and which may teach us to value the Scriptures, and to be confident of the fulfilment of them in things yet future.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Must be (). Jesus sees clearly his destiny now that he has won the victory in Gethsemane.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
54. How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? By this expression Christ means, that he ought not to attempt any method of escaping death, to which he knew that he was called by the Father. For himself, indeed, he had no need of the Scriptures to inform him that God had appointed that he should die at that time; but because mortals do not know what God has determined to do until it be revealed by his word, Christ, with a view to his disciples, properly refers to the testimony which God gave of his will. We know that whatever affliction happens to us, it is inflicted by God himself; but since we are uncertain as to the result, when we seek remedies which he allows, we do not rise against his government; but when his will has been ascertained, nothing more remains for us than to acquiesce. Though in this passage Christ teaches nothing more than that he ought patiently to suffer death, because the Scriptures have declared that it must be so, yet the use of this doctrine is evidently more extensive, namely, that Scripture is a sufficient bridle for subduing the rebellion of the flesh; because God points out to us what is his. will for the very purpose of keeping us in subjection to his will. Accordingly, Paul ascribes to Scripture this office, that it trains us to patience, (Rom 15:4,) and supplies us with all the comfort that we need in adversity. His reproof of the disciples, as given by Luke, is more brief, Permit them to do thus far; but still he severely condemns their presumption, in having gone so far as to perform an unlawful action, though at the same time he holds out a hope of pardon, if they suppress their improper zeal, and proceed no farther.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(54) How then shall the scriptures be fulfilled?The words indicate what one may reverently speak of as the source of the peace and calmness which had come to our Lords human soul out of the depths of its agony. All that was sharpest and most bitter was part of a pre-ordained discipline. Not otherwise could the Scriptures be fulfilled, which had painted, if we may so speak, the picture of the ideal Sufferer not less vividly than that of the ideal Conqueror and King. It was meet that He too should be made perfect through sufferings (Heb. 2:10).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
54. Scriptures be fulfilled So far as man is concerned, he is really and truly under no compulsion, but lays down his life of himself. But there is a higher law by which he is most perfectly bound. The counsel of God is, that he shall pursue a certain course of duty, and that course has been predicted in the Scripture. The plan of God must be obeyed, and the Scriptures must not be falsified. From all which we argue that our Saviour was intrinsically able to break the Scriptures; but that the all-wise Jehovah did select of all possible beings to be Messiah that one who, with full power to disobey, would yet most perfectly obey his will. See note on Mat 1:4-11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it was necessary for it to be?”
For if angels (or even puny men) intervened, how could the Scriptures be fulfilled which said that this had to happen (Isa 50:6; Isa 53:8)? This emphasis of the fulfilment of Scripture to the full is common in Matthew. Note the element of divine necessity. This treatment that He was receiving had been long known to Him and had been recently confirmed to Him in Gethsemane.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 26:54 . ] How, in that case, could it be , if, that is, I were to be defended by thee or angel hosts, how could it be possible that , etc. In his comment on , Euthymius Zigabenus aptly analyses it as follows: . For , comp. on Mat 23:33 .
] states the purport of the , so that to complete the sense a or may be understood (Fritzsche, Quaest. Luc . p. 58 f.; Maetzner, ad Antiph . p. 215): how shall the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen thus , and not otherwise? Jesus here alludes to the fact of His arrest , which, according to Scripture, is a necessary part of the destiny assigned Him; comp. Act 4:28 ; Luk 24:25 f. We must not expect to find what is here referred to in any passages of Scripture in particular ; suffice it to know, that all the predictions relating to the sufferings of the Messiah find their necessary fulfilment in the historical events of our Lord’s life, the arrest itself not excluded . Comp. Mat 26:31 .
The healing of the wounded servant is peculiar to Luk 22:51 . It probably came to be engrafted upon the tradition at a later period; for this act of healing, in virtue of the peculiarity of its alleged occasion and character, as well as in virtue of its being the last which Jesus performed, would otherwise scarcely have been omitted by all the other evangelists; see also on Luke as above.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
Ver. 54. But how then shall the Scriptures, &c. ] Why dost thou not then pray (might they object) for an army of angels, to rescue thee out of these wicked hands, that now hold thee prisoner, and will let out thy life blood? How then should “the Scriptures be fulfilled,” saith he, “that have foretold my death?” This was his constant care, even when he hung upon the cross, to fulfil the Scriptures; and so to assure us that he was the very Christ.
That thus it must be ] Why must? but because it was, 1. So decreed by God. 2. Foretold by the prophets; every particular of Christ’s sufferings, even to their very spitting in his face. 3. Prefigured in the daily morning and evening sacrifice; this Lamb of God was sacrificed from the beginning of the world. A necessity then there was of our Saviour’s suffering. Not a necessity of coaction (for he died freely and voluntartly), but of immutability and infallibility, for the former reasons and respects.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
54. ] not, ‘ but ;’ How then considering that this is so, that I voluntarily abstain from invoking such heavenly aid, shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be, if thou in thy rashness usest the help of fleshly weapons?
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 26:54 . : refers to both forms of aid, that of the sword and that of angels (Grotius, Fritzsche); rescue in any form inconsistent with the predicted destiny of Messiah to be a sufferer. , etc., the purport of all prophetic scripture is that thus it should be: apprehension and all that is to follow.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
be = come to pass.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
54. ] not, but;-How then-considering that this is so, that I voluntarily abstain from invoking such heavenly aid,-shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be, if thou in thy rashness usest the help of fleshly weapons?
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 26:54. , …, how then, etc.) The Saviour altogether voluntarily undertakes His Passion.-, …, that thus it must be) The Scriptures had said that thus it must be; see Mat 26:56.[1155]
[1155] Jesus ever carried with Him the law of God within His heart.-V. g. [Psa 40:8].
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 26:24, Psa 22:1-31, Psa 69:1-36, Isa 53:1-12, Dan 9:24-26, Zec 13:7, Luk 24:25, Luk 24:26, Luk 24:44-46, Joh 10:35, Act 1:16
Reciprocal: Mat 2:15 – that Mat 4:14 – it Mat 24:6 – must Mat 26:56 – that Mar 14:21 – goeth Mar 14:49 – but Luk 22:22 – truly Luk 22:37 – this Joh 3:14 – even Joh 12:27 – Father Act 4:28 – to do Act 13:27 – they have 2Ti 3:16 – All Jam 5:6 – and he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:54
But if that had been done it would have prevented the scripture prophecies of his death from being fulfilled. Jesus knew all through his life that he was to die as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, to replace the animal sacrifices of the Mosaic system and make one offering for all time (Heb 10:1-5).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 26:54. How then, if I should invoke this aid, which I might do, should the Scriptures be fulfilled? Our Lord shows His patience and submission; even while asserting His majesty.
That thus it must be. According to the counsel of God, for the salvation of a sinful world, as declared in the Scriptures, the Messiah must suffer: that suffering must be thus brought about. Our Lords death could not be incidental or accidental. He must suffer (comp. Mat 26:56; Luk 24:26). This declaration also contained consolation for His terrified disciples.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
26:54 {z} But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
(z) By this questioning he answers a sly objection, for they might have asked him why he did not in this his great extremity of danger call to his Father for aid: but to this objection he answers by this question.