Matthew 26: The Path to the Cross with Two Angels by Jesus' Side - The Angel Recognized by the Editor of Matthew
Matthew 26: The Path to the Cross with Two Angels by Jesus' Side - The Angel Recognized by the Editor of Matthew
4 They schemed to arrest Jesus by trickery and kill him.
7 A woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on Jesus' head as he was reclining at the table.
15 "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" they counted out for Judas thirty pieces of silver.
18 Jesus said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.'"
30 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him.
57 Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled.
74 Then Peter began to call down curses, and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.
Apart from Jesus, the characters appearing in chapter 26 include the high priest/teachers of the law/elders, the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume, a certain individual who provided the space and meal for the Passover, and among the disciples, notably Peter and Judas Iscariot. Based on their actions, these characters can be divided into those who recognized the heart of Jesus as he walked the path to death and those who turned their backs on him. The latter includes the high priest/teachers of the law/elders, Peter, and Judas Iscariot, while the former includes the woman who anointed Jesus and the provider of the Passover meal. Isn't it astonishing? Even the disciples who had been with Jesus for three years did not understand his heart. Yet, the woman who suddenly appeared to anoint Jesus' feet with perfume and the provider of the Passover meal, who appeared as if a passerby, knew Jesus. They are angels living among us without revealing their presence. Tolstoy wrote a story about a cobbler who awaited a visit from Jesus. The cobbler did not meet the Jesus he had imagined. Jesus visited him as a retired soldier sweeping the snow, a woman shivering in the cold while holding a sick baby, and an old lady selling apples. Not once, but three times. If Jesus were to come in a form we recognize, who wouldn’t welcome him more than Zacchaeus? If the birth of baby Jesus had shaken the heavens and the earth, who wouldn’t kneel before him? Those who could not remove the cross from Jesus but washed his feet with perfume and provided a meal are truly the twelve legions of angels Jesus encountered. Angels live as our neighbors.