Spoiler Alert

By Alessandra Velsor

“When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.’ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ‘But not during the festival,’ they said, ‘or there may be a riot among the people.’”—Matthew 26:1–5 (NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I love a good spoiler alert—unlike my husband who refuses to watch a TV show or movie with me if I already know the ending! Knowing what’s to come provides me security and comfort. It also confirms whether I want to invest my time watching something I won’t later regret. After all, our time is a very precious currency!

Today’s passage marks the end of Christ’s earthly teachings and the beginning of the betrayal and crucifixion. Jesus continues to prepare His disciples for what’s about to happen because He doesn’t want them to be surprised. That’s why He’s informed them multiple times; however, He had no success with them absorbing the weight of the upcoming events. In the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke alone, He warns them several times about His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21–23, 17:22–23, 20:17–19; Mark 8:31–33, 9:30–32, 10:32–34; Luke 9:21–22, 9:43–45, 18:31–34).

Every time Jesus attempts to do so, He’s met with pushback or denial from them. Since Peter had already been rebuked the first time when Jesus infamous said, “Get behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23 NIV), when the second warning came, Scripture tells us, “They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (Mark 9:32 NIV). In the Gospel of Matthew, we learn the disciples were exceedingly sorrowful (Matthew 17:22–23). Interestingly, following their confusion and sorrow, they were distracted by arguing over who was the greatest amongst them (Mark 9:33–34) and which one would be sitting to the right and the left of the throne in heaven (Mark 10:35–38).

How could the most powerful man in the world succumb to such a cruel death at the hands of people who claimed to love and follow God and His commandments? The High Priest is the highest ranking position in Israel and was ultimately responsible between God and the people. We learn today that they were secretly plotting to kill Jesus after Passover because they didn’t want to cause a riot among the people. But to their disappointment, He was executed during the festival, just as He had warned His disciples because that was the ultimate plan after all.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”—Proverbs 19:21(NIV)

They thought they were in control of what would happen to Jesus. But not only did Jesus know the suffering that awaited Him, He expected it and even spoiled it! As we continue our study in Matthew, nothing moving forward should come as a surprise to us. Jesus Himself knew He was about to be rejected and even betrayed by one of His followers.

As much as I love spoilers, I still feel emotional when I read about the betrayal and murder of Jesus. Whenever I watch the Passion of the Christ, I still react with shock and horror at how He was treated as if I didn’t know what was going to proceed.

Spoilers don’t do justice to the real events—sometimes, they’re just rumors. And just because they’re being muttered doesn’t mean they will happen.

But we do know this: Jesus always speaks truth in our lives, and He’s in control of everything, good or bad, that happens in it.

Pause: How has God shown you He’s in control of your life?

Practice: Reflect on all the warnings Jesus gave His disciples: Matthew 16:21–23, 17:22–23, 20:17–19; Mark 8:31–33, 9:30–32, 10:32–34; Luke 9:21–22, 9:43–45, 18:31–34). What are the similarities and differences of these accounts?

Pray: Father God, please prepare my heart as I continue to read the Gospel of Matthew. The next chapters won’t be easy because they detail the reality of Jesus’ death. I know what happens, but please give me more insight and show me new lessons. Oftentimes, my heart gets numb to these stories because I already know what happens. Other times, it affects me to the core to see how my Savior was treated because of my sin. He didn’t deserve any of the betrayal, rejection, and suffering. Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much that You took my punishment. Amen.