Matthew 26:2  “…the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified”
Jesus knew it was coming and warned the disciples.  Matthew could look back and see how the pieces fit together.  Not sure how he found out about the meeting the religious leaders had, but he would see that it was all part of God’s plan.

4  “…take Jesus by trickery and kill Him”
So amazing how these religious zealots for keeping the law had absolutely no problem breaking the law when it suited them.  That kind of blatant hypocrisy blows my mind.

6  “…when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper”
Couple of things here.  We assume from John 12 that it was the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus as they are mentioned, but it doesn’t say it was their house, only that they were there.  Commentary suggests a familial relation with Simon.  Perhaps it was a close village or the possibility that Jesus had healed Simon at some point so they had that in common.  The other thing is the timing.  John says six days before the Passover where Matthew states Jesus has already mentioned the Passover is in two days.  Already know Matthew sometimes didn’t stick to consecutive order.  Since he had just mentioned Jesus’s coming death at the hands of the religious leaders, perhaps he was reminded of this episode which Jesus said was in preparation for His burial.  He then moves to Judas going to the leaders to help them with their plans.  Take verses one through sixteen as a whole and you have a neat little section with Matthew showing us how we can look back and see how it all worked together.  He then continues on with his narrative.

7  “a woman came to Him…”
We know this to be Mary, sister to Lazarus, from John 12.  John also records that it was specifically Judas Iscariot who had the objection to what she did because he was a thief.

9  “…sold for much and given to the poor”
Plea using emotionalism.  Always a good ploy when you want to hide your true intentions.  Still used today.

14  “…one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests”
It’s thought that the announcement by Jesus that Mary was anointing Him for burial may have been the final straw for Judas.  Jesus had mentioned His death before, but making plans for His burial probably made it real.  If Judas still had thoughts about being part of a revolution against the Romans with the Messiah, this would have appeared like he was on the losing team.  Considering what he said afterward about betraying innocent blood, I’m sure he wasn’t even considering what Jesus was saying or doing at this point, only the political aspects, what he could get out of it.

22  “…each of them began to say to Him…”
Matthew is hitting the idea of Jesus’s death and Judas’s betrayal a bit more, carrying it in to his recollection of the Passover meal.  Interesting that the disciples each began to ask.  Wonder what they were thinking.  After what Jesus had said to Peter at different times about his worldly thinking and their own discussions about who was greatest, perhaps they began to realize how weak they really were.

24  “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!…”
Some have tried to say Judas had no choice, but that would be contrary to what God has said about free will.  When you look at it, you realize Judas wasn’t needed for the religious leaders to do what they did.  All they needed was to know where Jesus would be at a particular time.  I’m surprised they didn’t have people spying on Him, watching to see where His favorite places were.  And knowing it was going to happen anyway doesn’t lessen the impact of what Judas did as part of it.  As Jesus said, woe to that man who betrays Him.

I hope you enjoy reading and studying His word.  May it accomplish what He desires.  Please feel free to comment or post questions.  Thanks for reading!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.