Matthew 26:26  “…Jesus took bread…”
Most likely the unleavened bread of the Passover observance.

28  “…My blood…which is shed for many for the remission of sins”
Wondering if there is a difference in the shedding of Jesus’s blood on the cross and His death on the cross.  The order of what He said on the cross has always been of interest to me.  May make a study on that.  At any rate, without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.  Life for sin.

29  “…I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day…”
Not sure exactly what He meant here.  Commentaries are all over the place.  I get the impression He is saying what He does will change the way things are.  He won’t drink it again with them until all those things are complete, drink it new with you.  Passover was the celebration of God’s deliverance by the shedding of blood.  God was about to do it again with Christ on the cross.  When all was complete, He would celebrate the new situation with them.

30  “…had sung a hymn…”
I think singing of Psalms was the conclusion of the Passover meal.  May be referring to that.

32  “…after I have been raised, I will go…”
He adds something that is very definite after saying He is going to die.  He is going to rise again and will even go to see them in Galilee.  Plans were made for afterward regardless of what takes place in the next few hours.

35  “…Even if I have to die with You…”
Didn’t even get close.  One wonders how Peter would have reacted if things had gone a different way, if they hadn’t had the scene in the Garden.  Peter showed some boldness there, but then it seemed to fizzle.  Confusion was as much a part of it as anything.

39  “He went a little farther…”
This whole section has always confused me, or raised questions.  There is much we can get from it, but I wonder why it’s there.  Why go through the ritual of going to pray three times.  What were the disciples supposed to be doing exactly.  The way it’s presented to us it appears to just be a record of things that happened, not an instance of cause and effect.  Perhaps we’re given it this way to highlight what Jesus said, what He prayed.  Which raises another question, how did the disciples know what He prayed if they were sleeping.  Perhaps they heard Him repeat the prayer a few times before dosing off.  Must not get too deep into questioning what isn’t there and lose what is.

45  “…betrayed into the hands of sinners”
Interesting that Jesus should use the term.  We consider all men sinners.  Political correctness wasn’t in His vocabulary.  The big difference between the ones coming and the disciples was acceptance of Him.  All sin we commit can be forgiven.  Rejection of Christ cannot.  Those coming to take Him as well as those before whom He would soon stand refused to listen to Him.  They were truly sinners.

48  “…Whomever I kiss…”
One wonders why Judas chose to do it this way.  Why not just point Jesus out.  Why did the people with him not recognize Jesus themselves.  Perhaps he was hoping to do it neatly and cleanly.  He would go in as a friend with a sure sign to those watching.  Wouldn’t cause a stir.

51  “…struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear”
We know from other gospels this was Peter.  Quite impossible to cut off someone’s ear by accident unless you were going for something else.  Was probably swinging at his head.  The man ducked to one side, and the sword clipped his ear as it went across.

52  “…all who take the sword will perish by the sword”
Those who choose to use force to try and solve their problems will perish from it.  We don’t use force to bully our way through difficulties.  But it wasn’t a command or admonition to never use force when the situation calls for it.  In this case, no force was necessary as Jesus was destined to go.  Not to mention what He told Peter.  He could call legions of angels to protect Him if He wished.  Part of having the ability to use force is knowing when to use it.  Hopefully you never have to.

55  “…as against a robber…”
The method by which they took Him showed their lack of credibility.  If they truly had a legitimate charge against Him, they could have taken Him in the daylight.  Only those who are trying to hide their actions do so in the dark of night.

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.