Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 26:1

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, he said unto his disciples," — Matthew 26:1 (ASV)

The portion of the Gospel narrative we are now entering is common to all four Gospels regarding its main facts, which gives every detail a special interest. We cannot ignore that it also brings some unique difficulties.

The first three Gospels are in substantial agreement about the order of events and the time they occurred. However, the fourth Gospel, which is in some respects the fullest and most striking, differs from the other three in that:

1. It omits any mention that the Last Supper of our Lord with His disciples was also the Paschal Supper, and at least seems to imply that it was before it (John 13:1; John 18:28).
2. It also omits any record of:
   1. the institution of the Lord’s Supper as the sign of the New Covenant.
   2. the agony in Gethsemane.
3. It records much about our Lord’s acts and words that the other three Gospels do not.

It will be sufficient to discuss these problems once and for all, and we believe the right place for that discussion is in the notes on the Gospel that first presents them. Therefore, our work here will be confined to the text before us, with only passing references to John's narrative as needed. Regarding the variations in the first three Gospels, they are sufficiently explained by the hypothesis of a common origin—a history first delivered orally and later reduced to writing, which would naturally include the kinds of diversities inherent in such a process.

All these sayings—The words clearly point to the great discourse of Matthew 24:25. The "disciples" to whom our Lord spoke of His betrayal and death may have been either the four named in Mark 13:3 or the entire company of the Twelve. In the latter case, we must assume the rest had joined Him, either during the discourse or after it was finished.