The Final Evening: The Passion narrative is the account of the suffering and death of Jesus. It normally includes all the events beginning with the garden scene in Gethsemane and finishing with the burial. The centrality of the cross in early Christian preaching is reflected in the major emphasis given to it in each of the four Gospels. Matthew 26 records the events of Wednesday and Thursday of the final week of Jesus’ life.

26:47–56 While Jesus was still speaking, Judas arrived accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs. The mob (which included both Roman soldiers and temple guards; see John 18:3) was sent from the chief priests and the elders (Luke 22:52 indicates that some of the religious leaders went along as well). Judas (who by the time of the writing of the Gospel had …