“But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 26:56 Mean?
Matthew 26:56 captures two realities colliding in a single verse: divine purpose fulfilled and human loyalty shattered. "But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled."
The first sentence — "all this was done, that the scriptures might be fulfilled" — frames the arrest, the betrayal, the violence in Gethsemane as the completion of prophecy. Isaiah 53, Zechariah 13:7, Psalm 41:9 — all of it arriving at this moment. Nothing that's happening is accidental. Nothing has gone off script. The darkest night in history is the most precisely choreographed.
Then the second sentence: "all the disciples forsook him, and fled." The Greek pantes — all — is absolute. Not most. Not the weaker ones. All. Peter who swore he'd die first. James and John who asked to sit at His right and left. Every single one. The men who ate with Him, traveled with Him, watched Him raise the dead — they ran. Prophecy fulfilled (Zechariah 13:7 — "I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered"). But the fulfillment of prophecy doesn't soften the abandonment. Jesus was left completely alone at the moment He needed human presence most.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you been abandoned by someone who promised to stay? How does Jesus' experience in Gethsemane speak to that wound?
- 2.All the disciples fled — even the most devoted. Does that comfort you about your own failures, or does it challenge your confidence in your own loyalty?
- 3.Matthew says both 'the scriptures were fulfilled' and 'all forsook him.' Can something be prophetically necessary and still deeply painful? How do you hold both?
- 4.Jesus went to the cross after being abandoned by everyone. What does it mean to you that His love didn't require your loyalty to continue?
Devotional
All the disciples forsook him, and fled. All of them. That sentence is the loneliest sentence in the Bible.
Three years of meals shared, miracles witnessed, promises made. "I'll never leave you." "I'll die with you." "I'm here." And when the soldiers arrived and the swords came out, every single one of them ran. The room that had been full of devotion emptied in seconds.
Matthew holds two truths together without resolving the tension. First: this was prophetically necessary. The Scriptures had to be fulfilled. The shepherd had to be struck and the sheep had to scatter. It was always going to happen this way. Second: the abandonment was real. Jesus felt it. The plan didn't anesthetize the pain. Knowing it was prophesied didn't make being alone hurt less.
If you've been abandoned by people who promised to stay — if the people who said "I'll never leave" left when the cost became real — Jesus understands that specific wound. Not hypothetically. He lived it. Every disciple. Every promise. Every one of them gone when the night got dark enough.
And here's the part that should wreck you and heal you at the same time: He went to the cross anyway. He didn't chase them. He didn't guilt them. He didn't withdraw the sacrifice because the people He was dying for couldn't even stay awake in the garden. He loved them through their abandonment and died for them while they were hiding. That's the kind of love you're dealing with. The kind that doesn't quit when you do.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And they that had laid hold on Jesus,.... Who were the band, and the captain, and the officers of the Jews, as Joh…
The account of Jesus’ being betrayed by Judas is recorded by all the evangelists. See Mar 14:43-52; Luk 22:47-53; Joh…
all this was done, &c. These are probably the words of Christ, and not a reflection by the Evangelist (cp. Mar 14:49);…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture