Matthew 26:68 kjv
Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?
Matthew 26:68 nkjv
saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"
Matthew 26:68 niv
and said, "Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?"
Matthew 26:68 esv
saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?"
Matthew 26:68 nlt
jeering, "Prophesy to us, you Messiah! Who hit you that time?"
Matthew 26 68 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Matt 26:67 | Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying,... | Immediate context of physical abuse. |
| Mark 14:65 | And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy! and the officers did strike him with the palms of their hands. | Parallel account; detailed mockery and abuse. |
| Luke 22:63-65 | And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him. | Closest parallel; specific mention of blindfolding. |
| Isa 50:6 | I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair... I hid not my face from shame and spitting. | Prophetic fulfillment of the Suffering Servant's physical abuse. |
| Isa 53:3 | He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief... we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. | Prophecy of Messiah's deep rejection and low regard. |
| Isa 53:7 | He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. | Jesus' silence and submission during suffering. |
| Ps 22:7 | All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ... | Prophetic foreshadowing of Messiah's ridicule. |
| Ps 35:16 | With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth. | Prophetic imagery of malicious, tooth-gnashing mockery. |
| Lam 3:30 | He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him, he is filled full with reproach. | Accepting physical blows as part of enduring disgrace. |
| Deut 18:21-22 | And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh... if the thing follow not... that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken. | Biblical test for a true prophet, mockingly applied. |
| Matt 12:38-39 | Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered... An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: | Jesus' refusal to give signs on demand for ill motives. |
| Matt 16:1-4 | The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting him desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven... | Further rejection of seeking signs as a test. |
| John 18:22 | And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers... struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? | Additional instance of Jesus being struck during trial. |
| John 19:2-3 | And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns... and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. | Roman soldiers' mocking and abuse. |
| John 4:17-19 | ...thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. | Jesus' demonstration of divine knowledge, ironically sought here. |
| Luke 19:30-34 | ...Go ye into the village... Ye shall find a colt tied... And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. | Example of Jesus' specific foreknowledge of details. |
| Phil 2:6-8 | Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. | Jesus' profound humility and self-emptying. |
| Heb 12:2-3 | Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself... | Jesus enduring shame and contradiction. |
| 1 Pet 2:23 | Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously... | Jesus' perfect response to suffering and injustice. |
| Isa 42:2 | He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. | Prophecy of the quiet humility of God's Servant. |
| Rom 15:3 | For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. | Christ bearing the reproach and scorn. |
| 2 Tim 3:12 | Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. | Believers sharing in Christ's suffering. |
Matthew 26 verses
Matthew 26 68 Meaning
This verse captures the peak of the Sanhedrin's mockery and abuse towards Jesus during His unjust trial. After beating and spitting on Him, they blindfolded Him and challenged Him to act as the Messiah and prophet He claimed to be. Their demand to "prophesy" and identify His smiter was a sarcastic test of His divine knowledge and an act of extreme humiliation, stemming from their rejection of His claim to be the Son of God and the Christ.
Matthew 26 68 Context
Matthew 26:68 is set within the intensely dramatic scene of Jesus' trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, following His arrest in Gethsemane. The preceding verses (Matt 26:57-66) detail the false testimonies brought against Him and the High Priest Caiaphas's direct question, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of God?" to which Jesus responds affirmatively. This confession is immediately seized upon by the Sanhedrin as blasphemy, leading to their verdict of deserving death. The immediate verse before (Matt 26:67) explicitly describes the physical abuse Jesus endures—spitting, buffeting, and striking—which directly precedes the verbal mockery and challenge of verse 68. The Jewish leaders, having condemned Him, now engage in degrading Him, seeing His messianic claims as utterly false and deserving of scorn. Culturally, prophets were tested by their ability to foretell events or reveal hidden truths; this cruel "test" was a perversion of that tradition, aimed at ridicule rather than sincere inquiry.
Matthew 26 68 Word analysis
- Saying,: This particle connects the speech directly to the previous action of abuse (Matt 26:67). It indicates the taunts immediately followed the physical striking.
- Prophesy (Greek: prophēteuō - προφητεύω): Here, the word is used sarcastically and in a demeaning way, not in its true sense of divinely inspired utterance or prediction. They are demanding a parlour trick or a demonstration of occult knowledge, rather than genuine prophecy from God. They challenged Him to use His alleged divine insight to identify His attacker, seeing as He was blindfolded. This was a direct test and mockery of His claimed messianic and prophetic identity.
- unto us,: This highlights the collective nature of the taunt from the high priest, scribes, and elders of the Sanhedrin, or possibly the officers present (Luke 22:63). They collectively posed this degrading challenge.
- thou Christ, (Greek: Christos - Χριστός): This is a direct, yet utterly scornful, address of Jesus' Messianic claim. Having just condemned Him for affirming that He was the Christ (Matt 26:63-66), they now mockingly demand He prove it through a trivial test. Their use of "Christ" here emphasizes their contempt and disbelief in His true identity as the Anointed One and Son of God. It shows the depths of their spiritual blindness and animosity.
- Who is he: This simple question demands identification of a specific person. The cruel irony is that the assailants were in plain sight, but Jesus was blindfolded, making it impossible to see them with natural eyes.
- that smote thee? (Greek: ho paisas se? - ὁ παίσας σε; "the one having struck you"): This refers directly to the immediate physical abuse Jesus was enduring. The demand for Jesus to identify His blindfolded smiter highlights their sadistic enjoyment in mocking His power and supposed omniscience. It's a debased "sign" demanded from a "prophet" they had already declared a blasphemer.
Matthew 26 68 Bonus section
This incident of blindfolding and mocking is mirrored in subsequent accounts of Jesus' passion, most notably with the Roman soldiers (John 19:2-3). This shows a continuity of contempt across different human authorities towards God incarnate. The act of blindfolding itself symbolizes the spiritual blindness of His accusers; they could not truly "see" who He was, even as He stood before them. The physical blows and mocking challenge, which Jesus silently endured, foreshadow the greater blows and "curse" He would bear on the cross. It speaks to the ultimate triumph of humility and suffering over worldly power and pride.
Matthew 26 68 Commentary
Matthew 26:68 graphically illustrates the profound depth of human depravity and rejection toward the divine. Following Jesus' powerful and direct affirmation of His identity as the Son of God, the religious leaders—those supposedly custodians of truth—responded with physical violence and escalating psychological torment. The demand to "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?" encapsulates multiple layers of irony and malice. It was a perversion of their own tradition for identifying a true prophet (Deut 18:21-22), used not for genuine inquiry, but for public humiliation. They blindfolded the one who is the Light of the World and then challenged Him to see what was hidden, attempting to invalidate His omniscience and claim to be the Messiah.
Yet, in His profound silence, Jesus manifested a far greater power: the power of humble submission to the Father's will and the perfect fulfillment of the Suffering Servant prophecies (Isa 50:6; 53:7). He, who knew all things and could have named every individual assailant with a word, chose to bear the injustice in silence. His suffering was not for personal vindication, but for the redemption of mankind. This moment highlights that true Messiahship, according to God's plan, involved bearing reproach and mockery, not simply performing impressive feats on demand. It stands as a timeless reminder that often, what appears to be weakness or inability in the world's eyes is, in fact, divine strength and purpose at work.