In | Workbook: Judas and the Old Testament in Matthew – The Betrayal of Jesus and King David

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[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

In our In the Text study, we often discover parallels from other parts of Scripture. These intertextual parallels can highlight what a biblical writer is emphasizing. The table below highlights parallels between Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and David’s betrayal by Ahithophel.

Jesus and Judas	David and Ahithophel
Judas betrays Jesus. (Matt 26)	Ahithophel betrays David. (2 Sam 15–17)
Jesus, after Judas has left to betray Him, crosses the Kidron. (John 18:1)	David, after being betrayed by Absalom and Ahithophel, crosses the Kidron. (2 Sam 15:23)
Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives that God might let the hour and cup pass. (Matt 26:36-46)	David prays on the Mount of Olives that God might ‘turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness’. (2 Sam 15:31)
After the agony of Gethsemane, Judas comes upon Jesus at night with a crowd with swords and clubs, and all the disciples flee. (Matt 26:47-56)	While David is ‘weary and discouraged’, Ahithophel plans to take David at night with twelve thousand men and make ‘all the people that are with him flee’. (2 Sam 17:1-2)
Judas, who broke bread with Jesus and “ate of his body” betrayed Him. (Matt 26–27)	In Psalm 41:9 (attributed to David), we read: ‘Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me’.
Judas is ‘one of the twelve’ and Jesus calls him ‘friend’ or ‘companion’. (Matt 26:50)	Ahithophel was known as a friend and companion of David. (Ps 55:12-14)

Source: Dale C. Allison, Jr., Matthew: A shorter commentary, 2004, pp. 504-505.

By drawing these parallels, what might Matthew be trying to communicate in his Gospel?