Bible Study series: Matthew 26:47-56. He is moving towards the cross. He surrendered his soul in Gethsemane, but now he is about to surrender his body to the authorities.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 26:47-56
47 And while he was still speaking, Look! Judas, one of the twelve, came and with a big crowd, with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now, the one who handed him over gave a signal to them, saying, “Whomever I kiss—he is the one. Arrest him.” 49 And quickly coming up to Jesus, he said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, are you here for this? Then, coming up to him, they put their hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And look! One of those with Jesus extended his hand and drew out his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and took off his ear. 52 At that moment, Jesus said to him, “Return your sword to its place! For all taking the sword will perish by the sword!” 53 Or do you think that I am not able to call on my Father, and he will put at my disposal, now, more than twelve legions of angels? 54 Then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way?” 55 And in that very moment, Jesus said to the crowd, “You come out with swords and clubs as against an insurrectionist to arrest me? Every day I was sitting in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has happened in order to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left and fled. (Matt. 26:47-56)
Comments:
The references to Scripture being fulfilled indicates that God is not caught off guard. He has the whole thing under his control, in the big picture (vv. 54, 56). God is watching out for his Son, even though his Son is about to suffer and die. The Father’s sovereignty should bring us comfort and the Son’s sacrifice should give us awe.
47:
Matthew sets up a new scene. The betrayal and arrest happened at night. Recall that John 18:2 says that it was a regular rendezvous place (see v. 36). Judas may have found out in advance where they were going to go after the supper.
“look!” it is typically translated as “behold!” Its purpose is to introduce to the original readers / listeners a surprising element. “Pay attention!” Look at this new development / event in my story!”
For a description of the chief priests and elders of the people, see v. 3.
“crowd”: I almost translated it as a “mob,” but they were sent officially by the authorities, so they were not exactly like a mob that spontaneously gathered just to make trouble. But Jesus does note that the large number is an overkill (v. 55).
48-49:
“signal”: the standard Greek word for “sign,” but “signal” is related to “sign” (note the first four letters). It was clearly an agreed-on gesture to tell the large crowd who the target was, so I chose “signal.”
“kiss”: in some cultures—like France—they go cheek to check or even kiss the cheek. Here it was a greeting, part of the “Greetings, Rabbi.” Why does Judas call him Rabbi (see v. 25)? As noted in v. 25, it is not inaccurate, but Peter did proclaim the Messiah, the Son of the living God (16:16). Maybe Judas simply cannot bring himself to acknowledge a level of deity for the Lord.
See my post on the title Rabbi:
1. Titles of Jesus: Rabbi and Teacher
Blomberg:
Men in the ancient Middle East customarily greeted one another with kisses on both cheeks, even as they do in various parts of the world today. Judas’s word of greeting (chaire is roughly equivalent to a hearty Hello!) and kiss further suggest that he is coming in peace; with this approach he may be trying to avert any hostile uprising by the rest of the disciples. Once again he does not address Jesus as “Lord” but as “Rabbi” (cf. v. 25 with v. 22), still betraying his distance from Jesus (recall also the use of didaskalos, “teacher,” in 8:19; 12:38; 19:16; 22:16, 36). (comment on 26:47-49)
50:
There is a much-disputed clause: “Have you come for this?” It could be translated as “Do that for which you are here” or “that’s what you are here to do.” However, a grammarian, who himself is Greek, has read many writings in postclassical and Byzantine literature, and he sees it everywhere. It is used in an interrogative (question) context. So, following him and grammarian Olmstead, I also translated it as a question. Jesus is asking, “Is this really why you are here? To betray me? That’s quite a mission!” Yes, he knew Judas was going to betray him, but asking a question is not always about finding out an unknown answer. Questions can be rhetorical; they have a deeper purpose, to expose a man’s heart and to get him to question himself. And that’s what Judas does in 27:3-5.
Matthew uses visual language: “placed their hands on Jesus.” Maybe the verb could be translated as “thrust their hands on Jesus” and seized him, which is a verb that can just be translated as “arrested,” but it has the connotation of domination. No, they did not really dominate him, for he could have called on more than twelve legions of angels (v. 53). Matthew just wants his readers / listeners to get the drama of the scene. The point: Imagine that they put their hands on the Messiah, the Son of the living God! It’s called storytelling, the dramatists art.
“Friend”: it could be translated as “companion.” Judas had been following Jesus closely enough to be called that. Carson, referring to R. E. Brown, says that it is an openhearted but not intimate greeting. It is ironic in all the uses in Matthew (20:13; 22:12).
51:
Who took off the right ear of the servant? John’s Gospel reports that Peter cut off Malchus’s ear (John 18:10-11). How do we know the servant’s name? He probably joined the Christian community later. He had a high position for a commoner (if he was a commoner), and many Jews converted to the Messiah immediately after Pentecost (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 6:7; 21:20), so he may have joined them and told his story. Why wouldn’t he join since Jesus healed his ear and put it back one (Luke 22:51)? But we don’t know for sure what happened to Malchus.
52-54:
Now Jesus takes action. First he tells Peter to stop the violence. Then, second, what happened with the ear?
As noted, his healing the ear (Luke 22:51) indicates Jesus could flatten each of the arresting party with a word. When Jesus was asked whether he was Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, “I am he.” Then the crowd with swords and clubs drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:6). Jesus’s words had power. He was in charge, whether the arresting party knew it or not. But the Father’s will had to be carried out, and it was his will that his Son suffer and die. So the arresting party with swords and clubs had to be allowed forward to accomplish their unjust deed.
Jesus said he could call on more than twelve legions of angels (the number twelve indicates government). A legion had about 6,000 troops. I noticed for the first time that he said more than twelve legions. Jesus was really in charge of the situation, but Peter did not see this. Why not? Jesus said to buy swords, and when Peter showed him two swords, Jesus said it was sufficient (Luke 22:38). It’s a much-disputed passage, but … please see my post about the two swords:
See the post in the general topic of biblical theology and ethics:
2. The Gospels: Was Jesus a Pacifist? (where this long study can be found)
Also see these posts in the series:
1. The Kingdom of God: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
2.. The Gospels: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
3. Were the Early Christians Pacifists?
4. Can Christians Join the Military or Police Force?
Now what about angels?
Here are the basics, backed up by Scripture in the links below, in the area of systematic theology:
Angels:
(a) Are messengers (in Hebrew mal’ak and in Greek angelos);
(b) Are created spirit beings;
(c) Have a beginning at their creation (not eternal);
(d) Have a beginning, but they are immortal (deathless).
(e) Have moral judgment;
(f) Have a certain measure of free will;
(g) Have high intelligence;
(h) Do not have physical bodies;
(i) But can manifest with immortal bodies before humans;
(j) Can show the emotion of joy.
Angels: Their Duties and Missions
Angels: Their Names and Ranks and Heavenly Existence
Angels: Their Origins, Abilities, and Nature
54:
So which Scriptures are being fulfilled? Luke 22:38 provides the answer: “For I tell you that it is necessary that what was written be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the lawless’ [Is. 53:12], for indeed the things written about me are coming to an end” (Luke 22:38). Jesus had to suffer, in order to relate to humanity. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). His suffering was, among other things, to be (unjustly) numbered among criminals, even though he was in the process of fulfilling the law—not breaking it. The chief priests and the others who are about to put him on trial are the ones whose limited interpretation of the Scriptures and inability (or refusal) to recognize the Messiah, the Son of the living God, are the ones breaking the law and the spirit of the law.
55:
They were coming out to arrest an insurrectionist or rebel—in modern terms, a terrorist—Jesus said. He is being sarcastic here, telling them that he was in the temple during the day, but they did nothing to him. Why not? Recall that in 21:45-46 the authorities wanted to arrest Jesus, but they feared the crowds. They could only commit their injustice in the dark. Further, Jesus implies that just a few men could have arrested him, because he had surrendered his will to the Father’s will. He was not an insurrectionist, so that they need a large crowd with swords and clubs. He is calling them “authoritative cowards,” without actually using the words.
An insurrectionist was someone who did not maintain the peace but was in rebellion against Rome and the Jerusalem establishment who cooperated with Rome. His reply about paying tribute to Rome cleared him of any strong opinion about Roman domination (22:20-21). He was more interested in establishing God’s kingdom which would soon go way beyond Israel to the whole world.
Note: one interpreter says that the Greek noun “insurrectionist” means no more than “robber.” Objection duly noted.
“crowd”: in this context, it may be better translated as “mob.”
56:
What writing of the prophets? Recall that Zech. 13:7 had predicted that the sheep would leave the shepherd when he was struck down (Matt. 26:31). Further, in Luke 24:44, Jesus gave the disciples a Bible teaching on how he fulfilled the Scriptures of the prophets (interpreted broadly here). Here is Peter’s preaching, which sheds a light on the meaning of this verse:
Please go to my commentary on Luke 24 for more comments on Jesus’s Bible prophecy lessons, and the apostles’ preaching from them.
Finally, the disciples, as Jesus predicted (Matt. 26:31; Mark 14:27), scrammed and fled. They did not have it in them to die with him, as Peter had boasted.
GrowApp for Matt. 26:47-56
1. Jesus allowed himself to be arrested. Have you ever had to go through difficult times? How did you experience God’s deliverance and redemption?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 