Gospel of Matthew
The Imprisonment of the Messiah
Chapter 26:47-56
The four evangelists report the passages below. This, which we will study now, is also found in Mark 14: 43-52, Luke 22: 47-56 and John 18: 2-12, with the same and other details.
John explains that Judas knew the place where the Lord Jesus and His disciples were, because they often went there (Luke 22:39). As he had been paid to do by the chief priests and the Pharisees, Judas conducted a crowd armed with swords and clubs, including a detachment of troops and officers of the temple, to arrest Him there.
It was a large armed group, because a detachment of troops, according to historians, comprised five hundred men, being the tenth of a legion. They carried lanterns, torches and weapons to hold a Person who they knew was unarmed. They wanted to make sure of His capture, as on previous occasions He had mysteriously escaped.
However, the Lord Jesus knew that this was His hour, and so He allowed Himself to be caught away from the admiring multitude that had followed before. Judas came straight to him, saying, "Greetings, Rabbi” and gave Him a big ceremonial kiss, which was the signal agreed with the soldiers to indicate the person who should be arrested. The Lord only chided Judas with the words "Friend, why have you come?"
According to the Gospel of John, the Lord immediately asked the soldiers, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said “Jesus of Nazareth" and He presented Himself, saying, "I am He” - words that correspond to the Hebrew name of God. Hearing these words, they drew back and fell to the ground, terrified at this moment to see at a glance Who was there.
Again, the dialogue was repeated, but this time they realized that He wanted to surrender, and He ordered them to let the disciples go their way. The soldiers obeyed His authority and did so.
The disciples, however, did not understand that He should be arrested and asked, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword? " And one of them, Peter, struck the servant of the high priest with his sword, cutting off his right ear. The Lord shouted to them “permit even this" and healed the servant touching his ear (Luke 22:51). It is the last miracle we know of from the Lord Jesus before His crucifixion and death.
He also protested about His disciples wanting to use violence, saying: “All who take the sword will perish by the sword ," and informed them that if He wanted to defend himself, He would pray to the Father and He would provide Him with more than twelve legions of angels (120 times more than the soldiers there present) .
This is a large number, as each Roman legion at that time comprised 6,100 soldiers on foot and 726 on horseback. It was undoubtedly an expression to indicate His overwhelming power, which would overcome any human attempt to take Him by force.
A believer should not rely on physical power for his struggle against the forces of darkness, because our struggle is not against physical persons, but against the spiritual forces of darkness, and we must use our spiritual armour (Ephesians 6: 12-17).
But the angels “are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14), and the Lord showed us, by example, that even the forces available in heaven should not be resorted to when His purposes are being carried out.
No doubt, He himself was more powerful than the legions of angels, but the designs of the Father were more important. As children of God, we can also ask God to send us these ministering spirits when we are in distress, but the designs of God must come first, above our personal safety.
The Lord Jesus was arrested voluntarily in order to fulfil His mission here on earth, as had been prophesied in Scripture, and as He had warned His disciples a few times before.
No act of defence on His part was fitting, because it was prophesied, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7). In all cases of difficulty, the Word of God must overcome our desires or judgments, and anything we do or seek to do that is contrary to the fulfilment of Scripture.
Turning to the large armed group before him, the Lord Jesus observed that they had come to arrest Him with swords and clubs, like a robber. Not only a thief, but a thief who robs and is willing to kill his victim.
Burglars at that time were considered the worst among the wrongdoers, and the Lord Jesus would be crucified in place of one, Barabbas, as we shall see later.
Every day the Lord had sat with them in the temple to teach, when they could have arrested him, but it did not happen until the time was right, that being exactly the day they made the sacrifice of the lamb at the Passover Feast.
Everything had to be done in fulfilment of God's purpose, according to the Scriptures of the prophets, (no doubt, the Roman soldiers would not know them) and the time He retired alone with His disciples was the right moment for them to arrest Him. This was the hour of His enemies, and the “power of darkness" (Luke 22:53), and they took advantage of that opportunity. It was all well calculated with the foreknowledge of the Lord Jesus.
The soldiers then approached the Lord Jesus and bound Him (John 18:12). Seeing this, all the disciples forsook Him, and fled.
Mark also tells the detail that a young man was following Him, covered only with a linen sheet. When they caught hold of him, he left the linen cloth and ran away naked (Mark 14:52), thus indicating anguish of the disciples to escape capture. It is understood that the young man was Mark himself, who later wrote the Gospel.
The panic that took hold of the disciples, causing them to abandon their Lord in the hands of His enemies, was a sin for, although they had left everything to follow Him, they now left not knowing what would come next. Their faith was still weak and insufficient.
He had already secured their freedom (John 18: 8), but they did not trust it and fled in an inglorious way. Afraid of losing their own life they abandoned He who had the words of eternal life, the Holy One of God (John 6: 66,69).
His abandonment was part of the suffering of the Lord Jesus, just as had happened to Job in antiquity (Job 19:13), and to King David (Psalm 38:11). Thereby they lost the opportunity to give Him some support, and maybe they could have been witnesses at His trial, but they did nothing.
As the sacrificial victim for our sins, the Lord Jesus was thus abandoned, made a curse for us. Nobody helped Him to be the Saviour of our souls, because He did not need help from anyone, He did everything by Himself.
R David Jones
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.
48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."
49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
50 But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.
51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
52 But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"
55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.
56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
Matthew 26 verses 47 ton 56