Matthew 26:47-56

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Introduction

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. 51 And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” 55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Two weeks ago we looked at some of Jesus’ final words to his disciples before his betrayal. That final evening, in the upper room, they spent time celebrating the Passover meal together, and Jesus tells them that he’ll be betrayed by one of them, that “he who has dipped his hand in the dish together with me will betray me.” Then he went on to teach them that he will be the fulfillment of Passover, and attaches new meaning to the meal, that the unleavened bread is his body, and that the wine represents the blood of the covenant, his blood, which will be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
And as their meal reached its conclusion we’re told that they made their way out to the Mount of Olives, and that Jesus taught them many things. That where he was going they could not follow, but that they would follow afterward (John 13:36). And it was at this point that Peter objected, asking, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” (John 13:37) But Matthew records back in verse 31 that Jesus told them that they would all fall away because of him that night, and that the Scriptures had to be fulfilled, and quoting Zechariah 13:7 Jesus said, “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But that after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” (Matt. 26:31)
And as we saw two weeks ago Peter responded in haste and distress by saying there in verse 32, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” But in Luke’s parallel account he records Jesus as saying, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” And then here in verse 34, he goes on, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” But Peter and the disciples remained adamant, and Peter said again there in verse 35 that, “even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Now, at this point in the story Matthew transports us to the Garden of Gethsemane there in verse 36, but, as I pointed out in our last time, Luke and John record more of their conversation, and of Jesus’ last words to them. Luke tells us that Jesus reminded them of their training that we read about back in Matthew chapter 10, when Jesus had first prepared them to take the gospel of the kingdom to all of Judea, healing the sick and casting out demons. He also told them that he must be numbered among the transgressors, quoting Isaiah 53:12 about the suffering servant.
Moreover, John spends four chapters recording Jesus’ final words to his disciples, most of which we’re all probably familiar with. In John, after they leave the upper room in Jerusalem and make their way to the Mount of Olives Jesus teaches them that he’s going away to prepare a place for them, that he is the way, the truth and the life, and that he has not left them as orphans, but that when he is gone he will send the Holy Spirit to them, that he is the true vine and to abide in him, that the world will hate them, but that he has overcome the world, and that not long after he is gone that their sorrow will be turned to joy, and, finally, Jesus concludes, in John, with his famous high priestly prayer where he prays for himself and his disciples, looking forward to returning to his Father in heaven while asking that his disciples would be kept from the evil one and sanctified in the truth.
And, again, all of this takes place between the upper room and the Garden of Gethsemane, and so then in verse 36 Matthew tells us that “Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane,” and that Jesus separated himself from his disciples, except for Peter, James and John, whom he told to sit nearby while he prayed.
We quickly learn that Jesus isn’t unaffected by the cup he must drink, that he isn’t unaffected by the gravity of the task set before him. He says there in verse 38, “my soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” And that if it were possible to have this cup pass from him. Yet, despite the impending agony he says, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” So despite the suffering that will accompany his mission, that if there is no other way, he intends to commit himself to his Father’s will.
And, unfortunately, we’re told that his disciples couldn’t stay awake for even for an hour, during one of Jesus’ darkest hours. However, despite his disciples inability to remain awake, Jesus finds a renewed sense of strength and resolve as a result of his prayers, we read there in verse 45,

45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Kiss of death

And, so, it’s at this point, we reach our text for today, starting there in verse 47, and I wanted to provide that lengthy introduction this morning because we’re very much in the middle of the story. The events we’re walking through are very tightly knit together, with one event leading to the other, all building up to Jesus’ crucifixion, so I don’t want us to lose the big picture in the process, because if we lose the big picture we’ll lose the weightiness of the story and its events.
So, that being said, let’s pickup there in verse 47,

47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Now, I want you to envision a great crowd of men armed with swords and clubs (think baseball bats), that have been commissioned by the chief priest and the elders of the people, and they’ve come at night with lanterns, under the cover of darkness. And in John’s Gospel we’re told that the chief priests and the Pharisees had procured a band of soldiers and officers to go with Judas, so we get the impression 1) that this may be a mixture of the temple guard and even some Roman soldiers, and 2) that there’s enough of them to handle Jesus and probably all of his disciples if necessary. Then in verse 48 we’re told,

48 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” 49 And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him.

Now, in our culture it would be strange for friends to kiss one another in most circumstances, we tend to reserve kissing for our spouses or our children, but we know, even today, that in many other cultures that it’s customary to greet one another with a kiss. In fact, I remember being very young and watching the Olympics with my family for the first time on television, and being shocked to see men kissing one another on the cheek after an event, but in Jewish culture it was not inappropriate, rather it was a standard greeting, and a kiss on the cheek was particularly a display of respect and affection. And so it would have been appropriate for one of Jesus’ disciples to greet Jesus with a kiss.
However, this time, Judas’ display of respect and affection toward Jesus isn’t genuine, instead he’s playing the hypocrite. Instead he intends to betray Jesus, and he does it with a kiss. In fact, this is where the phrase ‘kiss of death’ comes from, from this very incident with Judas. And from Judas’ perspective, a kiss was an excellent way to hide his own wicked intentions. In one gesture he could reveal to the band of soldiers Jesus’ identity while hiding his intention to betray him.

Jesus is not fooled

But verse 50 tells us that Jesus was not fooled, nor was he caught unaware. We read there in verse 50,

50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

In fact, it’s quite incredible to think that after everything Judas had witnessed up to this point that he thought he could pull a fast one on Jesus. He has seen countless miracles, the dead raised, demons cast out, and the blind made to see, yet he thought he could get away with deceiving Jesus with a kiss. You may even remember back in verse 25 in the upper room after Jesus had told his disciples that one of them would betray him, and it says,

25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.”

Still, Judas persisted in his efforts to betray him, even with a kiss, as though Jesus would have been ignorant of his schemes. It’s hard to imagine the pit that Judas’ would have felt in his stomach that night when Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him. How could he have not felt overwhelming dread that Jesus knew his intentions even then, yet he persisted in them, even after Jesus answered him, “You have said so.”
And this highlights again the dichotomy between the intentions and plans of men and the intentions and plans of God. While mankind goes about their affairs, often carrying out the wicked intentions of their hearts, God’s altogether good intentions and purposes are accomplished, because our Lord “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” (Eph. 1:11) And we see this playing out in living color here in Jesus’ life. On one hand, the chief priests and elders of the city, with the aid of Judas Iscariot, intend to seize Jesus and put him to death, yet God’s good and holy purposes are being carried out behind the scenes, and as we walk through these final chapters in Matthew we witness Jesus’ persistent awareness of this reality.
Notice, again, what Jesus says to Judas there in verse 50,

50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.”

And in Luke’s account (Luke 22:48) he adds that,

Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Over and over again, it’s made clear to Judas that Jesus is not unaware of his schemes, yet Judas persists in his betrayal.
Moreover, notice how Jesus addresses Judas there in Matthew, he calls him ‘friend’. And I have no doubt that Jesus choose his words purposefully, when he called Judas ‘friend’, highlighting the shame that Judas ought to have for his betrayal, and for handing Jesus over to the Jews under the cover of darkness. Judas is a coward.

Taking up arms

Then we read, starting there in verse 51, that after the guards had seized Jesus,

behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

Now, Luke’s Gospel also adds that when all of the disciples who were around him “saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And [then] one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.” (Luke 22:49-50) So, we’re told that all of Jesus’ disciples responded to his capture by intending to up arms, and one of them, whom John tells us is Peter, lunged at the high priest’s servant and ended up taking off part of his ear. Now, the assumption here is, of course, that Peter was probably going for the man’s body but in the scuffle ended up severing his ear instead.

Kingdom not of this world

Now, this is a particularly interesting situation, because the disciple’s motivation for doing this was probably for several reasons. The first, was that their understanding of the kingdom of heaven remained woefully inadequate. The kingdom of heaven is not like the kingdoms of this world that are established by might and arms. You may recall some of Jesus’ famous words to Pontius Pilate that are record for us in John’s Gospel. In John 18, verse 36, Jesus says to Pilate,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

What Jesus is saying is that there is a fundamental difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world. The kingdoms of this world establish themselves by force, whereas the kingdom of heaven is established in the hearts of men, not by the sword, but by the proclamation of the Gospel. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes this in his second letter to the Corinthians, he says,

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The Apostle would also write, similarly, in his letter to the Ephesians, in chapter 6, verse 12,

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

and he goes on to describe how we ought to put on the whole armor of God, that we might be able to withstand the evil day. That righteousness, faith, salvation, the word of God, and the Gospel are how we stand and how we fight. And the disciples did not yet understand this, therefore they took up arms.

Fear of falling away

Now, a second motivation likely behind the disciple’s actions, was Jesus’ earlier prediction that they would all fall away. If you’ll recall, they were indignant, especially Peter, that they would never fall away, that "Even if [we] must die with you, [we] will not deny you!” And I can only imagine how Jesus’ prediction would have baffled them, and how his words would have served only to strengthen their resolve so as not to fall away, so when Jesus is captured they’re prone to think that this is the moment, they must avoid falling away, they must come to Jesus’ defense. And because of their inadequate understanding of the kingdom of heaven they know of no other way but to take up arms.

12 legions of angels

But Jesus says to Peter there in verse 52,

“Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?”

So, first, Jesus rebukes Peter and reminds him that those who live by the sword will also die by the sword, and that it’s not their place to retaliate and exact vengeance. Jesus does not intend for them to take the law into their own hands. Moreover, Jesus tells him that if he wanted, he could ask for twelve legions of angels (more than 72,000 of them), and his Father would send them at once. If Jesus wanted to fight back he could, and there would be no contest. Instead, Jesus goes willingly, not because his enemies have overpowered him. Jesus goes so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. And this has become Jesus’ mantra hasn’t it? I go that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.

Captured under the cover of darkness

Now, as we wrap up let’s look at verses 55-56,

55 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

So Jesus turns his attention away form his disciples and to those who have come to capture him under the cover of darkness. And in so many words, he asks them, “If I’ve committed a crime then why have you sought to arrest me under the cover of darkness? I taught openly, day after day in the temple, why did you not seize me then?” The answer is obvious of course, and Jesus knows it. They have pursued him under the cover of darkness because their intentions are not just. Jesus is not a robber, he has done nothing wrong, otherwise they would have seized him in broad daylight. That they had to arrest Jesus under the cover of darkness says less about him and more about their motives. And again, Jesus reiterates, “this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” It’s as if Jesus is saying, remember everything that I have said after this is all over, remember, the prophets have foretold this, that I go so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.
And finally, we’re told in verse 56 that, “then all the disciples left him and fled,” fulfilling what Jesus had said earlier that evening on their way to the Mount of Olives in verse 31, when he said,

“You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

Conclusion

Now, as we close, I want to draw out a points of application. I want to draw your attention to Jesus’ comment to Peter and the disciples there in verse 53 when he says,

53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

What’s particularly powerful about this statement is it reminds us that there is nothing too difficult for God, that nothing can stand in his way, and that nothing can stay his hand. That, no matter your seemingly insurmountable or painful circumstances that Jesus could call down legions of angels if he saw fit, he could heal every pain, bind up every wound and heal every disease. Yet, we know that our Lord doesn’t always answer our prayers in the ways we might hope that he would, but it isn’t because he’s not able or because of some faithless deficiency within ourselves, but rather we must understand that Jesus is orchestrating all of human history, he’s the potentate of time, and he has ordered your circumstances for your good and his glory. And even though we don’t have access to God’s secret will (as Jesus did here in Matthew) so as to fully understand what he’s doing, we know enough about his character to trust him and his purposes. And this is why Christians are able to endure any trial or circumstance, because we know that our Lord is unfailingly at the helm, that nothing happens apart from his good purposes.

Prayer

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