Matthew 26:53 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

NASB: Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

CSB: Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels?

NLT: Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

KJV: Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

NKJV: Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

Peter may have thought he was proving himself to Jesus. He lashed out with a sword, probably with the clumsy wildness of an amateur, and maimed a servant who was part of the crowd (Matthew 26:51; John 18:10). This may have been an effort to win back the Master's respect, after Jesus said Peter would deny Him that night (Matthew 26:30–35). This earned Peter an immediate rebuke (Matthew 26:52) and a command to put his sword back into its sheath. Other gospels note that Jesus explicitly told the arresting mob to let the disciples go (John 18:8–9). Peter's actions are liable to get him killed.

Not only was this reaction dangerous, but incredibly foolish. Of all people, Jesus Christ is the last who would need to be defended using an earthly weapon (John 18:36). Jesus makes that point in dramatic fashion, comparing angel armies to Roman armies. A Roman legion at full strength had approximately 6,000 soldiers. Taken literally, Jesus is saying God the Father could send 72,000 angels to defend Him if asked. A single angel is credited, in the Old Testament, with killing 186,000 Assyrian soldiers (2 Kings 19:35). Does the Son of the living God really need a fisherman to step in and attack those who came to arrest Him?

Jesus' words may sound belittling, but He wants everyone listening to understand clearly that these men cannot arrest Him against His will. He will go with them by His own choice. He is submitting to the will of His Father. He does not want to be defended from fulfilling His purpose. John's account of these events makes that even more obvious (John 18:4–8).

Matthew 26:47–56 paints the scene of Jesus' betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrives leading an armed crowd of soldiers, temple guards, and others. Judas identifies Jesus to the arresting crowd using a friend's kiss. Peter (John 18:10) wildly swings a sword and cuts a man's ear off in a misguided effort to defend Jesus. Jesus tells him to put the sword away. If He wanted saving, He could ask the Father and 12 legions of angels would arrive. He will not resist. The Scriptures of the prophets must be fulfilled. This passage parallels Mark 14:43–50, Luke 22:47–53, and John 18:1–11.

The Jewish religious leaders further their plots to arrest and kill Jesus, finding a willing traitor in Judas Iscariot. A woman anoints Christ with oil during a dinner at Bethany. Next, Jesus and the disciples hold the Passover meal in an upper room where Jesus predicts His arrests and introduces the sacrament of communion. Then Jesus prays in unimaginable agony in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed by Judas and captured. The disciples scatter. Before the high priest, Jesus explicitly claims to be divine. They convict Him of blasphemy and sentence Him to death. As this happens, Peter denies knowing Jesus and runs away in shame.

After a long series of teaching (Matthew 24—25), Matthew 26 begins with Jesus saying He will be delivered up for death. Christ is anointed at a dinner in Bethany and Judas agrees to turn Him over to the chief priests. Jesus holds a Passover meal with the disciples, predicts an act of treachery, and introduces the sacrament of communion. He tells the disciples they will run in fear and that Peter will deny Him, which happens just as prophesied. Christ prays in great sorrow in a garden and is then arrested and taken away and unfairly sentenced to death. After this, Jesus will be taken to the Roman governor, where Jewish leadership will press for Him to be executed as an insurgent.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.