Matthew 26:55 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.

NASB: At that time Jesus said to the crowds, 'Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a man inciting a revolt? Every day I used to sit within the temple grounds teaching, and you did not arrest Me.

CSB: At that time Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as if I were a criminal, to capture me? Every day I used to sit, teaching in the temple, and you didn’t arrest me.

NLT: Then Jesus said to the crowd, 'Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day.

KJV: In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

NKJV: 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.

Jesus has rebuked Peter (Matthew 26:51–52) and any other disciples who may have been thinking about jumping in to fight those who had come to arrest the Lord. If Jesus Christ had not wanted to be arrested, He would not have needed their help. The power of heaven would be unleashed on His behalf (Matthew 26:53). In fact, their decision to battle with swords would just get them killed. Jesus is going to go with those who have come for Him because He wants to (John 18:4–8), because it is His Father's will (Matthew 26:42), and because it is how He will fulfill the prophecies about Him (Matthew 26:54).

However, just because Christ knows what will happen (Matthew 16:21) and goes willingly, that does not mean He won't point out the absurdity of the situation. He turns toward those who have come in a large mob, with swords and clubs, in a secluded garden, in the dark of night. He mocks them by asking if they came to arrest a robber. Did they expect Him to put up a fight? He points out that He spent many days teaching publicly, coming and going freely, and they didn't seize Him then.

Jesus knows why this is, and so do most of the men who came to make the arrest. The Jewish religious leaders don't want to stir up the crowds who respected Jesus and thought of Him as a prophet of God (John 11:47–48, 57). They did not want to threaten their position with the people. They wanted to get rid of Jesus quietly, under cover of darkness, which they would attempt to do this very night before the people could figure out what was going on. Part of that plan is to pin Jesus' death on the already-hated Romans (Matthew 27:1–2; Mark 10:33; Luke 18:32).

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.