Matthew 26:48 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.”

NIV: Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: 'The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.'

NASB: Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign previously, saying, 'Whomever I kiss, He is the one; arrest Him.'

CSB: His betrayer had given them a sign: "The one I kiss, he's the one; arrest him."

NLT: The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: 'You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.'

KJV: Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

NKJV: Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”

Judas' job was to lead the chief priests to Jesus and quickly identify Him for the soldiers and temple police to arrest (Matthew 26:14–16). It is unclear how many of the priests and elders were present in the garden at this late hour. Judas had arrived, though, with a crowd carrying swords and clubs and torches. They may have thought they had come to capture an armed rebel bent on revolution (John 11:48; Luke 23:2).

Matthew again calls Judas simply "the betrayer." Judas had worked out a sign with the security forces ahead of time. He would use a friendly, seemingly harmless kiss to identify Him the target. That was the Person they were to seize and arrest.

Given Jesus' conflict with authorities and His public preaching, modern audiences might wonder why Judas needed to identify Jesus, rather than simply tell His enemies where to find Him. For one thing, it was late at night and dark. For another, those who came to take Jesus away may have never seen Him before, even if they had heard much about Him. Without the existence of pictures or television, famous people were not always recognizable by sight. Clothes and personal appearance, in that era, were relatively uniform. The chief priests did not want to take any chances about arresting the wrong man—or having one of the disciples pretend to be Him—and allowing Jesus to escape.

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.