43 Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard." 45 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46 The men seized Jesus and arrested him. 47 Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 "Am I leading a rebellion," said Jesus, "that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."
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3 comments:
it's interesting to note the seemingly unanimous agreement and responsibility between the religious/legal/secular special interests (priests, teachers, and elders) in approving and executing Jesus' arrest. this is a rare thing to observe in human affairs because usually politics get in the way. but in jesus' case, it's like what happens whenever homeland security, justice department, and state & city police do a sting operation to capture a suspected 9/11 terrorist -- everybody wants to be in on this take-down so that they can claim some credit.
i'm also struck by jesus' rebuttal in verses 48-49. it's such a completely incisive observation of his captors specious motivations that it's almost sarcastic (although i know that's not how jesus would have communicated it). powerful stuff.
What always struck me about this story was that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. How could he do that? Why did he choose to betray him in that manner? The action makes the betrayal feel much more personal/emotional - rather than a cerebral/material/political choice. Did he feel betrayed by Jesus? Was he jealous of other disciples getting more attention or did he feel slighted in some way?
yeah, that judas uses the kiss as his signal actually seems kind of chilling when you think about it. does anyone know if it was usual practice for judas or other disciples to kiss Jesus when greeting Him? if not, perhaps judas' kiss is the tell-tale sign of someone who does the opposite of what he/she is feeling (over-compensates) in order to "hide" their true inner feelings. often crimes of passion are the ones that end up being most brutal. so i think there's something to the idea that judas' kiss is a reflection of some sort of deep (albeit unstable) emotional connection with Jesus.
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