As he was yet speaking, behold, a crowd, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went on before them, and drew near to Jesus to kiss him.
Jesus is still speaking to His disciples when the crowd arrives to arrest Him, led by one of His own twelve. Why did it take such a great crowd to arrest one lowly Man, and why did the sign have to be a kiss?
The size of the party says more about the fear of Jesus' enemies than about any danger from Him:
Gentiles and Jews come to lay their hands on the Prince of Life, the Lord of Glory, ready to commit the greatest sin. All the sinfulness of sin is now to be shown. But why such a great multitude and such precaution to capture one man, who was "gentle and lowly in heart"? What a testimony after all to His power, which they feared — and yet what blindness.
Judas walked in front of the crowd rather than among it. One writer reads that as part of a plan laid in advance:
From the Gospel of Luke we learn that he was not only the leader of the great crowd but he walked ahead of them. What a subtle plan he had laid! In it you see the cunning of that same Serpent from the garden where the first Adam was placed. How cunning, and yet how blunt. Everything had been arranged so as to make His escape impossible. The traitor was to kiss Him. The kiss would point the Lord out and at the same time separate Him from the disciples. Then they were to press upon Him at once and capture Him. It was all carefully planned. By his action and his plan Judas shows that he did not believe in the Lord as the Son of God. He knew His power.
Luke does not simply name Judas. He places him among the twelve — the men Jesus chose to be with Him. That nearness proved something terrible:
One of that company chosen to be with Jesus here below was to prove this awful truth. A man may stand very near to blessing on the outside. But if he does not receive it into his heart, he is only further from it morally. There was only one Judas in Israel, and he was nearest to Jesus. Only one man joined all the privileges of such companionship with Jesus to all the guilt of betraying Him.
Of every signal Judas could have used, he picked the gesture of friendship. The Lord saw through it, and still did not shut the door:
The treachery of Judas would still like to hide itself in the kiss that identifies Him. He gives that kiss with emphasis, as if to assure the One he is betraying that he is not part of the crowd that follows him. The Lord sees through this disguise. He answers not with a rebuke but with a question: "Friend, why are you here?" Then, as Luke tells us, He adds the more direct one: "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" Divine love has still not stopped pleading. It has not closed the door against his return even now.
Judas could lead the crowd straight to the spot, because he knew where his Master usually went:
How gracious, but how terrible, are the words of Jesus here! He spoke them to a man who knew his Master, and his Master's usual places, well enough to hand Him over to His enemies like this.
With the disguise gone, Judas now belongs to neither side:
The Lord's words to him (v.48) were faithful, yet with no bitterness or anger. They showed him that the Lord had seen through his treachery. What could he do now? Where could he go? For he had proved to friends and enemies alike that he could not be trusted. Terrible exposure!
No one could have seized Jesus earlier. What changed was not the strength of His enemies but the arrival of His hour:
As to what went before, they could not touch Him until that hour had come. He must be a willing captive, as He was a willing victim… Now He puts Himself into their hands. He was a willing captive now, as He was a willing victim on the cross. They took Him!
- Nearness — Judas stood as close to Jesus as any man could. He never took that blessing into his heart, so his nearness only measured how far his soul really was.
- Disguise — He led the crowd from the front and chose a kiss as his sign, arranging both to hide the very thing he was doing.
- Word — The Lord answered with a question, not with force. It was faithful and free of anger. It tore off the disguise and still left room for return.
- Exposure — Judas had betrayed his Master. Friends and enemies alike now knew he could not be trusted, and he had nowhere left to go.
- Surrender — No one could lay a hand on Him until His hour came. They took Him because He gave Himself up — a willing captive before He was a willing victim.
And Jesus said to him, Judas, deliverest thou up the Son of man with a kiss?
Judas had walked with Jesus for three years. Now he steps out of an armed crowd and marks out his Master with a kiss, and the Lord's answer names him, the deed, and Himself.
Jesus had warned Judas more than once before this moment.
"Hail, Rabbi!" had been his greeting. "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" were the Lord's last words spoken directly to him. The Lord had openly announced in the upper room that He was about to be betrayed. He had told Judas to his face that he was the traitor. He had spoken to that wretched man as he left the upper room in words he could not have misunderstood. Now He let him know that He was not deceived by that hypocritical show of affection.
The word for the kiss changes as Judas carries out his plan. The Psalms show how keenly the Lord felt this act from a close friend.
The word for "kissed Him" is changed from the word Judas used when he gave them this sign. Then he had used the word phileo, I love, or I kiss. But he was eager to make sure they seized the One he had once followed. So he "covered Him with kisses": kata-phileo, a much stronger word. It is hard to imagine anything more horrible than the way Judas betrayed his Master. And we know from the Psalms how keenly our Lord felt it. See, for example, Psalm 41:9: "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me."
Jesus could have rebuked him. Instead He asked a question that left the door open.
Judas would still like to hide his treachery in the kiss that pointed out the Lord. He gave it with emphasis, as if to tell the One he is betraying that he is not part of the crowd following him. The Lord sees through this disguise. He answers not with a rebuke but with a question: "Friend, why are you here?" Then, as Luke tells us, He adds the more direct one: "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" Divine love has not stopped pleading, even yet. It has not closed the door against his return.
(The first question is Matthew 26:50; the ESV reads "Friend, do what you came to do," while the older wording quoted here puts it as a question.)
The same writer, commenting elsewhere, weighs the insult itself:
Of all the signs Judas could have chosen, this was surely the most brazen: smooth-faced hypocrisy. And the Lord shows how deeply He felt the insult.
Judas knew his Master, and he knew the places his Master used. That knowledge is what he sold.
How gracious, but how terrible were these words of Jesus! He spoke them to a man who knew his Master and his Master's usual places well enough to hand Him over like this to His enemies.
No one arrives here in one step. One writer follows the path from its start, and it begins with something ordinary.
Trace the course of Judas: what led him astray? He loved money — not an uncommon evil… Then, what is his next step? Satan puts it into his heart to betray his Master… Sin makes progress in a conscience that is already defiled. Hypocrisy now enters; he sits with Jesus at the table, carrying on with religion, even after he had sold Him. Note too that it was "after the sop" that Satan entered — he was never nearer to Christ in outward form. Now he is hardened against even natural feeling, and goes out and betrays the Son of Man with a kiss… Sinning and religion go on together. Where the power of godliness is missing, being near to godly things only makes the danger greater.
Everyone in the garden lost their footing except the One they came to arrest.
With verse 47 the last scenes begin. Now everything is calm and gracious with the Lord. Everything is confused and agitated with His friends, His enemies, and even His judges. The communion in the garden led to the calmness in the great hour of trial. Judas reached the summit of hypocrisy in betraying his Master with a kiss… It was their hour, and the hour in which the power of darkness was to be displayed. Against that dark background the Lord displayed His grace.
- Known. The kiss hid nothing; the Lord let Judas see that the show of affection had not deceived Him.
- Named. He addressed the traitor personally — "Judas" — and these were the last words Jesus ever spoke to him on earth.
- Asked. He met treachery with a question, not a rebuke. That question left the door open, even while He felt the insult in full.
- Traced. The betrayal grew step by step: love of money, then a way to feed it, then religion kept up as cover, then a hardened heart. Nearness to holy things without real godliness only makes the danger greater.
- Answered. He answered the whole scene with grace. Everyone around Him was shaken; He alone stayed calm in the hour of darkness.